Sadly, both Lightening AND Victor now long gone to the scrapyard and melting pot. And of course, RAF Binbrook airfield has 95% been ploughed up with no trace left.
I was lucky to have served during the cold war in the RAF working on these and many of the other all British jets. This was the BEST jet fighter UK ever had, that scared the crap out of the Ruskis when they went screaming up to meet them, blasting past the 'Bear' bombers. I paid to fly in a 2 seat version in South Africa - sadly the pilot and aircraft were lost in an accident - so that was the end of chances to fly in one of these. I went to so many air displays and RIAT seeing the superb performance and the famous vertical ROTATE! After refueling one of these one time my mate and I were walking back across dispersal - we thought the pilot had left the area.........but we both looked at each other and you get that 'spider sense' the hairs on the back of your neck standing up We looked round and he shouted - hit the floor mate...........the pilot had done a 180 - and come back across the airfield at about 3 feet and ROARED over us, doing a vertical climb out waggling his wings! -SUPERB I later discovered shamefully the RAF allowed Binbrook to erased from the planet and demolished. Also a historic airfield now just a field🤬🤬🤬 RIP Lightning now our 'RAF' is a mere shadow of what it was along with all our forces. Heaven help us when Russia kicks off and wants to attack the UK............
A fabulous machine, has to be the best short range interceptor ever built. Truly amazing to see. I watched them do a display at Middleton St. George back in about 1962 and have been in love ever since.
It would have been late 1958/early 1959... I was an S.A.C. Eng Mech just back from the FAR, I was up in Elgin talking to my Brother -in-law a Sqdn/Ldr ... as I faced him and looked over his shoulder I saw two dots on the horizon .... suddenly they flashed overhead at Zero ft I turned round and the two Lightnings were what seemed to be Skidding round on their Arses and heading back up the Coast to Home. What an experience and my Brother-in-law calmly said "oh that's the boys from up the Coast likely just back from a 'Q.R.' Bloody Magic
I remember going to Binbrook with my mate Ken after it was sold off,we were amazed to see several tails,still in original crates and what appeared to be parts from the engines.
I think this aircraft is not just a beautiful aircraft and boy could it fly but imagine if the TSR 2 came out and the RAF got to fly TSR 2 you can’t say us British don’t make dam good aircraft 😊
Judging by the anchorman I initially guessed that this was from the late seventies. As it went on, I changed to thinking the early 1980s, but that was still too early; I just checked and they were retired in 1988.
