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October 1948 Book 9
On the 25th of October, during a Defence Exercise Malta (DXM), the aerodrome was under surprise attack from 30 Corsair aircraft flying from the American carrier F D Roo¬sevelt, which could he seen cruising off the north coast. Four Vampires led by the CO had just sufficient warning to get airborne before the Corsairs arrived, and made successful interceptions. In the middle of the melee the CO's Vampire VT 805 collided with a RN Harvard [EZ 4061 from Hal Far that had wandered into the dogfight, or possibly had got itself involved deliberately - several witnesses saw it diving down on the airfield with the Corsairs. The collision occurred as all the aircraft climbed up and away from the drome, with both machines in a climbing turn to port. The Harvard lost its starboard wing and dived into the ground, followed by the wing which fluttered down behind it. Both occupants were killed instantly. The Vampire with a badly damaged port wing disappeared from the scene momentarily, then reappeared as if from nowhere, on the approach to the runway from the north west, with wheels down and at 200 kt, below which speed it was uncontrollable. It ran out of runway, with the pilot selecting 'wheels up', and finishing in a field outside the drome. There was plenty of time for the pilot to get out, and the camera was removed from its housing in the nose before fire took hold and the aircraft was burnt out because the fire crew had gone to lmtarfa where the wreck of the Harvard was burning. The 26th saw a successful attack by 73 on the FDR, and next day came the funeral of Lts Matthews and Moorhall (sic should be Marsden – David Haigh), the two RN occupants of the Harvard.
Ian Middleton: I was one of many ground crew to witness the collision from the dispersal areas. As all the aircraft climbed away after diving on TaKali, the Vampire and Harvard collided, both banking to port and climbing. We all expected the Harvard crew to bail out but sadly it was not to be. |
Our Haigh & Gurden Family
