RAF LIGHTNINGS –
OPERATIONAL
SQUADRONS
Number NotesNo.5 Received its rst Lightning,
T.5 XS451, at Binbrook,
Lincolnshire, on November
19, 1965 and operated the
type (including F.6s, the rst of
which arrived on December 10,
1965) until December 1987.No.11 Took its rst Lightning, F.6
XS928, on charge at Leuchars,
Scotland, on April 4, 1967 and
later moved south to Binbrook.
Operated the type until April
1988.No.19 Received its rst Lightning,
T.4 XM988 at Lecon eld,
Yorkshire, in October 1962,
with its rst F.2 XN775,
arriving on December 17,- The unit later moved to
Gütersloh in West Germany
and ew the type until
December 1976.
No.23 A pair of Lightnings, F.3s
XP707 and XP708, were
delivered to the unit at
Leuchars, Scotland, on August
18, 1964 but No.23 didn’t
officially ‘stand-up’ with the
type until October that year.
They operated various marks
of the English Electric ghter
(including F.6s and T.4s) for
11 years.http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 49The distinction of being the rst operational unit to be equipped with the Lightning ghter fell
to 74 Squadron, which ew the type from 1960 to 1971. These are F.3 variants. Crown Copyright
via Hugh TrevorAbove: The ‘Firebirds’ – 56 Squadron – was the second frontline
unit to operate the type. This photo shows XS417/Z – the
rst production T.5 to y – in the unit’s markings. Today this
aircraft preserved at the wonderful Newark Air Museum on the
Lincolnshire/Nottinghamshire border. All photos Key Collection
unless stated
Right: A ight of F.6s from 23 Squadron. The aircraft illustrated
are XR754/M, XR747/K, XS937/C and XR728/D. Of these,
XR728 is today privately owned and kept in running order at
Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire, while the nose sections of XR754
and XR747 have both been preserved – in Cambridgeshire and
Devon respectively.A Lightning F.6 of 5 Squadron in May 1982. AirTeamImages.com/Carl Ford48-52_lightning_unitsDC.mfDC.mfDCDC.indd 49 05/03/2018 13:02