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THE WIDOWMAKERS
Throughout aviation history there have been planes that killed more of the pilots
who flew them than were ever shot down by the enemy. These were the 'Widowmakers',
loathed and feared by the unfortunate pilots who had to fly them.
Yet these were not experimental aircraft or prototypes, but planes that had been
commissioned by governments and the military, designed and built to the most
exacting specifications, been subjected to rigorous test flights - and finally passed
for operational service.
Sometimes they were essentially good planes that were either too challenging - or too
complex - for ordinary pilots to master. But sometimes they were simply downright
bad planes, with inherent faults that could reveal themselves without warning. And
quite often, these faults were known to the politicians and senior officers who passed
them as fit for service.
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