SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!
- Joining the two moulded halves of a Vampire F.30 fuselage at Bankstown, circa 1949
This website is dedicated to the De Havilland Vampire – technology, restoration and all aspects of its history. We want to build a community of those interested in these areas; so if you flew in or worked on Vampires, if you own a Vampire today, if you work with a museum that has a Vampire, are interested in its history, or you are just plain keen on Vampires, we want you to be a part. To start with, our focus will be on the Australian-built Vampires F.30 and FB.31.
From 1949 to 1953, De Havilland Aircraft built eighty single-seat Vampires at the plant in Bankstown, NSW, for the Royal Australian Air Force. These Vampires were significantly different to most other Vampires built around the world in that they were powered by the Rolls-Royce Nene jet engine (built by Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation). Most Vampires were powered by the DH Goblin, although the French built Vampires called Mistrals were also powered by the Nene.
The Vampires were the main contributors of initial jet fighter experience for the RAAF, and although the single-seaters served for around ten years, they were sidelined in the mid-fifties by the Avon-powered CAC-built Sabre, the RAAF’s second-generation jet fighter.
This website is still largely under construction – please be patient!