Don’t know if you’ve ever witnessed an open topped Vampire in flight – but G-VTII / WZ507 was once involved in an incident when its canopy departed at an airshow held at Cranfield. It returned pronto with fortunately no harm to the crew but must have been scary to experience. My photo depicts it taxying back in with a ground crew member taking a ride. This airframe was one of the first miltary jets to be “preserved” in private hands in the UK in airworthy condition and thankfully still survives. I seem to recall my shot was about 1984ish but perhaps someone can confirm.
By: Robert Whitton - 12th May 2005 at 09:30
The canopy and frame on a Vampire is very heavy. If it had hit any of the structure even at low speed it could have caused a lot of damage. Any guesses where and when these 2 were photographed?
By: ALBERT ROSS - 12th May 2005 at 07:43
I was there and witnessed this ,which was on 10th August 1986. The Vampire didn’t actually get airborne like this, as I recall the canopy blew off as it gathered speed on the runway and thern came to a halt, as it was a trifle drafty!
Sign In
May 11, 2005 at 11:40 pm