Thunder & Lightnings

Test Flying Memorial

"...and everywhere the
blue sky belongs to them
and is their appointed rest
and their native country"
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge



Date25/07/1945
CasualtiesSqn Ldr L. Gregory, Armament Test Squadron A&AEE TP
AircraftHawker Tempest Mk V NV946
Took off fromBoscombe Down, Wiltshire
Purpose of flightTest flight to check rocket tail clearance using zero length launchers
Incident locationEnford Range, Wiltshire
Incident detailsThe aircraft dived at an angle of more than 40ï‚° to release store at 1,500ft. It then turned steeply to port, flicked inverted and dived to the ground, impacting at more than 400 m.p.h.


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