"Stuf4" wrote
Another interesting point is that today Bob Crippen mentioned this very
issue, however he stated that the shock had cracked a forward strut. I
found this to be a curious comment since I had never heard of that
before.

I didn't remember this FRCS either, but it is described
explicitly in the STS-1 mission report that I looked
up (using google). So our insights and memories
DO degrade with time, as we'd feared. All the more
reason to try and wring our minds dry before we're
too far gone.

Thanks for your additions.