XJ482

XJ482 was the ninth production Sea Vixen FAW.1, built by de Havilland at Christchurch. The FAW.1 was the Fleet Air Arm's first swept-wing, missile-armed all-weather fighter. XJ482 first flew on 2 September 1958 and joined 700Y Flight, the trials unit at Yeovilton, in November 1958. In February 1959 it went back to the makers for cold-chamber tests.

It then moved to No. 766 Naval Air Squadron at Yeovilton, the unit that trained Sea Vixen crews. There it sometimes led Fred's Five, the station aerobatic team, until February 1967. That was the end of its flying career.

Withdrawn in 1967, it became a ground instructional airframe at the Air Engineering School, Lee-on-Solent, with maintenance number A2598. It was later used to trial a universal drone pack for the D.3 target drone programme. One former worker says this was done at Flight Refuelling's Wimborne site, not Hurn. It reached the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton in March 1974. The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Society acquired it in November 1979. It has been repainted in recent years and is one of only two complete FAW.1s left.

XJ482 is displayed outdoors at Flixton, so you can see it from all sides but not inside the cockpit.