Safety Helmut
I have read the BoI for XV666 - as an aside, I took the photo that was on the cover of the report - the starter motor inadvertantly engaged and wound up outside it's design limits, shearing off the retaining nut which then ripped through the engine compartment into the fuel tanks, causing the fire
There had been many reports over the years of starter motor lights "flickering on" during flight, hence the modification - why 666 was not modified during it's major is a mystery - it should have been picked up on its pre-major survey
Tappers Dad
I am no longer a Captain, and in my last post, I intended the brief to be a hypothetical situation which would illustrate to this audience the ramifications of a Captain making such a brief - ie - he would no longer be a Captain despite having the balls to protect his crew
However, the answer you seek is in that brief, because in the event of a Bomb Bay fire, you are in the pooh, unless of course you are in the circuit, as was XV257, and you could get round and down in 2mins 57secs and walk away
SAR kit and torpedoes on fire can be jettisoned - a fuel fire, 'possibly' could be blown out by opening the doors, but that has to be balanced against feeding the fire with a rush of air - much like a blacksmiths furnace
Unfortunately, in the Release to Service, it's not possible to conduct Bomb Bay fire trials for obvious reasons, so design features and procedures are incorporated to negate that risk
However, as mentioned on this and other threads, technology exists where a space the size of the Nimrod Bomb Bay could be overwhelmed with an inert gas (Halon) to douse a fire but that would involve weight, size and expense
Every ac component has a 'life' with a built-in safety factor and is checked according to DA standards for the environment in which it's designed to operate - ie - a grommet, gusset, seal etc may be lifed for 2000 hours and is to be replaced at 1200 - ok in a temperate climate - but sustained exposure to 39 degrees+ for months on end may cause them to perish before their shelf life is up - these components are time related and may be hidden from view, so are not included in an AF/BF schedule, although they may have failed
In my humble opinion, Murphy's Law and Sod's Law creeps into this tragic XV230 incident - I have no doubts that Al Squires was happy to accept a perfectly serviceable ac for that sortie, complete it, and bring his crew safely home - and now we all have the benefit of hindsight - wow!!
I'll tell you all something - if it had been me looking down that Bomb Bay periscope, I would have been extremely worried, and even now, long after the event, I'm still not sure how I would have briefed the crew to instill confidence, knowing they were in serious trouble
Re-covening the BoI has Alistair Campbell plastered all over it
And oh! how I despise that man