Scimitar

Going through the Table you sent me, there is an error. The 23rd Nov'62 accident east of Milltown - the pilot was S/Lt Ian Bowden, and the a/c crashed due to pilot error. I was the Acting Senior Pilot of 736 at the time - he took off to carry out dummy deck landings at Milltown; he joined the circuit far too fast, broke downwind and threw his gear and flaps down in one movement, but forgot to select the 'Blow Switch' to ON. Consequently as he came round finals far to fast at 175 kts, the jet pitched up and entered a spin. Bowden ejected and his chute just opened as he hit the edge of the crater with his seat still attached to his bottom! He was damned lucky, and still insisted that he hadn't done anything wrong, but the AAIU found otherwise. Bowden was one of those pilot who had no fear, which is very dangerous for anybody who flies!

Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit Serial	based	crashed	crew	seat	photo
5th July 1955	RN	Supermarine 525 (P)	VX138	A&AEE Boscombe Down	could not recover after entering a spin 20min after take‑off 2m SSE of airfield	Lt. Cdr. Rickell ejected too late - fatal		Martin-Baker 4C
19th November 1958	RN	Scimitar	XD247 '194/R	807 Sqn Lossiemouth	Mid‑air explosion. Aircraft crashed Cullicudden, Black Isle, Ross & Cromarty	S. Lt. CR Cresswell RN ejected but seat did not separate - Died of his injuries		Martin-Baker 4C
	NB. All Scimitars grounded for several weeks following this incident with a suspected fault in the ejection seat mechanism. It was later proved that the ejection seat had not been fired by the cables or by movement of the seat on its rails. It seems the hood time delay mechanism must have been displaced by the explosive force. The pilot was subject to an inadvertent ejection with little or no delay after the hood fired. quoted in Scimitar by Eric Morgan & John Stevens, pub. Air Britain
10th November 1959	RN	Scimitar	XD281 '190/11'	807 Sqn	Hydraulic failure. Crashed in hilly country in Loch Cam/Ben Volich area, nr Aberfoyle, Perthshire	Lt. N. Grier-Rees ejected at 26,OOOft came down safely on the 2,300ft snow‑covered Ben Bhreac, then over several days walked 13 miles before reaching a farmhouse at Callander, Perthshire		Martin-Baker 4C
6th February 1960	RN	Scimitar F.1	XD238 145N	803 Sqn HMS Victorious	fuel leak, rapid fuel loss, engine flamed out on final approach aircraft crashed on road near Lossiemouth Golf Course on airfield boundary, Lossiemouth, Scotland	Lt. Cdr. Davies suffered slight injuries when he ejected at 200ft at low speed		Martin-Baker 4C
7th February 1960	RN	Scimitar	XD245 '155' or ' 156'	803 Sqn HMS Victorious	Hydraulic failure, unable to lower hook, emergency hook selector failed to operate hook. Unsuccessful landing attempt, aircraft then climbed out but went into the sea	(Lt R. W. D. Westlake ejected at 2,OOOft killed when parachute remained attached to seat and failed to deploy, body not found		Martin-Baker 4C
9th December 1960	RN	Scimitar	XD329	803 Sqn 154N HMS Victorious in Exercise Decex off Aden	pilot unable to maintain control as aircraft staggered into the air in nose‑up attitude after catapult launch with 1,000 bombs and drop tanks on	Lt. J. W. H. Purvis ejected at low level, parachute opened as hit water rescued unhurt by SAR [personal testimony]		Martin-Baker 4C
27th April 1961	RN	Scimitar	XD273 '152N' ??	803 Sqn ?? HMS Victorious	unable to cancel fire warning after pulling out of strafing dive nr North Borneo	Lt G. C. Edwardes ejected 4,OOOft at 300kts and sustained injuries, died in Changi hospital 3.5.61		Martin-Baker 4C
22nd June 1961	RN	XD237	736 Sqn		Practicing Forward Air Control. Lost height slowly while orbiting after dive attack during army co‑operation exercise, hit ground at shallow angle, BU, Stripeside Grange Farm, 2nm E of Keith,Banffshire	Instructor Flt. Lt. M. Farmer (RAF) - ejected from his a/c for some unknown reason killed		Martin-Baker 4C
21st July 1961	RN	Scimitar F1	XD264 108/R	800 Sqn	Hydraulic failure during acrobatic sortie. Crashed in wood five miles south of Cullen, Morayshire	Lt. Cdr. Danny P. Norman ejected at 8,OOOft 6m out over sea - minor back injuries [personal testimony of A.W. "Bill" Bedford]		Martin-Baker 4C
13th August 1962	RN	Scimitar	XD331	HMS Hermes	Mediterranean Exercise Rip Tide III, fuel starvation and resultant double flame‑out at 37,OOOft, glided until over escort HMS Scarborough	Lt. Cdr. B. Willson ejected 8,OOOft picked up slightly injured by escort's sea‑boat.		Martin-Baker 4C
15th November 1962	RN	Scimitar F.1	XD265'611'	736 Sqn Lossiemouth	Birdstrike ingested into starboard engine during overwater flight at 420 knots and 400ft, engine caught fire- crashed near Firth of Tay or Moray Firth, Scotland	Lt. Cdr. J. F. Kennett injured during ejection at 400ft and recovered by RAF Leuchars SAR helicopter a few minutes after hitting water		Martin-Baker 4C
23rd November 1962	RN	Scimitar	XD282 '610'	736 Sqn Lossiemouth	Birdstrike - crashed 2m E of Milltown airfield Scotland	Sub Lt. C. Legg ejected at 100ft, landed safely in soft muddy ground		Martin-Baker 4C
	Mike, Going through the Table you sent me, there is an error. The 23rd Nov'62 accident east of Milltown - the pilot was S/Lt Ian Bowden, and the a/c crashed due to pilot error. I was the Acting Senior Pilot of 736 at the time - he took off to carry out dummy deck landings at Milltown; he joined the circuit far too fast, broke downwind and threw his gear and flaps down in one movement, but forgot to select the 'Blow Switch' to ON. Consequently as he came round finals far to fast at 175 kts, the jet pitched up and entered a spin. Bowden ejected and his chute just opened as he hit the edge of the crater with his seat still attached to his bottom! He was damned lucky, and still insisted that he hadn't done anything wrong, but the AAIU found otherwise. Bowden was one of those pilot who had no fear, which is very dangerous for anybody who flies! Michael [Conflicts with Martin-Baker numbered list - gives this as Sub Lt. C. Legg ejection 626]
22nd May 1963	RN	Scimitar	XD239 103/R	800 Sqn HMS Ark Royal	diverted to RAF Khormaksar with radio and Hydraulic 1 intermittent failure after making four failed deck passes, failed on first attempt at runway due to poor visibility, lost height in turn, aircraft ditched in 6ft of water, Aden Harbour	Sub Lt. C. D. Legg ejected injured		Martin-Baker 4C
20th September 1963	RN	Scimitar	XD213	**HMS Hermes**	Hydraulic 1 failure after take‑off port leg failed to lower on approach to Yeovilton, and aircraft was overweight for a safe landing, unable to steer aircraft out to sea aircraft crashed in field nr East Chaldon, nr Weymouth, Dorset	Sub Lt. A. J. Middleton ejected safely landing among herd of cows		Martin-Baker 4C
28th January 1964	RN	Scimitar F1	XD249 R/111	800 Sqn Ferrying from Yeovilton	Hydraulic leak. Crashed into the Moray Firth off Lossiemouth, Morayshire	Lt. P. E. H. Banfield ejected, injured, picked up by SAR Helicopter		Martin-Baker 4C
16th July 1964	RN	Scimitar	XD216 '22'	ETPS Farnborough	During spin, complete electrical failure initiated by operation of crash inertia switches in violent manoeuvre, starboard engine then port engine surged and flamed out. Crashed in sea 5m off West Wittering, Sussex	F/Lt B. L . Gartner (RCAF) ejected over coast at 1,500ft and 200knots but remained attached to seat by leg restraint cords. Waded ashore		Martin-Baker 4C
28th September 1964	RN	Scimitar	XD230 154/R	803 Sqn Lossiemouth	Hydraulic 1 failure whilst acting as tanker, ditched after port leg would not lower. Unable to dislodge it. Crashed into Moray Firth off Lossiemouth	Sub Lt. P. J. McManus ejected recovered injured from sea by helicopter		Martin-Baker 4C
27th April 1965	RN	Scimitar	XD270	800 Sqn ??? HMS Eagle	Crashed after double flame‑out in Aden area	Lt. I. P. F. Meiklejohn ejected safely		Martin-Baker 4C
15th July 1965	RN	Scimitar F.1	XD268 / 112	800B Fleet Air Arm	Single‑engined Circuit practice at Lossiemouth. crashed 2m short of runway in field nr Duffus, Aberfoyle, Perthshire	Sub Lt. A. C. Hill ejected with minor injuries		Martin-Baker 4C
20th September 1965	RN	Scimitar	XD223 031/R'	803 Sqn HMS Ark Royal	Test flight, crashed on final approach during diversion following engine problem RAF Changi,	Lt. P. A. "Paddy" Waring ejected, slightly injured [personal testimony]		Martin-Baker 4C
31st December 1965	RN	Scimitar	XD318	803 Sqn `025/R' HMSArk Royal	After in‑flight refuelling, low pressure fuelwarning, waved off once, bolted once, then both engines failed whilst downwind for a third attempt, aircraft ditched	Lt. M. J. Williams ejected, recovered unhurt by SAR helicopter		Martin-Baker 4C
28th January 1966	RN	Scimitar	XD316 '015/R')	803 Sqn HMS Ark Royal,	pitched up on final approach, unable to recover. Aircraft ditched in South China Sea	Sub Lt. Z. K. Skrodzki ejected at 300ft picked up unhurt by SAR helicopter		Martin-Baker 4C
16th or 17th February 1966	RN	Scimitar	XD250	736 Sqn ??? HMS Ark Royal	Hydraulic failure, fire in aircraft. Ditched in Indian Ocean 30m from carrier, 90m E of Mombasa	Sub Lt. Z. K. Skrodzki ejected picked up unhurt by 815 Sqn Wessex - - severely damaged his leg(s) as he left the cockpit and he died from his injuries!		Martin-Baker 4C
FEEDBACK	"A correction for you. Lt Skrodski's second ejection in 1966 was not fatal - he died a year or two later following a late ejection from a Hunter." Schiller in email 10th April 2006
6th April 1966	RN	Scimitar	XD277 115/E	803 Sqn	Partial hydraulic failure and fire warnings after take‑off from Changi, first starboard, then port engine, aircraft headed seawards crashed in sea in flames	Lt. P. De Souza ejected rescued injured about 100yds from coast by helicopter		Martin-Baker 4C