#DE HAVILLAND VAMPIRE COMBAT HISTORY UPGRADE#

Of the fifteen aircraft, fourteen were reactivated while the fifteenth was broken up for spares initially the aircraft remained unarmed, being used as single-seat trainers to familiarise Mexican pilots with jet types. These aircraft had initially been sold as demilitarised surplus, and acquired by a US enterprise who had intended to sell them as private jets. Through a middleman, 15 Vampire Mk.3 fighters were acquired which had been retired by the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1956.

#DE HAVILLAND VAMPIRE COMBAT HISTORY UPGRADE#

While the incident ended with a diplomatic resolution, the Mexican government tried to upgrade its air force as a result. This nearly led to an armed conflict between both countries, during which Mexico was forced to reactivate retired P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers dating from World War II, as the country had no other fighter aircraft at its disposal. Towards the end of the 1950s, Mexico was confronted with the obsolescence of its air force following a border incident with Guatemala, in which Guatemalan fighter-bombers strafed a Mexican fishing boat in territorial waters claimed by both countries. Rhodesia - present-day Zimbabwe - was the last country to operate the single-seater Vampire fighter-bombers, retiring their last examples in 1979 the last Vampire trainers were retired by the Swiss Air Force as late as 1990, 47 years after the type's first flight. In foreign service, the Vampire saw combat during the 1956 Suez Crisis (in Egyptian hands), the Algerian War (in French hands), the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 (in Indian hands), and the Rhodesian Bush Wars. The Vampire also became a British export succes, serving with numerous armed forces around the world. One single Vampire was used as a display aircraft by the RAF until it was sadly lost in a fatal mid-air collision with a Gloster Meteor during an air display in 1986. Towards the middle of the 1950s, the Vampire was gradually replaced by the more capable De Havilland Venom in the role of attack bomber Vampires remained in service as attack bombers with auxiliary units until 1957, and as a trainer until 1967. With the Royal Air Force, the Vampire was used both at home and abroad, equiping numerous units based in the Middle and Far East, and seeing service during the Malayan Emergency of the 1950s as a ground-attack aircraft. Initial versions of the Vampire were developed as fighters, but the rapid pace of jet development - especially the appearance of the MiG-15 in late-1950 - meant that the Vampire became obsolete as a fighter type instead, it was developed into a fighter-bomber. First flown in 1943, the Vampire arrived in service too late to see action during the Second World War. The de Havilland Vampire was a British-designed fighter which evolved into a fighter bomber, with trainer and night-fighter versions developed out of it during its lifetime.

4 of Escuadrón Aéreo 200, Fuerza Aérea Mexicana based out of Base Aérea Militar No.1 Santa Lucia, Mexico, 1963.

De havilland vampire combat history