On the 25th of July 1951 this Vampire aircraft ,piloted by F/O
Lawerence Beckford,
crashed into Strines Moor in the Peak District.
The pilot had been on training exercise when he ran out of fuel on the leg back to base . It is suspected that his compass was not re-set correctly after a session of aerobatics but on realising the impending lack of fuel he used his resources and chose to attempt a wheels up landing on this flat moor.
In this he was both successful and a little lucky , for he managed not to hit any of the rocks which are strewn amongst the deep heather.
On landing he was aided from the aircraft by a local just before it burst into flames . The aircraft burned to destruction.
All thats left are lumps of molten alloy and a few fragments of tubing and glass.
crashed into Strines Moor in the Peak District.
The pilot had been on training exercise when he ran out of fuel on the leg back to base . It is suspected that his compass was not re-set correctly after a session of aerobatics but on realising the impending lack of fuel he used his resources and chose to attempt a wheels up landing on this flat moor.
In this he was both successful and a little lucky , for he managed not to hit any of the rocks which are strewn amongst the deep heather.
On landing he was aided from the aircraft by a local just before it burst into flames . The aircraft burned to destruction.
All thats left are lumps of molten alloy and a few fragments of tubing and glass.
This is one of the easiest of sites to visit on moorland ......you can
even see my car in the shot if looked at in original size. 250 metres,
tops, from the gate by the road to the crash site. Its hard to imagine
that its location had been 'lost' for all those years.
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