Tragedy Witnessed
by the 68th Entry Brats.
A DH110 Breaks up
at 1952 Farnborough Air Show.
The DH110 was one of the new breed of aircraft that captivated the minds of young lads at the time. Swept back wings, delta wings, reheat, supersonic flight and sonic booms were new exciting concepts. Amongst our heroes were test pilots John Derry and Neville Dukes. Many schoolboys, like myself, were determined to get involved in this aircraft revolution and one way was to become an RAF Apprentice at Halton.
Unfortunately it was a group of these Apprentices, from the 68th Entry, that witnessed a tragic event involving the DH110. At the end of the day out to the Farnborough Air Show all the Apprentices arrived safely back at Halton. Sadly, the bus driver who took them had been killed.
The coach returning to Coventry with a group of Armstrong Siddeley apprentices had nine empty seats!
The Crowd Parted
Like the Red Sea.
(But not fast enough!)
Thousands of spectators watched as a de Havilland 110 aircraft broke the sound
barrier and then disintegrated in the sky above them and fell to earth.
Thirty-one people, including pilot John Derry, were killed. Dozens more were
wounded at the Farnborough Air Show in Hampshire on 6 September 1952.
(John Derry had become the first British pilot to break the sound barrier,
during a record attempt exactly four years before.)
After a delay test pilot Neville Dukes took off in a Hawker P1067 Hunter and diving from 40,000 feet over Salisbury Plain arrived with a very large double sonic bang. He then straightened, and swooped past in a victory-roll as a salute to a fallen friend.
The Post-mortem.
The Press got it
Wrong.
The Press and hence the general public were to blame a faulty engine for the
accident. The aircraft Derry had intended to fly had a history of over-heating
in one of the engines, but it was later revealed that this aircraft was u/s
(unserviceable) on the day.
So another aircraft was collected from Hatfield Airfield for the air show
flight. It was this DH110 that broke up. Nothing to do with the
engines and subsequent investigations showed that a wing had failed because it
had only 64 per cent of its intended strength. A fact that was not realised at
the time with the limited technology and knowledge available in those days.
Eyewitness Account
from Dr. Donald Brown.
Dr Brown sent me the following information:
"I was not in the RAF but was at Farnborough in 1952 when the DH110, with John Derry as pilot, broke up. I was doing my national service in the RAMC at Crookham since I stated at my national service interview, I wanted to become a Doctor- which I did after I left the service. A friend Hunter and I were mad about aeroplanes and went to Farnborough that day.
"The press reports about the accident were wrong. Derry had broken the
sound barrier and had turned to fly over the crowd when one of the tail booms
broke off and the two jet engines broke away from the body and headed for the
crowd. The two Jet engines tore out of the fuselage and one landed in the crowd
behind us. Because we were in uniform, we had to stand round while they cleared
the bodies of 35 people away. Both of us were naturally upset as 18 year olds
and were sick later that night when we returned to barracks.
"Dr. Donald Brown "
Eyewitness Account
from Tony Denton 72nd Entry.
In 1942 my family moved to Farnborough and I spent the next four years there, spending most of my free time with a pal who shared my interest in aeroplanes, of which there were many. Most were military, some were experimental, and some were captured German aircraft. I remember seeing some strange sights including a Cierva Autogiro, an Me262 which came over our house inverted with the pilot trying to open the hood (he failed), a ME235 (?), the one with a propeller front, and back and the asymmetric Heinkel reconnaissance aircraft. When the first jet engine was heard, our entire school class rushed outside and watched what I later learned was a DH Vampire flying over. After leaving there in 1946 I used to go back to visit my friend in the summer, and it was on such a visit in 1952 that we had watched a lot of the air show from the back corner of the airfield, close to Cove where he lived, and which turned out to be near where the DH110 fuselage settled.
On that day I went into the show by bicycle, wanting to see the static displays. For the flying I got close to the railing where I had to look to my left to see the take-off and landing point. My memory of events was very definite in some respects, but I admit to having been upset by what happened and shaken.
The early flights were routine, with one exception. The Prestwick Pioneer was always flown in the same kind of way, to show off its STOL capabilities. The pilot ran up the engine then released the brakes. When the tail lifted, he pulled it down and the aircraft leapt into the air. On this day, the starboard brake did not release at first and the Pioneer swung to starboard across the runway then as it was pulled up into the air the tail hit one of the external runway lights. The aircraft appeared to be under control, but one half of the elevator was hanging down, and the pilot immediately completed a 360 degree turn and landed at about the point where he took off. I have never seen this event reported except in one personal account like this one.
When the DH110 broke up I did not realise what had happened. My whole attention was fixed on the wings which were fluttering to the ground. The truth sank in, though I saw nothing of the engines and cockpit section. I cannot remember hearing anything on the PA. To add to the shock a vehicle appeared on the runway and out of it jumped men with brooms who started sweeping away pieces of metal from the runway. What I do remember, and have never seen verified, was that the first aircraft into the air was a De Havilland Venom. Every report says that Neville Duke in a Hunter was first.
What happened after that I do not know, because I was upset enough to get my bicycle and get out and away. Two days later I reported to Halton. Even now, thinking about this day shakes me.
If anyone wants to talk directly to me, you are welcome to contact me:
Anthony Denton email ajmd1@sympatico.ca
Eyewitness Account
from Alex Jennings.
Alex sends the following email that he has allowed me to publish on this page. As follows:
Many thanks. I enjoyed your account. I was there and saw it happen.
I was born Sheffield UK 06 DEC 1933
Four years spent as an ATC cadet.
My dad was in the RAF and the RAF Regiment during WW2.
Joined for National Service at RAF Padgate 06 FEB 1952 (boot camp)
I later signed on for 12 years.
Basic Flying training at RAF Desford, Leics on Chipmunks.
Gained my pilot's wings at RAF Dalcross, Inverness.in 1953. on Airspeed
Oxfords.
Served 3 years, six months on No. 94 Sqn RAF Celle 2nd TAF.
Day-fighter / Ground Attack. Vampires and Venoms.
Promoted to Ft Cdr and Instrument Rating examiner.
Central Flying School, RAF Little Rissington. Qualified Flying Instructor.
Instructed at RAF Worksop, Notts and RAF Valley Anglesey. Held Instrument
Rating Examiner's Cert on Vampires and Ansons. Have some logbook hours as a
civilian A1 flying instructor. Three years after leaving the RAF took 23+ years
employment with Aer Lingus on Vickers Viscounts, BAC 1-11s and B.707s
Many other aircraft types feature in my log book.
Now living happily in self-imposed exile in Thailand.
Hope this is useful feedback to reward your endeavours.
Alex Jennings
How the DH110
Became the Sea Vixen.
The de Havilland DH110 was in competition with the Gloster Javelin to provide the RAF and Navy with a powerful radar and missile equipped all weather fighter capable of catching the new generation of fast jet bombers. There was an urgent need to replace the antiquated night-fighter version of the Gloster Meteor and de Havilland Venom and provide something more sophisticated than the Hunters.
The Sea Vixen first flew as the DH110 in September 1951 and soon found favour with admiralty over the Javelin. The 1952 accident, where prototype DH110 disintegrated over Farnborough, helped the RAF to choose the arguably inferior Javelin. The Navy stuck with the DH110 (de Havilland Sea Vixen) however, and the first proper Vixen flew in June 1955, with a first arrested deck landing in April 1956. The FAW1 entered service in 1958 armed with Firestreak missiles giving the Navy its first missile armed interceptor. 119 FAW1s were built.
Let's Hear Your
Stories.
I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has any stories about this aircraft; humorous, technical, or historical. Please use the Feedback Form to contact me briefly, in the first instance.
Joe Bosher (74th).