Aviation_News_2017-03

time allocated to getting to solo standard

there was little room for repeats. The course

was run at a ‘Lightning’ pace, so once solo

the student alternated between roughly one

solo  ight and two dual.

With the course divided into two phases,

the initial phase was focused on getting solo,

instrument  ying, and close and tactical

formation followed by a mid-course handling

check – a test of all that had been learnt

so far. This might include a departure for

upper level work, a simulated emergency

with a practice diversion to a nearby air eld

(Waddington or Coningsby) and a return to

base. Having quali ed at night, this could be

done day or night.

With the  rst part of the course

completed, it was back to the classroom.

Weapons lectures covered the missile

system, the gunsight and, crucially, the

radar. Lectures covered radar function

in detail and how to perform intercepts

and Visual Identi cation (VIDs) of targets

using the Ferranti AI23 monopulse radar.

This was perhaps the hardest concept for

ab initio students to grasp, as it required

enormous mental dexterity. With hindsight,

the RAF could have introduced some form

of mental agility tests tailored to intercept

geometry, as it was certainly an acquired

skill –  ying at 500mph and 40,000ft while

trying to do the intercept added another

single-seat F.1s from 74(F) Tiger Sqn as the unit

re-equipped in 1963 with the vastly superior F.3.

With the introduction of the F.3 the squadron

moved to RAF Leuchars to take on the increasing

task of Northern QRA (Quick Reaction Alert),

this left a vacancy at RAF Coltishall allowing

the Lightning OCU to establish itself there with

its  eet of F.1s and T.4s. By late 1963 226

OCU adopted the title of 145 Sqn as a shadow

unit under the OCU. The unit soon adorned

its aircraft with red and white  ns similar to the

operational squadrons. It moved down to East

Anglia on April 13, 1964.

RAF Coltishall now became the home of

the Lightning with the OCU’s F.1s and T.4s

though the former were soon supplanted by the

Wattisham wings F.1As as they introduced the

F.3. April 20, 1965 saw the  rst Lightning T.5

arrive and soon the unit was up to full strength

of 36 airframes in total. With so many aircraft

the unit was split into three squadrons. No.1

“As you press the

starter, the aircraft

gives off a loud

hissing noise like a

sinking battleship in

its death throes. With

a clattering of metal,

the engine starts

spinning into life”

http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 47

its aircraft with red and white  ns similar to the its aircraft with red and white  ns similar to the

Below left: Lightning F.1A XM214 of 1 Sqn/226 OCU – this section of the OCU trained pilots

undergoing initial conversion and those being posted to RAF Germany. It wears the markings

of its shadow unit at the time – 145 Sqn.

Below: No.226 OCU formed 2 (Training) Squadron which taught students how to use the AI23

radar for intercepts.

Lightning F.3 XP741 – the small wing, light

weight and high thrust-to-weight ratio made

this variant well suited to air combat. This was

the single-seat variant  own by LTF students.

42-49_lightning_learningDC.mfDC.indd 47 06/02/2017 10:18