When the air defence Tornado hit trouble, British Aerospace rather ironically called on a famed predecessor to help. BAe’s Warton factory airfield in Lancashire thus became the final home of flying English Electric Lightnings in the UK
The Lightning’s days were numbered when the new Panavia MRCA (Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) first flew on 14 August 1974, just over 20 years to the day since the English Electric P1A prototype took to the air on 4 August 1954. Within a few years, the prospect of an air defence Tornado saw the RAF reducing its Lightning force to just two squadrons in the UK, both located at Binbrook.
