As a meer chopper puke, I was always in awe of this machine.
My first memory was as a twelve year old kid at Farnborough '64 where a formation team of 4 (IIRC) put on a very impressive turn. The noise was awesome and internal organ wrecking vibration too.
A year later, as an ATC cadet I can remember being more than slightly impressed by a talk given by the CO's son who was operational on them at the time.
I recall about that time a very good photo in the 'Daily Mirror' i think, of a lightning in a vertical dive about to bury itself in an east anglian field, as a tractor driver looks on.
Later, as a QHI teaching fighter evasion in the west country, we were allocated some 'nings as opposition! (All Navy Hunters, our usual foe, on exercise up north) I can still see the lightning passing me nose about 20degrees up, flames belching from both exhausts, and still going downwards at about a hundred feet AGL. Very imressive! No kills, as I remember.
A Wessex mate (initials MF) on 72 squadron in NI about 1981 used to tell a story of his time on the lighning OCU very similar to the 10+ G over the north sea story. That's how he claimed to wind up on helicopters! Too 'impressed' to continue the course!
Just got an email from Amazon by strange co-incidence:
That'll be a good read.
Fantastic aeroplane.