Gloster Javelin F.A.W Mk.5 XA662 of No.228 Operational Conversion Unit, crash in Apedale near to Castle Bolton, Wensleydale, North Yorkshire on the 29th September 1959

Gloster Javelin

 

Robert E. Nietz Captain, USAF Pilot OK
Christopher Pennington Cowper Flying Officer Navigator OK

 

The crew were on a training flight from RAF Leeming near Northallerton. While over the Wensleydale area the aircraft suffered an engine fire and the other shut down after a fire warning, the crew then made the decision to abandon the aircraft and did so successfully, the aircraft continued on before crashing in a fairly flat attitude on moorland in Apedale to the North of Castle Bolton.

Wreckage at the crash site of Gloster Javelin XA662 on Apedale moor, Castle Bolton, Yorkshire
Scattered fragments from the aircraft where it fell.
Wreckage at the crash site of Gloster Javelin XA662 on Apedale moor, Castle Bolton, Yorkshire
One of the aircraft’s jet pipes is still is still on site, although a little on the flat side. The section is a good 9 feet long.
Wreckage at the crash site of Gloster Javelin XA662 on Apedale moor, Castle Bolton, Yorkshire
One of the main wheel tires can be found by the jet pipe, it is marked with June 59, so was not all that old when it was destroyed.