PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Victor K2 very low with drogues winched out. Where was this photo taken?
Old 10th May 2015, 20:52
  #17 (permalink)  
Tengah Type
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: S W France
Age: 80
Posts: 261
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The hill the photo was taken from was usually referred to as TACAN hill. I do not have my maps of ASI handy, but it probably had a name given to it by the Royal Marines in the 1800s.

The incident referred to in #9 was when aircraft XL232 was refuelling an aircraft flown by a 232 OCU Crew(Captain I believe was "Carrot Top"), when the HDU main fuel pump exploded. The fuel pump in the Victor (and VC10) was driven by HOT Air from the old Bomb Bay heating system, a relic from Valiant days when the aircraft could not provide sufficient electrical power for the HDU fuel pump. The HOT air drove a turbine rotating at lots of RPM ( TTN can probably tell you how many ).

In this case the turbine disintegrated and the flying blades cut the fuel lines and electric cables. In the receiver aircraft the roof was spattered by debris, the HDU lights went out in front of them and they were left with a "Hard Hose", which nearly removed their probe. The tanker was now left with a cocktail of hot air, fuel vapour and sparking electrics in the HDU Bay. By some miracle the aircraft did not explode and take the receiver with it.

The fuselage looked like somebody had fired a complete magazine from a sub-machine gun around the HDU bay. Very lucky boys!!

XL 232 was burnt out on the runway at Marham in November 1982 when the No 3 engine failed on take off, on a Tansor scramble, and the turbine disc passed through the fuselage fuel tanks. No one was injured.
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