De Havilland Vampire. Part Nineteen. British users, part seven.

 

The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter designed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second British jet fighter to enter service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was used through the whole decade of the 1950s, albeit its usage decreased as the years passed by. 

Some of these users were:

• No.8 Squadron: This unit received the Vampire FB.9 to replace their Hawker Tempest and Bristol Brigands in 1952. They served until 1955 when they were replaced by the de Havilland Venom.
• No.45 Squadron: This squadron employed the Vampire T.11 while stationed at RAF Butterworth, Malaysia. The T.11s were used as trainers to adapt the pilots to the more modern de Havilland Venom which acted during the Malayan Emergency.
• No.56 Squadron: The Firebirds had some T.11 trainers in service from February 1954 until July 1959.
• No.501 Squadron: This unit replaced their Supermarine Spitfire LF.16e piston fighters with the Vampire F.1 in November 1948. The F.1s were supplemented with some Gloster Meteor T.7 (the training variant of the Meteor) and were updated in March 1951 by the FB.5. The F.1s were written off in June 1951, while the FB.5s were kept until the squadron was disbanded on 10th March 1957. In February 1957 they received some FB.9 which served alongside the FB.5s until February 1957. During all those years this squadron was stationed at either RAF Filton, Gloucestershire or RAF Tangmere. 
  Flight Lieutenant John Crossley flew a Vampire FB.9 beneath the Clifton Suspension Bridge (Bristol) before an unfortunate fatal crash. That was the last recorded (and only jet aircraft) flight under that bridge.
• No.607 Squadron: This squadron transitioned from the Spitfire F.14 and F.22 officially adopted the Vampire FB.5 in March 1951. They were supplemented with Vampire FB.9s until 10th March 1957 when the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RxAF), which this squadron was part of, was disbanded. During all that time they were stationed at RAF Ouston, Northumberland.
• No.608 Squadron: This unit received the Vampire F.3 in December 1949 to replace their Spitfire F.22s. The F.3s were complemented with some outdated F.1s in May 1951 (which were only kept in active until June that same year) and the F.3s were written off in July 1953. In April 1952 they received some FB.5s which were kept in active until 10th March 1957 when the squadron was disbanded. They also received some FB.9s in April 1956. They were written off in February 1957. During all that time the Vampires were stationed either at RAF Thornaby, Yorkshire or, for a brief period of time, RAF Leuchars, Fife (Scotland). 
  
  

Sources:

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

2nd Hall Park Books - Warpaint 27 - De Havilland Vampire
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._607_Squadron_RAF

4th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._608_Squadron_RAF

5th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._501_Squadron_RAF

6th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._56_Squadron_RAF

7th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._45_Squadron_RAF

8th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._8_Squadron_RAF