Originally Posted by
RAFEngO74to09
Here's the original Lightning crash from 1962.
It was a Lightning F1 which crashed on final approach to Hatfield on 13 Sep 62 whilst engaged in Red Top trials.
The photographer was paid GBP $1,000 for the photo - GBP 26,738 in 2024 money - and the MOD tried to put a "D" Notice on it.
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=56567
It's a footnote, I know, but it's very fashionable to say MOD tried to apply a D Notice (From Aviation_Safety.net:
until the Ministry of Defence tried to put a "D Notice" on the photograph banning its publication, which confirmed that it was indeed real and not a fake!).
The D Notice (now DSMA) was always voluntary, so the wording from the quote makes me suspicious of its veracity. D Notices were not imposed, they were agreed with the editors and journalists concerned.
It's hard to imagine what reason could have been cited for trying to 'ban' the photo. It's plausible, I suppose, that a request might have been made to delay publication to avoid any compromise of the inevitable Board of Inquiry. Nevertheless, I've never seen any authoritative source indicate that a D Notice was sought on this photo, merely a number of websites repeating the claim and often using exactly the same words; repetition does not, alas, make a claim more true!.
I'd be delighted if anyone could point me to an authoritative source that confirms a D Notice was sought..