In Len Deighton's astonishing 1970 novel "Bomber" there is a passage
(which I believe to be true, Deighton researched his novel to an
incredible degree) describing a pilot diving his Lancaster in the hope
that the increased airflow would extinguish the fire in one his
engines. He had been told of this technique by pilots who had
successfully done the same thing. However, the usual outcome was in
fact that the fire became hotter and eventually burned through the
main spar, leading to the seperation of the wing.

Those pilots did not get to report their experiences to their
colleagues.


Dan