Originally Posted by
lauriebe
Interesting photo. Pity there is no code visible on the vertical tail surface. That would help narrow the search down.
The style of dress worn by the deck crew would seem to indicate summertime in the northern hemisphere or the tropics. ‘Chiefy’, visible between the prop blades, has a white top on his cap and what appears to be an officer, just in front of him, looks to be in shirt sleeve order.
The aircraft code on the u/c door mentioned in post #10 might not be a code. I think it could be a handle on a piece of equipment being carried by one of the deck crew standing there.
Of the three accidents mentioned in post #16, it is unlikely to be any of those. The 7 June 52 accident happened on the airfield at Culdrose when the stbd wing folded on take off and the aircraft, VW710, rolled and skidded upside down along the runway.
The incident involving VW711 on 31 March 52 occurred when the aircraft was en route from Vengance to Lee. Engine trouble meant the aircraft force landed. I cannot find a location but would think it unlikely to be the aircraft in the OP’s photo.
The last accident referred to involving VW718, happened near Crail airfield. The aircraft had been practicing RP attacks on the airfield when it came down a short distance to the NNW of the field.
Several other Sea Furies had barrier engagements. Those were:
VW713, serving with 807 NAS aboard HMS Theseus. On 23 March 51, suffered partial engine failure, and caught No.9 wire in an emergency landing with the prop going into the barrier. I believe the ship was at that time in Far Eastern waters.
. . . 713 is a possible - it also appears to have been "struck off charge" on 30-4-51. HMS Theseus was escorted by two C-class destroyers in Korea - HMS Consort & HMS Comus . . . the destroyer in background could be one of these two! But '1951' is a long time since the July 1950 'incident' after which 'invasion stripes' were supposed to hv been painted on [see my prev post
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Last edited by Fournierf5; 31st Jan 2022 at 11:04.