Questions about landing having run out of fuel
Hi, I am reading 'In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile' by Dan Davies. Davies recounts how Savile told him:
[‘I came across here, 50 feet from where we are now, in the back seat of a Buccaneer with the Police Air Arm. We just missed the Grand Hotel; took two windows out. We were supposed to refuel in the air but the tanker couldn’t take off. So we ran out of fuel. I’m sitting strapped into this bloody amazing thing.’
He explained the jet had to divert to RAF Honiton. ‘They told us they would put the arrester wires out and we’d see if we could pull those bloody great concrete blocks out of the ground. We hit the ground at 350 miles per hour, because we had no fuel left, and the thing caught on the arrester wire, and the next minute you’re standing still.’]
War Thunder says Buccaneer landings should be made at below 249mph.
I presume Savile/Davies meant the Fleet Air Arm, part of the Royal Navy. Why would running out of fuel mean you had to land faster than normal? Because the flaps wouldn't work? Presumably the (wheel) brakes wouldn't work either, increasing the need for the arrester wires - is that right? Thanks.