 During its early service, it was recognised for accomplishing several aviation firsts and various records, such as being the first jet aircraft to traverse the Atlantic Ocean.The Vampire remained in front-line service with the RAF up until 1953; after this date, it was progressively reassigned to various secondary roles, such as ground attack missions and pilot training operations, for which specialist variants of the type were produced.During 1966, the Vampire was officially retired by the RAF, having been withdrawn from its final role as an advanced trainer, for which it was replaced by the Folland Gnat.