The Woodford Vampires

[Alf]

Does anybody have a complete list of the Vampire T11s that were at Woodford (late 1960s/early 1970s)? These were there for possible resale and were stored on the Adlington site just off the airfield. Nothing ever came of a future resale and they were then given away to many North West schools/colleges/ATC units and start up museums. I think one stayed at Woodford with the apprentices and another at Chadderton with theirs. Would be interesting to know what they all were and where they first went to after Woodford. Thanks.

[Mustang531]

Back in about 1973, the then British Aircraft Preservation Council managed to negotiate to receive a dozen Vampires for distribution amongst various museums and preservation societies. I think there were around 50 stored at Woodford and they ended up spread far and wide. As you say some went to ATC units and colleges. I remember a friend arranging a visit to a college in St Alban's in early 1989 to see three there, which probably came from Woodford. It's a long job, but I need to go through my logs and other archive material, the stuff my wife refers to as useless Cr*p, but could put together a listing in the next few days.

[Tangopapa]

The fourth edition of Wrecks and Relics by Ken Ellis states that there were 43 Vampire T.11's is store at Woodford 1971/72 on the Adlington site. By the time this edition was printed in August 1974 they had all moved on. The one that stayed at Woodford was XE998/36 and XD395/19 went to Chadderton. Like Mustang I'll trawl some publications to see what I can find.

[Tangopapa]

Sorry to encroach on Mustangs offer above, but with time on my hands this morning I've trawled through W&R edition 4 and come up with the following list of 41 airframes, the missing two may be lurking in the pages somewhere. I've corrected a couple of errors I noticed otherwise it's as printed and ready for correction as needed. Hope this helps out (and that the formatting works OK). Tangopapa

WZ416/59 2033 Sq ATC, Hatfield, Herts
WZ425/22 South Wales Historic Aircraft Preservation Society, Cardiff Rhoose
WZ450 RAFA Wrexham
WZ476 unknown
WZ505/57 Bramhall County High School, Cheshire
WZ514 Private address, Bidstow Cheshire
WZ515/10 Skyfame Aircraft Museum, Staverton
WZ518 Stockport Aircraft Preservation Society
WZ553/40 Merseyside Aviation Society, Speke, Liverpool
WZ557/47 Yorkshire Aircraft Preservation Society, Acaster Malbis
WZ589/19 Lashendon Air Warfare Museum, Headcorn Kent
WZ590/19 Duxford
WZ608/56 HSA Bitteswell apprentices
XD395 HSA Woodford apprentices
XD403/41 Strathallan
XD425/16 Stranraer Academy
XD434/75 Manchester University Physics Department, Barton Airfield
XD435/26 1832 Sq ATC, Harpurhey, Lancs
XD447/33 Tattershall, Lincs
XD534/41 Cheadle Hulme School, Cheshire
XD535/54 Royal Umpire Museum, Croston, Lancs
XD540/55 Royal School for the Deaf, Handforth Cheshire
XD593/50 Newark Air Museum
XD595 Private address. Altrincham Cheshire
XD616/54 Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden
XE852/60 HSA Hawarden apprentices
XE855 Upton County School, Cheshire
XE856 1166 Sq ATC, Welwyn Garden City
XE872/62 Midland Aircraft Preservation Society. Displayed at Blue Lias pub, Stockton, Warks
XE874/61 RAF Valley for gate guard
XE935 Knebworth House, Hitchin, Herts – wings of XE985
XE979/54 Standish Hospital. Glos.
XE985 unknown – wings of XE935
XE995/53 Torbay Aircraft Museum, Devon
XE998 HSA Chadderton apprentices
XH312/18 ATC Sq, Knutsford
XH330/40 HSA Hawarden apprentices
XK623/56 Moston Tech College, Lancs
XK625/12 Historic Aircraft Museum, Southend
XK627/38 Hazel Grove Secondary School for Girls, Hazel Grove Cheshire
XK637 1885 Sq ATC, Royton Lancs

[Alf]

Sorry to encroach on Mustangs offer above, but with time on my hands this morning I've trawled through W&R edition 4 and come up with the following list of 41 airframes, the missing two may be lurking in the pages somewhere. I've corrected a couple of errors I noticed otherwise it's as printed and ready for correction as needed. Hope this helps out (and that the formatting works OK). Tangopapa

WZ416/59 2033 Sq ATC, Hatfield, Herts
WZ425/22 South Wales Historic Aircraft Preservation Society, Cardiff Rhoose
WZ450 RAFA Wrexham
WZ476 unknown
WZ505/57 Bramhall County High School, Cheshire
WZ514 Private address, Bidstow Cheshire
WZ515/10 Skyfame Aircraft Museum, Staverton
WZ518 Stockport Aircraft Preservation Society
WZ553/40 Merseyside Aviation Society, Speke, Liverpool
WZ557/47 Yorkshire Aircraft Preservation Society, Acaster Malbis
WZ589/19 Lashendon Air Warfare Museum, Headcorn Kent
WZ590/19 Duxford
WZ608/56 HSA Bitteswell apprentices
XD395 HSA Woodford apprentices
XD403/41 Strathallan
XD425/16 Stranraer Academy
XD434/75 Manchester University Physics Department, Barton Airfield
XD435/26 1832 Sq ATC, Harpurhey, Lancs
XD447/33 Tattershall, Lincs
XD534/41 Cheadle Hulme School, Cheshire
XD535/54 Royal Umpire Museum, Croston, Lancs
XD540/55 Royal School for the Deaf, Handforth Cheshire
XD593/50 Newark Air Museum
XD595 Private address. Altrincham Cheshire
XD616/54 Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden
XE852/60 HSA Hawarden apprentices
XE855 Upton County School, Cheshire
XE856 1166 Sq ATC, Welwyn Garden City
XE872/62 Midland Aircraft Preservation Society. Displayed at Blue Lias pub, Stockton, Warks
XE874/61 RAF Valley for gate guard
XE935 Knebworth House, Hitchin, Herts – wings of XE985
XE979/54 Standish Hospital. Glos.
XE985 unknown – wings of XE935
XE995/53 Torbay Aircraft Museum, Devon
XE998 HSA Chadderton apprentices
XH312/18 ATC Sq, Knutsford
XH330/40 HSA Hawarden apprentices
XK623/56 Moston Tech College, Lancs
XK625/12 Historic Aircraft Museum, Southend
XK627/38 Hazel Grove Secondary School for Girls, Hazel Grove Cheshire
XK637 1885 Sq ATC, Royton Lancs

Thanks, that's a great response!!

[Mustang531]

Thanks Tangopapa, no problems with dealing with this. I looked at the St Alban's list and they were WZ584, XE956 and XH313, so not from Woodford. But the tailbooms from WZ416 were there.
The DH Museum at London Colney did have a composite Vampire consisting of WZ476 and XE985 for a few years. I'm not sure if XD616 was ever assembled at Old Warden, I did see it there in 1974 and it was still dismantled.

[NAM Updater]

XD593 was moved to Newark Air Museum on 30th March 1973 & as a teenager, who had just joined NAM it was the first aircraft that I had ever seen in a dismantled condition.

It is now on display in Hangar 1 at Newark!

[rh226]

WZ518 is now at NEAM, Usworth where I saw it on 18 May 1982. By then it was coded 37 and had acquired the wings of WZ608.

[Alf]

Thanks for all the responses, if anybody can fill in any gaps or id the final 2 of the 43 that would be great.

[Mustang531]

I've been looking through the list and various publications and it could be quite a long job. From the original listing and referring back to W&R4, it mentions that some of the Woodford Vampires were exported, so really could be anywhere and deeper research would be required. There have been numerous cases of interchanges of pods and wings and booms etc.
Quite a few survive with museums and collections within the UK. I know that WZ425 can be found with that private collection in Birlingham in Worcestershire, but when I last saw it about 25 years ago, it looked rather tatty and tired then. Others are:-
WZ515 Solway Aviation Museum, Carlisle Airport.
WZ518 North East AM, Usworth.
WZ557 Morayvia, Kinloss.
WZ590 IWM Duxford.
XD425 Morayvia, Kinloss, forward fuselage.
XD434 Fenland & West Norfolk Museum, Wisbech.
XD447 East Midlands Airport Aeropark.
XD534 as XD447, but with wings and booms of XD382.
XD593 Newark Air Museum.
XE852 with ATC squadron at Harwarden, wings of XE935.
XE855 Midland Air Museum, Baginton, pod only stored.
XE856 Bournemouth Airport Museum.
XE935 South Yorkshire Aviation Museum, Doncaster. Whose wings though?
XE998 Solent Sky Museum, Southampton, painted in Swiss AF markings as U-1215.
XK623 Caernarfon Air World Museum.
XK625 Romney Marsh Collection, Brenzett, Kent.
XK627 Cornwall Aviation Museum, Davidstow, forward fuselage only.
There are several in private hands, mostly just pods or forward fuselages. I need to do a bit of sleuthing with these. I know that XD535 was scrapped at Barton, XE872 was scrapped at Baginton and XD540 was delivered to the Royal School For The Deaf at Handforth in Cheshire. When it was being reassembled, it was somehow badly damaged, so was broken up in 1975.
It will be a gradual process, but I will work my way through the archive, which is essentially all the Wrecks & Relics from 4th edition onwards..
More to follow!

[Alf]

I can add that XH312 which went to Knutsford ATC moved to Dodleston (near Chester) in September 1983. It was happy there for over 20+ years before being set on fire by local yobs. It has since moved down the road to a "paint ball" range.. where it still lives (just).