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	Firebrand, Boscombe Down

It is not unusual to organise a dig based on the recollections of only one eyewitness. It is more surprising when that eyewitness is the pilot involved in the crash!
In August this year the Marches Aviation society excavated the crash site of Blackburn Firebrand TF II DK379 that had crashed on 22nd February 1945. This was an unusual aircraft flown by a distinguished pilot. He had related his experiences in a letter to the webmaster of this esteemed site and marked the position of his crash on an attached map.

22nd March 1980
Dear Mr Parry,
The FAA Museum has forwarded your letter about the Firebrand accident to me. I will tell you what I can remember. I might say it is quite gratifying to find that somebody is interested in the former activities of an old has-been such as myself!
At the time I was the C.O. of the Naval Test Squadron A.+A.E.E. at Boscombe Down. The Firebrand was a luckless case from the point of view of control, stability and manoeuvrability as a fighter, which it was supposed to be. It was therefore decided to try it as a torpedo bomber.
A torpedo was hung on the aircraft in question (I have mislaid my flying log book, but no doubt you have the number right), and it was sent to Boscombe Down for handling clearance.
It was quickly obvious that this wouldn’t do either, because as soon as it started to go downhill, at around 250 knots indicated, the whole caboodle started to shake. The symptoms were called “buffeting”, indicating turbulent airflow somewhere.
In these circumstances the test pilot is supposed to push the speed up in steps as far as he thinks it is not too dangerous so as to be able to put in as comprehensive a report as possible. It is also possible that over a certain speed the tremble might get better again, which would be helpful information for the aerodynamicists.
I ventured I would do just one more dive at a slightly higher speed, somewhere near 300 knots if I remember, but at this point the thing bust.
There was a wooden aerofoil on the tail of the torpedo, to control its flight after release. This came off (not the torpedo itself) and hit the tail plane of the aircraft, making the thing so nose heavy that even holding back with both hands one couldn’t get the speed down to less than about 250 knots. Consequently I had to bale out, going pretty fast for those days, without ejection seats.
I think that is all there is to it, but if can be of any more help, please let me know.

Yours sincerely
Michael Torrens-Spence

The pilot, FMA Torrens Spence, was CO of the Naval Test Squadron at the Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment, Boscombe Down. He had previously flown a Swordfish at Taranto gaining a part share in damaging the Battleship Littorio and later damaging the cruiser Pola. He had also crashed an Albacore on Crete and force landed a propeller-less Barracuda near Stone Henge amongst other things.
Despite being abandoned in a high speed dive the plane appears to have spun in, burned badly and been thoroughly recovered at the time. Nothing penetrated the hard chalk more than about three feet and most of what did had long reduced to Daz like corrosion. The biggest lumps were the internals from the distributor and ignition harness. These confirmed the power plant with connections labeled T and B relating to the top and bottom cylinder spark plugs on the enormous Sabre. Fragments of the gun sight came out and cleaning the pieces off later revealed an RPM gauge complete with face. Some of it will be returning to Boscombe Down in due course.

Ian

	Gareth gets his hands on a toy digger! Although it was known that the aircraft had dived into the ground, the geology of the area was known to be chalk and flint just below the topsoil and the wreckage was not going to be deeply buried.
	One Man and his Dig - keeping an eye out for parts.
	Some of the smaller items discovered.
	One of the few recognisable parts.