J
ohn Mitchell started his flying training
in Southern Rhodesia during 1949.
After graduation during 1950-51 he
flew the de Havilland Vampire and
Gloster Meteor and was swiftly recognised
as instructor material. He was ‘creamed
off’ to join the Central Flying School at RAF
Cranwell in Lincolnshire as a qualified flying
instructor (QFI).
In May 1955 he was posted to 256 Sqn,
flying the Gloster Meteor NF.XI at RAF
Ahlhorn in West Germany before the unit
moved south to RAF Geilenkirchen. He then
moved to 72 Sqn at RAF Church Fenton,
Yorkshire in June 1958 to fly the Meteor
NF.12 and 14. The unit re-equipped with the
Gloster Javelin towards the end of that year
and moved to nearby RAF Leconfield the
following June.
It was at this base, during 1960, where
John first encountered early English Electric
Lightnings being temporarily tested by the
Central Fighter Establishment’s (CFE), Air
Fighting Development Squadron (AFDS).
John explained: “Although the CFE was
based at West Raynham its Lightnings were
detached to RAF Coltishall, mainly because
of its 1,500ft longer runway.” Assigned to
the AFDS in June 1960, with its Meteors,
Javelins, Hunters and Lightnings, John
spent much of his time flying the English
Electric fighter.
In preparation for his first Lightning flight
he undertook a considerable amount of
simulator training. “The simulator instructors
were already very experienced on the
Lightning’s systems and its emergencies.
From simulator training I was made well
aware of how capable the aircraft was, and
pretty confident that in any situation, short
of a total disaster, I was competent enough
with the systems. The simulator staff did a
fantastic job in emergency drills and helped
rehearse missions before getting in the air. I
appreciated what they taught me, they were
a thoroughly professional outfit.”His first Lightning flight was in F.1,
XM136, at RAF Coltishall, Norfolk in January- “It was a quantum leap over anything
I had flown before, but I wasn’t surprised
by it. I was aware what was going to
happen. Nothing was strange, the cockpit
was familiar from the simulator. As a result,
my first Lightning flight was probably the
most comfortable of any first solo in all
the types I have flown. The performance
was as advertised, a thoroughly enjoyable
experience.” John followed the Lightning
element of AFDS when it moved from
Coltishall to RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire.
AIR REFUELLING TRIALS
Initial air refuelling trials had been carried
out on P.1B, XA847, at Boscombe Down
in Wiltshire during 1959, flown by Roland
Beamont, although the necessary internal
equipment was not being installed on the
F.1s then coming off the production line. The
RAF had to wait until the F.1A arrived to get
air refuelling-capable aircraft. Even then the
system had only been proved on the first
production F.1A, XM169, by connecting the
refuelling probe to an air refuelling basket on
the ground. John explained: “At that time I
was not very experienced on the Lightning,
flying it for just over a year. If I got seven to
eight hours a month I was doing pretty well.
However, after being with AFDS a year or so,
our boss – Wg Cdr John Nicholls – appointed
me as Project Officer for the Lightning’s
service air refuelling trials. I went to Warton
and talked to current test pilots, but there was
no pool of experience to learn, or get advice
from on aerial refuelling. Aircraft XM169 had
been loaned to ‘A’ Squadron at Boscombe
Down for various testing tasks, controlled
by the Ministry of Supply, and they had to
authorise its use for the refuelling trials. On
August 28, 1961 I took a Meteor down to
Boscombe and observed one of its [the
base’s] Canberra’s, with a fuselage-mounted
hose-drum unit [HDU], perform an aerialhttp://www.aviation-news.co.uk 37Above: Lightning F.2A, XN791/D, 92 Sqn
about to touchdown at RAF Gütersloh.
Hugh Trevor Collection
Below left: Lightning F.1, XM136/E, of the Air
Fighting Development Squadron – the unit
that developed the aircraft’s tactics. Hugh
Trevor Collection
Below: Wg Cdr John Mitchell (left),
OC 92 Sqn, after a check ride with Gp
Capt John Howe – the then new RAF
Gütersloh Station Commander and a very
experienced Lightning pilot. via John
Mitchell
Below right: John flew Lightning air
refuelling trials using 56 Sqn F.1As and
Valiant tankers in the summer of 1962.
BAE Systems Heritage Warton36-40_lightning_cobraDC.mfDC.mfDC.indd 37 01/03/2018 19:17