Fareastdriver, (your #6464)
You're quite right , but I don't think "attitude" was used in that sense in those days. Still, I suppose we maintained "S&L" Attitude. Later, of course, we said "Fly attitude - never mind the altitude !" If a bump dropped you 500 ft, the next up-cell you flew into would most likely bump you up again. So long as you could keep the wings reasonably level, and the nose more or less on the (artificial) horizon, and didn't topple the gyros, and you had power, you should be all right.
Even lightning strikes are not as serious as once thought. There is a good Utube around, shows a twin-jet of some kind going into LHR and being repeatedly struck with no apparent ill effect. I would think that the loud "Crack"
would be the most frightening thing about the experience.
Weather radar was far in the future in my day.
Cheers, Danny.