Aircraft of the ADF – N6 de Havilland Vampire

N6 – De Havilland Vampire

With the order of 39 de Havilland Sea Venom jet fighters in 1951, the requirement arose for the Navy to operate an advanced jet training aircraft. The Vampire was already in production at de Havilland Australia’s (DHA) plant at Bankstown for the RAAF, and with future RAN pilots to train on the Vampire trainer with the RAAF and the Royal Navy, the DH.115 Vampire trainer was the logical choice.

Having first flown in a single seat configuration as the DH.100 Vampire fighter, the Vampire had been developed into a two seat night fighter, as the DH.113 for the RAF. The next step in development was to an advanced trainer, which de Havilland pursued as a private venture. The prototype DH.115 Vampire trainer, registered G-5-7, first flew on November 15 1950. After completion of company trials this aircraft was handed over to the RAF as WW456. Designated the Vampire T.11 in the RAF and Sea Vampire T.22 in the RN, the type became the standard jet trainer of the 1950s. It was exported to many countries as the T.55. In Australia, DHA had produced 80 single seat Vampire fighters and fighter bombers, under the designations Mark 30, 31 and 32. Vampire trainer production followed with the Mark 33 for the RAAF, the first of which entered service in 1952. The RAN ordered five Vampire trainers to follow the production of the RAAF’s Vampire T.33s. The RAAF aircraft were serialled A79-801 to A79-836 (DHA c/n 4081 to 4104, and 4110 to 4121), and the RAN aircraft, designated the Vampire T.34, were mixed with this production batch as A79-837 to A79-841 (c/n 4105 to 4109).

The RAN’s T.34s had the early features of the day, with no ejection seats, a framed canopy and small triangular vertical fins. These features were improved on new production machines, such as the next batch for the RAAF, designated the T.35 (serialled A79-600 to A79-668). The earlier RAAF aircraft were then retrofitted with these modifications and designated the T.35A. The T.35 had also featured increased fuel capacity, but this was not a retrofit modification to the earlier models.

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