http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4963746.stm
RAF pilots 'asked for tank foam'
The deaths were the single biggest loss of life in Iraq
The deaths of 10 UK personnel in Iraq in January 2005 could have been avoided if a safety device was fitted to their Hercules plane, the BBC has learned.
RAF pilots requested that explosive- suppressant foam devices be fitted to fuel tanks two years before the attack in which the men died, RAF papers show.
The Ministry of Defence said none of its planes in Iraq or Afghanistan have the foam, but some will be fitted soon.
The foam has been in use in US Hercules aircraft since the Vietnam war.
The attack happened on 30 January, 2005, when the Hercules was hit by ground-to-air fire which caused an explosion in the right hand wing fuel tank.
A board of inquiry said the crash was not survivable but did admit that the lack of a fuel tank safety system could have contributed to the crash.
The crash was the single largest loss of British life in Iraq since military action began in 2003.
With the continued lack of foam on Hercules planes, campaigners say they will sue ministers for corporate manslaughter if any more lives are lost because of a lack of protective equipment.
Lions led by lying cowardly mendacious deceitful neglectful swine.