Avion: When you do find out, if it is nearer me than you I shall try to track it down.

Laurence

And isn’t it a bit odd that F-PYMI is in the French “homebuilt” series (F-Pxxx)?
Suggests it is far from an original airframe.
I cannot find any recent references to it, but will keep looking.
I shall be near Romans in the next month so may call in!

Laurence

Translation

What’s the problem David? Do you want some help? Give me the link and I can look at it.

If it is the DGAC site, I looked for F-PYMI inscrit or radié (current or deleted), and even searched for “de Havilland” at Romans, and each time came up with zero results. I shall have to go and look next month!

Sorry

Laurence

BA Archives

Another possibility would be the British Airways Archives at Heathrow. I went there for some research a while ago, and was amazed at the documents they hold. Very nice people too, but you need to let them know what you are after, as they are voluntary part timers!

Laurence

I would opt for HAR2, as I suggested. I just checked in Thetford’s AC of the RAF, where there is a photo of HAR2 XJ430 with an apparently white underside to the, presumably, yellow colour overall elsewhere.

Laurence

I had the dubious pleasure of being “wet-winched” into sister ship Whirlwind XJ435 from the sea off Valley in 1961, while at OUAS Summer Camp. Just for practice. Quite frightening as you had to put your own strop on, and I was not sure I had done mine properly. Then slowly up into, it seemed, the engine bay. But all went well in the end, except that we had to do it all again to be sure we knew what to do.
The importance of this training was driven home to me when 10 days later I had an engine failure on take-off, and had the choice of landing in the sea, or very fast back on the runway. I chose the runway, but the sea looked very tempting, even in a Chipmunk

Laurence

And ukserials.com gives it as first flight 20.1.55, c/n WA46, converted to HAR10 (Gnome turbine engine) and broken up at Manston 1990.

Laurence

OK, I just saw that we now have the serial XJ430, so it IS the HAR2 in Thetford’s book!

Laurence