Meteor Accidents - 1953
Doing some research in "The Times" Digital Archive I came across this entry from a report about the September 1953 Battle of Britain displays.
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...esSept1953.jpg To have two Meteors disintergrate on the same day whilst being displayed at two seperate shows seems by today's standards to be appalling. Does anyone know the circumstances / reasons? |
seems by today's standards to be appalling |
Bob Cossey's history of 74 Sqn suggests that all Meteors were temporarily grounded as a result (Cossey doesn't refer to the second accident), and some skin wrinkling was detected, although there was no evidence that this had been a cause of the crash of Fg Off Ward. The grounding would seem to have been lifted very quickly.
As John Farley says, the standards were different then - Ward was the third casualty suffered by 74 Sqn in 3 months, and it would appear that while everyone was saddened by the loss of their comrades, the fatalities did nothing to impinge upon the effectiveness of the squadron, since it was accepted that this sort of thing just happened. |
I watched the one at Coningsby, I was just about to get into my aircraft when it happened.
I never read the BOI report but IIRC the aircraft suffered a double mainplane failure, possibly as a result of previous overstressing. thawes: There is a thread about Meteor accidents that might still be in the archives. 1953 was a bad year, 486 aircraft lost with 334 fatalities; so those two you mention would not have provoked any particular comment. |
More than a million people visited 70 RAF airfields....
Are there even 7 nowadays? |
Oh for the days when flying was dangerous and sex was safe!!
GAGS E86 |
And the Biggin Hill event was attended by 4 times as many people than are in the RAF now
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Way back in 1950-53 my father was a flying instructor at an FTS at Heany, in the then Rhodesia. They used Tiger Moths, later Chipmunks and Harvards. They had cases of students being chopped because they refused to go on to advanced jet training, such was the Meteor’s (Meatbox) reputation. Later on in life I read an article in the Flying Training Command Flight Safety magazine, so it must be true, about somebody who arrived for his advanced flying course, possibly Driffield.
He warned in to the students mess and was allocated a room. Apart from the Effects Officer’s sealing wax on the door jamb, not unusual in those days, he was amazed to find the room was immaculate. It was redecorated and had brand new furniture, new washbasin, the lot. After unpacking he took a stroll around the mess to suss out his new surroundings. When he got abeam his room he was horrified to see a frontal view of a Meteor in new brickwork. The room’s previous occupant had attempted a single engined overshoot below his personal critical speed. In those days asymmetric flying was taught with one engine shut down so you had no chance if you fouled it up. At Oakers in 1961 they still had a Meteor flight for those too leggy to eject from a Vampire. The instructors, wizened and haggard blokes in their early thirties, took me up for a couple of rides. If you are in the front pull yourself down under the wing, in the back, flop onto it. They also explained the theory of the Meteor ‘phantom dive’ that used to kill quite a lot of people. Ruddy noisy inside a T7. Loads of canopy noise but compared to the Vampire you could hardly hear the engines. |
He warned in to the students mess and was allocated a room. Apart from the Effects Officer’s sealing wax on the door jamb, not unusual in those days, he was amazed to find the room was immaculate. It was redecorated and had brand new furniture, new washbasin, the lot.
After unpacking he took a stroll around the mess to suss out his new surroundings. When he got abeam his room he was horrified to see a frontal view of a Meteor in new brickwork. The room’s previous occupant had attempted a single engined overshoot below his personal critical speed. In those days asymmetric flying was taught with one engine shut down so you had no chance if you fouled it up. Pretty sure this happened at Middleton St George (now Durham Tees Valley.....Teesside as was) in the '50's. Meteor went into the west wing of the mess killing the pilot. His 'ghost' used to be a point of discussion with new Doris' on the way to MME to nightstop at the George hotel (as the Officers Mess became) in the vain hope of getting a scarified young girl to seek protection in the strong manly arms of the hunky flightcrew!!!;) |
Interesting look back at the 'good old days'.
My dad was a national service aircraft electrician. He'd was a qualified sparks before he was called up. He and some of his mates had to supply their own tools because the RAF didn't. He also has a few tales about fatal accidents involving ground crew because of poor safety practices with armed ejector seats. |
1953 was a bad year, 486 aircraft lost with 334 fatalities; so those two you mention would not have provoked any particular comment. If so I am truly shocked. |
They are the RAF losses, UK and overseas.
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Nothing to do with prangs, but some may find this pic of interest:
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...t070066_cr.jpg I took it at The Temora Aviation Museum Flying Weekend in September.Shortly after this, my camera packed it in, and missed out on pictures of their Canberra and the RAAF F/A-18. They are displaying again this weekend, sadly I can't go, as they have on the card their 2 Spitfires, 2 visiting Kittyhawks , a visiting Mustang as well as their Vampire,Meteor,Canberra, Hudson etc etc etc http://www.aviationmuseum.com.au/ |
Great pic. I'm assuming 'Poodles' Wood in the Vamp. Who flys the Meatbox for them?
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Sorry Wiley, not 100% sure but I do seem to recall that as the Meteor and Hornet were joining up, the commentator made mention that the guy flying the Meteor was an ex Canadian Hornet driver, possibly Darren Crabb?
As I say, I stand to be corrected though. http://www.aviationmuseum.com.au/THFC/ |
Thanks, K Whyjellly. Yoy have now explained why, when I was operating out of Teeside in the 70s and staying in the George Hotel, every time I turned back to my pint it was empty.
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Although there will always be some discrepancies in the figures (re-caregorisation etc) according to records I have seen the RAF's overall figures are something like this (I believe excluding combat losses):
Year Cat 3 + Fatalities 1945 592 638 1946 1014 677 1947 420 176 1948 424 205 1949 438 224 1950 380 238 1951 490 280 1952 507 318 1953 483 333 1954 452 283 1955 305 182 1956 270 150 1957 233 139 1958 128 87 1959 102 59 1960 80 46 1961 74 55 1962 68 50 1963 60 41 1964 62 33 1965 46 71 1966 62 33 1967 60 60 1968 51 43 1969 31 22 1970 36 25 1971 40 72 1972 28 22 1973 30 21 1974 16 5 1975 21 17 1976 33 20 1977 14 7 1978 25 27 1979 27 13 1980 24 13 1981 26 7 1982 35 10 1983 26 19 1984 23 4 1985 19 9 1986 19 10 1987 20 17 1988 19 18 1989 17 9 1990* 29 19 1991* 27 15 1992* 17 8 1993* 17 13 1994* 17 34 1995* 13 9 1996* 21 2 1997* 12 3 1998* 11 3 1999* 18 6 2000* 9 2001* 12 2002* 9 2003* 6 2004* 6 Total: 7554 4970 |
Jesus wept.
I knew the good old days were bad but those stats are horrendous. I feel lucky to be alive as Dad was flying Meteors in 1953...mind you I remember him telling me they lost three pilots on his ETPS course including the CFI and two more just afterwards (and both the American pilots went on to die in Vietnam). In today's culture it's difficult to comprehend. |
A sobering table JB. I recall an FSO course in 1969 (approx) where we were told that Flight Safety related losses in WW2 far outnumbered those due to operations. The massive post WW2 loss rate, in particular on the Meteors, led directly to the founding of what became the complete RAF Flight Safety system, from incident to STI, on which we were being instructed. I see that your table stops at 2004, and many of the accidents and deaths with which this forum is sadly so familiar with excluded. I fear that a hard won lesson is having to be learned afresh.
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I joined the RAF in 1977. At the time (being a sad and introverted sort of character) I worked out that based on the historic loss rate, my chances of living through 16 years as a fast jet pilot were about 4 in 5. I did the sum again at the end of the first 16 years and the answer was about 99 in 100. Now I'm too old to bother doing sums.
Sven |
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