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Old 21st May 2011, 02:06
  #75 (permalink)  
Centaurus
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Australia
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Somewhat better than the old ones where you were guaranteed to lose your legs from below the knee!
And not forgetting the first single seat Vampires (no dual ones until later) did not have an ejection seat so no chance of getting cut off at the knees. Unless you had inadvertently found yourself in a compressibility dive, the pilot either jumped over the side and did a normal parachute descent or you tried your luck at a dead stick forced landing.

At least three RAAF pilots were killed in the 1949-50 period when they went in with their aircraft near Williamtown. They did not have ejection seats and were unable to abandon their aircraft due high speed. They were unable to pull out of high altitude dives after losing elevator effectiveness due shock waves associated with the installation of air intakes on the fuselage behind the canopy.
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