Just to add a little to XS897’s post RAF history, this lightning has got to be one of the luckiest survivors- excuse me if my facts aren’t quite right, but this is the story as my memory serves.
On decommision, XS897 was bought by a “dealer” along with another 11, who cut their wings & fins, then tried to sell them for £ 11,000 each. In the end they scrapped all bar ‘897 who was saved by a member of SYAM, literally at the eleventh hour + 59 mins, who excanged a Fergie tractor for her.
Prior to recovery to Firbeck, the scrappy dealing with the Lightnings got overzealous & started to cut her up before anyone could stop them, unfortunately the tool used for cutting was a JCB & she sustained a large hole in each “stub wing” and damage to the fuselage skinning. On arrival at the museum,such was the extent of damage that she almost became reduced to a cockpit only, but the excange with a Canberra BI.8 cockpit for a set of wings & aquisition of a new fin ensured that eventually she would become whole again.
When the museum moved to Doncaster, she was put on priority and a conserted effort was mde to repair the damage & re-wing her ( to this day I believe that this was the first time the task was undertaken by a volunteer group). She remained there until going to 29 Sqn- the rest they say is history.
I was sad to see her leave, but to see her coming together once more means her future is much assured. So here’s to those, past & present, who have played their part in the survival of “the Luckiest Lightning “.
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