aviation - the past, present and future of flight

No.29 The  rst Lightnings for the unit,

F.3s XP765 and XP698, arrived

on May 10, 1967 at Wattisham,

Suffolk, and it operated the type

(including T.5s) until December

1974.

No.56 The ‘Firebirds’ received their

 rst Lightning, F.1A XM172,

at Wattisham, Suffolk, on

December 14, 1960 and  ew

the type (including F.3s, F.6s, a

T.4 and T.5s) until June 1976. It

spent a lengthy spell based at

Akrotiri, Cyprus during its time

as a Lightning unit.

TRAINING

SQUADRONS/

UNITS

Name/Number Notes

Air Fighting Development Squadron AFDS received its  rst Lightnings in December 1959 and operated the type (including F.1s, F.3s,

F.6s, T.4s and T.5s) until February 1, 1966, when it was renamed the Fighter Command Trials Unit

(FCTU) and adopted the Binbrook station badge of a blue lion on the tail.

Binbrook Target Facilities Flight Established in 1966 with F.1s and F.1As to provide targets for practice high-speed  ghter interceptions.

Disbanded in December 1973. Aircraft were borrowed from other units.

Fighter Command Trials Unit Formed at Binbrook on February 1, 1966 and operated the type (including F.1s, F.3s and F.6s)

until June 1967.

Leuchars Target Facilities Flight Equipped initially with a trio of F.1As, the Leuchars TFF was formed in April 1966 and served for

four years.

50 Aviation News incorporating Jets April 2018

Top right: A  ne study of F.3 XP756/K of 29

Squadron. This aircraft was with the unit

for four years before it was destroyed in a

crash in early 1971.

Above right: Lightnings based in West

Germany in the 1970s adopted the RAF dark

green paint over bare metal. This re ected

the type’s change in role from high-level

 ghter work to low-level interceptor

tasking. After leaving the RAF in 1983, this

Gütersloh-based 92 Squadron example,

F.2 XN728, was placed on display/open

storage by a private owner close to the A1

road near Balderton, Nottinghamshire. It

fell into a state of extreme disrepair and

was eventually broken up in 2011, with

the cockpit being saved - it’s now being

restored to its former glory by a private

collector.

Right: No.11 Squadron’s F.6 XR757/D,

circa 1971.

Right: Lightning F.1 XM139/F of the

Air Fighting Development Squadron,

the unit tasked with bringing the

type and its variants into RAF

service.

48-52_lightning_unitsDC.mfDC.mf.indd 50 05/03/2018 12:23