Thank you for the compliment but more like Alan Alder in MASH than Col. Jessup in A Few Good Men. Having had opportunities to see behind "The Wizard of Oz" curtain on many occasions I prefer Hawkeye to Jessup!
>I will move on once I know why a 50 million pound ac exploded in mid-air.
Known highly volatile and unsafe fuel, wartime operating, spark and oxygen. The question should be "Was the loss worth it to the mission and the outcome of the war." Probably the answer is NO! That is a question worth pursuing.
>I will question the RAF's duty of care.
No military service has any "duty of care", just to carry out the orders of politicians, and that often means innocent people suffering. Today our losses are small compared to the thousands per day in WWII, and tens of thousands per day in WWI. The RAF has never had enough of anything and has operated as an illusion for the last 50 years. It is a credit to everyone, groundcrew and aircrew, that more haven't been lost.
>I will question the validity of the Safety Case for this ac.
There can be a good case made to ground every aircraft, civil or military, as well as keep every car, motor bike, even bicycle in the garage. (I did have the Nimrods grounded once, and was quickly moved on to training Navigators at Finningley.) In a wartime scenario you go with what you have got, not what you want. The Nimrod was designed to fly Maritime Recce, anti-submarine warfare, and to drop parachutists through the rear door. If George Bush wanted a crop spaying aircraft Blair would have volunteered the Nimrod. Who then is at fault, the RAF or politicians?
>I will question why 14 good men died in an incident caused by some type of failure.
Unfortunately that is aviation. Any analysis on why planes crash always provides a string of unconnected decisions that converge into an incident. There are no "accidents".
>I will question the MOD lack of funding for the RAF.
Unrealistic dreams of our "Leaders" who for the last 60 years still believe the UK can project global power, with a budget to run the Isle of Wight Ferry. We forget the Valiant, TSR2, F-111 and a whole string of "Dream Machines' we could not afford, then there are missile systems, avionics and facilities that were hidden behind a cloak of secrecy, to fool the voters.
>I question why the MRA4 with a service life of 34 years.will be brought in without, nitrogen inerting system in the fully pressurized fuel containing probe(currently exists on MR2).
With satellites and Drones the argument could be made for moving into the 21st Century and completely re-examining the whole concept.
>Without fuel tank protection.
Same argument as every civilian airliner. The JP1/JP4 argument again, and the quality of aviation fuel supplied to US led forces.
>Without under floor fire protection (currently on MR2).
>Without bomb bay fire protection.
>Without flight deck armour.
Because the political "leaders" we voted into power decided on our behalf to use the very small UK pot of money to support social programs, building Millennium theme parks, and renovating palaces instead of making their front line military aircraft safer. Compare your points to the thousands of grieving US parents asking why the Humvee did not have the basic protection, or those who dare ask why Leander Frigates were built to burn like a Thermite Bomb, as shown during the Falklands War.
As long as incompetent officials, military and political can hide behind the archaic Official Secrets Act there will never be accountability for stupid, fraudulent and senseless decisions. The UK military have been brainwashed to believe the media are their enemies, as shown by the rhetoric against the BBC. The media are the only defence against the legions of faceless bureaucrats who have absolutely no regard for their "Subjects" life or safety.
Keep up your quest for answers, but ask the politicians "Why" and not get sidetracked by worrying where the F700 was stored, or the other Red Herrings that distract. When you get slapped with a "D Notice" you know you are getting near the truth, and the guilty are feeling the heat!