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Registration or Serial: XA825 'K'
Operator:
Royal Air Force
(29 Sqdn)
Operating Base: RAF Leuchars
Base
Location: Leuchars, St. Andrews, Fife
(Between St. Andrews and
Dundee).
Current
Airport Status: Operational Military Airport.
Current
Airport Name: RAF
Leuchars
(Principal airport data courtesy of
John Woodside,
A
Catalogue of UK Airfields)
Aircraft Type & Background
The Gloster Javelin was
the first all-weather day and night fighter. It was designed as a
delta-winged aircraft, and was capable of intercepting high-altitude
Soviet bombers.
Production Javelins
were equipped with Armstrong Siddeley (formerly, Metrovick)
F.9 Sapphire engines.
The FAW Mk.6 Javelin
featured here was essentially a modified FAW Mk.2. The Mk.2
had the hydraulically-operated all flying tail, and was equipped
with Westinghouse radar. The Mk.6 was similar in design except that
it was fitted with American radar, and—like
the Mk.5—it was
modified to carry additional fuel in the wings. The first Mk.6
production Javelin flew on 15 January 1957.
Aircraft Accident Details
The
squadron leader of this flight from 29 Sqdn RAF was attempting to
gather important data about the Javelin aircraft's maximum rate of
descent. Two aircraft were involved in this exercise, and the other
Javelin was given the instructions initially to carry out this task.
However, for some reason, the pilots of the two aircraft swapped
their
assigned
tasks and descent paths. Sadly, the aircraft flown by Vic Hill
and John Knight flew into Bowbeat Hill while descending in cloud at
high speed. Bowbeat Hill lies about 4 miles NE of Peebles.
It is
possible that the crew members attempted to eject from their doomed
Javelin. However, at the very high speeds involved, they did not
survive.
The crew
who died in this accident were:
Aircraft
Recovery Details
[The information
provided in this section was kindly provided by ex RAF Sgt Richard
Stewart, who attended this incident with other members of 60 MU]
Due to the
inaccessibility of the site for road vehicles and the prevailing
winter conditions, no attempt was made to salvage the wreckage
until the following Spring. However, in the Spring of 1961, a team
of eight men from 60 Maintenance Unit (60 MU) RAF made their way
over the hilly terrain to the crash site.
When the team arrived
at Bowbeat Hill, they discovered that the aircraft debris was widely
scattered and that it lay at least two miles distant from the
nearest access road. Furthermore, at this time, the team did not
have access to heavy lift helicopters or to heavy recovery vehicles
that could traverse the undulating and at times boggy moorland. Therefore, instead of
carrying out a full recovery operation, the RAF MU team buried much
of the Javelin wreckage onsite—apart
from a section of the tail unit and the engines.
During this exercise,
the RAF team noticed a number of sheep carcasses in the area of the
crash site. Closer examination of the skulls revealed that the sheep had been killed by
rivets striking them, apparently expelled from the
Javelin's fuselage and wings when it hit the ground with such force.
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