Lost Javelin

Yes indeed. The Javelin has not done too well in print up to now so there is definitely room for at least a couple of books, and mine will be about a year behind yours. Good luck with it!

Great minds think alike Steve. Now that my 263 Squadron book is finished I’m hoping that the first draft will be ready by December. Also working on a book on the Bristol Belvedere twin rotor helicopter for Air Britain.

Alex

Snap Alex, that makes two of us!

Let us know when it’s out. Great subject.

Hi,

Very interesting thread. I’m in the process of finishing off my Javelin book that I started several years ago. Hopefully it will be out later this year/early next. Id like to get as many first hand accounts of what it was like to fly and maintain. If anyone could help I would be very grateful.

Regards,

Alex

There are only 10 Javelins left, and of these one is out in South Africa, the ex Southend airframe is in Italy. and all have been grounded and outside mostly for over 45 years. Even the airframe at Duxford has spent more of its retirement outside than inside from memory.

Tim

I’d be surprised if they took the trouble to inhibit them, plus it has spent years on display outside!

Rob

Doesn’t the Duxford example still have inhibitted Sapphires still present?

A flying Jav is a great idea, Doug, but I think it’s been touched on before about the lack of serviceable AS Sapphires that could be used to get one flying again!
Rob

where there’s a will there’s a way. Put a couple of Avons in it, might not be kosher but………………:stupid:

A flying Jav is a great idea, Doug, but I think it’s been touched on before about the lack of serviceable AS Sapphires that could be used to get one flying again!

Rob

Such a pity none of these fabulous aircraft have been restored to flying condition. Would be a lot cheaper to achieve than the Vulcan and damned near as exciting. I trained to service them (A.I.17) but was ended up in the 2nd line electronics center. Saw one land with a ‘D’ door jammed so only had one main wheel down. It’s Firestreak missiles kept the wing off the ground. Later that evening, another had the same problem and all Jav’s were grounded for remedial work.
Another unsung hero of the RAF me thinks.

Also I have to thank the people who have posted the Javelins at Tengah, including the marvellous example wearing the markings mHm on the tail. This was the personal aircraft of the CO of 60 Sqn Michael ‘Dusty’ Miller, a man who I was privileged to have worked alongside as he was one of the pilots of No 6 AEF in the early 1980s, when I was a Staff Cadet. And as for the Javelins at Singapore, here’s SAFTECH 9
[ATTACH=CONFIG]238968[/ATTACH]

Hi Sopwith. In answer to your question about XH767, she was moved from the museum at Monkton Farleigh in 1991. We (the Avon Aviation Museum) who owned her, placed her in storage at Yatesbury alongside the Meteor Flight chaps, who took us under their wing as it were! We decided to loan the aircraft to the museum at Horsham St Faith, and so she made her way to the City of Norwich Museum where they carried on the work we had started by replacing some of the damaged and corroded panels. She is now on exhibition at the Yorkshire Air Museum. Unfortunately, RAF Leeming had said they wanted to borrow her for a sqn anniversary and offered to paint her, an offer which the museum obviously thought was too good to be true. Unfortunately, while she was in the ‘tender care’ of the RAF, they managed to break the new canopy that we had put onto the aircraft! She is now wearing a black painted canopy to hide the broken section which some ham fisted idiot had covered in filler!

….And I wonder if anyone will ever find the one that crashed into the Bristol Channel during the flight trials…..

Anyone know if this still exists- left in Zambia in the 60’s XH890 post landing accident

The aircraft XH890 is no longer in the park at Ndola, Zambia. See attached new clipping of its scraping on the 03/06/1972
[ATTACH=CONFIG]238110[/ATTACH]

Javelin at Box near Bath

I saw this thread and it prompted me to ask does anyone know if the Javelin that was outside the underground munitions depot at Box is still there? I went there about 20 odd years ago and it looked pretty ropey then,so hopefully it may have had a bit of TLC in the meantime.

The serial of the Javelin T.3 on the Coltishall fire dump in the early seventies was XH396/Z. With it were Varsity WL671/Q ,Vampire T.11 XH298,Meteor F.8s WK786,WF643/X, Lightning F.1A XM188,F.3 XR719/D,XP752/D.

So. Question. Did XH893/V actually serve with 60 Sq or did she go direct from 64?

Served on both squadrons as “V”

See post 47 above from Ian Old

Lost Javelin

Sorry if I get this wrong – first time I have posted.

I found the “Lost Jav” thread when Googling for info about XH708. I was cataloguing a photo of a pair taking off from (I think) Tengah. 64 Sqdn’s XH708/P is nearest camera and the second (lead) aircraft is XH893/V in full 64 Sqdn markings.

I believe this was taken at Tengah as I don’t recall seeing 64s Javs taking off in pairs at Waterbeach. It was certainly sop from Tengah’s much wider runway though. (I was on 1 Sq at Waterbeach and 20 Sq at Tengah)

So. Question. Did XH893/V actually serve with 60 Sq or did she go direct from 64?

http://www.na3t.org/images/photos/air/MIL25070.jpg
Sorry about the watermark – can’t work out how to attach an in-line image.

Thanks Adrian. Thunderbird also noted that in post #30.
I wish I could find any trace of these Javelins, but it seems they were all disposed of when the Poly moved house.

Laurence