de Havilland Sea Vixen

The de Havilland Sea Vixen was the first British two-seat fighter to ever break the sound barrier.
Known initially as DH 110, it was one of de Havilland Aircraft Company's earliest jet fighters.
The aircraft was also famous among the Navy men for its immediately noticeable twin-boom tail and its unconventional cockpit layout.
And while the aircraft exceeded expectations in its earliest stages and took part in the peak decade for the Fleet Air Arm and the Navy's aircraft carrier force, as well as the overwhelming operation that halted Iraq's plans to invade Kuwait, the Sea Vixen's career was plagued with tragedy, intrigue, and even one more curious record.
---
Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.

[@jamestiberiuskirk5994]

Being a former USAF aircraft mechanic, to me this is one of the most beautiful jets I have seen. Built the airfix model decades ago while stationed In the 🇬🇧

[@gumpyoldbugger6944]

Really? I've always found to rather odd looking to the point of being ugly.....each to their own I guess.

[@MichaelMiller-op8fe]

@@gumpyoldbugger6944 you living up to your name old man?

[@gumpyoldbugger6944]

@@MichaelMiller-op8fe Surprisingly, yer not the first to tell me that.......I must be doing something right eh?

[@gumpyoldbugger6944]

basically, it's the off set cockpit that throws the aesthetics of the A/C off for me.....sort of like looking at what should be a utterly beautiful face, for some reason it has two bulging bugs eyes on on side of it.....

[@trevortrevortsr2]

As a little boy we lived near the end of the De Havaland runway - Vixens & Vampires would race over our house regular - they made a hell of a noise, a kind of deathly howel nothing like todays aircraft it made the windows shake

[@stephenmeier4658]

"In the aftermath of World War Two the Royal Navy was finally able to transport aircraft on Carriers". Quite a surprise that the Royal Navy's Carrier operations from 1939-1945 are completely ignored in that statement.

[@bikercuz69]

Indeed- especially as the Royal Navy literally invented the aircraft carrier in WWI...

[@tsr207]

@@bikercuz69 Most American historians like to forget that (and the innovations that followed- angled decks steam catapults ,etc) as it spoils the "projected force "image the US portrays.

[@tempestfury8324]

This guy constantly gets his "facts" wrong.

[@narcissusnarwhal7141]

Precisely this statement by the commentator also stopped me in my tracks. ‘Dark Skies’ should withdraw and leave such topics to others who are competent and conscientious enough to handle them properly.

[@johnparnell9488]

@@tempestfury8324 While there are often errors, the channel is beloved by its subscribers. This one must feel like a slap in the face to Brit aviation buffs!

[@brianartillery]

The John Derry DH-110 crash at Farnborough in 1952, where 30 people died, is still one of the most terrifying pieces of movie film. The fuselage dropping out of the sky just in front of the spectators, and worse, the two engines flying in to impact in the middle of a crowd of people. Simply horrific. Did they stop the show? They did not. In fact, a friend of the deceased crew, Neville Duke, took off a bit later in the prototype Hawker Hunter, and overflew the show as a salute to his dead friends.

[@daviddunsmore103]

Men were men back then! The generation that fought World War II were a somewhat tougher lot than the politically correct neutered nitwits we have today. SMH

[@peekaboopeekaboo1165]

DS brought up the "Shorham Airshow" incident... that's actually staged for property purposes. Targeting a Chinese commemorative event in and over or above Tiananmen Square.

[@ToothbrushMan]

@@daviddunsmore103 Nothing to do with WWII.

[@Tomg32b]

Stopping the show would have caused the spectators to leave, clogging the roads, and impeding the ambulances. See here for a disaster at a car race in 1955. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iH7SmWiej6aUkM0

[@MrPeteUK]

My Dad was there and witnessed the crash and was not very far from where one of the engines entered the crowd. He was very lucky not to have been injured, he never spoke about it much just saying that it was a terrible shame...

[@perceivedvelocity9914]

I know that looks are not the most important factor but.... This was a amazing looking airplane.

[@johnbockelie3899]

Don't forget her American cousin, " The Gutless " er, .........Cutlass .

[@Felix-dv9wn]

Exactly, idk why but early british jet got some amazing looks. And its unique cuz of the tail and wide wing

[@sagesheahan6732]

Agreed. The DH-110 is gorgeous! 😳😮😍

[@davidmackie8552]

Lovely lines

[@rekka431]

Sea vixen is absolutely gorgeous 🥰😍

[@adriansams6066]

My dad was an Armourer in 814sq Fleet Air Arm (1957-69) and worked on the Sea Vixens. He has some photo's of one catching fire on landing and if it wasn't for the small yellow tractor unit taking a hit I wouldn't be here. He views his Life at sea as the best years of his life.

[@cascadianrangers728]

Love reading people's experiences with the aircraft here in the comments. I don't know how to fly, but my grandfather was an Army Air Corps pilot in Burma, flying an unarmed c47 down the aluminum trail over the hymilan mountains, and his stories, experience and knowledge kindled my interest and love of aviation, and I could not have more respect for the people who work on and fly such amazing machines; Thank you all.

[@brostenen]

I find this generation of British jet design, the most visually beautifull.

[@pgroove163]

the brits had some cool looking shit back in the day

[@brostenen]

@@pgroove163 Yup. Also the V bombers. They were beautifull designed.

[@underwaterdick]

@@brostenen apart from the Victor, so ugly you HAVE to love the look! If any aircraft has ever screamed "Nuclear Apocalypse" it was the Victor. It certainly looked the part. The sea vixen being the most beautiful jet fighter of all time IMO. Spent many hours watching it display.

[@eriktruchinskas3747]

@underwaterdick you take that back!!!! Well okay compared to others its not as pretty or futuristic looking, it looks like the inbetween between the past and the future but its still awesome looking

[@misterbig9025]

@@brostenen Beautiful junk

[@kaneo1]

0:55 '...finally able to transport planes in carriers AFTER WW2.' Care to revisit? The Royal Navy was a pioneer of carrier aviation from the twenties and had several active carriers during WW2.

[@stephenmeier4658]

Oops left same comment 😃

[@johnjephcote7636]

Oh dear...that was a bad mistake to make.

[@gregdavis8284]

Looks like someone forgot the Ark Royal...

[@YamahaR12015]

I'm wanting to believe it was a misread script or mistyped. But uhhh idk

[@montagray3761]

Question. The carrier pictured has steam catapults it appears. When did the Brits stop this approach and move to the speed bump ramp?

[@ballisticdan9135]

My dad has a painting in his study called "Moment of truth" by Robert Tomlin 118/500 depicting a Sea Vixen XP924 of 899 squadron taking off from Hms Eagle in 1969. In the background there's a Wessex helicopter hovering alongside the ship. Hes in the helicopter doorway ready to winch down and rescue the crew if the plane ditches. He had a copy of the original photo as well. He served for 40 years all over the world and loved it. Rip Dad. AKA Derby Allan.

[@williamhall667]

There's quite a few of these knocking about in museums here in Britain, some of those museums are free to get into

[@Asesna]

There’s one at Solent Sky museum in Southampton

[@buckduane1991]

Now THAT is a beautiful looking plane… I wouldn’t mind owning a DH 110 or Seavixen, and I’m an American. It’s unusual in design compared to “convention” and just looks sexy, quirks and all.

[@misterbig9025]

Can Sea Vixen dogfight a MiG-17?

[@thunderouspasta]

@@misterbig9025 probably not

[@silverlightning3713]

I was based in RNAS Yeovilton a few years ago when we had a Vixen as part of the historical flying squadron. I was able to see this incredible aircraft perform it's practice display flights. You'd always know it was airborne by simply how loud it was, louder than most hawk jets. I was also there with 815 Sqn when it conducted a controlled belly landing on the runway after a landing gear failure. Luckily the pilot was safe and only the aircraft was damaged The amount of time needed to get it back upto flying serviceability is monumental. Hopefully it will be restored one day and grace the skies above Somerset again.

[@brenglover72]

You don't appreciate what a large bird this is until you see one in the flesh.

[@slate4687]

Don t worry...i can see it

[@Ecthaelyon]

Deceptively smaller than one would imagine. Having worked on Tangmere's Vixen and having been a co-owner of a running H.S. Buccaneer, the Bucc dwarfs the Vix as does the Phantom. Vix has a lot of wing / fuselage which gives it larger impression.

[@Echoj2]

I used to show visitors around the Bournemouth Aviation Museum in the 2000s which had the last flying Sea Vixen in its hangers at the time. It was always one of the highlights, alongside the Mig-21 and the Hunter. Its not flown since 2017 but I'd love to see it in the skies again one day.

[@underwaterdick]

Always been my favourite airframe to watch fly. So beautiful and powerful. I actually used to work in a hangar on the same Airfield as the world's only flying example, any opportunity I could I would go down to look at it, see its engines run up and of course watch it take off and fly. Sad day when it left, but it still had a future. Today, it is in limbo, grounded after a wheels up landing that the charity operating it cannot afford to try and repair. It honestly looks like she will never fly again 😭 During my years in aviation I have met several men who were children at the fatal airshow, none of them have ever forgotten that black day. Although, flying resumed and displays continued shortly after the accident, can you imagine it? I have also met plenty of ex Sea Vixen Pilots, all of whom sadly remember the airframe for killing many of their friends. The British Actress Dame Kristen Scott Thomas lost her Father in a sea vixen crash. Her mother then re married one of his sea vixen colleagues, who then was sadly killed in a Royal Navy F4 phantom crash. Such was the life as a Fleet Air Arm pilot in the 60s/70s. Fatalities were high in flying operations.

[@mikejohnson5900]

The British have created some of the finest looking aircraft ever.

[@darrellsimpson6966]

Imo the vampire looks better. RNZ airforce jet in the 50s. Our dreadful PM Helen Clark put an end to our Jets. I think they were Skyhawks by then.

[@yahatinda]

YEAH, LIKE THE BLACKBURN ROC... A REAL BEAUT.

[@ricknelson947]

The sea vixen definitely made it place in history and I was fortunate to see one at an air show in 1978. For me the De Havilland Vampire was my favorite. I built the models but have never seen one in person here in the US.

[@Chopperwidgetman]

The last Vampire I saw flying was in Switzerland in the mid 1970's. Nice little aircraft.

[@ricknelson947]

@@Chopperwidgetman Thank you. Hopefully there are a few that still fly today. The short story Christmas tale, “The Shepherd” by Frederick Forsyth is what endeared me to the Vampire back around 1977. A must read, especially around Christmas.

[@None-zc5vg]

The last (preserved) one that could fly was damaged in a landing accident and is unlikely to be rebuilt to flying condition because of prohibitively-expensive repair-costs.

[@underwaterdick]

@@None-zc5vg that's the Sea Vixen that you are talking about, I believe there are still multiple Vampires Flying. There were even UK based ones until recently, but the cost and difficulty that now comes with flying classic jets post Shoreham Accident, has meant that it isn't really viable for most anymore. Where I did my apprenticeship, there was a collection of Vampires, venoms and hunters, all kept in an airworthy condition. When the organisation closed, they were all put up for sale on ebay by a local car breakers yard. You could buy the ex airworthy aircraft and shipping containers full of parts and engines.

[@martinpepperell8424]

I live in Taranaki. NZ does not have many vintage warplanes (and NO modern ones, lol) But there is often a Vampire flying around here in sunny days - what an unusual thing to see!

[@julianwarren7770]

“In the aftermath of WWII, the Royal Navy was finally able to transport aircraft on carriers”. I think you’ll find the Royal Navy had aircraft carriers DURING AND BEFORE WWII!!! And used them effectively. Carrier warfare just wasn’t as prominent as in the Pacific.

[@originalkk882]

The RN Pacific Fleet deployed 6 fleet, 4 light, and 9 escort carriers in operations against Japan in 1945.

[@fenriders7008]

Not to mention being the First Nation to perform many carrier based feats such as first carrier jet operations, first twin engined carrier landing etc.. Famously using Swordfish to cripple the German pocket BBs and keep them penned up in Scandi fjords.

[@markturner4219]

Have many happy memories of the Sea Vixen squadron embarked on HMS Eagle practicing attacking our ship. You really got the intense power and noise as the they screamed low over the top of us. Awesome looking plane at speed and close quarters.

[@robertwilloughby8050]

Possibly the most quirkily beautiful plane of all time.

[@TheOneTrueSpLiT]

A totally gorgeous example of British aviation and engineering.

[@scootergeorge9576]

Except for the odd cockpit location.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Sea Vixen, was a Sea Dog. 😏

[@jaydugger3291]

What a looker!

[@zephjackson7297]

@@scootergeorge9576 they've always had their own style.

[@palisadenhonko4962]

Indeed, British engineering at its finest. "Out of 145 Sea Vixens 55 were lost in accidents." Almost as reliable as British cars of the same period.

[@edenstyle7]

5:12 The Shoreham Airshow crash actually had many fewer fatalities - 11 vs 31 at Farnborough.

[@kingoftadpoles]

Since forever, one of my favourite planes.

[@Jakal-pw8yq]

Yeah she's a beaut for sure! Unusual styling but really gorgeous!

[@stephenbesley3177]

My mother was at Farnborough on the day of the accident. She was close enough to have blood all over her coat but (thankfully), she wasn't injured.

[@stephenskinner3851]

Great video. Small point. The Sea Vixen was initially known as the 'DH one one o', and not 'one ten'. My father worked for DH and on this plane.

[@bill8791]

In the aftermath of WW2 the Royal Navy was finally able to transport aircraft in carriers? Now I don't want to be that guy, but the Royal Navy and the Fleet Air Arm had quite a considerable history by that point, including a number of firsts, like landing a plane on a ship. Not to mention having a series of fleet and escort carriers and perhaps you're not aware of the USS Robin, the fleet carrier otherwise known as HMS Victorious that the British lent to the US in 1943 when the US had one operational fleet carrier. One. Perhaps this doesn't sit well with the US's revisionist history of WW2 (youtubers) but the Royal Navy and Fleet Air Arm was a considerable force long before the USN managed to get a plan on a carrier flight deck. Also, who taught who to fly an F4U onto a deck?

[@roanlagos]

Thanks for bringing this up. As a Fleet Air Arm guy I was a little puzzled by that statement in the video too.. Yes, good point about the F4U too!

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Don't you think you're kind of going overkill on the points here? Minor flubs don't require a chainsaw.

[@markspooner16]

@@WALTERBROADDUS You are obviously an American because you do not like to be corrected or reminded that you did not invent everything. In fact most of the things you have now was invented by us Brits, including your language . Never forget where you came from !!!

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@markspooner16 Well now now.... As a tea drinker, I Will admit we have a long share of dogs in the same era. And you could thank us for taking Harry and Meghan off your hands...😏

[@cyclesingsleep]

I am an American and was also puzzled by Dark Sky's statement. Thank you for the correction. I like this guy, but he does often play a little strongly on drama a a bit lightly on reasearch/facts : P

[@samuelbeckett4632]

A truly beautiful aircraft....🥰 I currently live on what was the airfield that serviced the de Havilland shadow factory where the Sea Vixen, Vampire, Venom were produced until 1962. In the late 80s, XJ580 was mounted as a gate guardian to part of the redeveloped factory area (few original buildings remain); however it was subsequently damaged by local ferrel kids. The last airworthy Sea Vixen, XP924 (G-CVIX) Foxy Lady, was operated locally making regular appearances on the display calendar; however it has not flown since May 2017 following a wheels up landing @ RNAS Yeovilton. A chap I once worked with was SV crew & often mentioned that the observer seat (‘Coal Hole’) was really quite oppressive often induced nausea with the lack of an external reference.

[@zednotzee7]

Hah ! You live in the same town as Me ! I remember that aircraft. I was told they got rid of it because some little brat climbed all over it and fell off, ending up in hospital.

[@chrisgermann6658]

This and the Hawker Hunter are two of the most attractive combat aircraft we built.

[@juststeve5542]

The radar operator's position was nicknamed the coal hole, because it was small and dark, to make viewing the radar image easier. IIRC they later got a window.

[@coolcoolercoolest212]

You gotta pay the toll if you want to get in the coal hole.

[@AVMamfortas]

In the early to mid 60's the Navy when visiting Singapore would off-load its Vixens to Tengah to 'relieve' the Javelins on QRA. We (RAF) installed a deck landing system and wires across the runway for them.

[@eddybetanya]

A.M.Fortas which carrier, my brother was on hms Eagle in 65/66 far east fleet.

[@AVMamfortas]

@@eddybetanya The Ark Royal. ?? :) It was a long time ago.

[@nigelroche7888]

As a Halton brat ( Craft apprentice) our enty was there when they were delivered to the Technical training hangers, so we got to work on them, Vampires, hunters and Sea Hawks - bloody long time ago now.

[@Verminator4]

This is my favourite classic jet fighter, even though it's unusual, not to mention notorious for valid reasons

[@johnpatz8395]

I’ve always loved this aircraft as it’s absolutely gorgeous!

[@nicholasjohnson6724]

I always loved the old twin boom jets, such as the Vampire, beautiful aircraft all round.

[@francisigooch5269]

Spent most of my life flying and I found that if it looked good it flew good. Hawker Sideley HS748. Looked awful it was the same to fly. Bickers Viscount looked good and was a dream to fly. Same thing worked for Cessna 402, Gulfstream Commander, citation, canadeer challenger all looked good same to fly. This sea vixen is so beautiful it must have been such a privilege to fly.

[@stonethebear3806]

Probably one of my favourite Airplane design. So elegant and yet unique

[@lancelehman1105]

She was not perfect, but Sea Vixen was a beauty! One of my favorites of all time.

[@henrys.6864]

Such a beautiful airplane! Absolutely love it! From America 🇺🇸 🇬🇧

[@daviddavid5880]

One of the prettiest planes ever. Up there with the f104 and Spitfire for just looking so dang good.

[@chrismadge5472]

I remember as a child of about 11 yrs old, The school i was at, used to send kids from the school, on a Summer Camp, at Kilve Camp, Somerset, South west England. From the camp, we would do daily excursions out into the neighbouring countryside and coastal areas. The camp was great, 1 large square field, two rows of Tents, Boys one side of the field, Girls on the other side(whole lot of fun, but that is whole different story) lol. Ok so after doing regular marches across very hilly terrain, we would find ourselves the next couple of days, visiting East and West Quantoxhead Beaches, and elevated shallow cliff like appearance at first became a drop, down onto the Pebble beaches strewn with monstrous sized Fossils from times gone by, as well as small pebbles and cliff markings. But the real exciting part was on 2 days following each other, we could see Fighter jets, quite a few of them, circling and diving, we got oursleves to the beach cliff face, laid down, and watched in Awe of the Royal Navy Sea Vixens, Bombing the crap out of Targets floating in the Water way off shore . . .Apart from the escapades with the Tents allocation, This really was the most epic time to be on a school Camp. :)

[@peterjeffery8495]

"De Haviland Sea Vixen", wasn't that used on an MGM movie poster in the late 30's to advertise an Errol Flynn Swashbuckling Pirate film? You know, "See Errol Flynn playing the daring Pirate Ship Captain along side Olivia De Haviland as the Sea Vixen".

[@stephenchappell7512]

Geoffrey de Havilland was her cousin

[@peterjeffery8495]

@@stephenchappell7512 Had to be a relation..so cool.

[@06colkurtz]

The US Navy was building their own jet carrier fighters that had loads of issues as well. Until the engine technology caught up with the airframe there were a lot of problems. Check out the Sea Dart airshow crash video. Good video.

[@dimwitsixtytwelve]

@rob the elder how the fuck is a video about an air show crash a good video?

[@billlewis1829]

@@dimwitsixtytwelve That would depend on the perspective of individual watching the video, also in the purpose of watching said video.

[@2012listo]

This, and the avro Vulcan bomber are two beautiful craft

[@luvlife2786]

great job of research. Great narration. Love all your dark series

[@laa0fa502]

The Sea Vixens and Vampires are always my favorite planes to see when they show up to Reno

[@ELIZABETH-hf9he]

🆔ⓈⒺⓍⓈⒽⓄⓅ🔞↷ᶜˡⁱᶜᵏˡⁱⁿᵏ👇 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 🔞 👉 nude.snapgirls.today/PIIT ❤ KZbin: This is fine Someone: Says "heck" KZbin: Be gone однако я люблю таких рыбаков Интересно забавно девушка смешная 垃圾 ライブ配信の再編ありがとうです！この日のライブ配信は、かならりやばかったですね！１万人を超える人が見ていたもんね（笑）やっぱり人参最高！まさかのカメラ切り忘れでやら1かしたのもドキドキでした！今後は気を付けないとね. . ! 💖🖤 ❤️#今後は気をライブ配信の再編あり がとうです！#この日のライブ配信は、#かならりやばかったですね！#１万人を超える人が見ていたもん（#笑）#やっぱり人参最高！#まさかのカメラ切り忘れでやら1かしたのもドキドキでした,.💖🖤 #在整個人類歷史上，#強者，#富人和具有狡猾特質的人捕食部落，#氏族，#城鎮，#城市和鄉村中的弱者，#無`'#守和貧窮成員。#然而，#人類的生存意願迫使那些被拒絕，#被剝奪或摧毀的基本需求的人們找到了一種生活方式，#並繼續將其DNA融入不斷發展的人類社會。.#說到食物，#不要以為那些被拒絕的人只吃垃圾。#相反，#他們學會了在被忽視的肉類和蔬菜中尋找營養。#他們學會了清潔，#切塊，#調味和慢燉慢燉的野菜和肉類，#在食品市場上被忽略的部分家用蔬菜和肉類，#並且學會了使用芳香的木煙（#如山核桃，#山核桃和豆科灌木 #來調味食物

[@Oldbmwr100rs]

Have seen a few Vampires, but not yet a sea vixen, and the races happen a couple miles from my house. The Vampires are louder than you'd expect, and look fast as hell when flying!

[@laa0fa502]

@@Oldbmwr100rs may have been a Sea Venom. I remember seeing one Dehavilland I underestimated compared to the Vampires that proved me wrong

[@peterharrington8709]

Sadly I don't think that there are any Sea Vixens certified airworthy now😥 The last one was a rather jazzy one sponsored by Red Bull iirc!

[@andrewsmart2949]

the strait tail edge bought on compression buffering which made it extremely difficult to pull out of dives that exceeded speed of sound

[@brentanllewellyn3898]

Awesome as always. Thank you for sharing.

[@jaybadhorse5096]

Rapidly becoming one of my favorite channels. You have captured lightning sir.

[@johnl798]

Great work . Would you consider doing one on the Blackburn Buccaneer? Not sure if you have covered this aircraft . Would be good to see your take on it.

[@stephenchappell7512]

Yes Second to none in its day

[@farmerned6]

@@stephenchappell7512 In its roll, second to none today

[@westrim]

Such a beautiful plane, but I'm a sucker for twin boom designs.

[@WarSecrets]

It looks like something out of "Thunderbirds". Very beautiful jet for me :)

[@nicholasmazzarella2720]

Dark Fantastic video. Thanks for the info. Keep up the great work.

[@rexmann1984]

Omg!!! It's beautiful 😍

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Eh? What do you mean in the aftermath of world war 2? The British invented the aircraft carrier in 1918, HMS Argus.

[@richardsawyer5428]

.....the angled flight deck, the steam catapult too I think?

[@BlackKnight344]

@@richardsawyer5428 and the OLS (Optical landing System) /mirror landing aid and the Ski Jump

[@dutchman7216]

Thank you I really enjoyed the documentary.

[@tomcline5631]

That twinboom family of fighters were cool as hell! The one before this one,the venom I believe, is my favorite. Those twin side by side canopies were just the coolest!

[@TheOracle65]

The offset cockpit was also used in another British twin-engine design - the English Electric Canberra, in the B(I)8 and PR.9 versions.

[@cascadianrangers728]

Wasn't that what Amelia Earheart flew when she dissappeared

[@paulmcfawn]

Really enjoy your presentations. This one was very interesting. Your narration delivery pace has slowed a bit - This make understanding what is be said much better.. Well done thank you.

[@johnmoran8805]

Thanks! Good vid, great presentation!!

[@Wideoval73]

As always...a great video. Very well done and very informative. Thanks and keep up the good work.

[@hughgordon6435]

My father worked on these in the FAA was and still is a beautiful aircraft

[@martinblunden4689]

As did my uncle, based at Yeovilton

[@MrMagooRC]

My late father also spent time a Yeovilton during the 70’s, working on the Sea Vixen and later the Phantoms. I’ve always had a massive soft spot for the Vixen... with a flying fist on the tail, there’s something so right about it.

[@peter-radiantpipes2800]

So cool. Love it when there’s a plane I’ve not seen before. Such a cool one too.

[@nedsparkz]

Would love a DH Vampire video. Set a lot of records! Plus the T.11 variant is probably the best looking plane ever made IMO

[@barryshipman471]

Served on the aircraft carrier that flew them (HMS Centaur 1963/65) loved watching them take off and land.

[@stephenchappell7512]

That was a tiny ship to accommodate such a large aircraft

[@funkmcfingers]

Amazing aircraft but the loss rate to accidents is shocking!

[@s.a.3882]

Sadly it seems that most aircraft were lost performing Night Glow Worm Attacks at sea, at low level and at high G forces etc. causing spatial disorientation.

[@oisiaa]

This series is amazing!!

[@derekgooding9379]

My older cousin Freddie served with the Fleet Air Arm in Yeovil, Somerset. (UK). I remember getting the fright of my life, when two Sea Vixens taking off, flew over us at hedge top height ! One of my favourite jets also.

[@apegues]

Such a cool looking plane…Love it.

[@ParaglidingManiac]

I'm a long time big aviation enthusiast, building large scale replicas of iconic and interesting planes as R/C models. And Dark Skies never seizes to amaze me with planes such as this! Amazing models which I haven't even heard about!!

[@tempestfury8324]

I think you meant cease instead of seize. This guy has so many mistakes in his videos, it's ridiculous.

[@antoniomanuelrodrigues-sz7lb]

What kind of big aviation fan NEVER heard about DH-110 ???

[@larryjeram-croft1692]

Strange you didn't mention the upgrade to the Mark 2. One of the features was replacing the metal hatch over the Observers position with a fibre glass one that the ejection seat could penetrate safely. The Mk1 metal hatch was meant to fire off before the seat and often didn't. Oh and at the start of the video you say 'after WW2 the RN finally had carriers that could transport aircraft.' Come on the RN basically invented naval aviation in WW1. We were the first to land an aircraft on a moving ship at sea. Although the Japanese got operational earlier HMS Hermes was the first ever purpose built aircraft carrier. I could go on - like who came up with the idea for angled flight decks and mirror landing sites?? (It wasn't the US)

[@davem2369]

You haven't watch many of this channels videos before have you. They are riddled with mistakes, some of which seem deliberate in how wrong they are.

[@davem2369]

You haven't watch many of this channels videos before have you. They are riddled with mistakes, some of which seem deliberate in how wrong they are.

[@davem2369]

You haven't watch many of this channels videos before have you. They are riddled with mistakes, some of which seem deliberate in how wrong they are.

[@athamus1]

A blast from the past.........I was with Simons Circus in the ‘60’s

[@jeffcamp481]

A beautiful aircraft!, this is the first time for me to see it or even know of it. First sight of it, I fell in love with its appearance! Just beautiful!

[@tonywilson6032]

During an exercise “against the yanks” when we were on the victorious a F4 Phantom radioed ‘bang bang you are dead’ only to be told ‘check your wingtips’ - 2 vixens in close formation. (And they were only Mk 1’s) lovely aircraft but not as good as our buccaneers.

[@BigAmp]

Nothing as good as a Buccaneer. And what a looker it was as well.

[@stephenchappell7512]

@@BigAmp A tough mean looker in the case of the Buccaneer, affectionately known as the 'the flying brick', called 'the flying banana' by our cousins across the pond.

[@stephenchappell7512]

@Brian Roome Beats your equivalent Intruder hands down, funded by US tax dollars too so thanks 'pal' 👍

[@davidbridge5652]

@Brian Roome You really have hard on for the Brits don't ya.

[@BlackKnight344]

@@stephenchappell7512 It was originally referred to BNA (Blackburn Naval Aircraft) or BANA (Blackburn Advanced Naval Aircraft) while in development, and thus the name 'Banana Jet' came into being.

[@richardsawyer5428]

Excellent work, thank you (just remember not to confuse "English" with "British"). I feel sorry for the navigator in their seat. How that aeroplane was constantly covered in vomit is beyond me.

[@Wideoval73]

Another excellent video on a very unusual aircraft. Keep up the good work. I really enjoy your videos.

[@connorjohnson-veale1192]

Got to see this flying whilst serving at RNAS Yeovilton as part of the navy wings display team, amazing piece of kit, I just hope they can get it airworthy again after it's small run in with the runway

[@timgosling6189]

Not the best, even by Dark Skies standards. Whoever produces these really needs to find a job where they have some background. 'In the aftermath of WWII', the Royal Navy was actually more than 20 years into its work with aircraft carriers and British carriers had served with distinction in all theatres, including the Pacific. In the UK, the Sea Vixon was known as the DH 'One-One-Oh', not the 'One-ten'. The Air Ministry didn't order 4 aircraft for the RN; all 13 were ordered by the then Ministry of Supply, which was amalgamated after a few other twists and turns into the Ministry of Defence Procurement Executive at St Giles Court in 1971. Remember when reading direct from wikipedia that it isn't always accurate. The Avon engines were mounted in a pair centrally in the rear fuselage, not on either side of it, as is obvious from your own video. Although capable of Mach1 in a dive, the DH110 was not considered 'supersonic '. You could say the same of the 5-man Vulcan a few years earlier, or the Javelin, that actually entered service before the Sea Vixen. I suppose 'just another post-war jet that could break the sound barrier' doesn't have the same clickbait punch, even if more accurate. I had to laugh at the description of the safety measures introduced after the John Derry crash; again don't just take wiki as gospel! All those dimensions were originally defined in yards and feet, converted to metres by wikipedia and then converted by them back into feet. Take away all that rounding and you have 250yds/500yds separation from the crowd and a min height (altitude in aviation refers to distance above sea level, height refers to distance from the ground) of 500ft. The clue is that most of the World, including the UK and US use feet for height definitions and no altimeter I've ever seen has a graduation at 490. However, you miss out the key recommendation, presumably because it's missed in the wiki page, that display aircraft were no longer allowed to fly directly at the crowd. The Farnborough crash remains the worst display crash in the UK. The Shoreham crash was a dreadful event but resulted in 11 dead and 16 injured. 31 were killed at Farnborough and 60 injured. What you actually mean is that there wasn't another fatal airshow incident until Shoreham. At least Op Vantage proved the value of deterrance, and with the intelligence available at the time the deployment of forces was wise. Later analysis suggests that the belligerent statements by Qasim were more for internal Iraqi consumption and with the political turmoil in Iraq at that time it is doubtful whether any actual assault could have been launched. Qasim was of course killed in a coup only 2 years later when the Ba'ath party took power. That didn't end well either! Royal Navy ships are known as, eg, 'HMS Victorious' or 'The Victorious', not 'the HMS Victorious'. Would you say 'The Her Majesty's Ship'? Some of your Sea Vixens (8:55) appear to be Buccaneers? 'Aden' is pronounced 'Aid-en' and they were British, not English forces. I was once in the 1980s talking on the radio to a Soviet pilot who was just climbing out of Aden. He said "You guys used to have Aden?" "That's right". "S**t-hole isn't it". The safety record: Yes, 55 losses out of 145 is a high ratio. But this does not imply this was a bad aircraft. About it's only inherent fault was being a clean airframe with not really enough drag available for deck landing. This meant coming in at a low throttle setting and like an '80s turbo car these old turbojets took a long time to spool up. So if you had a problem and had to go round there was a bit of a wait for some thrust to appear. But I'm not aware that caused any actual losses. The Bucc, in contrast, had a great big pair of airbrakes so you could power in against the drag and keep the engines in a more responsive part of the rev range. No, you have to put this aircraft into its context. This was a period of no GPS, no night vision goggles, no FLIR and a poor understanding of human factors. Rather than Air Defense, the Sea Vixen's primary role evolved as attack against Soviet Surface Action Groups. This involved lots of low flying, at night, over the sea and often in poor weather. Weapon delivery involved pulling up into a loft manoeuvre to throw bombs up into the air so they'd fall on the enemy ships about 3 miles away, followed by a steep dive and turn to avoid the defences. Alternatively, they would pull up and then perform a dive attack with rockets onto a target previously illuminated with flares by another aircraft, which would then turn in again to fire its own rockets. Again, this involved a lot of manoeuvre at low level with lots of high-g turning and high rates of climb and descent. Loss of situational and spatial awareness, and deception of the bodies natural balance and orientation mechanism was pretty much inevitable and made these exercises, so I'm told, damn scary. So this was an aircraft flown by some very brave and skilled crews, doing a very difficult mission really the only way they could but without the benefit of modern aids. They deserve all our respect.

[@lewiscole5193]

@@GAVACHO5150 If you didn't want to read the whole thing, you could have just not clicked on "More". In fact, I'd have preferred it if you hadn't bothered to click on "Reply".

[@robertmcmanus636]

"Following WWII the Royal Navy was finally able to transport airplanes in aircraft carriers..." Jesus, really? The Royal Navy had some of the first carriers. They were not behind the curve on this. This channel really needs better editing and fact checking.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

Probably meant jets - the meteor was too meaty (er) for carrier use.

[@dimwitsixtytwelve]

@Robert McManus he can’t even say farnborough right so it’s no surprise he gets other things wrong.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

@@dimwitsixtytwelve for what it’s worth there’s been speculation about including obvious errors because it makes people comment, and comments are good for the algorithm.

[@donyoung1384]

It’s laughable that he can’t pronounce “difficult” words like Aden!

[@liamhemmings9039]

Excellent content, as usual.

[@Rose_Butterfly98]

I like how it looks. The design is so cool.

[@andywhite40]

Great video on an unusual subject. I've seen several of these in museums but I didn't know that it was such a "widowmaker". How about looking at the English Electric Lightning, Supermarine Swift or Gloster Javelin (assuming you haven't already)??????

[@slate4687]

I mean...just look at its shape... definetevely a widowmaker at first sight

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

The Gloster _'Meatbox'_ had over 1,000 aircraft lost in accidents with 450 killed just in RAF service.

[@slate4687]

@@sandervanderkammen9230Nutz!

[@andywhite40]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 A proper widowmaker to rival the Starfighter in that case!!!

[@lewiscole5193]

@@andywhite40 > @Sander Van der Kammen A proper widowmaker > to rival the Starfighter in that case!!! The ATTRITION RATE (i.e. number of aircraft lost versus number of aircraft built) of the F-104 was about 30% in the case of the [West] Germans, not about 38% in the case of the Sea Vixen. But more importantly, if you want to compare how safe/unsafe and aircraft is, then one usually does so by comparing the ACCIDENT RATE of the aircraft (i.e. how many aircraft are lost during some number of flying hours). There was no mention of how many hours the Sea Vixen was flown during it's time in service, but in the case of the F-104 in German hands, they lost about 1 aircraft every 6,630 hours at the end which is a lower/better accident than the F-84s they replaced.

[@14bis42]

Ah yes , that time when Gerry Anderson secretly designed for the Royal Navy ... This thing scream THUNDERBIRDS are Go ... :D

[@ianbaird1774]

I was thinking the same thing. Thunderbird 2 was always my favourite

[@stephenchappell7512]

He was ex RAF I believe

[@tjw1789]

My favorite channel on KZbin! Very cool aviation history 😎

[@johncartwright8154]

My wife's Father flew a couple of sorties (logged) in the navigator's "Coal Hole" as it was dubbed. I don't know why, as he was a Major in the RCT (Air Despatch) in Cyprus at the time. Going through the 'eject;eject;eject' procedure the pilot added, "and in that event, say goodbye to your kneecaps as Mike was 6 foot 4!

[@adrianmorrow9882]

A good video in general. However please note that it was known initially as the DH one one oh, not the hundred and ten. Aden is pronounced Ayden and not ahhden. A beautiful aircraft despite the pronunciation errors in the presentation.

[@HollywoodMarine0351]

Thanks for the heads up! I would have never known. Dark “series” always gets pronunciations wrong.

[@stuartb9194]

It should also be noted that "Adrian" is often pronounced "pedantic twat"

[@okniceguy]

@@stuartb9194 🤣🤣🤣

[@ChazCharlie1]

@@stuartb9194 it would appear Stuart should be pronounced prick who doesn't appreciate quality

[@radoslawbiernacki]

I see changes in your narrative pace (for plus of course). The intermissions are now well separated and your voice is a bit more energetic.

[@damiangriffiths3261]

Saw one at the Southend Air show about 1999. It was practising above where I lived and when it went away from you with its afterburners on you really felt it. Amazing plane and very cool 😁

[@tomasthomas7407]

Nicely Documented!!!

[@Justanotherconsumer]

Kinda reminds me of the F7U Cutlass… through it was moderately more successful.

[@None-zc5vg]

The 'Cutlass' had mediocre power-units, similar to those fitted to the 'Demon' airframes.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

@@None-zc5vg all jet engines of that era were dubious. Better than the WW2 engines. The Me-262 engine life was supposedly… 10 hours. Not 10 hours of fuel, 10 hours before it needed a major overhaul or risked falling apart. Metallurgy was the real challenge.

[@maddmatt55]

The prototype was known as the DH One One Oh NOT the DH One hundred Ten. My parents knew both Cats-Eyes Cunningham and John Derry as my father was working at RAE Farnborough which is pronounced Farn burruh as in Edinburgh!

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

There are no standards for pronunciation in English.

[@benjaminrush4443]

Never knew much about this British fighter. Thank you.

[@pwrplnt1975]

That thing is so awesome looking!

[@theauthor8901]

Well, it just goes to show you that life is always tough and unpredictable when you’re a vixen!

[@johnmoran8805]

Too funny! And true!

[@suspicionofdeceit]

Are those L1A1’s at 8:22?

[@dhtmo]

That's the Westland Wessex. Was a licence built Sikorsky i think.

[@HollywoodMarine0351]

@@dhtmoI believe suspicionofdecit was referring to the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle.

[@jameswright5572]

I had a RC model of the Sea Vixen. Always got compliments on it.

[@andrewmcneil2110]

Fascinating history of an iconic plane.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

Iconic?

[@johnshepherd8687]

The Sea Vixen was typical of the failure to produce adequate aircraft for the Fleet Air Arm dating back to WWII. The Sea Vixen was introduced 3 years after the McDonnell F-3H Demon which fulfilled a similar all weather role in the USN and two years after the introduction of the F8U Crusader, which was arguably the best fighter in the world land or sea until the mid 1960s. The UK could never produce the numbers of FAA aircraft to make it economically feasible and would have been better off building US Naval aircraft under license. They finally figured that out in the mid 1960s when they built the F4 Phantom under license.

[@Nastyswimmer]

5:15: "the tragic 1952 crash remained Britain's worst air show disaster until the 2015 Shoreham air show 63 years later"? No, Farnborough remains the worst - 31 people died and dozens more were injured. The Shoreham air show crash killed 11 and injured 16.

[@MrCenturion13]

And Dark skies click-bait strikes again!

[@justinberdell7517]

Came here to say that

[@GoodishNews]

Had to look it up cause sounded strange I didn't know 30+ people were killed at an airshow in 2015.

[@Za7a7aZ]

Man..a lifetime is too short. Having a love for flying planes and other things...

[@drakeorion94]

Definitely a good looking plane even with the wonky cockpit