A highlight of the airshow was the formation flypasts by nine Lightnings. All photos Brian Hodgson except where stated
RAF BINBROOK – AUGUST 22, 1987 Brian Hodgson recalls an historic event that was a fitting farewell to the charismatic Lightning, despite rain and low cloud.
TALES FROM THE LOGBOOK…
My affection for the English Electric Lightning started at the 1971 ‘Wings over Merseyside’ air display at Liverpool Airport when I was 15 years old. It was a sunny, May Saturday with not a cloud in the sky, and the first programmed item was the Lightning. I had not seen one takeoff before and didn’t realise the all-silver fighter would perform its party trick – the rotation take-off. The aircraft blasted down the runway, hardly climbing, tucked up its undercarriage and at the end of the runway appeared to turn on a sixpence before climbing vertically until it became a small silver dot lost in the vast blue sky. It showed the Lightning’s sheer power and was enhanced by the sight and sound of the fighter’s afterburners. I have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of displays since that day but do not think any have made such an impression.
The long thin fuselage, the length of the pitot tube and swept-back wings gave the impression the Lightning went faster than anything else around.
The Lightning looked the part but by the 1980s it had become dated and was replaced by the Panavia Tornado F3 in the air defence role. RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire was the last home of the Lightning with 5 Sqn, 11 Sqn and the Lightning Training Flight (LTF) based there. My hopes of a final hurrah for the Lightning were realised when it was announced the station would hold an open day on Saturday August 22, 1987, which was billed as ‘The Last Lightning Show’. I was 31 years old and it was difficult for me to get to an airfield during the week because I worked in an office. I relied on weekend airshows for an aviation fix. RAF Binbrook didn’t open its gates too often and this was a display I was not going to miss, no matter what obstacles were put in my way. The only downside was a weather forecast of cloud and rain.
Arduous journey
In those days, I didn’t drive and had to rely on getting around by bicycle and train. Peculiarities of the British Rail ticketing system meant getting the cheapest price wasn’t straightforward. This meant a ‘day return’ from London King’s Cross station to Huntingdon, a ‘saver’ ticket from Huntingdon to Newark, a ‘day return’ onwards to Market Rasen, via Lincoln, and then cycle the 9 miles (14km) to RAF Binbrook. With sandwiches and drink prepared I left my home in West Drayton, West London at 5am and headed to the local railway station to get a train to Paddington and then cycled to King’s Cross. On arrival I discovered a large section of the East Coast Main Line was closed all weekend for engineering works. Trains were not stopping at Newark. My initial thought that this was a disaster but it turned to delight when I discovered most services were going instead via Lincoln, which worked to my advantage. It didn’t cost me any time and saved money on the ticket to Market Rasen as I missed out the journey from Newark to Lincoln.
Thankfully, the weather held on the uphill cycle ride from Market Rasen to RAF Binbrook. I arrived without delay having ridden past queuing traffic and more and more pedestrians approaching the airfield. It was only some time afterwards that I heard of and met people who could not get to the event due to the jams. Police turned people away many miles from the base.
Organisers had helpfully made all the remaining Lightnings visible to the enthusiast, so it was possible to see more than 60 on the day. Many were in a poor state, used as decoys or for crash rescue training on the other side of the airfield.
As for the show, there was silver Lightning F.6 XP693 from BAe Warton in the static display along with a based T.5 and F.3. From overseas air arms there were two Royal Danish Air Force F-16s, a West German Air Force Tornado from its element of the Tri-national Tornado Training Establishment as well as a USAF contingent. This consisted of an A-10A from the 91st Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) at RAF Bentwaters in Suffolk, F-5E from the 527th Aggressor Squadron at RAF Alconbury in Cambridgeshire, F-111E from the 55th TFS at RAF Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire plus an F-15C from the 53rd TFS at Bitburg AB in West Germany. A highlight was a TF-100F Super Sabre (N418FS) from Flight Systems. There was also a former West German Air Force F-104G that had been flown into the UK en route to a museum.
A range of RAF types were on show including two 111 Sqn Phantom FG.1s, 208 Sqn Buccaneer S2B, 237 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) Hunter T.7, 233 OCU Harrier T.4 as well as two Jaguars from 6 Sqn and 226 OCU. There were also trainer types such as a Jetstream and a pair each of Hawks and Jet Provosts. The largest aircraft in the static park were a Victor and VC10
Flying diplay
The flying part of the event was disrupted by the weather with a number of aircraft cancelling displays. Those performing included a French Air Force Mirage F1C and an A-10A, F-15C and F-111E from the units previously mentioned. Among the RAF flyers were an 8 Sqn Shackleton AEW1, Tornado Weapons Conversion Unit (TWCU) Tornado GR.1 and 74 Sqn F-4J.
I spent a fair amount of time keeping dry in the hangars but headed out under my umbrella to witness the Lightnings’ mass take-off and flypasts. A nine-ship flyby, plus a solo display, was programmed.
I had not seen any pre-display practices and had no idea what was to happen. The display Lightnings were parked fairly close to the crowd line and 11 aircraft started up and taxied out to the runway. Appropriately, the first aircraft to depart was XR728 coded ‘JS’, the initials of Group Captain John Spencer who was the station commander of RAF Binbrook. Each took to the air, right to left, and kept low before turning to starboard and disappearing into the murk. Each then reappeared coming straight at the crowd and low over the top of a departing Lightning on the runway and went into a zoom climb with its afterburners illuminating the sky. This stunning sequence was repeated for all 11 aircraft. I was so captivated by the scene I forgot to take photographs. A mass take-off is a spectacle usually worth witnessing but the one performed at this show, in my opinion, has never been bettered. The thrill of it was no doubt enhanced by the murky weather with the aircraft creating vapour above the wings when going into the vertical. After transition to the Tornado F3, 5 Sqn did perform a similar take off routine with five or six jets at an event at RAF Coningsby but since then I have not seen anything similar. The Lightnings formed up for a number of ‘Diamond 9’ passes and as a finale the two air spares performed fast flybys, creating their own clouds (due to the moisture in the air). The low cloud base meant two solos by Flt Lt Jon Fynes, which opened and closed the show, mostly consisted of impressive tight turning passes.
Conditions had been far from ideal but the event still brings back many happy memories. A chance to watch the Lightning in action one last time was worth the effort of getting there.
I was able to quickly escape from the airfield on my bike and, travelling mainly downhill, was soon at Market Rasen to catch the train back to Lincoln. With the excitement of the show I had not bothered to worry about the return journey and any problems there might be with the engineering works. At Lincoln, the additional trains stopping were chalked up on a board and there were plenty each hour. Still there was a problem. The platforms at Lincoln were not long enough for the diverted trains and the guard’s compartment, where I needed to put my bicycle, was several coaches away from the platform. After missing several trains, the station staff came to my rescue. When the next train arrived they took me along the tracks so I was able to manhandle the bike into the compartment and clamber up into the carriage. The journey south to Peterborough passed through the fens and to the south east there was a huge thunderstorm over East Anglia. The flat landscape enhanced the sky which was nearly black with the storm, except for the constant flicker of lightning flashes. I remember thinking, “lucky me, I’ve been treated to two ‘lightning’ displays in one day”.
