94 FLYPAST January 2018FROM THE WORKSHOP ENGLISH ELECTRIC LIGHTNING
Project
Max Waldron describes the preparation of a Lightning
for a new lease of life as a display airframe
O
nce the vanguard of the UK
air defence network, English
Electric Lightning F.3 XP745 is
now tucked away in a warehouse in
Greenford, London. Appropriately,
it is owned by removals and storage
specialist Vanguard, a company
founded in 1964, the year in which
XP745 was built. The airframe has
been out of the public eye for many
years, but things are changing and
XP745 is about to enter a far more
prominent position of display after
many years in the dark.
Last on duty as a ‘gate guardian’
at the fighter control centre at RAF
Boulmer in Northumberland, the
Lightning was put up for disposal
in November 1992 after 16 years on
display. It was acquired by Vanguard
and in April 1993 a team of engineers
was sent north to Boulmer to
‘nut and bolt’ disassemble XP745
and move it to London. Carefully
unloaded, XP745 was stored within
the cavernous warehouse.
Vanguard was not unfamiliar with
classic jets, already proudly owning
the first production Hawker Hunter,
F.1 WT555, which first flew in May- The Hunter has had spells
on display at the top of a tower in
the Vanguard complex on Western
Avenue – the A40 main road.
Also at Greenford is the cockpit of
1956-built Vampire T.11 XK632 which
company chairman ‘Mac’ McCullagh
purchased to save from the scrap
heap.High-speed
distraction
Having obtained the Lightning,
Vanguard put a proposal forward
to position the fighter on a
specially designed and constructed
triangular steel mount adjacent to
the A40 in a ‘dive’ position. Ministry
of Transport planners rejected this
scheme on the grounds that passing
motorists would see it and ‘duck’ or
worse still, swerve.
However, it was deemed
acceptable to position XP745 in
a ‘climb’ attitude. The paperwork
was amended and full planning
permission granted. The steel
framework and foundations for this
undertaking were estimated to cost
£300,000.
Vanguard is a leading specialist
removals organisation, employing
around 450 people. In the 1990s,
business was in full steam and theLightning was put on the ‘back
burner’.
In mid-2016, Vanguard put
forward a different project. The
company’s new storage facility
in Bristol will include a large
glass-topped atrium, and the
Lightning will be suspended
inside from a steel frame.Face lift
After 20-plus years of
storage the Lightning
needed a face lift and
some restoration work
to prepare for display.
Dave Blissett and the
author, who had both
been instrumental in the
move of F.3 XR713 from
Leuchars in Scotland
to Bruntingthorpe,
Leicestershire, and
its subsequent
refurbishment,
were contacted
and asked to
inspect XP745.
Although the Lightning had been
stripped internally of several ‘spare
parts’, the airframe remained in
remarkably good condition withVanguard
The centre and rear fuselage, ready for painting. Hunter F.1 WT555 is another classic jet owned by Vanguard.