Thunder & Lightnings

Test Flying Memorial

"...and everywhere the
blue sky belongs to them
and is their appointed rest
and their native country"
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge



Date30/05/1945
CasualtiesFlt Lt W.G. Eagle DFC, de Havilland Propellers TP
AircraftHawker Typhoon Mk IB SW519
Took off fromHatfield, Hertfordshire
Purpose of flightContinuation of 50hr endurance test
Incident locationStubby Copse, Brockenhurst, Hampshire
Incident detailsAircraft seen performing a series of climbs and dives at low altitude, at the end of which the tail unit detached followed by starboard extension wing. Investigation established port mainwheel fairing was not properly shut and had torn away striking tailplane and initiating break-up sequence


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