de Havilland Vampire. Part Five. Some American Users

 

The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter aircraft designed, developed and produced by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) but also by many other users, among them, the following ones:

• Canada: In 1946 the Canadian Government ordered 150 Vampire F.Mk.3 fighter from de Havilland after changing an older plan where local production of the Vampire under license was planned. In fact, one Vampire F.1 was tested at the Winter Experimental Establishment in Edmonton, Alberta. 
  Eventually, the order was reduced to 85 machines, all of them drawn from RAF's production. They were delivered between September 1947 and February 1948 and Vampires equipped two frontline squadrons of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Nos 410 and 421. No.410 operated the type from 1949 until 1951. No.421 was moved to Great Britain to carry out operational training alongside the RAF. 
  Six Royal Canadian Air Force Auxiliary squadron flew the type too, these were: Nos. 400, 401, 402, 411, 438 and 442 as did the Canadian Central Flying School and No.1 Operational Training Unit. 
  The Vampire was appreciated among Canadian pilots as it was easy to fly. Between November 1956 and June 1958 they were gradually withdrew from service as they were replaced by the Canadair Sabre. In 1960 fifteen Vampires F.Mk.3 were sold to the Mexican Air Force.
  Twenty-six machines, plus four 'spares' (machines intended to be used as a source for spare parts) were sold to an American company based in Wisconsin. This company sought to convert the Vampires into single-seat executive jet or fun flyers, however their project was cut short by sever restrictions set by the American Federal Aviation Administration.A Hollywood stunt pilot, Paul Mantz, is known to have operated two Vampires and one company, Airplanes Inc. of Wyoming, still had one operational machine in 1967.
• Chile: On 22nd October 1953 five Vampire T.55 were ordered for the Chilean Air Force (CAF). The first three of which were shipped during January 1954 with the remaining two arriving between April and June. They were assembled and test flown at Cerrillos Air Base, in Santiago. These machines constituted the first jet aircraft of the CAF. They served as trainers. However, by 1962 they were all grounded, to be refurbished, one year later into ground attack planes. They lasted until 1971 when structural life restrictions grounded all the Vampires except for one.
  That year, the CAF ordered some Hawker Hunters, but they still had the need for a good basic jet trainer so they bought four ex-RAF T.11s and six ex-Fleet Air Arm T.22s. They were shipped to Chile in December 1972 and took part in the Beagle Crisis in 1974. By June 1977 some were withdrawn from active service with the remaining ones following on 31st December 1980. 

Sources:

1st Hall Park Books - Warpaint 27 - De Havilland Vampire

2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Vampire

de Havilland Vampire. Part Four. More African Users.

 

The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company that was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and some other users around the globe, among them, the following ones:

• South Africa: Ten Vampire FB.5 were ordered by the South African Air Force (SAAF) in 1949. They were built at English Electric Company's factory at Preston, Lancashire and were shipped in two batches of five, the first in January 1950 and the second one in June. The ones of the first batch were sent unassembled and were re-assembled at Ysterplaat , Cape Town, on 8th February. Shortly later a training programme was launched to train SAAF pilots in jet flying. 
  Ten additional FB.52s were delivered in 1951 and, in order to provide additional training, six T.55 (the export variant of the T.11) were ordered and arrived in May 1952. These were of the early sub-variant with framed canopy and no ejection seats. Twenty-one additional standard T.55 were ordered, built at Chester, Cheshire, and delivered between February 1954 and June 1955.
  In order to re-equip No.2 Squadron on its return from Korea, 30 new Vampire FB.Mk.9 were ordered in 1953. Anyway, with the arrival of the Canadair Sabres in 1956, most Vampires were withdrawn from service and put into storage, to be finally scrapped in 1967. Apparently 36 of them were sold to the neighboring Rhodesia.
  Two T.55 were still operational serving as test beds for electronic equipment at the Test Flight and Development Centre in Waterkloof  until February 1985.
• Somalia: The Somalian Air Force operated one ex-Iraqi T.55 trainer in 1964. 
• Zimbabwe: The Air Force of Zimbabwe operated some Vampire FB.Mk.9 and T.55 inherited from the Rhodesian Air Force. They served with No.2 Squadron, based at Gweru Thornhill and, since they were obsolete, they were replaced during the 1980s by the BAE Systems Hawk. 

Sources:

1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_de_Havilland_Vampire_operators

2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Vampire

3rd Hall Park Books - Warpaint 27 - De Havilland Vampire

de Havilland Vampire. Part Three. Rhodesian users

 

The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter aircraft designed and developed by the de Havilland Aircraft Company which was operated by many forces all around the globe. One of its main users in Africa was, together with South Africa, Rhodesia.

The Southern Rhodesian Air Force (SRAF) still operated the Supermarine Spitfire F.22 in 1952, so in order to modernize their fighter fleet, they ordered 16 Vampire FB.Mk.9 (the tropicalized variant of the FB.5 fighter-bomber powered by a Goblin 3 engine) and 16 Vampire T.11 trainers to be delivered the following year. The fighters were delivered between December 1953 and August 1954 and the trainers were delivered later, with the last one in October 1955. 

The ferry flight from RAF Benson (Oxfordshire) took 17 hours and a distance of over 5.500 miles (8.851 km) in 11 stages with stops every two or three stages. During the turbulent process of that African country, the SRAF became the Rhodesian Air Force and shortly afterwards the 'Royal' prefix was added, becoming the Royal Rhodesian Air Force (RRAF) causing many Vampires to receive new serials. 

Royal Rhodesian Air Force No.1 Squadron's Vampires FB.Mk.9 flew to RAF Khormaksar (British Protectorate of Aden) in August 1958 to fly alongside Royal Air Force's (RAF) de Havilland Venom FB.Mk.4 of No.8 Squadron to gain operational experience on strikes against rebel positions. Later, in November 1965, after the Unilateral Declaration of Independence, Vampires were employed against guerrillas coming from Angola, Mozambique and Zambia. Some few Vampires were lost to ground fire during this period. The South African Air Force (SAAF) provided four FB.52, 13 FB.Mk.9 and 19 T.55 plus spare parts to the Rhodesian Air Force during 1969, in order to sustain the RRAF's ground attack capability against a common enemy. 
In 1970 Rhodesia became a republic, so the 'Royal' prefix was dropped and the Vampires were gradually replaced by the Hawker Hunter, so some were flew back to South Africa, others were sold to Australia and some few remained to serve in the Air Force of Zimbabwe, one of the heirs of the original RRAF.

Sources:

1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Vampire

2nd Hall Park Books - Warpaint 27 - De Havilland Vampire

de Havilland Vampire. Part Two. Some African users

 

The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by many users all around the world, among them, the following ones:

• Egypt: The Royal Egyptian Air Force (REAF) planned to acquire 66 Vampire FB.52 (the export variant of the FB.6 which were also manufactured in Italy by Macchi). The first machines arrived to Egypt in December 1950. Eventually they received 50 from de Havilland's production. Additional twelve NF.10 (the night fighter variant) were also ordered but it was cancelled due to the arms embargo, so the aircraft were acquired by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was also planned to manufacture the Vampire locally under license at Helwan but, political disputes between Egypt and the United Kingdom over the presence of British troops in Egyptian soil led to the project being delayed and its eventual abandonment following the Egyptian revolution of 1952. Egypt turned to Italy instead and bought 58 Vampire FB.52 that had previously belonged to the Italian Air Force, using Syria as intermediary with deliveries expected between 1955 and 1956.
  By 1954 the Egyptian Air Force was already operating a force of 49 Vampires, acquired both from the United Kingdom and Italy, in the fighter-bomber role. In 1955 further 12 machines were ordered and were delivered in July that same year. 
  On 1st September 1955 as a response to an Israeli commando raid on an Egyptian fort at Khan Yunis, four Egyptian Vampires crossed into Israeli airspace but were intercepted by Israeli Gloster Meteor jet fighters and two Vampires were shot down. One year later, the Egyptian Vampires were being replaced by the much capable Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 and MiG-17 swept-wing fighters, so many Vampires were given to Saudi Arabia and Jordan. During the Suez Crisis Egyptian Vampires were used as ground attack aircraft against Israeli troops at Mitla Pass and four Vampires are recorded to have been lost in combat against Israeli aircraft. Many more were destroyed on ground by Anglo-French aerial raids.
• Katanga: The nimble Katangese Air Force bought two Vampire T.55 (the export trainer variant) from the Portuguese Air Force in September 1961. The machines were in such bad shape that couldn't fly again and, therefore, never received Katangese markings. They were destroyed in a strafing attack of an Indian English Electric Canberra B.(I).58 at Kolwezi airfield. 

Sources:

1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Vampire

2nd Hall Park Books - Warpaint 27 - De Havilland Vampire

De Havilland Vampire. Part One. Oceanian Users

 

The de Havilland Vampire ir a British jet fighter developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), but it was also exported all around the world. In this post we're covering the Oceanian users of the Vampire:

• Australia: In 1945 the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) decided that their first jet-powered fighter would be a variant of the Vampire built by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) and powered by the Rolls-Royce Nene engine which would also be manufactured under license in Australia. 
  After the acquisition of three Vampires Mk.1 from the RAF to gain jet-aircraft experience, on 29th June 1949 the first CAC F.30 flew for the first time. This was followed by a total of 56 machines delivered to the RAAF between September 1949 and July 1952. In March 1952 No.2 Operational Training Unit (OTU) was formed as a jet-training unit at Williamtown, New South Wales.
  Nos. 75 and 76 Squadrons were formed in May 1952 as part of No. 78 Wing RAAF based at Williamtown. In July that unit was moved to Malta to support home-based units involved in the Middle-East crisis, this time, however with Vampires loaned by the RAF so the RAAF didn't have to commit their new aircraft. 
  The next batch of 23 Australian-built Vampires were known as F.31 (AKA FB.31), with 28 additional machines started as F.30 but upgraded to F.31 during manufacturing process. This F.31 variant had strengthened and clipped wings and was introduced during 1956. During October 1951 two F.30 were tested for a hypothetical FB.32 variant with enlarged air intakes and ejection seat. This project was, however, cancelled after one year and a half.  During 1955-1956 around 54 F.31 were converted to target-tugs and painted with yellow and black diagonal bands on every surface.
  In 1961 the Vampire was withdrawn from service with the RAAF and most were scrapped, used as ground instructional frames or sold to private owners.
  Back in 1951 the RAAF ordered 36 Vampire T.33 trainers, which was the Australian equivalent to the T.11. The last T.33 was modified to incorporate ejection seats, clear-view canopy, increased fuel capacity and dorsal fairings. A total of 68 T.33 were ordered in 1955. Some T.33 were retrofitted with those new features and received the denomination of T.35A. 
  The final RAAF Vampire sortie took place on 18th September 1970 after 18 years in service. 
  The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ordered some all-weather Sea Venoms (a much improved version of the Vampire) and, in order to provide dual training, they acquired five T.33 from the RAAF. They were re-designated as Vampire T.34 and were delivered between 1954 and 1958. They were all modified to T.35A standard and were designated as T.34A. All RAN Vampires were kept in service until 5th October 1970.
• New Zealand: During the post-war years, the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) was undergoing a modernization process, for which they ordered 18 Vampire FB.52 (the export variant given to the FB.6). These machines, built at Chester by Fairey Aviation, were delivered between October 1950 and August 1951. No. 14 Squadron RNZAF, with base at Ohakea, was the first one to operate the Vampire.
  Six additional T.55 machines were ordered in 1951 and were delivered between July and December 1952. These were of the earlier type with framed canopy and no ejection seats. Eight additional FB.52 were ordered in 1952, but it was cancelled as the need was filled by refitting eight ex-RAF FB.Mk.5 machines which were delivered between July and September 1953. 
  Being part of the Commonwealth Strategic Reserve, No. 14 Squadron was rebased to Cyprus on 7th October 1952. Their FB.52 were handed over to No. 75 Squadron and, when based in Cyprus, they received on loan 29 FB.Mk.9 machines. They also employed the T.11. This unit was also deployed to RAF Tengah, in Malaya to support in 1955 'Operation Firedog'. Those Vampires were replaced by Venoms Mk.1 in November 1955. 
  The New Zealand Territorial Air Force (NZTAF) had three squadrons equipped with the North-American P-51 that were to be replaced by the Vampire in 1955. However, this implied the need for a jet-trainer so, that same year five more ex-RAF T.11s were bought. Those were improved models with clear-view canopy and ejection seats and were delivered between December 1955 and September 1956. 
  In order to perform single-seat training, 21 additional Vampire FB.Mk.5 were ordered. Those machines were shipped together with some sets of FB.Mk.9 wings to allow retrofitting 
  During 1955-1956 the RNZAF bought four additional Vampires Mk.1, Mk.3 and Mk.9 to be used as ground instructional frames. During this time 23 RNZAF Vampires were withdrawn from service to be used as ground frames too. 
  NZTAF was disbanded in 1957 and No. 75 Squadron was re-equipped with the English Electric Canberra, so a lot of Vampires were no longer needed and were put into storage. Some few of them flew with the Fighter Operational Conversion Unit (FOCU) until June 1958 when it was disbanded but, it operated de facto until early 1960.
  This unit was replaced by the Bomber Operational Conversion Unit (BOCU) and they operated two Vampire FB.Mk.5 and six T.11 for training and co-operation duties.
  No.75 Squadron returned from RAF Tengah in March 1962 and was established with 8 FB.Mk.5 and four T.11 to provide the same training as the BOCU, which was disbanded shortly after.
  Some few Vampires were still used until 15th December 1972, when they were finally, flown to depot at RNZAF Woodbourne, Blenheim. 

Sources:

1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Vampire

2nd Hall Park Books - Warpaint 27 - De Havilland Vampire

DAR-10. The Bulgarian Snipe.

 

The DAR-10 (acronym standing for Darzhavna Aeroplanna Rabotilnitsa - State Airplane Workshop) was a Bulgarian light-bomber and reconnaissance airplane which was designed by Zvetan Lazarov in 1938 at DAR's factory in Bozhuriste, near the Bulgarian capital city, Sofia. 

The DAR-10 was a two-seat (pilot and gunner) low-wing cantilever monoplane of traditional layout. It had a fixed undercarriage with spatted main wheels. Wings were made out of wood and covered in plywood and the type had no flaps.

The fuselage, constructed of steel-tube framework and wood formers was covered in fabric and, in comparison with other aircraft of the time, wide and deep to fit the Italian Alfa-Romeo 126 RC.34 radial engine which yielded 950 hp of power, driving a three-bladed propeller.

Two prototypes were built, the first of which, named DAR-10A (the A stands for Alfa-Romeo) "Bekas" (Snipe) flew for the first time on 2nd July 1941. It was designed to be armed with two forward-firing machine guns and two additional ones placed at the end of the canopy, manned by the gunner. It had provision for a total of five 100 Kg (110 lb) underwing bombs and it was also envisioned the installation of an additional 20 mm forward-firing cannon in the forward fuselage. However, it's doubtful if the DAR-10A received any armament at all.

This first prototype crashed in October 1942. Albeit having good flight reviews, it wasn't chosen for production as the high-wing Kaproni Bulgarski KB-11 "Fazan" (Pheasant) was selected instead.

The second prototype, DAR-10F (F stands for its Fiat engine) was powered by a Fiat A74 RC.38 radial engine yielding 870 hp of power. It wasn't until March 1945 that this airplane flew for the first time. It was slightly heavier than the DAR-10A and had a top speed of 454 km/h (282 mph). Owing to a stronger construction and dive brakes, it could also perform as a dive bomber. Its armament layout was the same as the DAR-10A but in this case with two additional 20 mm forward-firing fuselage cannons mounted in the upper half of the forward fuselage, on the engine. It had also provision for one 500 kg (1.100 lb) or one 250 kg (551 lb) bombs under the fuselage and four 100 kg (110 lb) of smaller underwing bombs. 

It wasn't however selected for production as the DAR-10A was discarded in favor of the KB-11 and the German Junkers Ju.87 Stuka, and the DAR-10F arrived too late, when the World War 2 was almost over, and Bulgaria had access to Soviet aircraft such as the Ilyushin Il-2 or the Ilyushin Il-10, among others.

Sources: 

1st: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAR_10

2nd http://airwar.ru/enc/aww2/dar10.html (translated)

3rd http://airwar.ru/enc/aww2/dar10f.html (translated)

Miles M.25 Martinet. Part Two.

 

The Miles M.25 Martinet was a target tug aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) during World War 2 and some years after.

Before 1941 the target tug role was undertaken by repurposed obsolete aircraft or surplus ones. However, during the Battle of Britain, the RAF saw itself lacking frontline aircraft, so, in order to avoid taking out airplanes from the frontlines, the Air Ministry asked Miles Ltd. to procure a specialized tug-towing machine.

The requirements were made official in specification 12/41. Among them there was stipulated that, in order to simplify manufacturing as much as possible, the projected aircraft should maximize the usage of standard materials whenever was possible. 

The prototype flew for the first time on 24th April 1942 at Woodley Aerodrome, with satisfactory results. It was put into production shortly after and it quickly replaced the Master II production lines at Woodley factory. With 1.724 machines completed, (1.726 according to other sources) it was in production until 1945 and it served both with the RAF and the FAA in Great Britain and other parts of the world. 

It was powered by a single Bristol Mercury engine which yielded up to 870 hp of power.

In Great Britain 14 Anti-Aircraft Cooperation Units employed the Martinet to train anti-aircraft gunners using a wide variety of anti-air weapon calibers. Some other Martinets served with various Air Gunnery Schools and Operational Training Units. During the postwar years Martinets served with the 2nd Tactical Air Force, based in Germany until they were replaced by Hawker Tempest target tugs in the early 1950s. One squadron, No.269, specialized in air-to-sea rescues, employed the Martinet and even a glider tug variant was developed, but not put into production.

In 1943 work began on a radio-controlled pilotless variant of the Martinet, to fulfill specification Q.10/43 which sought a Radio-controlled Fleet Gunnery Target Aircraft which could replace the Airspeed As.30 Queen Wasp. The prototype was named Queen Martinet and 65 machines were ordered. Not very much is known about this aircraft. Probably they were used in the same way as other pilotless training aircraft so they could be shot without the risk of injury to air-crew. It was also possible that they were used as targets for the very primitive air-to-air missiles. Anyway, it wasn't until March 1946 that the type was made public at an exhibition at RAF Farnborough, where it was displayed together with other captured German aircraft.

The M.37 Martinet Trainer was a prototype for a trainer version of the M.25. Back in 1941 there were considerations about a possible development of the M.19 Master but, given that it was replaced by the Martinet in most production lines, the considerations were shelved. In 1945, however, it was possible to return to the question, specially after the Air Ministry issued the specification T.7/45, looking for a three-seat advanced trainer which was powered by a turboprop engine to replace the North American Harvard (it was eventually won by the Avro Athena and the Boulton Paul Balliol) when the turboprop propellers were available. As a temporal solution, Miles proposed to convert the Martinet into an advanced trainer, as such conversion would be relatively cheap and easy, so when submitted, two prototypes were ordered.

The conversion required the removal of the outboard fuel tanks and the fitting of a revised cabin top, plus the addition of a second set of controls and instruments. The inclusion of a second-elevated cockpit provided a great field of view for the instructor, greater than that of the Harvard or the Master. It also overcame the objection raised regarding the usage of those aircraft for gunnery training as reflector sights could be installed in both cockpits. Total weight was reduced too resulting in a machine faster than both Master and Harvard and almost equal to a Hawker Hurricane. 

The prototype was flown for the first time on 11th April 1946 with positive results and a second was completed shortly after. However, it was foresaw that either the Avro Athena or the Boulton Paul Balliol would be ready before the M.37 could be produced in numbers and, therefore the Martinet Trainer never went into production. Eventually, the development of the turboprop engine took longer than expected and the Balliol was put into limited production albeit fitted with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Martinet

2. https://www.valka.cz/Miles-M-25-Martinet-TT-Mk-I-t11342

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Air_Ministry_specifications

4. Scale Aircraft Modelling - vol.19 nº08 - Miles Military Trainers

5.Putnam - Miles Aircraft since 1925

Miles M.25 Martinet. Part One, Foreign Users

 

The Miles M.25 Martinet was a target tug aircraft that served with many users, among them, the following ones:

• Belgium: A total of 9 Martinet were ordered by the Belgian Air Force to be used at the Fighter School of Koksijde, West Flanders. All of them were delivered in 1947. However, two machines were in bad shape that they were refused by the Belgians and were replaced by two other Martinets. Initially they served with a ghost unit (IE a de-facto unit) that didn't exist on paper and gathered all available aircraft for the fighter school. They were in active until being replaced by the De Havilland Mosquito TT.Mk.35, the target tug variant, in the early 1950s.
• France: The French Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) employed a total of 41 Martinet TT.1 at many of their Aerial Schools. These were delivered between 1945 and 1948 and, according to some sources, were kept in active until 1958. 
• Greece: Actually, Greece didn't have Martinets, however, some efforts were made to sell some surplus Martinets as artillery spotters, general observations or even close support to the Royal Hellenic Air Force. Eventually they were not sold, however, we drew an hypothetical-looking version of the Martinet serving with the Greeks.
• Ireland: Two Martinet TT.Mk.1 were delivered in 1946 to the Irish Air Corps. They were probably replaced later, during the 1950s by other type of aircraft.
• Portugal: In September 1943 ten Martinets were supplied to the Portuguese Arma da Aeronáutica Militar (Military Aeronautics Arm-AAM). Six were employed by the AAM and four by the Forças Aéreas da Armada (Navy Air Forces).
  When the Força Aérea Portuguesa (FAP) was established in 1952 the Martinets were still in active service, and were transferred to the FAP, however soon after, they were replaced. 
• Sweden: A Swedish regional airline called Svensk Flygtjänst AB bought 9 Martinets and employed 8 of them as tugs between the years 1946 and 1951.
• Turkey: In March 1945 seven Martinets were supplied to the Turkish Military Aviation. They were supplemented by 12 additional ones in the following months. They were used as target tugs in various regiments until they were eventually replaced by the North American Texan in 1948.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Martinet

2. https://www.belgian-wings.be/miles-m-25-martinet-tt-1

3. https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/91078-portuguese-miles-martinets

4. http://www.tayyareci.com/digerucaklar/turkiye/1923ve50/miles-master.asp

5. Scale Aircraft Modelling - vol.19 nº08 (1997.10) - Miles Military Trainers

6. Putnam - Miles Aircraft