Another thing about the Vulcan

[MennoR]

Over on the other forum where I found the 'Joe Lucas' postings, there was another interesting posting.

Someone stated that he was glad to see that the pilot and co-pilot had parachutes and ejection seats to get out (contrair to the Lancaster bombers before the Vulcan). Then some replied...

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But unfortunately the three guys at the bottom of the ladder didn't.....

A hundred years ago (1960s) I was a medical rep selling anti-inflammatory drugs, and was very cheered to find out that Vulcan crews at Waddington used a suppository version of my drug (Indomethacin) to relieve postural rheumatic pain on their long flights to the north of the USSR.

The GP who told me this looked after Vulcan crews and service families from a surgery on the base housing estate. As for security, I just walked through a gap in the hedge outside said house.

He told me that he had been baffled by a strange series of visits from a single (rotating) member of each Vulcan crew to get signed off sick when they were due to do low level flying over East Anglian marshes. Then someone confessed that if one crew member was sick, the flight didn't go. The crew in the back (down the ladder) were shit scared with the turbulence caused by rising warm air off the Broads, knowing that there would be no chance to escape if something went wrong at under 500ft, and as far as the doctor was aware whole crew(s) inc. the lucky(!) two up front were sympathetic to the ruse.

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[littlejim]

remember the "Sir Harry Broadhurst" incident.

Returning from and overseas tour in the Vulcan Sir Harry tried to land back in the UK in bad weather and didn't succeed.

After bouncing of the ground short of the runway he and the co-pilot banged out, the other four perished in the plane.