1955 "X" losses

29/01/1955

XD713

Q

Sabre F4

92 Sqn

Badly damaged when the pilot retracted the undercarriage on take off from Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire after the starboard tyre burst. Later declared a write off

04/02/1955

XB760

Sabre F4

71 Sqn

The pilot lost control while in cloud and crashed two miles from Julich, West Germany. A pair of damaged pliers were found near the wreckage and it is possible that these had jammed the flying controls

10/02/1955 XB839 X Sabre F4 26 Sqn Dived into the ground from low level eight miles from Oldenburg, West Germany after take off. The pilot ejected but was dragged back along the top of the aircraft, struck the tail and was killed
15/02/1955 XA152 LM-239 Sea Vampire T22 736 NAS Belly-landed at Ardivot Farm two miles south of Lossiemouth, Morayshire after the engine flamed out on take off. The crew ejected

22/02/1955

XA221

908

Sycamore HR50

723 Sqn RAN

A railway signalman was being winched up from a disintegrating signalbox near Singleton station during floods at Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. A second man grabbed the strop which overloaded the winch causing the helicopter to lose power. The pilot attempted to land on a nearby bridge but the two men fell off and drowned. The winch cable then flicked up and struck HT cables. It crashed into 25ft of water and the two crew were swept five miles down stream before being rescued

24/02/1955 XB623 Q Sabre F4 26 Sqn Swung to starboard during a formation take off from Oldenburg, West Germany. The pilot did not correct it and the starboard wing struck a snow bank causing the nose wheel to collapse
28/02/1955 XB524 Hiller HT1 706 NAS Made a heavy auto rotation landing at Gosport, Hampshire. It bounced forward collapsing the front oleos and rolled over
03/03/1955 XG765 Sea Vampire T22 764 NAS The Sea Vampire was part of a three ship formation from RNAS Ford 
and was struck by Meteor WE963 which had just taken off from Tangmere. They crashed at Paines Wood, Sussex killing both crew
03/03/1955 WE963 Meteor F8 34 Sqn
09/03/1955 XD462 Vampire T11 5 FTS The fire warning light came on after take off from Oakington, Cambridgeshire resulting in a downwind forced landing. The port tyre burst and then the port undercarriage leg collapsed causing damage to the nose wheel, fuselage and port mainplane
16/03/1955 XD755 F Sabre F4 66 Sqn A low speed descending turn onto the approach at Driffield, Yorks resulted in the aircraft rolling out of control and crashing. The pilot was killed
17/03/1955 XA103 LM-230 Sea Vampire T22 736 NAS Crashed on Ben Klibrech, Sutherland after the pilot lost control of the aircraft. Both crew were killed
21/03/1955 XB315 387 Avenger AS5 815 NAS Crashed into the sea off The Lizard, Cornwall due to the pilots error of judgement during a shadowing exercise. Both crew were killed
05/04/1955 XB634 B Sabre F4 67 Sqn Both aircraft were on approach to Wildenrath, West Germany. The Sabre pilot had been warned of the Anson ahead of him but continued his approach. He collided with the Anson and both aircraft crashed one mile east of the airfield killing all occupants
05/04/1955 TX238 Anson Mk.19 2 TAF Comm Flt
06/04/1955 XD710 Sabre F4 92 Sqn During take off from Acklington, Northumberland the pilot mistakenly thought that the aircraft was not becoming airborne. He abandoned take off and swung the aircraft onto the grass causing the nose wheel to collapse. Later declared a write off
13/04/1955 XE811 Cadet TX3 CGS Detling Written off in a flying accident at Detling, Kent
19/04/1955 XD518 Vampire T11 5 FTS The throttle jammed fully open after take off from Oakington and diverted to Marham, Norfolk as it has a longer runway. The student was instructed to make a low, long approach with undercarriage and flaps 
extended and to cut the engine when over the threshold. However he cut the engine one mile from the runway and made a forced landing in a field
03/05/1955 XB615 H Sabre F4 234 Sqn Made a wheels up landing in a field one mile from Puffendorf, West 
Germany after the engine had flamed out while on approach to Geilenkirchen. The engine had suffered fuel starvation due to drop tank feed failure
04/05/1955 XE315 Sycamore HR14 194 Sqn Spiralled into the River Panang, Kuala Kran, Malaya after failure of the tail rotor clutch. This was due to contamination by grease which caused the clutch to slip. The crew were rescued by boat
14/05/1955 XD780 Sabre F4 92 Sqn Stalled during a turn onto the approach to Linton-on-Ouse, Yorks in heavy rain. The port wing struck the ground and the aircraft slid along on the undercarriage until it collapsed. It came to rest by the side of the runway
16/05/1955 XB699 Sabre F4 3 Sqn The aircraft was joining up after a tail chase over the Netherlands. The leader in XB699 rolled suddenly to starboard, pulled sharply across No.2 and continued rolling into cloud. It left the cloud in a steep dive, 
hit the ground at Vaals and exploded. The pilot did not eject
23/05/1955 XB305 368 Avenger AS5 815 NAS Force landed half a mile from Ford, Sussex after the engine failed due to No.5 piston breaking up
24/05/1955 XE832 Vampire T11 4 FTS The fire warning light came on at 26,000 ft. The instructor descended to 15,000 ft and inverted the aircraft so the student could bale out. He then baled out at 11,000 ft and the aircraft crashed into a small wood at 
Stocksfield, Northumberland
26/05/1955 XB523 Hiller HT1 Old Sarum Flt Crashed at Old Sarum Castle, Wiltshire due to main rotor blade failure. The pilot was killed
07/06/1955 XD380 Vampire T11 14 Sqn RNZAF Crashed on landing Tengah, Singapore
12/06/1955 XA283 Cadet TX3 125 GS Written off in a flying accident at Langley, Bucks. To 71 MU at Bicester but was declared a write off
16/06/1955 XD712 S Sabre F4 66 Sqn The pilot blacked out during a tail chase. Upon regaining consciousness he overstressed the airframe when trying to regain control to such an extent that it broke up and cartwheeled through the air. It crashed into the Humber Estuary nine miles off Scunthorpe. The pilot did not eject and was killed
21/06/1955 XD424 Vampire T11 5 FTS The student recovered the aircraft from a practice spin but it then flipped over into an inverted spin. The instructor was unable to recover the aircraft and both crew baled out. It crashed at Whipsnade Church, 
Bedfordshire
24/06/1955 XB677 Sabre F4 92 Sqn During a scramble take off from Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire the pilot raised the nose too early. The wings acted as air brakes and the aircraft ran through the boundary fence and caught fire
26/06/1955 XB633 W Sabre F4 3 Sqn During a formation take off from Eindhoven, Holland the pilot retracted the undercarriage too early causing the aircraft to sink back and scrape the runway. He lowered the undercarriage but could not stop. It ran into the bomb dump adjacent to the overshoot area and exploded. The pilot was thrown clear but was seriously injured. Jetwash from the leading aircraft may have been a factor
05/07/1955 XA863 703 Whirlwind HAR1 705 NAS During a turn to starboard at Gosport, Hants at low height the aircraft rolled to port. The main rotor blades struck the ground and it rolled onto its side injuring the three crew
05/07/1955 XB950 S Sabre F4 112 Sqn Shortly after an overshoot at Bruggen, West Germany the aircraft exploded and went into a dive. It cleared a row of houses and then crashed one mile from Heerlen, Holland killing the pilot. A severe fuel leak caused by a defective connection in the fuel pump had allowed 
fuel into the compressor area of the engine
08/07/1955 XF268 Sycamore HR14 Nicosia Stn Flt Struck the summit of Mount Olympus, Cyprus during practice approaches. It slid down a slope before coming to a stand
12/07/1955 XB932 Sabre F4 130 Sqn The pilot applied power too late after his approach speed to Bruggen, West Germany was too slow. The starboard wing struck the undershoot area as the engine revs picked up. This carried the aircraft along the runway until the pilot was able to shut off the fuel
15/07/1955 XB880 B Sabre F4 71 Sqn While in a slow speed high bank turn onto the approach to Bruggen, West Germany the aircraft lost height and the port wing struck the ground. The aircraft then exploded, killing the pilot
03/08/1955 XB548 Sabre F4 93 Sqn Suffered a high speed stall when pulling up steeply from an attack run 
on the Meppen Range, West Germany. It struck the ground and exploded killing the pilot
12/08/1955 XA120 Sea Vampire T22 JOAC A warning light came on in flight. The aircraft made a heavy forced landing at Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire and was written off
15/08/1955 XE805 Cadet TX3 203 GS Written off, possibly at Aldergrove, Northern Ireland
16/08/1955 XA113 LM-235 Sea Vampire T22 736 NAS Caught fire following a wheels up landing at Lossiemouth, Moray after the port wheel had jammed. Sent for repair but not completed
16/08/1955 XB808 I Sabre F4 20 Sqn Suffered a high speed stall during a high G manoeuvre when pulling up from an attack run on the Meppen Range, West Germany. It hit the ground and exploded killing the pilot
17/08/1955 XB700 B Sabre F4 26 Sqn The Sabre was orbiting Yeovilton, Somerset at 1,000 ft three miles east of the airfield when it was struck by the Sea Hawk which was carrying out a GCA approach. Both aircraft crashed killing the pilots
17/08/1955 WM964 167 Sea Hawk FB5 806 NAS
22/08/1955 XB303 Avenger AS5 814 NAS Ditched into the Solent west of Lee Pier, Hampshire after engine failure during night dummy deck landing at Lee-on-Solent. The aircraft was immersed for 18 hours before being recovered and taken to Fleetlands
26/08/1955 XJ408 L Whirlwind HAR4 155 Sqn The controls reverted to manual while in the hover at Kuala Lumpur, Malaya due to hydraulic failure. The pilot lost control and the aircraft crashed, seriously injuring an airman who was standing nearby. To ground instruction at Changi, Singapore
30/08/1955 XJ436 Whirlwind HAR2 22 Sqn The engine suffered fuel starvation during an air sea rescue demonstration to the press at Thorney Island, Sussex. It fell into the sea ten miles west of Selsey Bill. The crew were rescued
01/09/1955 XE792 Cadet TX3 188 GS Written off in a flying accident at Barrow, Lancashire
02/09/1955 XB735 W Sabre F4 234 Sqn Hit a pylon and crashed after the engine had failed due to fuel starvation while on approach to Brindisi, Italy. The pilot was trapped in the cockpit and was killed by a fire in the cockpit area
05/09/1955 XD378 Vampire T11 28 Sqn Aileron control was lost on take off from Kai Tak, Hong Kong. The starboard wing dropped on landing and the aircraft struck the runway heavily. It ran onto the grass, through a fence and ended up in concrete sided water drainage channel. Both crew escaped safely
13/09/1955 XE318 Sycamore HR14 194 Sqn Rolled to port on take off from Sungie Besi landing strip, Malaya. The second pilot took control but the aircraft struck the ground on its side before full power could be applied. Possibly due to the port wheel sticking in mud on take off
01/10/1955 XB822 Sabre F4 93 Sqn Suffered an engine failure during a test flight from Jever, West Germany. The pilot attempted an emergency landing but the undercarriage would not lower. While he was preoccupied with this the aircraft crashed 1,100 yards short of the runway
01/10/1955 XJ434 Whirlwind HAR2 22 Sqn Suffered loss of power during winching practice off Thorney Island, 
Sussex and slowly descended into the sea. The crew escaped safely and were rescued
12/10/1955 XD655 908 Sycamore HR51 723 Sqn RAN Lost power during winching practice and crashed into 5ft of water at St Georges Basin, Point Cook, Victoria, New South Wales, Australia. Both crew escaped safely. Allocated to ground instruction at Nowra
15/10/1955 XE363 104 Sea Hawk FGA6 800 NAS Lost over the side of HMS Ark Royal during a catapult launch
20/10/1955 XA123 Sea Vampire T22 Brawdy Stn Flt Suffered a flame out during an overshoot at Lee-on-Solent Hants. The pilot attempted to stop but the brakes were ineffective on the wet runway
01/11/1955 XE961 Vampire T11 8 FTS The aircraft entered a spin during a stall turn. The instructor was unable to control the aircraft and both crew baled out. It crashed four miles north of Holbeach, Lincs
03/11/1955 XD539 Vampire T11 Odiham Stn Flt The aircraft had been taking photographs of a Hunter display team. 
All the aircraft arrived back at Odiham at the same time and congested the approach frequency. The controller diverted the Vampire to Farnborough but failed to inform the ATC there. Due to low fuel the pilot and passenger were forced to bale out when the engine cut. It crashed at Frensham, Surrey
14/11/1955 XD451 Vampire T11 5 FTS The engine failed just after take off from Oakington, Cambs. The instructor took control and managed to avoid some houses. It then struck some trees and caught fire
17/11/1955 XD197 Sycamore HR13 275 Sqn During a practice auto-rotation at Thornaby, North Yorkshire the pilot applied power too late. It struck the ground and rolled onto its side
08/12/1955 XB314 Avenger AS4 751 NAS Ditched into shallow water off Happisburgh, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk after the engine had back fired and caught fire. The crew were rescued safely
08/12/1955 XA561 Javelin FAW1 Glosters Crashed at Ashley, Isle of Wight after entering a spin during spinning and buffet boundary trials. The pilot ejected safely after being unable to recover the aircraft even after deploying the anti spin parachute. 
This accident resulted in the development of an artificial stall warning device for the Javelin
08/12/1955 XE329 154 Sea Hawk FGA4 801 NAS The pilot lost control of the aircraft while flying at 1,000ft in a heavy shower. It struck the ground and exploded at West Milltown near Lossiemouth, Morayshire, killing the pilot
15/12/1955 XG501 Sycamore HR14 275 Sqn The aircraft was exchanging bags on the dome of the Bell Rock lighthouse in the North Sea off Fife. The navigator failed to keep the pilot informed of its position and it sank and moved forward. The tail rotor struck a mast and shattered causing the aircraft to fall on its back onto the rocks. It burst into flames and was washed into the sea. Both crew were killed

© Wolverhampton Aviation Group