Amesbury Wyvern crash (1950)
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Amesbury Wyvern crash (1950)
I have often wondered about this particular incident and recently drove through Amesbury which gets me to this point.
I was stationed at Tilshead at the time and on the way back to camp and about a mile or so from Stonehenge we had a slash stop. Suddenly the sound of an engine in high rev mode turned my head and I saw a Wyvern coming down vertically, and I do mean nose down, which crashed in a field. It's not far from Boscombe of course. It was quite a sight to see.
Any of our genius heads got any history on it?
I was stationed at Tilshead at the time and on the way back to camp and about a mile or so from Stonehenge we had a slash stop. Suddenly the sound of an engine in high rev mode turned my head and I saw a Wyvern coming down vertically, and I do mean nose down, which crashed in a field. It's not far from Boscombe of course. It was quite a sight to see.
Any of our genius heads got any history on it?
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From the Test Flying Memorial site (via Google)
http://www.davidsiddall.com/testflyingmemorial/1946-70.htm
DATE: June 8, 1951
TAKE-OFF POINT: Boscombe Down, Wilts
CRASH LOCATION: Seven Barrows, Wilts
AIRCRAFT TYPE & SERIAL: Westland Wyvern TF Mk 2 VW869
CREW FATALITIES: Lt-Cdr (E) D.K. Hanson
PURPOSE OF TEST FLIGHT: Air test following propeller change and reported vibration
ACCIDENT DETAIL: 45min after take-off aircraft broke up following canopy failure. Pilot ejected but was severely injured by control column as seat left aircraft. He was unable to release from seat and use his parachute.
Hope this is the one you're looking for.
DATE: June 8, 1951
TAKE-OFF POINT: Boscombe Down, Wilts
CRASH LOCATION: Seven Barrows, Wilts
AIRCRAFT TYPE & SERIAL: Westland Wyvern TF Mk 2 VW869
CREW FATALITIES: Lt-Cdr (E) D.K. Hanson
PURPOSE OF TEST FLIGHT: Air test following propeller change and reported vibration
ACCIDENT DETAIL: 45min after take-off aircraft broke up following canopy failure. Pilot ejected but was severely injured by control column as seat left aircraft. He was unable to release from seat and use his parachute.
Hope this is the one you're looking for.
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Thanks Grys. Most kind of you.
I was a year out! Now I have worked it out it is correct as my demob date was 5006. I went to Germany soon after.
The incident is etched in my memory. RIP sir.
I wonder what the BoI concluded?
PPP
That is a great website with a mass of info.
I was a year out! Now I have worked it out it is correct as my demob date was 5006. I went to Germany soon after.
The incident is etched in my memory. RIP sir.
I wonder what the BoI concluded?
PPP
That is a great website with a mass of info.
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Glad to have been of assistance Pop. The site does make for some sobering reading. What I found rather poignant was the number of FTOs prefixed with 'Miss'..............
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Pop
This accident is mentioned along with several others in Harald Penrose's book Adventure with Fate. ISBN 0906393361 Of the Wyvern he states:
This accident is mentioned along with several others in Harald Penrose's book Adventure with Fate. ISBN 0906393361 Of the Wyvern he states:
No other contemporary aircraft had proved so lethal as the Wyvern,and yet that was chiefly due to engine development failures, for the aeroplane itself was one of those very nearly very good machines
More detail
From from the book on trials aircraft crashes (forget name - I only have a copy of relevant page)
8 Jun 51. Wyvern 2. VW869. Lt Cdr DK Hanson (Graduate No.9 Course) - C Sqn A&AEE. Airtest following prop change. Canopy imploded and the rails detached in flight and hit the fin causing structural failure of the empennage. The violent yaw which ensued created a gyroscopic couple on the contra-rotating propellors resulting in the blades meshing and breaking up which then caused the engine to detach from the airframe and the subsequent disintegration of the aircraft. The pilot operated the ML ejector seat but was rendered unconcious when his leg caught on the control column during the ejection sequence. Pilot thus unable to operate the manually sequenced seat and was killed on ground contact. All Wyverns grounded until an ejector seat with a greater degree of safety installed.
8 Jun 51. Wyvern 2. VW869. Lt Cdr DK Hanson (Graduate No.9 Course) - C Sqn A&AEE. Airtest following prop change. Canopy imploded and the rails detached in flight and hit the fin causing structural failure of the empennage. The violent yaw which ensued created a gyroscopic couple on the contra-rotating propellors resulting in the blades meshing and breaking up which then caused the engine to detach from the airframe and the subsequent disintegration of the aircraft. The pilot operated the ML ejector seat but was rendered unconcious when his leg caught on the control column during the ejection sequence. Pilot thus unable to operate the manually sequenced seat and was killed on ground contact. All Wyverns grounded until an ejector seat with a greater degree of safety installed.
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Airframe history, VW869.
A fuller history of this airframe is included in Ray Sturtivant’s book FAA Fixed Wing Aircraft since 1946:
Completed 20-12-50.
To CS(A) charge at Westland 4-1-51 (investigate directional instability).
‘C’ Sqn, A&AEE Boscombe Down 9-2-51 (directional stability tests; assessment of improvement effected by dorsal fin, used for Python handling and general aerodynamic handling).
Loss of oil between propellor and engine with low frequency vibration in flight, Cat. 1, 3-51 (engine removed after landing for investigation by Armstrong Siddeley Motors).
Flying resumed 12.4.51
Ground run, jet pipe temperature rose beyond limits , exceeded 700C, smoke in cockpit, fire in tail pipe extinguished, Cat 1, 7.5.51.
Severe rudder overbalance, landed safely, Cat. 3, 23.5.51 (Lt D H Hanson).
Functional check after propellor change, engine seen to be on fire then broke away from airframe at 1500 ft, pilot ejected but caught control column and knocked unconcious, incapable of operating parachute, a/c crashed Seven Barrows, 1m W of Amesbury, BO, Cat 5 8-6-51 (L/C (E) D K Hanson killed).
SOC 15.1.52 [TFH 34.20]
Completed 20-12-50.
To CS(A) charge at Westland 4-1-51 (investigate directional instability).
‘C’ Sqn, A&AEE Boscombe Down 9-2-51 (directional stability tests; assessment of improvement effected by dorsal fin, used for Python handling and general aerodynamic handling).
Loss of oil between propellor and engine with low frequency vibration in flight, Cat. 1, 3-51 (engine removed after landing for investigation by Armstrong Siddeley Motors).
Flying resumed 12.4.51
Ground run, jet pipe temperature rose beyond limits , exceeded 700C, smoke in cockpit, fire in tail pipe extinguished, Cat 1, 7.5.51.
Severe rudder overbalance, landed safely, Cat. 3, 23.5.51 (Lt D H Hanson).
Functional check after propellor change, engine seen to be on fire then broke away from airframe at 1500 ft, pilot ejected but caught control column and knocked unconcious, incapable of operating parachute, a/c crashed Seven Barrows, 1m W of Amesbury, BO, Cat 5 8-6-51 (L/C (E) D K Hanson killed).
SOC 15.1.52 [TFH 34.20]
