Reading these posts regarding Herc XV179 reminds me of a spooky part of my own entry in my RAF form 414 (log book to those not in the know). I was only a ground tradesman and flew a mere 14 times in a ten year career but my first two RAF flights caught me by surprise on checking them a while back.
The first flight I had in the forces was 24Nov77 in XV179 to Decimomanu on detachment from Marham in this ill-fated aircraft later to be sadly shot down in Baghdad in 2005. Imagine my surprise when my second flight, a mere 6 days later on 30Nov , was in a Canberra WH667 also later lost after an engine failure in Cyprus in 1978 in which the two crew died. I remember the funerals at Marham , very sad all round. Respect and RIP to them all .