Airshow Incidents
Old, Not Bold: you have a PM
On the subject of display incidents, there are several tragic aerobatic team-related accidents which seem to have poorly been documented. Can anyone recall the names of the other team members involved?
No.1 Squadron: In April 1950, tragedy struck when the squadron's four-ship entry for the 11 Group aerobatic team competition was withdrawn after its leader, Flt Lt Pete Speller, was killed whilst rehearsing for the final elimination contest at Tangmere; rammed from behind by his Number 4 during a formation loop, the tail of Speller’s Meteor was sliced off and the wreckage fell to the ground in front of a crowd of horrified spectators. One of the other team members was Pilot III D C Harpham.
No.56 Squadron:The month of March 1950 was entirely devoted to various forms of aerobatic flying in preparation for the 11 Group formation aerobatic competition at RAF Thorney Island in May. On 29 March the squadron's four-ship display team suffered a tragic mishap when Flt Lt Constable-Maxwell was killed when his Meteor (VW277) got into difficulties during a formation sortie and crashed on the mud flats off Thorney Island. With little time to train a replacement to the required standard, the team reluctantly withdrew from the competition.
No.63 Squadron: By December 1950, the squadron began to re-equip with Meteor F.8s and its team of four Meteors continued to give occasional displays until the following September, when two aircraft (WB106 and WE869) were involved in a tragic mid-air collision during the Battle of Britain celebrations at Waterbeach; one of the pilots, Fg Off Robin Pavey was unfortunately killed, whilst Fg Off L J B Smith managed to eject after losing the tail of his Meteor. The accident brought an end to any further formation display flying on the squadron.
No.5 FTS: On 15 October 1959, tragedy struck when two Vampire T.11s of the 'Hot Box' team collided during a display for a passing-out parade at Oakington. One of the Vampires (WZ495) crashed at Elmsworth, Cambs, killing Flt Sgt H W Gibson AFM, while the other aircraft (XE897) flown by Flt Sgt R G Gregory was able to return to base and subsequently struck off charge.
No.8 FTS: By 1961 the school’s team was flying Vampire trainers and on 24 March 1961 it suffered a tragic accident when two of its aircraft collided during a formation loop at the graduation parade of No.139 Pilot Course at RAF Swinderby. One of the pilots, Flt Lt M T Chapman was unfortunately killed when his Vampire (XE944) crashed in a field near Swinderby, while Sqn Ldr L A Boyer was able to safely eject before his aircraft (WZ513) came down near Binbrook, south of Grimsby. Despite the temporary set-back, an improvised display team appeared at that year’s Battle of Britain shows at Aldergrove and Finningley later in the year.
Last edited by Vampiredave; 9th Nov 2011 at 15:52.