though it was never totally empty when we were working in them.
Yes! that was always good fun
Only the Base 3 aircraft had dry tanks. Base 1 and 2 aircraft remained wet. When working in a wet tank we employed health and safety religiously
This entailed wearing a rope tied round your waste and then crawling into the depths of where you thought the problem might have been (that could involve moving around corners and climbing over baffles, through quite deep puddles of fuel). The other end of the rope was held by your safety man sat on top of the wing by the tank access hole. A tug on the rope now and again assured him that you were doing ok. No mask or goggles were available
On the other hand, with the Base 3 aircraft completely dry and purged of fumes it was not uncommon for the entire AES junior sooty team being caught playing cards in the VC10 centre fuselage tank
Another interesting working practice in those days that either went well or you got incredibly wet was to change a water drain valve on a tank that was full of fuel. It called for slick arm movement and accurate insertion skills. It was either
or
Finally, I would like to say that I do not endorse these working practices that were “unofficially” acceptable at the time; I just did what my Cpl told me to do
