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Old 1st Sep 2005, 09:57
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Jackonicko
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Just behind the back of beyond....
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As a sixth former, I was keen as mustard to join the RAF, and saw that the Canberra force were particularly open and accessible and keen to encourage any interest, so I visited 'Tatty Ton' a couple of times. While at UAS I had three vacation attachments with No.7, who took very good care of me, and who flew me in Canberra T4s and TT18s an astonishing number of times. As a result I retained a bit of an interest in the Canberra afterwards, and if one went in I'd often wonder whether it was a jet I'd flown or flown in.

I had a bit of a spotters knowledge of Canberra serial numbers, as a result!

WJ753 (a B2) was the jet that went in at Marhan when returning from Det (Akrotiri) with two crews on board, the second pilot on the canvas rumbold seat.

IIRC (and I may not be, it's all a bit hazy) the engines accelerated unevenly during a punchy 'return from Det' run and break, and the aircraft ended up asymmetric......

There are photos of the whole sequence - at one stage the aircraft had 90° of bank, the wingtip feet off the runway. Inevitably the wingtip hit, and the aircraft cartwheeled, but fortunately came to rest erect (though in pieces) and all four crew survived. I have a recollection that one of them was sufficiently injured (broken ankles?) that he couldn't walk away.

There was an article about the accident in one of the 1980s part-works ('Take Off') with the photos and a diagram showing 'what went wrong'.

Whatever happened to WT478 was rather less serious, I suspect....
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