I’d say that four losses (three of them involving fatalities and the other a serious, career-ending injury) in relation to the number of Hunters operational under CAA jurisdiction at any one time constitutes a statistically poor safety record.

How many Hunter losses have been proved to be due to pilot error, and how many to mechanical failure ?

How do these losses compare to those when it was flown by the RAF or FAA ?

(Not including the time when six were lost in one day)

No doubt the AAIB also feel their report has to go some way towards meeting
the demands of the relatives of those who died. As well as making displays safer ?
Even though the safety record of displays in the UK is already pretty good.

Didn’t actually see it, but certainly heard it. Couldn’t get outside quickly enough 🙁
Was also doing firmware update on camera at the time.

GR4 flew low and fast over Rayleigh heading North at around 11:30am. Flying Marham to Marham.

Wasn’t the Meteor a converted Merlin, to be used in armoured vehicles ?

Did a later “Beast” have an actual Merlin ?

Thanks Jayce
The Peter Brown book I mentioned earlier, “RAF Southend” which is written in diary form, gives a pretty good account
of the various squadron movements. October 1940 – August 1944. Along with quite a few very good photographs.

Peter C Brown’s book of events at Rochford 1940-44 is entitled RAF Southend.
Why is it more commonly known as RAF Rochford ?

I remember a chap by the name of John Dodd doing something similar back in the early 70’s (?)
It looked like a super sized estate car with a Rolls Royce Merlin, complete with RR radiator etc.
He was taken to court over the use of the RR radiator. So he took it to Spain for a while.
Bringing it back with a different front end.