(Image: ZD703, reproduced with permission)
During its last years in service, XS919 was one of a handful of English Electric Lightning F.6s resplendent in a sleek, dark grey paint scheme which it wore until the type’s eventual retirement in 1988. But although XS919 survived the scrapman, the proud jet fighter’s civilian afterlife has not been an easy one.
(Image: Paul Thallon, reproduced with permission)
This particular Lightning first flew on September 28, 1966, serving throughout its RAF career with 56, 5 and 11 Squadrons. Since then the aircraft has travelled more than most retired Lightnings, initially displayed in Lower Tremar, Cornwall, before moving to a car park in Torpoint, Devon.
In 1994 Lightning XS919 moved to Wonderland Pleasure Park in Nottinghamshire where it slowly deteriorated before taking to the road again – this time via eBay. Now stored at the Henstridge Airport, a former Fleet Air Arm training base in Somerset, the proud Cold War interceptor looks increasingly sorry for itself.
(Image: Howard J Curtis (website: Aviation-Links), reproduced with permission)
Propped up in a dismantled state, its wings and tail removed, the Lightning’s future remains unclear. The photographs suggest that XS919′s wings have been removed at the root, inboard of the main undercarriage.
Due to the nature of its design, dismantling and reassembling the English Electric Lightning properly was challenging enough for military engineers, let alone civilian enthusiasts. As a result most of those in private hands were cut for transport as a quick-fix solution to otherwise painstaking dismantling.
(Image: ZD703, reproduced with permission)
Chopping the wings off outboard of the landing gear reduced their chances of warping when reassembled. But like another rather ill-fated Lightning, XS919′s appear to have been removed inboard. If so, reassembly will be more difficult.
Time will tell what the future holds for Lightning XS919. Hopefully the whole airframe can be restored to a cosmetically acceptable standard. Failing that it’ll be another Lightning reduced to cockpit only, or worse still, scrapped.
(Image: egcc, reproduced with permission)
Feel free to drop us a comment below if you have any information or updates about XS919 (seen above at RAF Mildenhall in 1984).
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