1. The members of Stirling W7624‘s crew were: :: Pilot: Flight Sergeant Hugh Barton–Smith, 26, a chemist from Sutton Coldfield :: Navigator: Flight Sergeant Kenneth Wakefield, 20, a clerk born in Derby :: Air bomber: Sergeant Leonard Moss, 28, from New Zealand :: Flight engineer: Sergeant John Victor Robinson, 23, whose service record lists him as a "scholar" before joining up :: Wireless operator: Sergeant Peter Sharman, 20, a clerk from Liverpool :: Mid upper gunner: Flight Sergeant Edward Frederick Talbot, 30, a milkman from London :: Rear Gunner: Flight Sergeant Glen Allen Smith, 24, from New Zealand.

2. Ministers must deliver on their promises to get this sorted." The long wait Flight Sergeant Bob O‘Connor: The inquest will open more than three years after his RAF Hercules was shot down By the time an inquest opens on Flight Sergeant Bob O‘Connor and nine other servicemen, it will be more than three years since their RAF Hercules was shot down in Iraq.

3. Flight Sergeant Tim Dickinson, of the RAF Aeronautical Rescue Co–ordination Centre based at RAF Kinloss, said all crew members were rescued by helicopter and lifeboats.

4. The Stirling‘s rear gunner, New Zealander Flight Sergeant Glen Allen Smith, 24, managed to get out of the crashing plane and was found dying nearby.

5. Flight Sergeant Tim Dickinson, of the RAF Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre, based at RAF Kinloss, told BBC News: "It was a textbook rescue operation ... we were very fortunate because the sea conditions were benign." Mr Caygill said it was too early to determine what had caused the collision, adding: "The English Channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.