De Havilland Venom The de Havilland DH 112 Venom was a British postwar single - engined jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Vampire . It served with the Royal Air Force as a single - seat fighter - bomber and two - seat night fighter . The Venom was an interim between the first generation of British jet fighters – straight - wing aircraft powered by centrifugal flow engines such as the Gloster Meteor and the Vampire and later swept wing , axial flow - engined designs such as the Hawker Hunter and de Havilland Sea Vixen . The Venom was successfully exported , and saw service with Iraq , New Zealand , Sweden , Switzerland and Venezuela . The Sea Venom was a navalised version for carrier operation . Design and development . The Venom ' s lineage lay in the aircraft it was intended to replace , the Vampire , which had been the second jet aircraft to enter service with the RAF . In 1948 , de Havilland proposed a development of the Vampire with a thin wing and more powerful engine as a high altitude fighter , the DH 107 , Vampire FB 8 . In most respects , the Venom was quite similar to the Vampire , sharing the distinctive twin - boom tail and composite wood / metal structure , although the Venom differed in parts . The idea was adopted and a Vampire F 1 was converted by fitting the new de Havilland Ghost engine , which was more powerful than the de Havilland Goblin used on the Vampire . As the DH 112 , the Venom filled an Air Ministry requirement for a fast , manoeuvrable and capable fighter - bomber to replace its progenitor . The first Venom prototype flew on 2 September 1949 , and the first Venom variant , a single - seat fighter - bomber , entered service in 1952 as the FB 1 . A total of 375 of these would be built . It was armed with four 20 mm ( . 79 in ) Hispano Mk V autocannon s in the nose and could carry either two 1 , 000 lb ( approx 450 kg ) bombs or eight RP - 3 60 lb ( 27 kg ) air - to - ground rocket projectiles – the heavier bombs being an improvement over the Vampire FB 5 . It was powered by a single 4 , 850 lbf ( 21 . 6 kN ) thrust Ghost 48 Mk . 1 engine . The next Venom , the NF 2 night fighter , first flew on 22 August 1950 and entered service in 1953 , having been delayed after some minor problems with the type . To accommodate the necessary two man crew ( pilot and navigator / radar operator ) it was structurally different – the two crew were positioned side - by - side and an airborne interception radar was fitted in the nose . It replaced the Vampire NF 10 , and was followed by NF 3 , which was the last night fighter variant of the Venom , first flying in 1953 and entering service in 1955 . It had a relatively brief career with the Royal Air Force , having been only an interim solution , and was withdrawn in 1957 and replaced by the Gloster Javelin twin - engined all - weather fighter . The final Venom for the RAF was the single - seat FB 4 which first flew on 29 December 1953 . It entered service in 1955 and 250 were built . It was powered by a single 5 , 150 lbf ( 22 . 9 kN ) thrust de Havilland Ghost 105 turbojet engine . It also received an ejector seat and some modifications to its structure . Main production of the Venom was by de Havilland , augmented by numbers of FB . 1 , FB . 4 and FB . 51 built by Fairey Aviation at Manchester ( Ringway ) Airport Operational history . The RAF fighter - bomber Venoms saw service during the Malayan Emergency which took place between 1948 and 1960 , although they did not begin operations until the mid - 1950s with Nos . 45 and 60 Squadrons RAF . While there , the Venom supported operations against Communist guerrillas as part of Operation Firedog , the codename for Royal Air Force operations in Malaya . Venoms were lent to the Royal New Zealand Air Force for use in the same conflict where they operated with No . 14 Squadron RNZAF . The Venom also saw service during the Suez Crisis being operated by Nos . 6 , 8 and 249 Squadrons RAF flying from RAF Akrotiri , Cyprus . The Anglo - French invasion , codenamed Operation Musketeer , took place in response to the nationalisation of the Suez Canal by Egypt ' s leader , General Nasser . The air war began on 31 October 1956 signalling the beginning of the Suez War . The Venoms launched a number of sorties , attacking a variety of military installations on the ground . They also saw much action in the Middle East , supporting operations against terrorists in Aden and Oman , losing some aircraft in the process . Venoms additionally saw service during the Mau Mau insurgency in Kenya . All Venoms in RAF service were withdrawn from first - line service in 1962 , having proven their worth in a variety of locations across the world , in peace and war , and in some of the most difficult climates the RAF has ever faced . The last non - RAF Venoms to leave active service were Swiss Air Force Venoms which retired in 1983 . About 20 Venoms continue to fly as of 2004 , performing at various air shows , while a number of examples are preserved in museums in the United Kingdom and abroad , in non - flying , static display condition . Survivors . The Venom has been preserved in significant numbers , thanks in part to their longevity with the Swiss Air Force . In the UK , a number of Sea Venoms are preserved , along with examples of the NF 3 and Swiss - built FB . 50 and 54 . In Sweden , two examples of the NF . 51 are preserved . There are many survivors in Switzerland , and other Swiss aircraft are scattered throughout Europe . One such aircraft is preserved in the Israeli Air Force Museum in Hatzerim , although in the colours of the Iraqi Air Force . In Australia , a number of Sea Venom FAW . 53s have also survived . Venezuela has the only complete surviving British - built single - seat Venom . Although the Venom was , for a time , a popular and cheap warbird the number of airworthy aircraft is dwindling . Currently there are two in the UK that fly regularly , along with single examples in Switzerland , New Zealand and the USA . All are licence - built Swiss examples .