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Droning away

Minus her rudders, Red/Yellow painted Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) De Havilland (Hawker-Siddeley) Sea Vixen D.3 XN652 at Flight Refueling's facility, Hurn Airport 22nd March 1984.

 

She was there with several other ex Royal Navy machines namely:

 

RAE 'Red/Yellow' D.3's XS577, XP924 and 'Red/Yellow/White' XS587 FAW.2/TT with appropriate, 'Black & Yellow' Target Tug stripes underneath.

 

Also RN marked FAW.2's XJ580/E, XJ602 and XN697/H54 were dotted around the old Navy's FRADU pans there.

 

All were part of the ill-fated Sea Vixen drone conversion programme which in the end was scrapped.

 

Of the above,

XP924 survived and is the only flying Sea Vixen and is billed to appear at this year's RNAS Yeovilton Air Show.

XS587 is with the Gatwick Aviation Museum and

XJ580 is with the Tangmere Aviation Museum.

XS577 was scrapped with the nose section surviving.

 

Image created from a very challenged 'stitch' of three scanned prints

 

 

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Uploaded on July 4, 2014
Taken on March 22, 1984