From PETER LANYON
I’m uncertain whether I am referring to the electromagnetic radiation
correspondence (Letters, 8 February, 7 and 21 March) or to Marcus Rowland’s
article about laboratory accidents (Forum, 21 March).
A couple of years ago, a Hercules military aircraft narrowly missed
the tower of the British Telecom Research Laboratories at Martlesham, Suffolk,
after appearing to make a bee-line for it. Rumours as to what had nearly
caused a major accident were rife. One suggested that a ghostly hand on
the controls had sought a nostalgic landing on Sir Douglas Bader’s old airfield,
Martlesham Heath, on which the laboratories are built.
Perhaps it was a hero of a different kind. Hazards of Electromagnetic
Radiation to Ordnance (HERO) are a problem with which the American forces
are unhappily familiar. Which could explain why official explanations have
been so elusive.
Peter Lanyon Woodbridge, Suffolk
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