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Thread: UK F-35B Lost
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Old 9th Dec 2021, 11:05
  #312 (permalink)  
212man
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Den Haag
Age: 57
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Given the force of impact as the jet toppled off the front of HMS Queen Elizabeth, it is likely the lift-fan door, open on take-off to provide downward thrust, would have broken away when the aircraft hit the water.

The wheels and landing gear bay doors, which would also have been open for the launch, could also have snapped off.
Not to mention hitting the ground after falling for a mile! People underestimate the speed of sinking objects.
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