de Havilland Sea Vixen - Survivor XS576
FAW.2 XS576 - Imperial War Museum, Duxford Airfield, Cambridgeshire
 |  |  |
Sea Vixen FAW.2 XS576 at Duxford, 20th March 2022; Adam Poultney
FAW.2 XS576 was first flown on 26th September 1964, and delivered to a holding unit at Brawdy the next month. She was then delivered to RNAY Fleetlands to be prepared for sea transport to Changi in Singapore, where she then joined 899 NAS on HMS Eagle in April 1965. She later moved to 893 NAS on HMS Victorious, then back to 899 NAS at Yeovilton in 1967. She spent time with NASU at Yeovilton too before finishing her service back with 899 NAS, being retired to storage at RNAY Belfast in March 1971.
XS576 was then earmarked for preservation and flown to the Imperial War Museum, Duxford for display on 17th March 1972. Since then she has mostly been kept indoors, so retains her original paint scheme, which is in fairly good condition. The airframe has had a few periods outside that have resulted in some fading and showing some areas where the paint has rubbed off the radome due to flapping covers. She's armed with a single Red Top missile, quite unusual for a preserved example - most have either no weapons or Firestreaks instead. Her nose oleo desperately needs pumping up and a gag fitting around the leg, as she's sitting almost on top of the nose wheel, and has done for some time.
XS576 was then earmarked for preservation and flown to the Imperial War Museum, Duxford for display on 17th March 1972. Since then she has mostly been kept indoors, so retains her original paint scheme, which is in fairly good condition. The airframe has had a few periods outside that have resulted in some fading and showing some areas where the paint has rubbed off the radome due to flapping covers. She's armed with a single Red Top missile, quite unusual for a preserved example - most have either no weapons or Firestreaks instead. Her nose oleo desperately needs pumping up and a gag fitting around the leg, as she's sitting almost on top of the nose wheel, and has done for some time.
Information on this page current as of 25/03/2022, last updated by Jake |
Find other photos of XS576 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net