There will be risks, as there are in any experimental programme, and sooner or later, we're going to ... lose somebody Gus Grissom

It is feared the disaster on launch pad 34 could delay America's plans to put a man on the Moon by as much as a year.

The three men were in the command module, mounted on the Saturn rocket as if ready for launch, but Saturn was not loaded with fuel.

At 1831 hours one of the astronauts was heard to say, "Fire, I smell fire."

Two seconds later, another astronaut, probably Lt Col White said, "Fire in the cockpit."

The fire spread through the cabin rapidly. The last communication from the crew was heard just 17 seconds later.

The pressurised atmosphere inside the capsule meant the astronauts would not have had time to open the hatch.

Under ideal conditions, the process takes about 90 seconds. It involves venting the cabin to relieve the interior pressure which helps hold the door closed.

It took technicians on the outside about five minutes after the fire had started to open the hatch.

There will be a full investigation into what caused the fire, but already questions are being asked about whether safety corners were cut in the race to be first to the Moon.

The astronauts knew there were risks involved. Lt Col Grissom became the second American in space in the Liberty Bell 7. On splashdown, the space capsule filled with water and sank and he almost drowned.

A few weeks before the launch pad tragedy, he wrote: "There will be risks, as there are in any experimental programme, and sooner or later, we're going to run head-on into the law of averages and lose somebody.

"I hope this never happens, and... perhaps it never will, but if it does, I hope the American people won't think it's too high a price to pay for our space programme."

The Apollo mission's maiden flight was due to blast off into space on 21 February.

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