John Nicholls a retired Royal Air Force navigator who was shot down in Tornado ZD791 which was critically damaged by a shoulder-launched SAM SA-14, Nichol and his pilot, John Peters, were captured by Iraqi forces.
He flies here in the English Electric Lightning in South Africa. What a brilliant machine ahead of its time:
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'Tonight my men and I have been through hell and back again, but the look on your faces when we let you out of the hall - we'd do it all again tomorrow.' Major Chris Keeble's words to Goose Green villagers on 29th May 1982 - 2 PARA
My favourite aircraft Gil, alas it's been a long time since the last Lightning flew in the UK.
Though the fleet retired along with the legendary base RAF Binbrook in 1988, a few flew on with British Aerospace on Tornado F3 radar trials work for a few more years.
The final machine flew from British Aerospace Warton, (F6 XS903) to its new home in Bruntingthorpe in 1993, brining to an end the Lighting era in the UK.
It can still be seen there today, kept live, with its fellow F6 XR728, doing fast taxi demonstrations, along with quite a few other classic Cold War Jets.
An utterly British design classic, like the Mini or the MG, very loud and rather brutal poetry in motion .... Pure nostalgia for us Cold War generation kids!
Thanks for posting another one Gil....
Last edited by mrclark303; 03-10-2019 at 09:14 AM.
Favourite of mine. Dad was RAF at Warton where we lived for 2 years on the Lightnings, what an amazing airframe.
RAF Binbrook the home of the making of Memphis Belle, I think they have a preservation order on its control tower shown in the film and have also now slapped Preservation orders on all RAF sites which is "finally" good news indeed. It will remind the younger age groups of the losses and the need for so so many airfields in the UK!!
'Tonight my men and I have been through hell and back again, but the look on your faces when we let you out of the hall - we'd do it all again tomorrow.' Major Chris Keeble's words to Goose Green villagers on 29th May 1982 - 2 PARA
'Tonight my men and I have been through hell and back again, but the look on your faces when we let you out of the hall - we'd do it all again tomorrow.' Major Chris Keeble's words to Goose Green villagers on 29th May 1982 - 2 PARA
My favourite cold war fighter, I saw it display many times in the 60's and 70's.
I had promised myself a retirement present flight in one of Thunder City's two seat Lightnings.
Sadly pilot Dave Stock was killed in an accident at the Overburg air show in 2009 in ZU-BEX, the Lightning featured in the video. The Thunder City fleet was grounded shortly after by the SA CAA due to maintenance issues, and did not take fare paying passengers again.
Owner of Thunder City, Mike Beachy Head, died of a heart attack in 2017.
Sad News indeed. That must have been shortly after the ending of the film Memphis Belle, is that correct?
'Tonight my men and I have been through hell and back again, but the look on your faces when we let you out of the hall - we'd do it all again tomorrow.' Major Chris Keeble's words to Goose Green villagers on 29th May 1982 - 2 PARA