Makes for difficult reading, condolences to all.
I have often thought over the years when browsing the CAA reports that ‘low hours on type’ were often the critical factor.
So many times for example we read ‘Commanders experience 12,000 + hrs (of which 7 were on type)’ etc. Yet here we have an experienced aviator who came to grief with probably more P51 hours than many of his WW2 forebears could have ever achieved before their de-mob. Reading on, an 18,800 hr captain with over 1500hrs on type who concedes that a handling error was to blame for his Tiger Moth having an incident and yet on the other hand the case of Miss Velma…………. Commanders experience 21,000 hrs (9 of which were on type) who executes a flawless textbook emergency landing.
It probably goes to show that in what ever we do, when its misplaced we are all just a puff of wind away from glory or disaster. Hats off to you all Gents.

Been to four shows over the years specifically to see the Vixen fly and had it go tech each time, doubt if I will ever see it now. Apart from the damage I’m glad it ended well for the pilot. Diving towards the port intake is probably better than being sliced by the tail. My ex father in law was crash rescue at RAF Valley in the 50’s when Vampires were in a training role and remembers the grim business of collecting several helmets containing heads from Welsh mountainsides during his 2 years national service.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]251510[/ATTACH] 😉

Any help ? :highly_amused: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dBOo00L1fk

From memory not a huge amount was (or could be) brought ashore from the wreck which lay in the very sticky estuary mud off the village of Tollesbury.
Despite the best intentions of the scuba club when they got out to the site the sheer size of the beast coupled with the fact it was full of silt ultimately defeated them but it was dragged into shallower waters.
It was easily visible at low tide and as can be seen in the photograph became completely exposed with spring tides. The remains were eventually blown up by the Navy in the late 70’s early 80’s.
Quite a few wartime wrecks in the Blackwater/Colne estuaries, all pretty much trawled away by fishing boats now.

Damn the Beancounters. They know the price of everything and the value of nothing 😡

[QUOTE
What type of aircraft is this? :confused:
An interesting find Mustangboy! :eagerness:[/QUOTE]

Bf110 I would hazard

From the Western Daily Press

The former RAF base at Hullavington has been named as one of 12 military sites to be sold by the Government in a bid to generate £500 million receipts and allow 100 new homes to be built.

The Hullavington site was an RAF base until the mid-1990s but has continued to be well-used by the military. The base itself is home to 9 Royal Logistics Corps and has been renamed Buckley Barracks, and the RAF still use the old airfield for parachute drop training, with hangars used for military storage. A gliding club is also based at the airfield.

But its prime location close to junction 17 of the M4 means it would be a valuable site for new homes, and the scale of the houses – which would be located between the existing villages of Hullavington and Stanton St Quintin, near Chippenham – could run into thousands.

A similar-sized former RAF base further north up the A429 at Kemble has recently been the subject of plans for between 2,000 and 3,000 new homes.

It is understood that Buckley Barracks is not part of the sale, just the land that makes up the bulk of the former airfield site, with the hangars that are still within the grounds now.

Speaking in the Commons, Defence Minister Mark Lancaster said all the sites would be used as housing sites: “As part of the Government’s prosperity agenda, the MoD is committed to releasing land for 55,000 housing units in this parliament.

“I’m delighted to announce the first 12 sites, which will contribute some £500 million of land receipts – which will be reinvested into defence and provide more than 15,000 potential housing units.”

Mr Lancaster was replying to a question from Conservative Lucy Frazer (South East Cambridgeshire).

She asked: “Could you explain what steps the MoD is taking to release surplus land for housing and could you also explain what progress the MoD has made in selling or renting the fire control centre in Waterbeach?”

In his reply, Mr Lancaster said: “With regard to your own constituency, I can confirm the whole of the Waterbeach site has now been transferred to our civilian delivery partner.”

I love the way he can’t give a straight answer, even to a fellow MP of his own party 😡