Vampire FB Mk 9 Data Plate Query.

Just to add to David Collins’ response, and whilst I’m deeply emersed in Swordfish data plates (!!), the EEP denotes English Electric Preston.

Lee

D002173A is the drawing number for this part. I will look it up in my schedule of spare parts for the vampire and let you know the exact description of the part.

Thanks, Dave. That would be much appreciated.

D002173A is the drawing number for this part. I will look it up in my schedule of spare parts for the vampire and let you know the exact description of the part.

Hi Lauriebe

The single seat vampire airframe ID plate is located within the cockpit, usually on the inner RH side against the wooden skin. The second image shows my Vampire FB.5 instrument panels. The data plate would have been on the inner cockpit skin between the triple brake gauge and the canopy jettison handle. If you happen to find the oxygen controls that can sometimes survive a crash, as they are a fairly solid lump, the vampire data plate could be close by if it too has survived?

I have attached an image of an English Electric made dataplate for a Vampire. This shows the construction number for the aircraft and its Mod state.

As Bruce says, the sub assembly plate you found shows “FB.5” marked on it. Basically, the FB.9 is an FB.5 with additional cockpit cooling for service in the middle and far east. All airframe parts are interchangeable, so for example if an FB.9 was assembled at Fairey the relevant subassemblies would have been drawn from stock – the vast majority of which would have been FB.5 parts by that time in the early 50’s.

Hope this helps,

Dave, many thanks for that additional info.

The data plate in my original photo came from the starboard wing area around the tailboom, possibly close to, or part of, the flap assembly. This was the plate in question:

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is nothing left of the cockpit area. The aircraft seems to have come down at a very steep angle, leaving very little substantial wreckage other than what we believe to be large parts the starboard wing.

This photo shows the biggest piece of wreckage and it is on this that the data plate was found.

This photo shows the outboard part of what is thought to be the starboard wing.

The engine and a lot of other parts are in a deep crater behind the camera. The aircraft, WG871, was manufactured by English Electric at Preston. This is confirmed by the E.E.P. markings that are still visible on the remaining pieces.

I am still researching this aircraft and its pilot, Flt Sgt Taduesz Wojciechowski and would welcome any further info that anyone might be able to provide.

Hi,

do you know the location, by a chance? Tomorrow I should be in the vicinity of the crash site. I might not be able to reach it anyway, I just wonder how far the place is as that is historically interesting site.

Thank you.
Pavel

Hi Pavel. The site of the wreckage is in a closed part of a National Park and needs special permission to visit. I haven’t been able to get back there yet but hope to do so soon. If you would like more information, please PM me.

Laurie.

Hi Lauriebe

The single seat vampire airframe ID plate is located within the cockpit, usually on the inner RH side against the wooden skin. The second image shows my Vampire FB.5 instrument panels. The data plate would have been on the inner cockpit skin between the triple brake gauge and the canopy jettison handle. If you happen to find the oxygen controls that can sometimes survive a crash, as they are a fairly solid lump, the vampire data plate could be close by if it too has survived?

I have attached an image of an English Electric made dataplate for a Vampire. This shows the construction number for the aircraft and its Mod state.

As Bruce says, the sub assembly plate you found shows “FB.5” marked on it. Basically, the FB.9 is an FB.5 with additional cockpit cooling for service in the middle and far east. All airframe parts are interchangeable, so for example if an FB.9 was assembled at Fairey the relevant subassemblies would have been drawn from stock – the vast majority of which would have been FB.5 parts by that time in the early 50’s.

Hope this helps,

location of the site?

Hi,

do you know the location, by a chance? Tomorrow I should be in the vicinity of the crash site. I might not be able to reach it anyway, I just wonder how far the place is as that is historically interesting site.

Thank you.
Pavel

I know that there are a lot of very knowledgeable people out there and was wondering if someone could help out with some queries on a Vampire data plate.

Attached are 2 photos of a data plate from the wreckage of a Vampire FB9 aircraft that crashed into the Malayan jungle during the evening of Monday 17 March 1952. The rediscovery of this wreckage was the subject of a thread on this forum almost exactly a year ago. Click the link to view that thread:

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=15336

Recently, I was able to make 2 trips to the site of the wreckage to help with research that I am currently engaged in regarding this aircraft and its pilot on that night, Flt Sgt Tadeusz Wojciechowski.

The first photo shows the location of the plate, highlighted in red, on a large piece of wreckage. I believe this could be what remains of the left wing, from the fuselage pod out to the outboard edge of the airbrake. The second photo shows the plate in detail.

The plate records a serial number, 29523/Z. Could this possibly be the c/n of the aircraft? I think this unlikely but would welcome comments and help on that.

Also, the bottom section of the plate has a section for the recording of “Mods”. Under that, the aircraft is identified as a F. B. Mk 5. WG871 was certainly produced as a FB Mk 9 and is recorded as such in all the records that I have so far come across. Could it be that old stocks of plates were being used up? Or, is there another explanation? Again any help would be appreciated.

BR

Laurie.

Laurie,

See if any of the posters here would know where the airframe data plate is usually located and then go looking for that location on the wreckage.

– Hamtech.

Thanks for that. I’m pretty sure that the main data plate would have been in the cockpit area. Very little remains of that. There were no other plates visible.

We plan to visit the site again next year. Because it is located in deep jungle, it is very difficult to reach. Getting there entails a 2/3 day journey up river, over some 30+ rapid sections. Quite an experience though.

BR

Laurie.

PS: I did see the above answer “fuselage pod” but perhaps some more detail – the wooden section, metal section, left side, right side etc.

Being of British design it is probably inaccessible, flammable and secured with bolts cut to size and peened. 😉

Laurie,

See if any of the posters here would know where the airframe data plate is usually located and then go looking for that location on the wreckage.

– Hamtech.

This plate records the serial number of a sub assembly. It could be flap, dive brake, wing etc. It is not easy to tell what the highlighted area used to be! As these parts were identical to those used on the FB5, that would account for that discrepancy.

To find the aircraft data plate, you will need to find the remains of the fuselage pod.

Hope that helps

Bruce

Thanks for that info, Bruce. It pretty well confirms what I had suspected re the commonality of parts between the Vampire FB5 and FB9 in some areas.

The fuselage pod, or the little that remains of it, is in a crater behind the camera. I doubt that there will be much to be gleaned from that. We did find the remains of the nose wheel assembly in that and there is still quite a bit of debris buried there.

BR,

Laurie.

This plate records the serial number of a sub assembly. It could be flap, dive brake, wing etc. It is not easy to tell what the highlighted area used to be! As these parts were identical to those used on the FB5, that would account for that discrepancy.

To find the aircraft data plate, you will need to find the remains of the fuselage pod.

Hope that helps

Bruce