De Havilland Sea Vixen The de Havilland DH . 110 Sea Vixen is a twin boom , twin - engined 1950s – 1960s British two - seat jet fighter of the Fleet Air Arm designed by de Havilland at Hatfield , Hertfordshire . Developed from an earlier first generation jet fighter , the Sea Vixen was a capable carrier - based fleet defence fighter that served into the 1970s . Initially produced by de Havilland it was later known as the Hawker Siddeley Sea Vixen after de Havilland became a part of the Hawker Siddeley Group in 1960 . All 140 production Sea Vixens were manufactured and first flown from Christchurch , Dorset . A single example remains airworthy today in the UK and is displayed regularly at airshows . Development . The aircraft was designated the " DH . 110 " by de Havilland ; a twin - engined all - weather fighter , development of which started in 1946 following discussions with the Admiralty of its requirements for jet all - weather fighters . De Havilland ' s design shared the twin - boom layout of the de Havilland Vampire , had an all - metal structure and featured swept wings . It was to be powered by two Rolls - Royce Avon engines , each capable of of thrust , which would allow the aircraft to be supersonic in a shallow dive . The DH 110 was the first British two seat combat aircraft to achieve supersonic speed . Armament was to be four 30 mm ADEN cannon s . In January 1947 , specifications N . 40 / 46 and F . 44 / 46 were issued by the British Air Ministry for similar night - fighters to equip the Fleet Air Arm ( FAA ) and Royal Air Force ( RAF ) , with nine prototypes being ordered for the RAF ( together with four of the competing Gloster Javelin ) and four prototypes for the Fleet Air Arm . In 1949 , however , the Royal Navy decided to buy the de Havilland Sea Venom , which as a development of an existing type was cheaper and available quickly to meet its immediate needs for a jet - powered night fighter to replace its piston - engined de Havilland Sea Hornet s , while the RAF cut its order back to two prototypes . Despite this , de Havilland continued with the project . The first prototype was built and first flown at Hatfield on 26 September 1951 piloted by John Cunningham ; the aircraft ' s performance exceeded expectations , and by the following year it was regularly flying faster than the speed of sound . However , tragedy struck while the aircraft was being demonstrated at the Farnborough Airshow on 6 September 1952 . Following a demonstration of its ability to break the sound barrier , the aircraft disintegrated , killing 31 people , including the crew of two : test pilot and record breaker John Derry and Tony Richards . The failure was traced to faulty design of the end sections of the main spar , which resulted in the outer ends of the wings shearing off during a high - rate turn . The subsequent shift in the DH . 110 ' s centre of lift caused the aircraft to lurch violently , creating forces of over 12 g , resulting in the cockpit and tail sections breaking away and the engines being torn from the airframe . One of the engines hit an area crowded with spectators at the end of the runway , causing the majority of casualties . Other spectators were injured by debris from the cockpit landing close to the main spectator enclosures alongside the runway . This incident led to a major restructuring of the safety regulations for air shows in the UK and since this crash no member of the public has died as a result of an airshow accident in the UK . Owing to this incident , modifications were made to the second prototype , including the fitting of an all - moving tailplane , the modified aircraft not flying again until July 1954 . By this time , the RAF had abandoned its interest in the DH . 110 , choosing instead the Gloster Javelin but the Fleet Air Arm decided to adopt the DH . 110 to replace its interim Sea Venoms . In 1955 , a semi - navalised variant was produced as a prototype , including changes of the leading edge profile and strengthening of the wings , making its first flight from de Havilland ' s factory airfield at Christchurch that same year . The following year , the aircraft made its first arrested deck landing on the fleet aircraft carrier . The first true Sea Vixen , the " Sea Vixen FAW . 20 " ( fighter all - weather , later redesignated " FAW . 1 " ) , first flew on 20 March 1957 ; and on 2 July 1959 , the first Sea Vixen equipped squadron formed . Design . The Sea Vixen had a twin - boom tail , as used on the de Havilland Sea Vampire and Sea Venom . The Sea Vixen became the first British aircraft to be solely armed with missiles , rockets and bombs . The Sea Vixen FAW . 1 was armed with four de Havilland Firestreak air - to - air missile s , two Microcell unguided 2 inch ( 51 mm ) rocket packs and had a capacity for four 500 lb ( 227 kg ) or two 1 , 000 lb ( 454 kg ) bombs . It was powered by two 11 , 230 lbf ( 50 . 0 kN ) thrust Rolls - Royce Avon 208 turbojet engines ; had a speed of 690 mph ( 1 , 110 km / h ) and a range of 600 mi ( 1 , 000 km ) . The original DH . 110 design as offered to the RAF had cannons fitted ; however the cannons were soon removed and an all - missile armament was developed . The pilot ' s canopy is offset to the left hand side . The observer is housed to the right completely within the fuselage , gaining access through a flush - fitting top hatch into his position , nicknamed the " Coal Hole " . The " Sea Vixen FAW . 2 " was the successor to the FAW . 1 and included many improvements . As well as Firestreak missiles , it could carry the Red Top AAM , four SNEB rocket pods and the air - to - ground Bullpup missile . An enlarged tail boom allowed for additional fuel tanks in the " pinion " extensions above and before the wing leading edge , and there was an improved escape system along with additional room for more electronic counter - measures equipment . However , the changes in aerodynamics meant that the 1 , 000 lb bomb was no longer able to be carried . Visually the FAW . 1 and FAW . 2 may be distinguished by the tail booms which extend forward over the leading edge of the wing on the FAW . 2 . The FAW . 2 first flew in 1962 and entered service with front line squadrons in 1964 , with 29 being built and a further 67 FAW . 1s being upgraded to FAW . 2 standard . The FAW . 1 began phasing out in 1966 . In 1972 , the career of the Sea Vixen FAW . 2 came to an end . It was planned to replace the Sea Vixen with the F - 4 Phantom II , with both and to be refitted to take the new aircraft . In the event , due to defence cuts and following the decommissioning of HMS " Eagle " , only " Ark Royal " was converted to take the new aircraft . A small number of Sea Vixen subsequently saw service in the less glamorous roles of drone , being redesignated " Sea Vixen D . 3 " . Only four were converted to the D . 3 standard . though three more were sent to Farnborough for conversion but not converted . The last remaining airworthy Sea Vixen ( XP924 ) was a D3 conversion . Some other Sea Vixens became target tugs and were redesignated as " TT . 2 " . Operational history . The aircraft did not take part in any true wars during its career with the Fleet Air Arm though it took part in many operations . In 1961 , President Abdul Karim Kassem of Iraq threatened to annex the neighbouring oil - rich state of Kuwait . In response to Kuwait ' s appeal for external help , the United Kingdom dispatched a number of ships to the region , including two fleet carriers . Sea Vixens aboard the fleet carriers flew patrols in the region , and Kassem ' s aggressive actions wilted in the face of the strong naval presence , thus averting a Gulf War over Kuwait . In January 1964 , trouble flared in the East African state of Tanganyika after the 1st and 2nd Tanganyika Rifles mutinied against the British officers and NCOs who , despite Tanganyika being independent , still commanded the regiment . The mutineers also seized the British High Commissioner and the airport at the capital Dar - es - Salaam . The UK responded by sending the light fleet carrier , accompanied by 45 Commando , Royal Marines . The Sea Vixens , flying off " Centaur " , performed a number of duties including the providing of cover for the Royal Marines who were landed in Tanganyika by helicopters . The operation " to restore Tanganyika to stability " ended in success . That same year , Sea Vixens of " HMS Centaur " saw service once again in the Persian Gulf , including the launch of air - strikes against rebel forces , this time supporting British forces fighting against locals disgruntled by the loss of tolls in the Radfan . Later in 1964 , HMS Centaur ' s 892 Squadron Sea Vixens stationed off Indonesia , helped to prevent an escalation of President Sukarno ' s Indonesia – Malaysia confrontation . Sea Vixens saw further service during the 1960s , performing duties on Beira Patrol , a Royal Navy operation designed to prevent oil reaching landlocked Rhodesia via the then Portuguese colony of Mozambique . The Sea Vixen also saw service in the Far East . In 1967 , once again in the Persian Gulf , Sea Vixens helped cover the withdrawal from Aden . There were a number of Royal Navy warships involved , including the carriers , and ( carrying the Sea Vixens ) and the LPD ( Landing Platform Dock ) . The Sea Vixen also took to the skies in the aerobatic role , performing in two Royal Navy display teams : " Simon ' s Sircus " ( sic ) and " Fred ' s Five " . A small number of Sea Vixens were sent to FR Aviation at Tarrant Rushton airfield for conversion to D . 3 drone standard , with some undergoing testing at RAF Llanbedr before the drone programme was abandoned . Among them was XP924 , now G - CVIX , the only Sea Vixen to remain in flying condition , which has now been returned to 899 NAS colours . Owned and operated by De Havilland Aviation , G - CVIX can be viewed at their hangar at Bournemouth Airport in Dorset , southern England , or at air shows around the UK . The Air Accident Investigation Branch recently published an enquiry into damage suffered by G - CVIX on landing at Bournemouth on 5 April 2012 . Survivors . One Sea Vixen remains airworthy : The following complete airframes also survive and are on public display : In addition , a number of partial airframes ( principally nose and cockpit sections ) survive in private and public collections around the world .