Looking at the preservation of the type -there seems to quite an uneven balance in how they are preserved . The machines that concern most are the ones that seem to be overlooked i.e :
P.1B-Very little is ever reported on her . Whilst undoubtedly in good hands -how she ever managed to escape national museum care is still baffling.
T.4 -Sole remaining example still on gate guard duty at Boscombe long after
when a replacement with a more common type could have happened.
T.5 – As far as I am aware there are no examples permanently undercover in the U.K and the majority are examples that have had wing chops .Examples which are structurally and systems wise intact are very thin on the ground.
By: Arabella-Cox - 30th March 2012 at 19:20
Its a good question as to who owns the Lightning at Boscombe as where it currently sits is RAF Boscombe Down and not the QietiQ site which is MOD Boscombe Down. The other Boscombe inmates who frequent this forum will confirm this.
By: Pure Lightning - 30th March 2012 at 18:58
Thankyou for putting the link up of the pictures of her ………..she could do with alot of love by the looks of it:confused:
By: Roobarb - 28th March 2012 at 22:27
“Roobarb and David Burke, put your hands up and step away from the Hawkinge photographs, negatives and notebooks, there is no escape you are surrounded…” 😀
By: Dr. John Smith - 28th March 2012 at 14:54
As for XA847…
“…was finally retired in 1972 to display at the RAF Museum at Hendon. Unfortunately when the RAF Museum gained a more representative Lightning F.6, XA847 went up for tender. This was a rather disgraceful affair in that the scrapmen had just as much chance of buying this historic aircraft and turning it into saucepans – however thankfully Wensley Haydon-Baillie bought her instead and stored her dismantled in the Southampton area for some years.
The 1994 Farnborough SBAC show saw her re-assembled and on display in the static, but then she disappeared into storage once more until Wensley’s bankruptcy when she was acquired by Marine Salvage near Portsmouth. They happily knew her historic value and didn’t reduce her to scrap, hoping a museum would take her off their hands.
This, incredibly, did not happen – but a private collector, Giles Howell, bought her and intended to fully restore the aircraft and place her in a dedicated building to keep her in good nick. The most recent update I have had on her is that, unfortunately, over ten years down the line, she is still stored in a dismantled state.”
See: http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/lightning/survivor.php?id=7
Breif recap
June 1969: Withdrawn from use at Henlow (468 flights/205 hrs total)
1972: To RAF Museum, Hendon
08/06/1988: Sold to Wensley Haydon-Ballie
mid-1990s: To Marine Salvage, Portsmouth
19/02/1998 Sold to Giles Howell
28/10/1998 Moved to Stowmarket, Suffolk
By: David Burke - 28th March 2012 at 14:31
Pagen – the word ‘theirs’ is fairly vague when it comes to Boscombe Down!
I am not sure technically who the owners of the Lightning are ! Whilst it is indeed highly relevant to the airfield -it won’t be that relevant when it has corroded to the stage where they feel it’s not safe to sit on its perch!!
Maybe a highly relevant Boscombe Tornado F.3 could replace her when its retired or a grp Spitfire could provide a link with the distant past!
By: TwinOtter23 - 28th March 2012 at 14:19
Thanks for the observation re-XS417 but WADR to the OP, NAM’s example is a gutted shell and it was cut to move it back in 1988; albeit in a different manner to most of the others.
Sadly it is unlikely to go inside in the foreseeable future; but at least in the last 12 months it has yielded some useable spares for some ground-runners. 🙂
The airframe is due for turning round in the coming weeks to allow more work to be done in better conditions on the other side of the airframe. When that happens more pictures will be added to the Album in this Gallery! 😉
By: Blue_2 - 28th March 2012 at 14:06
The T.5 at Cranwell is an outstanding example of the type in preservation, as good as any aircraft indoors, all be it a live ‘exhibit’.
Guess you mean Cranfield old chap! 😉
Think its only fair to point out Newark’s example is getting some serious tlc currently as well…
By: Roborough - 28th March 2012 at 13:32
But it is theirs, and very relevant to the airfield and the operators’ past.
The T.5 at Cranwell is an outstanding example of the type in preservation, as good as any aircraft indoors, all be it a live ‘exhibit’.
Must admit I could never get my head around the P.1B, XA847, story, wasn’t it part of a national collection once?
I think XA847 was at Hendon in the early 70’s when the RAFM first opened.
Rgds
Bill
By: pagen01 - 28th March 2012 at 13:08
T.4 -Sole remaining example still on gate guard duty at Boscombe long after
when a replacement more common type could have replaced her.
But it is theirs, and very relevant to the airfield and the operators’ past.
The T.5 at Cranwell is an outstanding example of the type in preservation, as good as any aircraft indoors, all be it a live ‘exhibit’.
Must admit I could never get my head around the P.1B, XA847, story, wasn’t it part of a national collection once?
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March 28, 2012 at 12:26 pm