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Aussie A bomb - RAF Swifts in Atomic tests

Posted by John Parker on Wed Feb 04, 2004 05:41:02 PM

Hi

I have seen photos of what I believe to be Supermarine Swifts being buried at Maralinga after the tests - they were very mangled and very "hot" apparently.

The Swifts were mentioned by name in a lot of the documents here in the media a few years ago.

The issue of the safe burial and removal of all of this stuff was a cause of much debate in Australia over an extended period. Apart from anything a lot of Aboriginal people were forced off their land to allow the blasts to happen (and it is alledged that some were not removed)and cannot now return.

Australia has on numerous occasions asked the UK government for assistance in the clean up (money) and their are various legal actions still ongoing.

The gist of all of this is that there is absolutly no chance of ever digging up the Swifts or anything else at Maralinga and it is very dangerous to even enter some parts of it.

Hope this helps.

I will try to get some details on the Swifts for everyone

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