RAAF Vampire Mk.31 A79-175, c/n 4059

This aircraft was delivered to the RAAF in July 1952 and served with 2 OTU, 22 City of Sydney Squadron, East Sale (Central Flying School), and 21 City of Melbourne Squadron. While with 21 Squadron, the aircraft participated in Operation Comax Kingfisher in July 1955 in the Darwin, NT, area.

After the aircraft ceased flying around the start 1960, it was used for rigging practice by 21 Squadron. Around 1971, the aircraft was mounted on a pole at the RAAF Museum, Point Cook. In the 1980’s the aircraft was taken down and an exchange deal was arranged with Hawker de Havilland apprentice school for Mustang components. Hawker de Havilland had gathered together 5 aircraft (Drover, Tiger Moth, Dragon and two Vampires) to be restored and flown by the company. When the recession struck in the early 90’s, the two Vampires were sold to the Camden Museum of Aviation. In 1996, Nicholas Cale bought A79-175 from the CMA. The aircraft is in slightly better condition than A79-733 and is also slowly being restored.

RAAF Vampire Mk.31 A79-733, c/n 4079

This was the second last Australian single-seater to be built. It seems likely that it was the last single-seater to fly for the RAAF, carrying out target-towing duties in early 1960 for 2 OTU, when many were at Tocumwal in storage, ahead of being scrapped, and others were being assigned as ground training airframes. The identity of this aircraft is often confused with that of A79-375 as an error was made when registrations were reapplied after these aircraft finished their roles as instructional airframes.

The Australian single-seat Vampires were powered by the CAC-built Rolls Royce Nene, as opposed to the DH Goblin, the usual engine for both single-seat and two-seat Vampires. The only other Nene-powered production DH.100s were the SNCASE variants called the Mistral, built in France.

A79-733 was delivered to the RAAF in April 1953 and served with 22 City of Sydney Squadron and 2 OTU. When it ceased flying, it became instructional airframe no. 17, and was in use at the RSTT, Wagga. It was disposed of in around 1970 and was mounted on a pole in Bolton Park, Wagga, where it remained, deteriorating, until removed in the second half of the eighties. For a time it was in open storage at the FAA Nowra base before being acquired by Nicholas Cale in 1996. The fuselage is in very poor condition, but the aircraft is being slowly restored.

This aircraft was imported in to Australia in the late 1980’s with four other single-seaters and two trainers. 

R1382 was originally built for the South African Air Force and had the SAAF registration 252. 

Despite a UN arms embargo, the aircraft was exported from South Africa to Rhodesia in the 1970s, along with other Vampires. R1382 was used in combat on numerous occasions. 

Vampires flew with the Rhodesian and then Zimbabwe Air Force until they were declared ‘fatigue expired’ in 1981. 

This aircraft changed hands several time before it was bought by Nicholas Cale in 2017. During the noughties, the aircraft was painted in an RAAF scheme with 2OTU Red Devil, and given the fictitious registration A79-417.

The photograph, by Nicholas Cale ,shows the aircraft while being disassembled on 15th May, 2017.

The not-for-profit organisation Vampire Projects Incorporated is restoring the aircraft to airworthiness at The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia. The project provides Aeronautical Engineering students with work experience and thesis topics.