Date:	Thursday 7 January 1954
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.115 Vampire T Mk 11
Owner/operator:	202 AFS RAF
Registration:	WZ561
MSN:	15120
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	1 mile SW of Pentraeth, Anglesey, Wales -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
De Havilland DH.115 Vampire T.11 WZ561, 202 AFS, RAF: Written off 07/01/54: crashed and destroyed when spun into the ground 1 mile southwest of Pentraeth, Anglesey, shortly after take off from RAF Valley. Both crew killed.

The aircraft was seen spinning at 15,000 feet, and continued to spin down until a few hundred feet above the ground, when it was seen to level out and flick several times to the left before diving into the ground. There was evidence that the De Havilland Vampire had unpredictable spinning characteristics, and it could be difficult for the crew to abandon the aircraft quickly when encumbered with parachutes and dinghy packs.

Crew of Vampire WZ561:
Sergeant Jack Charles Marshall RAF (QFI Flying Instructor, aged 28
Pilot Officer Edwin Dennis Mitchell RAF (pupil pilot under instruction, aged 22)

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.154 ISBN 0-85130-290-4
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT 233/192: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424313
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 109)
4. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.24
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WZ
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH115%20prodn%20list.txt
7. https://ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh115.pdf

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
06-Mar-2013 12:50	Dr. John Smith	Added
20-May-2015 07:06	angels one five	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Nature, Narrative]
04-Dec-2018 20:14	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]
07-Jan-2020 19:29	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Source, Narrative]
07-Jan-2020 21:05	stehlik49	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Operator]
10-Jan-2020 20:34	stehlik49	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Operator]
22-Feb-2020 18:07	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative]
22-Feb-2020 18:09	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
23-Feb-2020 09:40	Iwosh	Updated [Operator, Operator]
02-Apr-2020 18:03	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
04-Apr-2020 21:03	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Narrative]
05-Apr-2020 09:15	DG333	Updated [Operator, Operator]