My dad was one of the top RAAF Test Pilots in the late 50's & early 60's. He flew the Vampire, the F-86, the Canberra, etc .. going on to eventually test fly the F-111's in America. As soon as the big photo of all the airmen at 7:30 minutes came up .. I spotted him straight away in the front row. Ha.
Dad was originally in 77 Squadron & was already stationed in Japan when the Korean war started. He flew the Mustangs for a year, until his CO was downed by a Mig-15. A few years later he found himself doing the 3 year British Test Pilot course, where he received top marks. He flew all 3 V bombers & loved the Vulcan. He flew the Sabre during the Malaysian conflict, the Canberra all over Woomera, the Herc to Vietnam and then we spent 5 years in America (where I finished high school) for the F-111. Dad became Chief Project Officer, working out of the D.C. embassy. Interesting times for sure.
@@peterkirgan2921 Yes Peter, as the Avon CA 27's were coming off the line, dad was testing them down at Laverton. He belly-landed one on foam after an engine failure. He also flew them up to Butterworth for the incursions going on around that time. I now have all his very impressive flight log books.
My father worked for Rolls back then. He eventually ended up as a service rep seconded to the Venezuela air force in the 1950's ( when they were considered to be friendly) they had Vampires, Venoms, and Canberra's . We left Venezuela in the early 60's when it became unstable to remain. In his career he worked on the whole range of Rolls engines from Merlin, through Nene, Conway, Tyne olympus etc. What an interesting career spanning piston engines through to jets with such a well respected engine manufacturer.
I was five years old in 1949 and enjoying the first seaside holiday of my life. Dad took my older brother for a joyride in a DH Dragon Rapide, while Mum and I watched and waved from the ground. After a while they disappeared from our sight so Mum entertained me. Suddenly, I heard a high pitched whistling sound and this strange little plane went down the runway at perhaps 50’ agl and far, far faster than anything I had ever seen in my life. These were the first two aircraft I’d ever seen close up. I’ve been a DH fan, ever since.
The Vampire was a fabulous aircraft and was one of the first to use wings held together by epoxy resin - glue, I remember visiting the factory at Hawarden near Chester in 1955.
Back in the mid nineties, flying gliders out of Cranfield, I was driving past one of the many small aircraft maintainance companies which thrived there (almost all gone now) and was surprised to see a bloke lathering a Vampire (or maybe a Venom)'s nose around the gun ports with car body epoxy filler. I more or less acused him of being an irresponsible bodger His reply was it was a *more* sophisticated material than most of the rest of the 'plane ...... And beside it was "En route to some 'African Banana Republic' where they'd likely wreck it in short order anyway".
As a teenager I saw them practising ground attack against a pontoon on a lake next to the road we were on, though I suspect what both of us saw were more likely Venoms.
Two years ago I saw a demonstration by a Vampire at the Millville New Jersey airshow. Registration shows that it was built in 1959, Airworthiness Classification Experimental, with a Dehaviland Goblin Mk. 35 engine. My nephew, who worked at the airfield, made a minor repair on it prior to the demonstration.
My father was an RAAF Photographer and was in the passenger seat of a Vampire when the first flight of Sabres arrived at RAAF Williamtown. The pilot got so low that the aircraft was 'sucked' into the taller grass beside the runway. The aircraft came to a stop, the pilot cut the engine, and the two of them got out and stamped around to put out the small fire in the grass caused by the jet exhaust. The squadron brought in air bags, raised the aircraft, dropped the landing gear, and towed it to the flight line, checked it over, and declared it airworthy. It was flown again, later that day. The pilot: Flight Lieutenant James Rowland, later Air Marshall, and Governor of New South Wales 1981-89.
My late father was an airframe fitter on Vampires for RAF 249 Squadron, Suez Canal zone, Egypt from 1950 to 1952. One had to have the whole port wing replaced after an Arab sniper, outside the airfield perimeter on the runway approach end, shot a musket at a Vampire II as it came into land. My father & his team could see the 1 inch hole where the 1 pound lead musket ball had entered the underside of the port wing, but no exit hole. The ball was rolling about loose inside the wing, which necessitated a complete port wing removal and replacement.
@@sureshot8399 One gauge shotguns were quite common before WW1. They were used for hunting ducks and other water fowl commercially. And a one gauge gun has a one pound shot load. (A 12 gauge has a 1/12 pound round ball capacity). A one gauge gun has a bore of 1.67”. A 5 Gauge gun fires an almost exactly 1” round. A “B” gauge is exactly one inch and has a 3.4 ounce shot.
@@allangibson8494 😂 Mate,you can’t lift one of those barrels,they were designed to lay in a very large fowling punt,or be mounted in a fixed position in a hide. You cannot “take pot shots” with them.
I trained on the Vampire before going onto the wonderful Avon Sabre. Shook like shit when 4 x20 mm cannons fired and went berserk at M.83 in a Mach dive with a scary violent recovery with the speed brakes. Also my skinny arse ached after 20 minutes on that rock hard early Martin Baker ejection seat.
My old Chief Tech used to tell us a similar story about Hunters and Swifts in the fifties with the 4 x 30 mm cannon making a good airbrake. He did say that RAF pilots were advised by then, to only fire all four in a dive though!
Hardly. Centrifugal-flow engines and straight wings? The germans had already advanced to axial-flow engines and swept wings, and as well a jet fighter had also introduced a larger high-level reconnaissance jet aircraft. German designs and aerodynamic research also provided the basis for the second generation of jet fighter aircraft with the SAAB Tunnan, MiG-15 and F-86, and of course the british Hawker Hunter which was again slow to the party and was already obsolete at introduction compared to third generation supersonic aircraft.
@@gpaulkarcha3830 Compared to what? It was so rapidly made obsolete. The British post war aircraft industry was way too diverse and lacked clear direction from the Air Ministry resulting in it being slow to capitalise on German engine technology and aerodynamic research. In a more focussed and consolidated industry the Meteor and Vampire would have quickly been abandoned post WW2 with all resources being focussed on the development of the Hunter, which was a more eloquent design solution than the Tunnan, F-86 and MiG-15. Even today it is still a design classic. The Comet was also a design that should have been abandoned sooner in favour of a design following the Arado Ar-234 multi engine wing pod layout. Instead the Comet followed the prevailing military bomber design of the Valiant, Victor and Vulcan of wing root engines. There were just too many vested interests at play post WW2 in the British aircraft sector and Sir Frank Whittle in particular received inexcusably poor treatment from the British establishment. The british for too long held on to the empire mentality of telling its captive consumers that you will take what you are given in manufactured goods, for the better or worse.
The Swedish air force also operated the Vampire, designated the J28, from 1946 to 1967. It's always been one of my favorite planes for its distinctive shape.
It’s funny to me to read these comments, because when I was a kid in the 60’s Vampires were still in service in the RNZAF. The only other jet fighters I saw were Mirages and Phantoms, etc, at air shows. Best memory is seeing a Vulcan bomber at the opening of the new International Airport in Auckland in 1969.
Don’t worry, I’m sure that the RNZAF must have a massive fleet of deadly jet fighters and other attack aircraft these days. I mean, it’s 2023, surely you guys have made an attempt to protect yourselves?
I can remember the vampires flying out of Wigram airfield in the sixties. They made a distinctive high pitched whine. Impressive sight for a five year old.
When I was a child in Perth there were two vampires used for roadside advertising. They were basically left to rot. Thankfully the Vampire at The Airforce Museum in Jandakot is treated like royalty.
When I was a little boy I remember walking along one of the rear fuselages at Wagga Wagga. It was used for training RAAF tech. Dad had not long been commissioned and was running maintenance. Fond memories. One of my favourite aircraft.
I was at the Mildenhall airshow in 1968 where a Vampire and a Meteor collided during their display. The Meteor’s aircrew managed to parachute safely but the Vampire crew sadly died.
You mean 1986! The Vampire crew ejected and survived but the Meteor crew couldn't escape and died. It was a T. Mk. 7 Meteor with a very heavy canopy and no ejection seats.
Yeah, I had to re-wind at that point of the video as surely I had misheard that part. Shocking and kind of uncredited as how good the design was that it stayed in service as long as it did in various parts of the world.
I saw one of these at the Laverton Air Show well over 50 years ago, there was also a F-86 Sabre & an F-5 Phantom. What a thrill, but I must confess that I was unaware that it went back as far as 1941 for its initial development.
F-4 Phantom ;) (Technically it's the F-4 "Phantom II", the original FH Phantom twinjet was first flown in 1945 and later developed into the F2H Banshee).
@@sixstringedthing The Banshee was barely adequate as a carrier jet, much less a fighter. It had the straight wing for carrier take-offs and landing stability. For the purposes of aerodynamics I would not include them in the same sentence, without mentioning the under powered Banshee engines. I cannot consider these two aircraft as like for like I am afraid, for even the much earlier Voodoo was in an intermediate phase yet well above the Banshee in every respect.
@@robertdelalande7734 Really, is that the Shell servo still in operation or an older place? I have been living in Laverton for almost 20 years and this is the first I have heard of it. Amazing in any case.
@@user-en9zo2ol4z Yes , the same location but it’s been significantly remodelled since. Originally it had a P51 but that was replaced with the Vampire. We’re talking 1950’s 60’s
Back in day I used to be in the RAF ('71 to '93), in the late 70's I was at RAF Coningsby, and during the winter months hard frosts and ice (depending on how low the temperature fell) accumulated on the runway - not a problem that our Aussie friends would encounter I imagine, but then again... The solution was the MRD - Main (or Mechanical, never knew which) Runway De-icer. This comprised of a metal framework/chassis on wheels. In the centre was a small cabin with a seat and controls, and on either side of the cabin was an aircraft jet engine. And I'm fairly certain it was a pair of ex Vampire engines. The engine exhausts were connected to a pair of elongated fan shaped metal nozzles and you you raised or lowered the nozzles by controls in the cabin. The engines were also operated from inside the cabin (starting/shutdown etc). At the rear of this rig was a coupling attachment, and that connected to a coupling on the front of a fuel bowser - the type that turned up to refuel an aircraft after it had returned from a sortie - the bowser also provided the jet fuel source to power the engines. Then, coupled to a tanker you'd trundle up and down the runway de-icing it. This duty only came around during the winter months and was the responsibility of those in aircraft trades only, and me being an armourer meant I was fair game too. You spent your entire week's duty praying there'd be no snow or ice.
Had them down the road at Scampton in the very early eighties, and before that at Honnington too. Think I remember one of my Sgt Armourer's being trained on it? I was only a JT "plumber" at the time so wasn't involved. But I do remember the huge chunks of ice flying around during the one heavy winter we had then.
There is a neat short story by Frederick Forsyth called "The Shepherd" that focuses on a pilot and his de Haviland Vampire. There exists an illustrated version of the story (which I happened on a few years ago) and it's a fun and interesting read for any aviation enthusiast. Neat plane and neat story.
Very interesting. They were also in service with the RNZAF until 1972. For us children, they were our favourite aircraft and we would sometimes see them flying over the Wigram airbase. So long ago, a distant but wonderful memory.
I worked with a lad in the early 80's in the RAF and had to show him the ropes on fitting Mk 3 Ejection seats to Vulcans. When I asked him what seat experience he had working on seats he told me, 3 years with the RAF's "Vintage Pair". One Vampire and one Meteor, alas they are no more after a mid-air collision in '86.
My Father was there on it's maiden flight at Hatfield, he worked for DH, Hawker Siddley etc.......from 1931 until 1982. I remember him talking about Vampires and their successors. He still prefered building Hornets at that time and don't forget, only a couple of years earlier DH and others were still producing Biplanes.
When i was chauffeuring I was privileged to have as customers a mr and mrs Monson-Fry. Mr had flown Vampires and Venoms and went on to be one of tbe few aircrew for BOAC that could sit as a P1 or a Flight Engineer. What a guy. I wish I could have known him better.
Operating a vampire off a carrier must have been fun. The RAAF found that you could not idle a Vampire engine for more than a minute or so, or, due to the downward pointing exhaust, it would melt bitumen or crack and ruin concrete. One of my work colleagues had some hours on the Vampire in his RAAF Reserve service. He said it was a death trap due to some handling quirks.
There used to be a video titled "RAF Early Jets" on LiveLeak and one the interviewees was a Spitfire pilot who described flying the Vampire as "absurdly simple" and it always made me laugh!
I can imagine that after dealing with the spit tail dragging and torque for the big prop, the trike landing gear and almost no torque of the jet were a pleasure!
The Vampire did not have hydraulic powered flight controls like the Avon Sabre so the ailerons became ‘ heavy ‘ above 500 kts. The cramped cockpit was designed for small men and the instrument panel was a dog’s breakfast. Was fun though.
Wiso werden in englischen Dokus die Deutschen Düsenjäger ME 262 immer die vorserien Maschinen ohne Bugfahrwerk gezeigt,von denen es nur eine Handvoll gab, da ab den Prototypen schon ein Bugfahrwerk montiert war. Zu Vampire, sieht aus wie ein Ei mit P-38 Gabelschwanz.
That's because it wasn't! The early jets were all sorts of odd shapes as the technology was explored, especially the choice between axial flow and centrifugal flow engines.
@@andrewhotston983 It wasn't a jet, and it's questionable whether it could really be called a twin-boom design, but this is what I would call odd. ruclips.net/video/V9GqxOAofio/видео.html
We had a few show up for our air races here in Nevada, and I love that little jet! Back in the late 80's and early 90's I saw several for sale, but could never afford them. One thing, they're loud, as in really loud, kind of a surprise to me as there were all sorts of early jets at the races, with a Lockheed T-33 being the pace plane, even that is quieter then the Vampire. One thing I've heard many times in aircraft circles, if it looks right, it'll fly right, and being a De Havilland plane, no doubt it was a lovely flying aircraft.
In July 1943, one of the two H-1s then available (actually the spare engine intended as a backup for the one installed in the Vampire prototype) was sent to the United States, where it was selected to become the primary engine of the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. This engine was fitted to the prototype P-80, which first flew on 9 January 1944. The engine was later accidentally destroyed in ground testing, and was replaced by the only remaining H-1 from the prototype Vampire.[5] Allis-Chalmers was selected to produce the engine in the US as the J36, but ran into lengthy delays. Instead, the Allison J33, developed by General Electric as the I-40 (their greatly improved 4,000 lbf (18 kN) version of the J31, itself based on Whittle's W.1), was selected for the production P-80A.
In 1982 I remember at least one (or was it two?) vampire sitting in the field next to a C-130A and Dakota, It wasnt very far from my room in Block 376. Like the herc and dak, every now and then trainees would get to do an engine run
🙂Tbh, the thumbnail immediately caught my eye because the Vampire vaguely resembles Thunderbird 2 sans cargo pod. Just curious if Derrick Meddings' design for T2 was inspired at least in part by the De Havilland Vampire. 🤔🙂
For a first generation jet the Vampire was a great little plane. I don't see it as so strange considering nobody really what the jet age would bting and twin boom was already used in various forms across the industry. Its rhomboid wing shape might have looked odd but even that has been tried at various times. Australia deserves credit for having the foresight to invest in the new tech. as it was.
Circa 1969 I was on a school trip to Interlaken Switzerland, on one of our excursions we visited a nearby lake where boats were travelling, when two Hawker Hunters, and two Vampires came in and strafed a target tethered in the middle of the lake, none of the residents batted an eyelid as this was a regular occurrence, but it was exciting for us kids.
1:05 the P-80 shooting star was also in active use by the allies at the end of WWII in Italy. Was used mostly in a recon role and to show the Germans that the Americans had jets now too
I've gotten up close and personal with A79-637 and A79-665, the two ex-RAAF Vampire T35 trainers that were restored by HARS at Albion Park Rail in NSW. Both of these aircraft were used by the Telstars aerobatic display team at some point between 1963-1967. Wonderfully nimble airframes by many accounts but as with all such aircraft, what you gain in maneuverability you lose in static stability. So some good piloting skills were required to get the most out of the Vampire without turning it into a giant wooden lawn dart. I wish I'd had a chance to see the Telstars perform, born in the wrong era! I did get a chance to see a Roulettes display while they were still flying the Macchi though, another awesome little jet trainer. Loving the content on this channel. The production and narration are of a highly professional standard, great to see many new up-and-coming Aussie MilTube channels doing such a good job.
in 1991 a small team of RAAF Aircraft and Avionics Technicians at RAAF East Sale refurbished a T-33 or possibly a T-35 to engine run/taxi state. It was repainted in Telstars colours. It eventually went to the RAAF museum at RAAF Point Cook
in 1991 a small team of RAAF Aircraft and Avionics Technicians at RAAF East Sale refurbished a T-33 to engine run/taxi state. I was surprised to see that most of the fuselage forward of the intakes was wood!
I saw a Swiss Air Force example purchased for very low price and zero time engines for $5000, complete with cartridge start system. The aircraft was typical Swiss pristine! I’m sure several are flying.
I grew up 3 miles from the end the Hatfield runway and often saw a Vampire along with other aircraft. It was easy to tell a Vampire by the shear volume of it's single engine, which seemed far noisier that the Trident with 3 engines.
Where I live in Essex we have an almost daily irritation of Spitfires hired for pleasure flights, some filmed from a helicopter and some filmed from a Hurricane, these are quite irritating!, recently we have had a real treat, a Vampire and occasionally a Meteor flying quite low, but what a sound they make between them!!
@@chrisweeks6973 there is also one in a park on a pole at Wagga Wagga, and in a park on a pole at Waughope, the nene engine for the Waughope vampire is in the Waughope museum, and two at "Fighterworld" at Williamtown. Those two used to be 'front gate guards' at Williamtown in the 70s and 80s i.imgur.com/HfndxYQ.jpg
Hi. The Brits had no qualms selling the RR Nene engine to the Soviets, because they knew its centrifugal compressor was inferior to the axial flow compressor, and its developmental potential was "maxxed out". Yes, the decision had a tactical military disadvantage to the West which came to light when the Soviets produced their MIG 15 which performed so well. However it's possible the long-term strategy was to lock much Soviet production into an inferior design and give Nato time to perfect technically superior axial-flow jets, like the RR Avon. As Granddad said, "Aye laddie, and you set a sprat to catch a mackerel". (The "RED herring" ploy.) No paper trail will exist, but I'd say the sale would have had the top-secret agreement of the Americans. At the time the sale was made (late 40's), the British were ahead of the US in jet research and would have deeply respected RR's technical advice. Cheers, P.R.
Israel flew Vampires in the mid 1950s. They have some on display at the Israel Airforce museum south of Beersheba. When I first saw them I was shocked at how small they were. There are Remote Control aircraft models bigger than the Vampire.
My Grandfather Norman Nash was a LAME for DeHavilland and worked on these jets at Bankstown. And later the Drover. Don't know much more about him. I remember my father saying something about tropicalising
tropicalising was a treatment to prevent the plywood delaminating due to the glue used not liking tropical humidity and heat, most of the Vampire's fuselage forward of the intakes is plywood. The Brits found out the hard way about the glue failing with the dehaviland mosquito in ww2 in the PTO and all Australian built vampires were 'tropicalised"
I am curious - I had thought that the long sloping tail fins were a feature of the Venom, anyway that's what I have been using to differentiate..?? (have always wondered how the Vampire would have done against the 262, possibly down to which was more agile as they have very similar performance - at least the second generation Vampires did..?)
I had heard that a Junkers turbo and supercharged two stroke diesel had got to well over 60,000 feet during WW2. Just the bare aircraft, not capable of carrying load to that height. The intention was for high altitude photography but it got discontinued, Hitler again?
@@howardsimpson489one of the Junkers Ju-86P was shot down at either 42,000ft or 49,000ft over Egypt. They operated over Britain at upto 41,000ft. The service ceiling is quoted as 39,360ft but this doesn't mean that this was the maximum altitude they could fly at (in the RAF aircraft design manual from the 1930s the service ceiling was defined as the altitude fell to a specific rate (it's over 25 years since I looked at this document at university do I can't recall the exact climb rate).
I got to sit in one many years ago. I twas truly scary that you could close the lid and go 500 MPH. You'd feel safer in an Austin Healy with the top down. Had all the security of a ME-163.
I think some fuselage parts were made from balsa and plywood laminate, similar to Mosquitos. My father flew them and talked of them as wooden aircraft although the wings and tails and presumably the rear fuselage were aluminium.
most of the fuselage forward of the intakes was most definitely made of plywood, I witnessed repairs to sections of the plywood fuselage on a T33 being refurbished at RAAF east Sale in 1991. It wasnt your average hardware style plywood though, a special glue was used to prevent it 'delaminating' in tropical environments, which is what happed to the dehaviland mosquitos in the PTO. All Australian built Vampires were "tropicalised"
Good video let down with some very sloppy research. No RAN Vampire was carrier capable. The T22 was the Sea Vampire, six were purchased directly from Royal Navy stocks and I would very much like to see anybody jam 2 seats into a single seater cockpit. Do better next time.
My father found the fault with the goblin turbine. He did spectrographic analysis . Turbine blades were welded in with faulty welding rods. They didn't have enough molybidimin. He got a handshake from the big boss that's all. Same as what I got for inventing the tweel which was given away by my father while I was at work. It was hard losing my father. He taught me so much & ruined my life over a little argument - now the lawn. Gave away a billion dollar design. I have been being robbed ever since I qualified as a tradesman in fabrication. All my best inventions / designs were stolen ,it wasn't just my father. Quad copters. Hydrogen plasma turbine. Quantum ai logic chip. Just have to be content with little or u go mad.
I don't think the 262 was superior to the Meteor in any respect, its engines were useless requiring a rebuild every 20 hours (each aircraft needing four to stay in service) and it was unwanted by any air force beyond 1950 where as the Meteor remained in frontline service for decades after
Unfortunately the Gloster Meatbox was an unmitigated disaster that never saw operational service as a fighter and only killed British pilots. MoD records confirm 890 crashed in RAF service alone killing 450 British pilots. Even Eric Brown stated that the Me-262 was years ahead of anything the Allies had during WW2
The wings were metal as was the fuselage aft of the firewall. Forward of the firewall was wood. It had mechanical flight controls, hydraulic flaps and pneumatic brakes. I worked on one in 1970/1 in A&P school.
@@karlstreed3698 I read on Wikipedia that at least one aircraft was flyable until fatigue issues caught up. But today we have design and manufacturing tools able to permit replacement of structural forgings with adequate fabrications (machined billet replacing forged aluminum parts).
To me the vamp will always hold the mantle of the cutest jet fighter ever put into production.
Ghost of the Vampires: "I am NOT CUTE!! HMPH!"
What the saab j21. The vampire. Was not unique.
Nah, the SAAB 21a the Vamp's ugly stepsister.
@@patrickporter1864 nah the j21 was ugly af
My dad was one of the top RAAF Test Pilots in the late 50's & early 60's. He flew the Vampire, the F-86, the Canberra, etc .. going on to eventually test fly the F-111's in America.
As soon as the big photo of all the airmen at 7:30 minutes came up .. I spotted him straight away in the front row. Ha.
That's awesome.
Dad was originally in 77 Squadron & was already stationed in Japan when the Korean war started. He flew the Mustangs for a year, until his CO was downed by a Mig-15. A few years later he found himself doing the 3 year British Test Pilot course, where he received top marks. He flew all 3 V bombers & loved the Vulcan.
He flew the Sabre during the Malaysian conflict, the Canberra all over Woomera, the Herc to Vietnam and then we spent 5 years in America (where I finished high school) for the F-111. Dad became Chief Project Officer, working out of the D.C. embassy. Interesting times for sure.
Hi Jim u said your father flew the Sabre? Was that the CA 27 ?? Made by cac??
@@peterkirgan2921 Yes Peter, as the Avon CA 27's were coming off the line, dad was testing them down at Laverton. He belly-landed one on foam after an engine failure. He also flew them up to Butterworth for the incursions going on around that time. I now have all his very impressive flight log books.
My father worked for Rolls back then. He eventually ended up as a service rep seconded to the Venezuela air force in the 1950's ( when they were considered to be friendly) they had Vampires, Venoms, and Canberra's . We left Venezuela in the early 60's when it became unstable to remain. In his career he worked on the whole range of Rolls engines from Merlin, through Nene, Conway, Tyne olympus etc. What an interesting career spanning piston engines through to jets with such a well respected engine manufacturer.
I was five years old in 1949 and enjoying the first seaside holiday of my life. Dad took my older brother for a joyride in a DH Dragon Rapide, while Mum and I watched and waved from the ground. After a while they disappeared from our sight so Mum entertained me. Suddenly, I heard a high pitched whistling sound and this strange little plane went down the runway at perhaps 50’ agl and far, far faster than anything I had ever seen in my life. These were the first two aircraft I’d ever seen close up. I’ve been a DH fan, ever since.
The Vampire was a fabulous aircraft and was one of the first to use wings held together by epoxy resin - glue, I remember visiting the factory at Hawarden near Chester in 1955.
Was this glue invented in UK?
Back in the mid nineties, flying gliders out of Cranfield, I was driving past one of the many small aircraft maintainance companies which thrived there (almost all gone now) and was surprised to see a bloke lathering a Vampire (or maybe a Venom)'s nose around the gun ports with car body epoxy filler.
I more or less acused him of being an irresponsible bodger
His reply was it was a *more* sophisticated material than most of the rest of the 'plane ......
And beside it was "En route to some 'African Banana Republic' where they'd likely wreck it in short order anyway".
same glue developed in the UK at start of WW2 for the DH Mosquito.@@canerguener8664
In 1969 I was standing on a mountain top in Switzerland when two vampires flew over very low, almost hugging the mountain.
Very impressive!
As a teenager I saw them practising ground attack against a pontoon on a lake next to the road we were on, though I suspect what both of us saw were more likely Venoms.
@@PaulP999 In 1969 it could have been both. The Venoms were retired last.
I saw them (or Venoms!) in 1967, I think. Near Interlaken.
Two years ago I saw a demonstration by a Vampire at the Millville New Jersey airshow. Registration shows that it was built in 1959, Airworthiness Classification Experimental, with a Dehaviland Goblin Mk. 35 engine. My nephew, who worked at the airfield, made a minor repair on it prior to the demonstration.
My father was an RAAF Photographer and was in the passenger seat of a Vampire when the first flight of Sabres arrived at RAAF Williamtown. The pilot got so low that the aircraft was 'sucked' into the taller grass beside the runway. The aircraft came to a stop, the pilot cut the engine, and the two of them got out and stamped around to put out the small fire in the grass caused by the jet exhaust. The squadron brought in air bags, raised the aircraft, dropped the landing gear, and towed it to the flight line, checked it over, and declared it airworthy. It was flown again, later that day. The pilot: Flight Lieutenant James Rowland, later Air Marshall, and Governor of New South Wales 1981-89.
My late father was an airframe fitter on Vampires for RAF 249 Squadron, Suez Canal zone, Egypt from 1950 to 1952. One had to have the whole port wing replaced after an Arab sniper, outside the airfield perimeter on the runway approach end, shot a musket at a Vampire II as it came into land. My father & his team could see the 1 inch hole where the 1 pound lead musket ball had entered the underside of the port wing, but no exit hole. The ball was rolling about loose inside the wing, which necessitated a complete port wing removal and replacement.
That musket would have been quite the firearm if the ball weighed 16 ounces and only left a 1" hole.
@@sureshot8399 One gauge shotguns were quite common before WW1. They were used for hunting ducks and other water fowl commercially.
And a one gauge gun has a one pound shot load. (A 12 gauge has a 1/12 pound round ball capacity).
A one gauge gun has a bore of 1.67”.
A 5 Gauge gun fires an almost exactly 1” round. A “B” gauge is exactly one inch and has a 3.4 ounce shot.
@@allangibson8494They were,but have you ever seen a fowling piece of that gauge in the steel..? You’re aren’t using one as a sniper rifle.
@@markhepworth They weren’t. They were taking pot shots at an overflying aircraft.
@@allangibson8494 😂 Mate,you can’t lift one of those barrels,they were designed to lay in a very large fowling punt,or be mounted in a fixed position in a hide. You cannot “take pot shots” with them.
I trained on the Vampire before going onto the wonderful Avon Sabre. Shook like shit when 4 x20 mm cannons fired and went berserk at M.83 in a Mach dive with a scary violent recovery with the speed brakes. Also my skinny arse ached after 20 minutes on that rock hard early Martin Baker ejection seat.
That does sound like a wild ride!
How old are you ?
Thanks for the recollection. ✌️👍
My old Chief Tech used to tell us a similar story about Hunters and Swifts in the fifties with the 4 x 30 mm cannon making a good airbrake. He did say that RAF pilots were advised by then, to only fire all four in a dive though!
In terms of maneuverability, how did it compare to the Sabre? Was it a pleasant plane to fly, as Spit pilots all say theirs was?
Amazingly advanced for a WW2 airplane. Brits were cutting edge tech. And a long service record!
Hardly. Centrifugal-flow engines and straight wings? The germans had already advanced to axial-flow engines and swept wings, and as well a jet fighter had also introduced a larger high-level reconnaissance jet aircraft. German designs and aerodynamic research also provided the basis for the second generation of jet fighter aircraft with the SAAB Tunnan, MiG-15 and F-86, and of course the british Hawker Hunter which was again slow to the party and was already obsolete at introduction compared to third generation supersonic aircraft.
@@grahamcook9289 The Vampire set many world records. I would say that qualifies it as an advanced aircraft.
@@gpaulkarcha3830 Compared to what? It was so rapidly made obsolete. The British post war aircraft industry was way too diverse and lacked clear direction from the Air Ministry resulting in it being slow to capitalise on German engine technology and aerodynamic research. In a more focussed and consolidated industry the Meteor and Vampire would have quickly been abandoned post WW2 with all resources being focussed on the development of the Hunter, which was a more eloquent design solution than the Tunnan, F-86 and MiG-15. Even today it is still a design classic. The Comet was also a design that should have been abandoned sooner in favour of a design following the Arado Ar-234 multi engine wing pod layout. Instead the Comet followed the prevailing military bomber design of the Valiant, Victor and Vulcan of wing root engines.
There were just too many vested interests at play post WW2 in the British aircraft sector and Sir Frank Whittle in particular received inexcusably poor treatment from the British establishment. The british for too long held on to the empire mentality of telling its captive consumers that you will take what you are given in manufactured goods, for the better or worse.
Unfortunately we owed too much to American banks to afford any further investment.
Is it true that the Vampire’s cockpit was too small for a ejection seat?
The Swedish air force also operated the Vampire, designated the J28, from 1946 to 1967. It's always been one of my favorite planes for its distinctive shape.
It’s funny to me to read these comments, because when I was a kid in the 60’s Vampires were still in service in the RNZAF. The only other jet fighters I saw were Mirages and Phantoms, etc, at air shows. Best memory is seeing a Vulcan bomber at the opening of the new International Airport in Auckland in 1969.
Don’t worry, I’m sure that the RNZAF must have a massive fleet of deadly jet fighters and other attack aircraft these days. I mean, it’s 2023, surely you guys have made an attempt to protect yourselves?
I can remember the vampires flying out of Wigram airfield in the sixties.
They made a distinctive high pitched whine. Impressive sight for a five year old.
When I was a child in Perth there were two vampires used for roadside advertising. They were basically left to rot.
Thankfully the Vampire at The Airforce Museum in Jandakot is treated like royalty.
When I was a little boy I remember walking along one of the rear fuselages at Wagga Wagga. It was used for training RAAF tech. Dad had not long been commissioned and was running maintenance. Fond memories. One of my favourite aircraft.
I was at the Mildenhall airshow in 1968 where a Vampire and a Meteor collided during their display. The Meteor’s aircrew managed to parachute safely but the Vampire crew sadly died.
You mean 1986! The Vampire crew ejected and survived but the Meteor crew couldn't escape and died. It was a T. Mk. 7 Meteor with a very heavy canopy and no ejection seats.
Like the P-38 Lightning, it is a beautiful ship.
We learn something new every day, I had always been under the impression the vampire was developed in the late 1940's and not 1941.
Yeah, I had to re-wind at that point of the video as surely I had misheard that part. Shocking and kind of uncredited as how good the design was that it stayed in service as long as it did in various parts of the world.
@@zeroelus Not forgetting that a good part of it was built in wood just like the Mosquito
I saw one of these at the Laverton Air Show well over 50 years ago, there was also a F-86 Sabre & an F-5 Phantom. What a thrill, but I must confess that I was unaware that it went back as far as 1941 for its initial development.
The Shell service station at Laverton had a decommissioned vampire on an overhead display for many years.
F-4 Phantom ;)
(Technically it's the F-4 "Phantom II", the original FH Phantom twinjet was first flown in 1945 and later developed into the F2H Banshee).
@@sixstringedthing The Banshee was barely adequate as a carrier jet, much less a fighter. It had the straight wing for carrier take-offs and landing stability. For the purposes of aerodynamics I would not include them in the same sentence, without mentioning the under powered Banshee engines. I cannot consider these two aircraft as like for like I am afraid, for even the much earlier Voodoo was in an intermediate phase yet well above the Banshee in every respect.
@@robertdelalande7734 Really, is that the Shell servo still in operation or an older place? I have been living in Laverton for almost 20 years and this is the first I have heard of it. Amazing in any case.
@@user-en9zo2ol4z Yes , the same location but it’s been significantly remodelled since. Originally it had a P51 but that was replaced with the Vampire. We’re talking 1950’s 60’s
Back in day I used to be in the RAF ('71 to '93), in the late 70's I was at RAF Coningsby, and during the winter months hard frosts and ice (depending on how low the temperature fell) accumulated on the runway - not a problem that our Aussie friends would encounter I imagine, but then again... The solution was the MRD - Main (or Mechanical, never knew which) Runway De-icer. This comprised of a metal framework/chassis on wheels. In the centre was a small cabin with a seat and controls, and on either side of the cabin was an aircraft jet engine. And I'm fairly certain it was a pair of ex Vampire engines. The engine exhausts were connected to a pair of elongated fan shaped metal nozzles and you you raised or lowered the nozzles by controls in the cabin. The engines were also operated from inside the cabin (starting/shutdown etc). At the rear of this rig was a coupling attachment, and that connected to a coupling on the front of a fuel bowser - the type that turned up to refuel an aircraft after it had returned from a sortie - the bowser also provided the jet fuel source to power the engines. Then, coupled to a tanker you'd trundle up and down the runway de-icing it. This duty only came around during the winter months and was the responsibility of those in aircraft trades only, and me being an armourer meant I was fair game too. You spent your entire week's duty praying there'd be no snow or ice.
We had one at valley
Had them down the road at Scampton in the very early eighties, and before that at Honnington too. Think I remember one of my Sgt Armourer's being trained on it? I was only a JT "plumber" at the time so wasn't involved. But I do remember the huge chunks of ice flying around during the one heavy winter we had then.
Had one at Benson in the early-mid '60's. We still had to do a lot of snow shovelling, however!
My Dad was in the RAF back in the 50's , And told me they'd get a group of lads to push a Vampire back down the runway to de-ice it
There is a neat short story by Frederick Forsyth called "The Shepherd" that focuses on a pilot and his de Haviland Vampire. There exists an illustrated version of the story (which I happened on a few years ago) and it's a fun and interesting read for any aviation enthusiast. Neat plane and neat story.
Very interesting. They were also in service with the RNZAF until 1972. For us children, they were our favourite aircraft and we would sometimes see them flying over the Wigram airbase. So long ago, a distant but wonderful memory.
Worked on one in 68 at Shawbury where baby ATC trained. Bird strike. Balsa and doped fabric. Ingenious.
So the bird passed through?
I worked with a lad in the early 80's in the RAF and had to show him the ropes on fitting Mk 3 Ejection seats to Vulcans. When I asked him what seat experience he had working on seats he told me, 3 years with the RAF's "Vintage Pair". One Vampire and one Meteor, alas they are no more after a mid-air collision in '86.
My Father was there on it's maiden flight at Hatfield, he worked for DH, Hawker Siddley etc.......from 1931 until 1982. I remember him talking about Vampires and their successors. He still prefered building Hornets at that time and don't forget, only a couple of years earlier DH and others were still producing Biplanes.
I live in Wagga Wagga NSW and we have a vampire on a stand at 1 of our sporting fields on the hightway
Winkle Brown said that it was his favourite jet aircraft.
Winkle Brown with the Vampire did the first jet landing on a carrier, just to beat the Americans from being the first. Got to love the Brits.
@@martentrudeau6948 there is a recorded audio interview of him talking about that
When i was chauffeuring I was privileged to have as customers a mr and mrs Monson-Fry.
Mr had flown Vampires and Venoms and went on to be one of tbe few aircrew for BOAC that could sit as a P1 or a Flight Engineer.
What a guy. I wish I could have known him better.
Operating a vampire off a carrier must have been fun. The RAAF found that you could not idle a Vampire engine for more than a minute or so, or, due to the downward pointing exhaust, it would melt bitumen or crack and ruin concrete.
One of my work colleagues had some hours on the Vampire in his RAAF Reserve service. He said it was a death trap due to some handling quirks.
I had also been told that they did a good job of setting the grass on fire at Archerfield in Brisbane when 23 Squadron operated them from there.
There's a great video on YT of a Vampire absolutely destroying a runway in Switzerland (I think) a few years ago.
There used to be a video titled "RAF Early Jets" on LiveLeak and one the interviewees was a Spitfire pilot who described flying the Vampire as "absurdly simple" and it always made me laugh!
I can imagine that after dealing with the spit tail dragging and torque for the big prop, the trike landing gear and almost no torque of the jet were a pleasure!
@@georgekforrpv6857 I believe he said specifically (paraphrasing) "You just set the throttle, and away you go!"
The Vampire did not have hydraulic powered flight controls like the Avon Sabre so the ailerons became ‘ heavy ‘ above 500 kts. The cramped cockpit was designed for small men and the instrument panel was a dog’s breakfast. Was fun though.
Wiso werden in englischen Dokus die Deutschen Düsenjäger ME 262 immer die vorserien Maschinen ohne Bugfahrwerk gezeigt,von denen es nur eine Handvoll gab, da ab den Prototypen schon ein Bugfahrwerk montiert war. Zu Vampire, sieht aus wie ein Ei mit P-38 Gabelschwanz.
Nicely done history, but nowhere does it say why the Vampire was "strange," let alone "strangest."
That's because it wasn't! The early jets were all sorts of odd shapes as the technology was explored, especially the choice between axial flow and centrifugal flow engines.
@@andrewhotston983 It was simply a twin-boom design. I wouldn't even call that an "odd shape."
There were odder ones, certainly.
@@andrewhotston983 It wasn't a jet, and it's questionable whether it could really be called a twin-boom design, but this is what I would call odd.
ruclips.net/video/V9GqxOAofio/видео.html
The South African Airforce also operated a number of Vampires. Some can be seen at our Airforce museum at Zwartkops airforce base.
I always liked the look of the early British twin-boom jets; to me they seemed like something out of an old 'Flash Gordon' episode.
There are 3 in the Irish Air Corp museum in Baldonnel Dublin. I can remember them flying when I was young. Facinating.
We had a few show up for our air races here in Nevada, and I love that little jet! Back in the late 80's and early 90's I saw several for sale, but could never afford them. One thing, they're loud, as in really loud, kind of a surprise to me as there were all sorts of early jets at the races, with a Lockheed T-33 being the pace plane, even that is quieter then the Vampire. One thing I've heard many times in aircraft circles, if it looks right, it'll fly right, and being a De Havilland plane, no doubt it was a lovely flying aircraft.
Being made of wood and linen it's doubtful any are still airworthy today without a total restoration
When it was being designed the prototype was initially known as the Spider Crab.
In July 1943, one of the two H-1s then available (actually the spare engine intended as a backup for the one installed in the Vampire prototype) was sent to the United States, where it was selected to become the primary engine of the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. This engine was fitted to the prototype P-80, which first flew on 9 January 1944. The engine was later accidentally destroyed in ground testing, and was replaced by the only remaining H-1 from the prototype Vampire.[5] Allis-Chalmers was selected to produce the engine in the US as the J36, but ran into lengthy delays. Instead, the Allison J33, developed by General Electric as the I-40 (their greatly improved 4,000 lbf (18 kN) version of the J31, itself based on Whittle's W.1), was selected for the production P-80A.
Did some of my final engine trade training on two seater Vampires at Wagga NSW. We had two with clipped wings and one complete.
In 1982 I remember at least one (or was it two?) vampire sitting in the field next to a C-130A and Dakota, It wasnt very far from my room in Block 376. Like the herc and dak, every now and then trainees would get to do an engine run
Two still flying in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
I got to see one of them fly over a few years ago.
A seriously unmistakable plane.
Why strangest? Seems like a very practical design given technology or the times! Not strange, an elegant and versatile solution in its day!
because "strangest" gets more clicks (viewer hits)
🙂Tbh, the thumbnail immediately caught my eye because the Vampire vaguely resembles Thunderbird 2 sans cargo pod. Just curious if Derrick Meddings' design for T2 was inspired at least in part by the De Havilland Vampire. 🤔🙂
For a first generation jet the Vampire was a great little plane. I don't see it as so strange considering nobody really what the jet age would bting and twin boom was already used in various forms across the industry. Its rhomboid wing shape might have looked odd but even that has been tried at various times. Australia deserves credit for having the foresight to invest in the new tech. as it was.
Circa 1969 I was on a school trip to Interlaken Switzerland, on one of our excursions we visited a nearby lake where boats were travelling, when two Hawker Hunters, and two Vampires came in and strafed a target tethered in the middle of the lake, none of the residents batted an eyelid as this was a regular occurrence, but it was exciting for us kids.
1:05 the P-80 shooting star was also in active use by the allies at the end of WWII in Italy. Was used mostly in a recon role and to show the Germans that the Americans had jets now too
The P-80 was rushed into service too soon, several crashed and the rest remained grounded for the remainder of the war, none saw combat.
I've gotten up close and personal with A79-637 and A79-665, the two ex-RAAF Vampire T35 trainers that were restored by HARS at Albion Park Rail in NSW. Both of these aircraft were used by the Telstars aerobatic display team at some point between 1963-1967. Wonderfully nimble airframes by many accounts but as with all such aircraft, what you gain in maneuverability you lose in static stability. So some good piloting skills were required to get the most out of the Vampire without turning it into a giant wooden lawn dart. I wish I'd had a chance to see the Telstars perform, born in the wrong era! I did get a chance to see a Roulettes display while they were still flying the Macchi though, another awesome little jet trainer.
Loving the content on this channel. The production and narration are of a highly professional standard, great to see many new up-and-coming Aussie MilTube channels doing such a good job.
in 1991 a small team of RAAF Aircraft and Avionics Technicians at RAAF East Sale refurbished a T-33 or possibly a T-35 to engine run/taxi state. It was repainted in Telstars colours. It eventually went to the RAAF museum at RAAF Point Cook
@@davidewhite69 Thanks for the info David. I would like to visit the Point Cook museum one day. Cheers.
Irish Aer Corp flew very low over O’Connell St. during an Easter parade. What a noise they made
in 1991 a small team of RAAF Aircraft and Avionics Technicians at RAAF East Sale refurbished a T-33 to engine run/taxi state. I was surprised to see that most of the fuselage forward of the intakes was wood!
Yes it's surprising that some of these early jets relied on wood and glue!
I saw a Swiss Air Force example purchased for very low price and zero time engines for $5000, complete with cartridge start system. The aircraft was typical Swiss pristine! I’m sure several are flying.
There’s one in Swiss markings in the DeHavilland Museum North London.
I grew up 3 miles from the end the Hatfield runway and often saw a Vampire along with other aircraft. It was easy to tell a Vampire by the shear volume of it's single engine, which seemed far noisier that the Trident with 3 engines.
I saw one at a great yarmouth airshow around 5 years ago..a nice jet
I really liked that jet when it won jet races at the Reno air races. Sorry to see those come to an end.
Thanks for covering these early, relatively unknown aircraft.
Hardly unknown.SAAF flew them as well
@@james1947fulThey were indeed well-known around the world, but we didn't see much of them in the States.
@@petesheppard1709I thought that the US was the entire world? Isn’t that why you guys play the World Series?
@@rsoul7282 HA! 😄 BTW, 'World' Series referred to a newspaper, the New York World.
Where I live in Essex we have an almost daily irritation of Spitfires hired for pleasure flights, some filmed from a helicopter and some filmed from a Hurricane, these are quite irritating!, recently we have had a real treat, a Vampire and occasionally a Meteor flying quite low, but what a sound they make between them!!
There’s one of these mounted in the car park of my local shopping centre, built on the former RAAF Tottenham site.
There's another (A79-109) on a plinth in the park at Sherriff St, Forbes, NSW, just off the Newall Highway.
I remember seeing it when I went Tottenham
@@chrisweeks6973 there is also one in a park on a pole at Wagga Wagga, and in a park on a pole at Waughope, the nene engine for the Waughope vampire is in the Waughope museum, and two at "Fighterworld" at Williamtown. Those two used to be 'front gate guards' at Williamtown in the 70s and 80s i.imgur.com/HfndxYQ.jpg
Specs Specs Specs!! We want Specs!!!!.
I’d have to say given some of Britains other jets at the time and later, the Vampire being the strangest is probably a little harsh on the little one.
Hi. The Brits had no qualms selling the RR Nene engine to the Soviets, because they knew its centrifugal compressor was inferior to the axial flow compressor, and its developmental potential was "maxxed out". Yes, the decision had a tactical military disadvantage to the West which came to light when the Soviets produced their MIG 15 which performed so well. However it's possible the long-term strategy was to lock much Soviet production into an inferior design and give Nato time to perfect technically superior axial-flow jets, like the RR Avon. As Granddad said, "Aye laddie, and you set a sprat to catch a mackerel". (The "RED herring" ploy.)
No paper trail will exist, but I'd say the sale would have had the top-secret agreement of the Americans. At the time the sale was made (late 40's), the British were ahead of the US in jet research and would have deeply respected RR's technical advice. Cheers, P.R.
Beautiful design
Excellent video presentation.
Good job they chose the Halford's engine over the Pound Shop equivalent.
Israel flew Vampires in the mid 1950s. They have some on display at the Israel Airforce museum south of Beersheba. When I first saw them I was shocked at how small they were. There are Remote Control aircraft models bigger than the Vampire.
I remember seeing these at Thornhill air force base of the Rhodesian Air Force.
My Grandfather Norman Nash was a LAME for DeHavilland and worked on these jets at Bankstown. And later the Drover. Don't know much more about him. I remember my father saying something about tropicalising
tropicalising was a treatment to prevent the plywood delaminating due to the glue used not liking tropical humidity and heat, most of the Vampire's fuselage forward of the intakes is plywood. The Brits found out the hard way about the glue failing with the dehaviland mosquito in ww2 in the PTO and all Australian built vampires were 'tropicalised"
Love your content 😊
You should watch the tribute to Burt, Sheriff Buford was there.
One of the most recognizable jet fighters ever built? huh?
I am curious - I had thought that the long sloping tail fins were a feature of the Venom, anyway that's what I have been using to differentiate..??
(have always wondered how the Vampire would have done against the 262, possibly down to which was more agile as they have very similar performance - at least the second generation Vampires did..?)
Here in Mexico during the 60s and 70s when it was in active service it was nicknamed 'The Flying Avocado' due to the shape of the front of the plane
Seriously dangerous aircraft.
Quite shocked by that altitude record!
I had heard that a Junkers turbo and supercharged two stroke diesel had got to well over 60,000 feet during WW2. Just the bare aircraft, not capable of carrying load to that height. The intention was for high altitude photography but it got discontinued, Hitler again?
@@howardsimpson489one of the Junkers Ju-86P was shot down at either 42,000ft or 49,000ft over Egypt. They operated over Britain at upto 41,000ft. The service ceiling is quoted as 39,360ft but this doesn't mean that this was the maximum altitude they could fly at (in the RAF aircraft design manual from the 1930s the service ceiling was defined as the altitude fell to a specific rate (it's over 25 years since I looked at this document at university do I can't recall the exact climb rate).
Such a beautiful aircraft, simple with not a whole lot in the way of vices just about every pilot that I have read about that flew it liked it
That's one scary looking airplane, both good & bad. 👍
*It WASN'T 'remembered fondly' by anyone who ever had to bail out of one, risking being guillotined by the tail fin between its booms*
I got to sit in one many years ago. I twas truly scary that you could close the lid and go 500 MPH. You'd feel safer in an Austin Healy with the top down. Had all the security of a ME-163.
Did a vampire ever shoot down another aircraft?
I serviced Vampire T11s at RAF Valley in 1960……
As I understand it the Vampire had no ejector seat so wasn't too pilot friendly.
Surely the Flying Bedstead was the strangest jet aircraft from any nation.
Saw one flying over my house crumpsall Manchester 😍 in the 80s 😍
Flying low 😍
I saw Vampires flying over Switzerland in 1977.
I like your short informative videos
Great clip, very nicely put together. Is the narrator AI generated? If so, where do you get this from?
Why no performance figures apart from an altitude record by a modified example?
High Flight 1957 ray milland
Who was the ning who added the loud music - loud enough towards the end to drown out the commentary?
Am I correct in thinking the Nene powered version would have had a better climb rate and probably energy retention?
Hard core. 4 x 20mm cannon centerline mounted is chainsaw capable, not to be taken lightly.
I saw these and Hunters at Que Que in Rhodesia in the seventies.
2.23 "plywood"
I think some fuselage parts were made from balsa and plywood laminate, similar to Mosquitos. My father flew them and talked of them as wooden aircraft although the wings and tails and presumably the rear fuselage were aluminium.
most of the fuselage forward of the intakes was most definitely made of plywood, I witnessed repairs to sections of the plywood fuselage on a T33 being refurbished at RAAF east Sale in 1991. It wasnt your average hardware style plywood though, a special glue was used to prevent it 'delaminating' in tropical environments, which is what happed to the dehaviland mosquitos in the PTO. All Australian built Vampires were "tropicalised"
Newzealand also flew them too I did my gas turbine training on the H1 engine
офигенный ролик
@maxdavies ... you also invented the UFO i believe.
Good video let down with some very sloppy research.
No RAN Vampire was carrier capable.
The T22 was the Sea Vampire, six were purchased directly from Royal Navy stocks and I would very much like to see anybody jam 2 seats into a single seater cockpit.
Do better next time.
Only the engine was built by CAC, the rest by de Havilland.
My father found the fault with the goblin turbine.
He did spectrographic analysis .
Turbine blades were welded in with faulty welding rods.
They didn't have enough molybidimin.
He got a handshake from the big boss that's all.
Same as what I got for inventing the tweel which was given away by my father while I was at work.
It was hard losing my father.
He taught me so much & ruined my life over a little argument - now the lawn.
Gave away a billion dollar design.
I have been being robbed ever since I qualified as a tradesman in fabrication. All my best inventions / designs were stolen ,it wasn't just my father.
Quad copters.
Hydrogen plasma turbine.
Quantum ai logic chip.
Just have to be content with little or u go mad.
They were used in Rhodesia
I don't think the 262 was superior to the Meteor in any respect, its engines were useless requiring a rebuild every 20 hours (each aircraft needing four to stay in service) and it was unwanted by any air force beyond 1950 where as the Meteor remained in frontline service for decades after
Unfortunately the Gloster Meatbox was an unmitigated disaster that never saw operational service as a fighter and only killed British pilots.
MoD records confirm 890 crashed in RAF service alone killing 450 British pilots.
Even Eric Brown stated that the Me-262 was years ahead of anything the Allies had during WW2
I wonder if spars and primary structure is wood or aluminum? If wood, airframe life can be extremely long
The wings were metal as was the fuselage aft of the firewall. Forward of the firewall was wood. It had mechanical flight controls, hydraulic flaps and pneumatic brakes. I worked on one in 1970/1 in A&P school.
@@karlstreed3698 I read on Wikipedia that at least one aircraft was flyable until fatigue issues caught up. But today we have design and manufacturing tools able to permit replacement of structural forgings with adequate fabrications (machined billet replacing forged aluminum parts).
Not sure why you call it "strange"...thanks.