Cranfield Lightnings

The hangar in the background of the photo in #29 looks a lot like the hangar shown in the right hand side of OP’s photo. I can’t match the hangar with any that are part of the Solway Aviation Museum these days. Have they moved site, demolished hangars etc?

I suppose ‘Cranfield’ and ‘Carlisle’ look somewhat similar. If you had a busy season zipping around the UK in 1989 photographing aircraft then you might think the photo was taken at one when it was taken at the other, especially if you waited a while to develop the film. If OP’s photographer also photographed the Lightnings at Cranfield then he probably put together all sightings of grounded/parted-out Lightnings as ‘Cranfield’ for 1989.

Was interesting to find that this F-53 made its first flight in the hands of ‘Bee’ Beaumont and was the last Lightning flown by Bee prior to retiring from Lightning test flying duties at EE/BAC.

From the hangar in the back ground It does indeed look like ZF583 shortly after delivery to Carlisle by road.

Its definately F.53 ZF583 at Carlisle.

Here it is from the other side, photo taken in Dec 1989 by Derek Heley, with location noted as Carlisle.

It’s not Cranfield

I agree. Not been there for 20 something years, but the Lightnings were associated with the main hangars and Sandy Topen’s outfit. Which don’t fit.

It’s not Cranfield. As far as I know, no F53’s from Warton went to Cranfield, since the rest (other than the 3 or 4 that got chopped), all went to Wensley Hadon Bayle . Only two aircraft had their arrestor hooks chopped , ZF583 and ZF578. Interestingly the flaps have been removed, likely before the wings were cut, and it still has the Warton covers fitted, along with the same polythene covering the gearbox exhaust duct, so this picture can only have been taken within months of it being moved from Warton. From the hangar in the back ground It does indeed look like ZF583 shortly after delivery to Carlisle by road.

https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/registration/ZF583

Just in case anyone is interested, John Aldington (BJ) delivered five of the six jets, while Paul Cooper delivered the other one.

The pair of them actually delivered two of them at the same time, when BJ and PC delivered the final pair of F.6’s on 30th June to Cranfield, the last RAF Lightning flights, and the last Lightnings to take-off from Binbrook.
I was at Binbrook that day watching the them take-off :eagerness:

I still think it’s ZF583. If only for the reason of putting the two pictures from the OP and the one I signposted together, looking at the vertical weathering lines on the fin and others on the fuselage, the obvious repair on the fin?? Seem a good match to me??

OP Picture: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1108793

ZF583 picture: https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7285/16726854140_f412c0f3e4_b.jpg

I think the two are uncannily similar but, just my thoughts?

GYD

Just in case anyone is interested, John Aldington (BJ) delivered five of the six jets, while Paul Cooper delivered the other one.

When they (Arnold Glass’s Lightnings) first arrived and for a while after they were stored/located around the hangars and didn’t migrate across the airfield until a few years later.
Cranfield in those days seemed to be a haven for stored and “projects”, a far cry from today.

The nose wheel appears to have sunk into the grass, so it had been stored there for a while.

If this is ZF578 then maybe this photo captures it while it was being repainted to represent XR753? It seems like a good reason to intentionally remove the serial. Does anybody have a photograph if this aircraft in storage at Quedgeley, as per the Thunder and Lightnings website?

Ive had an email conversation with the photographer whos adamant it is Cranfield which is confusing as i agree it does not look to be Cranfield to me either. Unless it was not actually stored on the actual airfield of course.

The only other lightning which was there was g-bnca /g27-239 also known as xn734 which was based there. Was a mk2a. This aircraft was scrapped at cranfield. Some of the markings on the aircraft in the picture are the same as other pictures I have seen but what keeps saying to me it isn’t 734 is the cut fin and the jet pipes seem to be fitted still in the picture If he is saying it’s definitely cranfield it has to be xn734 so that could be it’s I.d.

It’s definately not G-BNCA, as you say, the cut fin and general appearance does fit with G-BNCA, which had it’s fin removed rather than cut.

It’s also clearly not any area of Cranfield that I recall either, and I would say the photographer has got his details mixed up.

Not to difficult to find a few photos online from those days at Cranfield, here’s a line up of 5 of the 6 Cranfield Lightnings, including all 3 of the F.6’s. I’m guessing this was after ‘452 had been moved by Barry P’s team for dismantling for shipping to SA…..as they all look quite complete here and not started to deteriorate badly.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]257382[/ATTACH]

It looks like 53-670 to me. A few of the F53’s were cut at Warton and gifted to museums by road in 1989-90. 670 was one of those, which went to Cardiff for a while, then to storage, and finally off to Tangmere, where it is now. I have seen photos of 670 during its move from Warton before missing the rear vent tank panel missing in this photo. The covers are originial from storage at Warton. It was litterally cut at the fin, and outboard of the gearbays, then loaded up.

The removed serial would have read ZF578

The only other lightning which was there was g-bnca /g27-239 also known as xn734 which was based there. Was a mk2a. This aircraft was scrapped at cranfield. Some of the markings on the aircraft in the picture are the same as other pictures I have seen but what keeps saying to me it isn’t 734 is the cut fin and the jet pipes seem to be fitted still in the picture If he is saying it’s definitely cranfield it has to be xn734 so that could be it’s I.d. Hope that helps

Following on from the above comment ive had a play with the image and there is definatly a mark on the rear fuesalage around the location of the serial in the photo above but its not clear enough to say.

Thank you to those of all who have commented. I have checked with the photographer and he is sure the location is Cranfield.

Having done a quick google image search of all the ex saudi/RAF registered F-53s, this one seems to be the only one with the obvious ‘repair’ to the fin:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7285/16726854140_f412c0f3e4_b.jpg

And if you perhaps, squint on the OP’s picture, a faint 83? can be made out??

GYD

I have asked questions here in the post with a note that yes, I could Gurgle it, but you get a better standard of digression and side-interests here.

Adrian

Ex Saudi F.53 fits the bill. I’ve found images of NEAM’s F.53 in a similar condition prior to reassembly, as well as a number of them sitting in storage at Warton. NEAM’s F.53, ZF594, never appears to have gone without a serial number, and none of the airframes at Warton appear to be missing their serials in any photos I’ve found. The aircraft in OP’s photo appears to have been deliberately anonymised, rather than simply weathering. The buildings in the background, and the furrowed track in the foreground, almost look more like a farm than an airfield.

I agree, the photo in the link posted by the OP is definately NOT one of the 6 x Cranfield Lightnings bought by Arnold Glass from the RAF/MoD, and indeed appears to be one of the ex-RSAF F.53’s returned to the UK in early 1986.