Kindly submitted by Sgt David Gill
I first viewed XS420 as gate guardian at the air museum in Farnborough 3
years ago and was very pleased to see she was in the livery of 145
Squadron, the number plate carried by 226 OCU at RAF Coltishall when I
was there in the late 60s. I was a Sgt FIL (Fitter Instruments
Lightning) with responsibility for the air data, dynamic reference and
flight control systems Oh, and the light fighter sight and the E2B
compass,. I was on the advanced weapons flight. We flew MK 5’s and also
helped out with the T55s of the Saudi Air force who shared our hanger.
Some time in 68/69 we had problems after a main wheel collapse on
landing. It was initial blamed on pilot error, I think the problem was
supposed to be that the pilot (left hand seat) was selecting
undercarriage up when deploying the brake chute before the undercarriage
was geometrically locked. The short term solution to the problem was to
deploy the brake chute from the right hand side of the cockpit. This gave
the ground crew unprecedented access to flights in the lightning T Mk 5
as there were not enough pilots to put two up for each sortie.
I flew about a dozen or so times in T Mk 5s and remember a few of the
number, XS 418, XS 420, XS 452 and XS449. We flew both with trainee
pilots and instructors. Our job was to deploy the brake chute on landing
but we were trusted to operate the camera when practising down the
throat attacks (head on attacks) on another lightning out over the North
Sea. A pilot that I remember by name was a F/O Gosling. The reason I
remember him was that he frightened the life out of me and caused me to
black out. We were flying as number 2 with another Lightning flown by
an American exchange pilot. I think he was our CO as I vaguely remember
the T5’s had the nickname the Horse Force. His name was Horse?. We were
quite high, probably 50K+ feet and in tight battle formation. Gosling was
busy looking at his port wing tip which was tucked in very close to our
leader. All I remember him saying was “what speed are we doing Sgt" and
I would read the strip speed display to him. The next thing I remembered
we where at 22K feet. I was not feeling very well and Gosling was saying
“If you are going to be sick use your beret” I think he had done a
violent manoeuvre and lost a lot of height very quickly. I was never
told what really happened. Another pilot I flew with was Fl/Lt Moxam, he
was an Instructor. And again it was down the throat attacks over the
North Sea. During these practice attacks the pilot would be flying the
aircraft with his right hand via the Flight Control System and operating
the AI23b radar with his left. He would have his face jammed up against
a rubber tube fitted onto the radar display.
I remember in late 1969 a signal arrived informing us that the “Golden
Goose was dead” meaning that Lightning systems spares were in very
short supply and we would have to return all unserviceable equipment to
30MU and then wait for it to be repaired before we got the same item
back. This led to much robbing of equipment from one aircraft to
another. XS 418 became a long term Christmas tree and was a wreck in
the corner of the hanger for months. Our Eng Officer a Sdn Leader
Cockburn, decided that we must get it fixed and slowly it was put back
together. The flying instructors were very weary of XS 418 when we
deemed it was back in one piece and fully serviceable. They invited the
Sdn Leader to fly in the right hand seat for the air test. He did. But I
detected a look of relief on his face when he climbed down the ladder
after the flight.
Our routine life was punctuated by regular alerts usually called at some
ungodly hour of the night. The station siren would sound and every one
rushed to their alert stations, which for us techies meant getting to
work fast. I was on my bike and down to the squadron in 15 minutes and
was always surprised to see 20 year old mechanics dressed in wellies,
pyjamas and anoraks towing our aircraft from the hanger before I reached
the flight office. It was then “before flight” inspections, load the
missiles, and we were ready. As the reserve squadron we were the last to
scramble. Then, usually by mid afternoon, Coltishall would scramble and
what a sight that was, everything would go up, Mk1’s, Mk4's and our
Mk 5’s streaked off the runway and climbed vertically away.
I did 3 years at Coltishall and was then posted to the Central Servicing
Development Establishment as MOD’s Lightning flight system specialist.
I first viewed XS420 as gate guardian at the air museum in Farnborough 3
years ago and was very pleased to see she was in the livery of 145
Squadron, the number plate carried by 226 OCU at RAF Coltishall when I
was there in the late 60s. I was a Sgt FIL (Fitter Instruments
Lightning) with responsibility for the air data, dynamic reference and
flight control systems Oh, and the light fighter sight and the E2B
compass,. I was on the advanced weapons flight. We flew MK 5’s and also
helped out with the T55s of the Saudi Air force who shared our hanger.
Some time in 68/69 we had problems after a main wheel collapse on
landing. It was initial blamed on pilot error, I think the problem was
supposed to be that the pilot (left hand seat) was selecting
undercarriage up when deploying the brake chute before the undercarriage
was geometrically locked. The short term solution to the problem was to
deploy the brake chute from the right hand side of the cockpit. This gave
the ground crew unprecedented access to flights in the lightning T Mk 5
as there were not enough pilots to put two up for each sortie.
I flew about a dozen or so times in T Mk 5s and remember a few of the
number, XS 418, XS 420, XS 452 and XS449. We flew both with trainee
pilots and instructors. Our job was to deploy the brake chute on landing
but we were trusted to operate the camera when practising down the
throat attacks (head on attacks) on another lightning out over the North
Sea. A pilot that I remember by name was a F/O Gosling. The reason I
remember him was that he frightened the life out of me and caused me to
black out. We were flying as number 2 with another Lightning flown by
an American exchange pilot. I think he was our CO as I vaguely remember
the T5’s had the nickname the Horse Force. His name was Horse?. We were
quite high, probably 50K+ feet and in tight battle formation. Gosling was
busy looking at his port wing tip which was tucked in very close to our
leader. All I remember him saying was “what speed are we doing Sgt" and
I would read the strip speed display to him. The next thing I remembered
we where at 22K feet. I was not feeling very well and Gosling was saying
“If you are going to be sick use your beret” I think he had done a
violent manoeuvre and lost a lot of height very quickly. I was never
told what really happened. Another pilot I flew with was Fl/Lt Moxam, he
was an Instructor. And again it was down the throat attacks over the
North Sea. During these practice attacks the pilot would be flying the
aircraft with his right hand via the Flight Control System and operating
the AI23b radar with his left. He would have his face jammed up against
a rubber tube fitted onto the radar display.
I remember in late 1969 a signal arrived informing us that the “Golden
Goose was dead” meaning that Lightning systems spares were in very
short supply and we would have to return all unserviceable equipment to
30MU and then wait for it to be repaired before we got the same item
back. This led to much robbing of equipment from one aircraft to
another. XS 418 became a long term Christmas tree and was a wreck in
the corner of the hanger for months. Our Eng Officer a Sdn Leader
Cockburn, decided that we must get it fixed and slowly it was put back
together. The flying instructors were very weary of XS 418 when we
deemed it was back in one piece and fully serviceable. They invited the
Sdn Leader to fly in the right hand seat for the air test. He did. But I
detected a look of relief on his face when he climbed down the ladder
after the flight.
Our routine life was punctuated by regular alerts usually called at some
ungodly hour of the night. The station siren would sound and every one
rushed to their alert stations, which for us techies meant getting to
work fast. I was on my bike and down to the squadron in 15 minutes and
was always surprised to see 20 year old mechanics dressed in wellies,
pyjamas and anoraks towing our aircraft from the hanger before I reached
the flight office. It was then “before flight” inspections, load the
missiles, and we were ready. As the reserve squadron we were the last to
scramble. Then, usually by mid afternoon, Coltishall would scramble and
what a sight that was, everything would go up, Mk1’s, Mk4's and our
Mk 5’s streaked off the runway and climbed vertically away.
I did 3 years at Coltishall and was then posted to the Central Servicing
Development Establishment as MOD’s Lightning flight system specialist.