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By: 24th May 2019 at 09:56 Permalink
-I don't think there was any such incident involving a Buccaneer at Changi, at least not in the 1963-1967 time period. There were of course several Buccaneer losses in the wider Singapore area.
By: 24th May 2019 at 14:09 Permalink
-Perhaps not a Buccaneer, but might it have been FAA Scimitar F1 XD233 of 804 NAS?; which crashed near the end of the runway at Changi in Sept 1965 after suffering generator and hydraulic failure: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=160980
By: 25th May 2019 at 10:10 Permalink
-That sounds pretty much spot on and I would guess that time has muddied memories a little. I didn't think to look at other crashes around that time. Thank for clearing it up.
By: 26th May 2019 at 08:30 Permalink
-I saw this happen. I was on the line at 205 Sqn when 3 Scimitars took off.- a few minutes later they came back in line abreast across the runway and when they were over 110 Sqdn the two outers peeled off and the centre pilot ejected. He was so close to the beach that he walked out of the sea just as the fire engines arrived.
By: 26th May 2019 at 14:14 Permalink
-I somehow don't think the crash that you witnessed was the same one?
The one mentioned in my earlier post occurred in September 1965 when a Scimitar which had taken off from Ark Royal on an engine test flight, had one engine fail to re-ignite after a shut-down, and was diverted to Changi and the crash occurred on approach. Mentions of 110 Sqn appear to suggest that they were only stationed at Changi from 1969?
I have been doing a little more digging about the test flight crash, and came across these two articles written about the incident by the pilot concerned (Lt Paddy Waring). It left him with an injury which eventually (after a fall some twelve years later) left him paralysed from the waist down. An interesting read (I note he refers to HMS Eagle, but other sources state that he had taken off from the 'Ark'). The second article includes a photo of the Scimitar upside-down on the ORP:
https://www.inspire-foundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Paddy-Part-I.pdf
https://www.inspire-foundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Paddy-Part-II.pdf
By: 29th May 2019 at 08:51 Permalink
-Further investigation reveals that it was XD277 that I saw ditch on 6 April 1966. Problem was engine fires and hydraulic failure.
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By: inkworm - 24th May 2019 at 09:38
I'm trying to find the details of a Buccaneer crash at Changi based on a tale I've been told by an Argosy pilot, he seems to think it was around late 1965 but I've drawn a blank so far. Here's the tale for anyone interested: