Thank you for your timely and as always erudite contribution to the discussion, tucumseh. Indeed if this thread were a sticky I would have willingly left it as the last authoritative word on the matter, so it is merely in the role of bumper that I bring it back into view.
Bismark:
The HISLs may or may not have been a factor. In any event it is not unusual in war to fly with nav lights, and other transmitter off, - where does airworthiness come into that?
These aircraft were recovering to and launching from their carrier. The mid-air collision between them was close to the ship, well away from any hostile military threat, It was not a requirement for them to show no lights and it is rather disingenuous to suggest that it might have been. If ever there was a time for them to "see and be seen" this was it, and to have all such lights on (including the problematic fwd/lower HISL's) yet:
the crew decided to turn them off and that it had been practice in the Sqn to do so
To then say that:
Sadly in that particular case we will never know the true reasons for their actions hence no cause or blame being found (apart from the fact they flew in to each other).
Is again rather disingenuous in my view. Plainly the reason they were turned off is because the existing conditions exacerbated the problem identified by the BoI, that the installation was unfit for purpose (it blinded the pilots). For the BoI then to say that in retrospect the conditions did not do that calls into question their judgement rather than that of the pilots, in my view. That may be unacceptable to you, but what is unacceptable to me is that very question hanging over an inquiry conducted by the operator itself! This not fit for purpose installation had been carried out contrary to the airworthiness regulations, as a result of which it was switched off during a manoeuvre when it was most needed. Seven men died, and yet you say there was:
no cause or blame found
I know where I could find possible cause and blame! In my book this is another compromised miliary air accident investigation to add to all the others.
This is not an inter-service willy waving game, it is instead a matter of life and death. Each compromised and partial investigation paves the way to the very next tragedy. Time that was all stopped and that Military Airworthiness Provision and Air Accident Investigation be placed alongside Caesar's Wife in the "nothing to see here" suspicion category.