Airforces - Demo Hornet

o 617 Squadron’s officer

commanding (OC) Wg

Cdr John Butcher led

the flight across the Atlantic on

June 6 alongside his Royal Navy

executive officer (XO) Lt Cdr

Adam ‘Hoggy’ Hogg. One of the

two other Royal Air Force pilots,

who remained out of the media

spotlight, was Sqn Ldr Darren

Kupps, who made his first F-35B

flight on July 7, 2016 and, like

‘Hoggy’, was flying the Harrier until

it was retired in December 2010.

Wg Cdr Butcher told the

assembled media: “The vast

portion of the journey was over

clouds, so to actually see

England as we passed

over the coastline was

magic. There were no problems

with the jets and they all took on

fuel without any issues.” Lt Cdr

Hogg added: “It was great flying

here. It has taken a number of

years to make this possible. We

may have been the four guys

that flew them here, but it was

a big effort by everyone.”

After 18 years of development,

the UK’s F-35B Lightning has come

home. The four No 617 Squadron

‘Dambusters’ F-35Bs arrived at

their new base, RAF Marham, 24

hours later than planned. Poor

weather over the Atlantic forced

a delayed departure from their

base at Marine Corps Air Station

Beaufort, South Carolina, but

eight-and-a-half hours and nine

air-to-air refuelling brackets later

they arrived. The quartet of jets

flew in formation over the runway

before breaking into the circuit

just as the sun started to fade and

touched down just after 20.00hrs.

The first jets were initially

scheduled to arrive in August, but

the pace of progress at MCAS

Beaufort – where the UK pilots are

training with Marine Fighter Attack

Training Squadron (VMFAT) 501 –

led to the decision to fly to Marham

two months early. Their delivery

COMES

HOME

LIGHTNING

N

Above: The first four F-35Bs to be stationed in the UK head to their home

base at RAF Marham on June 6. With Marham’s Tornado GR4 fleet set for

retirement on March 31 next year, the Lightning will add a new level of combat

efficiency to UK air power. Crown Copyright/Cpl Tim Laurence

Below: No 617 Squadron’s officer commanding Wg Cdr John Butcher shuts

down his jet after arrival at Marham. While the ‘barn door’ intake for the lift fan

is closed, the stealthy jet’s internal weapons bay doors are open. Jamie Hunter

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #365 AUGUST 2018 // 35

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