October Mystery Airplane Contest

The de Havilland company got into the jet business with the Goblin powered Vampire. Initially called the Spider Crab, the prototype first flew on 20 September 1943. Too late for service in WWII, 2,928 Vampires were built in the UK, India, Italy, Switzerland, Australia, and France. The need to improve the breed resulted in the Venom in 1949.

Using the more powerful Ghost turbojet, thinner wings with a slight leading edge sweep, and wing tip tanks, the prototype first flew on 2 September 1949. Venoms entered RAF service in June 1951. The type saw combat in Yemen, Malaya, and at Suez. Two-sea...