Jimmy Jones' first (unsolicited?) contribution to the media was his assertion that the aircraft was not designed for use in the hot climate of the Middle East and that it was required for use in the NATO theatre. He based his expertise on this subject because he was a member of the flight test team/unit that saw the aircraft into service.
Well, yes, we needed a LRMPA and the Nimrod met that need. What Jimmy Jones didn't tell us, as he surely would have known as an engineer on the test team, was that the aircraft was released into service with ground temperature limits of -26C to +45C at sea level. This was hard data that Jones would have known about. So, his statement that the jet wasn't designed for the Gulf is tosh. I would agree that it wasn't required in the Gulf but it was clearly designed to be able to operate worldwide.
Mick Smith, you have worked hard with the information you gleaned and I congratulate you for doing your job, well. It is unfortunate that your sources have been less than accurate. I blame the MoD in this respect, because of a slavish adherence to procedures that were clearly inappropriate in this case. Much of what you have been told could so easily have been clarified by controlled explanation by sanctioned MoD specialists. In this respect the MoD has shot itself in the foot and, more importantly, allowed bereaved families and relatives of current Nimrod aircrew to read and see media information that has not always been accurate. I agree that some info was accurate, but the public expects the quality media (BBC and the Times) to be better than that.
Regards
Ed Set
Last edited by EdSet100; 7th December 2007 at 16:07.