Hi all,
Ive not been on here for a while, but I have just sent of a aplication for a licence to recover Sea Hawk WV919.
its taken many years on and off to get to this stage.
WV919 crashed nr weston super mare 24/7/62 being flown by civillian pilot
Alfred “Dusty” Rhodes. . aparrently his mother lived in Hutton ,nr Weston, and he performed a bit of a show for her, unfortunatly, the ejector seat was not locked in position, and when he inverted the aircraft, the seat and Dusty fell out of the aircraft, he did survive, but recieved neck a leg injuries.in fact the land owner remembers Dusty coming into the same hospital ward as he was on, as he was in hospital for a short while aged 14 .
as for the Aircraft, in dived into the ground inverted , , MARTSU arrived to clear up the wreckage, but could not reach the engine,cockpit due to it being over 20 ft deep 😮 !
after liasing with the land owner , we met at the site, and with one detector sweep we had lots of targets, i asked could we dig one small target to prove we found “aircraft” he agreed, ,one piece of four inch skinning found , in a condition that was stunning (see pic) i left this with the farmer !!!.
I would like to ask the forum, do you have any pictures of WV919 or indeed Alfred “dusty” Rhodes , who was sadly killed in a later aircraft accident over the english channel . or did you or any one you know ever fly WV919 ?.
Another aim of mine is to ask if any of you live near Weston super mare ?
or the North somerset area ?
My reason for asking is there is alot of aircraft relics i personally have, and what will be recovered, and I would like to put them on show somewhere. but I am pretty sure that the IHM and North Somerset museum are a no go, allthough I will try the IHM tomorrow, I have wondered for along time, what IS going to happen to the old wooden watch tower at Weston airfield ,the airfield is earmarked for developement with Persimmon Homes, and the IHM although has a small part about the history of the airfield, it is predomenantly a Helicopter museum as it is named.
The recovery of this WV919 has a possibilty of raising a engine and various parts, in fact possibly a couple of trailer loads, and I would like to find somewhere to display it. quite a few aircraft have been dug in the vicinity which were heading to Weston,but never made it, we have been finding them ,and it would be fitting to display it at the airfield which was its/there destination .
Would any of you know “HOW” to promote starting a friends group, with a interest in the history, archaeology, etc of Weston and its area ?. just a couple of people would be a good start, nothing big just a group of friends with a common aim, I am trying to be able to keep some of the history of the area IN the area it was lost. for the benefit of the local population or who ever find it interesting. before its all dug up, and removed to the four corners of the UK, it would be fitting to be able to do such a thing,not a easy task..but I got to start the ball rolling somewhere, so I thought, no where better than the UK’s Favourite Aviation Forum .
By: corinne@6 - 22nd August 2012 at 20:08
Sea Hawk WV919
I believe I witnessed this crash while in apprentice training at RAF Locking. We were on sports parade which would be early afternoon and we were facing south, towards the Mendip Hills. I remember a Sea hawk flying along the hill line when it inverted and something fell out. I realised this was the pilot but he wasn’t ejected however his parachute opened and he descended normally. The aircraft continued inverted into the ground. I believe he received injuries (broken leg) on landing by impacting a stone wall. If my memory serves me well sports parades were on a Wednesday afternoon but I could be wrong. The crash was a Tuesday, I believe. I was in training for three years, January 1962 to December 1964 and I know the accident was early on in the training. Sorry I cannot add any information to your present detail, I just thought you may be interested in a possible witness report.
By: merkle - 24th August 2011 at 21:40
That’s great news Heli !.
I went in this weekend specifically to ask about the possibilities of IHM displaying the wreckage of WV919 , and more items to do with Weston Airfield.
I asked about the old watch tower and was told by a member of staff quite high up in the organisation.. who just shrugged there shoulders. and said ” we tried to get a preservation order on the building, however, english heritage didnt agree, 🙁 .. and this member of staff didnt have a clue as to what was going to happen to it. .. I left with the feeling the person i spoke to was reasonably interested, but the museum as a whole was not.. I am still awaiting a reply from the museum about this ?..
and there will be a article in the local paper about the seahawk this week.
its exellent news, to hear IHM are considering the airfield history, and relics from the local area. if this is true, I hope to be at the forefront helping them . and or a new group if we can raise enough local interest.
By: heli1 - 24th August 2011 at 17:00
The Helicopter Museum is actually at an advanced stage of negotiations to take over the Weston Airfield control tower building ,with the intent of restoration and mounting a display of the airfield history etc.
It would indeed be worth talking with them,especially if a new group can be formed to refurbish the building and help with interesting displays.
By: merkle - 21st August 2011 at 23:29
I got the local papers from the day Gar.. first thing i looked at 🙂
no problem with a bit going to wales. just not all of it 😉
By: fighterace - 21st August 2011 at 23:23
One would think you would find a photograph in the local papers of the crash scene. What do you mean its all sprited to the 4corners, for £5.70 i need to bring something home to wales for my efforts:diablo:
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August 19, 2011 at 9:01 pm