I served on 5 Squadron at RAF Binbrook from 1971 to 1973. Very happy memories of working on the Lightnings at Binbrook. I went on to continue working on 56 Squadron at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus from 1973 to 1975.
Binbrook was one of my best tours (1976-79), but having visited a couple of times in more recent years much of it is in a very sad state and I found the experience somewhat depressing.
Thanks for the video. My father flew with RAAF 460 Squadron out of Binbrook in 1944. While they flew Wellington's early in the war, they were flying Avro Lancasters there from October 1942 to the end of the war. It flew the most raids of any Australian squadron and, sadly, incurred the most fatal casualties.
Was stationed at RAF Binbrook 1975 /6.. was a Painter and Finisher in 1975 we painted the first Lighting in camaflauge colours ...not a lot health and safety in those days....😀
My dad works at one of the hangers at raf Binbrook, we are currently trying to restore the SHQ, Guardroom, and soon the medical centre, we have 1 lightnings undercover and a gloster javelin but it’s really interesting, I’m upset that raf Binbrook has shut down now after all the history it has but I’m sure 1 day it will look better
I'm not sure about Binbrook, but part of RAF Faldingworth is still used by Rolls Royce and the RAF for jet engine testing and repairs. There was also high security storage for nuclear bombs and trigger fuses. It was a sad day when the BAC Lightenings left Lincolnshire forever.
I was there with (261 Guildford ATC) in 1975, aged14 yrs . Still have a few photos that were taken at the time.We stayed in one of the old H blocks . Also l noticed the old hanger behind the new ones was where I waited for my first every flight in a chipmunk aircraft. Happy days.
My father was the first Adjutant at Binbrook when the MOD, then the War Ministry, took it over from the contractors. Two months with no paperwork! Heaven! But the paper pushers got there eventually.
The ammo storage area along with the hangar are a firework company. The mounds next to the magazines are to protect against potential explosions i believe
My ATC squadron had its Easter 1965 camp at Binbrook. We were billeted in the H Block recently vacated by some WRAFs (and you should have seen some of the "personal" belongings they'd left behind!) That week the (F3?) Lightnings were doing night exercises - don't think we slept a wink, bloody noisy things. Lord knows what the neighbours thought. Those munitions stores housed Red Top and Firestreak missiles. We were taken inside for a tour and the Flt Sgt looking after us produced a cardboard box as we entered and said "Right, all fags, matches and lighters in the box!" We were a school squadron aged from 13 1/2 through to 17 . . . The two of our officers (also our school teachers) did a snappy about turn and went outside for a couple of minutes. We even got them back as we left!
If any of your viewers every made Airfix modles back in the 70's or 80's, Roy Cross's art work on the boxes featured G for George coming in to land with one engine on fire into RAF Binbrooke.
There is a Lightning T5 still flying in Thunder City in South Africa with 11 Squadron markings I believe and also two F6 variants in taxying condition in the UK both are 5 Squadron and 11 Squadron markings.
@@ednammansfield8553 Thankyou, the black Lightning in South Africa was the other one I've seen. I've grown up on RAF bases and I'm old enough to remember seeing the Lightning, Phantom, Vulcan, Tornado, Harrier and even the Jaguar fly from bases...all lost in time now.
When I visited a few years back my old room in one of the blocks still had curtains in the windows, and I'm pretty sure they were the same ones as when I lived there about 30 years earlier!
In the IAF our sleeping barraks were old RAF Air crew, built by the British in the 1940's or 30's during the mandate. The roofing was really old and the window frames looked period original. I don't recall any H-blocks on our base, but there were 2 storie H-blocks on another larger base, they looked like 1960's.
No it's not accessible as you will get into trouble for trespass. The guy on the video invited me onto the property and was in agreement for to film the video.
The "secret " area was for checking /storing firestreak and red top missiles of the lightnings .,The area you skipped over was the actual bomb dump which was beside it ,this was in a ravine which during WW2 had camo net covering the entire area ,the latching points can still be seen if you look closer at ground level
The "secret" area was called MSF which stood for missile service flight ,the bomb dump was called explosive storage area ,this was on the left hand side of the MSF entrance but in a ravine cut .@@trevorsmith1995
The ammo dump probably used for storing demolition charges and the like. Unlikely used for military weapons as there is no MOD presence there anymore. My Dad worked at Binbrook and was posted there 3 times, the last time was during 1978 to 1980 where my Mum and I also lived on Camp. My Data was responsible for maintaining the Lightnings. The engines were leased from GE. We also attended the closing down celebration. This was before Health and Safety as we stood along side the runway while they took off meters away. First aircraft to vertical take off, point the nose to the sky and give it the beans while the tarmac blisters from the afterburners.
My father was stationed at Binbrook for a couple of years in the 1950s. The site was host to the famous 617 Dambusters squadron for a brief period while my dad was there. They were still flying Lancs at the time, and he lost a friend to a tragic accident involving the cartridge start mechanism on the Lancaster.
@@trevorsmith1995 You sound like my uncles in the video. He and his brothers were born in Wolverhampton, but the family moved to Canada in 1967, when I was 4 years old.
We did some aborted landings there in the 80's when I was in the air cadets. It was a training base at that time for the fire service. A full line of lightnings were being set on fire and put out for training. Crying shame.
It looks a bit sad, but things could be worse it could be full of migrants. The munitions stores are all set out like this so if one is hit and explodes it doesn't set the others off.
