Gate Gaurdians

[Negative 'G']

I'm Really Really pi55ed off,The two RAF fields I regularly pass in the car are Woodvale & Sealand,on every occasion I look in awe at the sight of the Mighty Phantom(Woodvale) & Hunter(Sealand).
It was to my disbelief when I discovered Photos in the local Southport rag of a JCB Ripping the Phantom apart,especially as I remember seeing it Land there on its last flight in 1992,To top this off I passed Sealand a couple of days later to find the Hunter has gone :( :( :( :( :( :(

OK I may only be a Civie,whom you military lads probably think is quite sad,but hey the Bloody things are part of our heritage,they're only sat there for gods sake,doing nothing,costing nothing but still pleasing thousands of people tho drive past them every day and think pleasant thoughts at the sight of them.

I believe this is a new policy in the RAF about Gate Gaurdians,and one which I think stinks,If its Cost/time involved in repainting them,then why not involve local aviation enthusiasts clubs/association.
Christ,I'd have donated a few tins of paint every couple of years.
Anyway moan over,still like to hear your thoughts on the subject though.

Neg G :(

p.s Does anybody know who flew the Phantom into Woodvale on its last flight in 92 ?

[BEagle]

Flew both types. Just what the f*ck is going on?

Or are these places becoming part of some soulless 'Defence Agency' inhabited by boring, faceless people in suits?

And that from someone whose home aerodrome has NEVER had a gate guardian. Half-a-dozen TriShaws parked doing b*gger all perhaps, but no gate guardian. Surely we could have parked one of the last VC10s the idiots from Wyton threw away at Brize, not St. Athan??

[ADIS5000]

Sorry guys,.....it's now policy to junk most gate guardians. Due to cost, some of them really were so corroded that they were about to collapse on their sticks. Unusually with the MOD it's a money thing.

Plastic gate guards only these days...and I'm not joking!!

cheers ADIS :cool:

[Gash Handlin]

Shame to hear about the Phantom going from Woodvale.

I've still got the camp photo with possibly the only fighter to be graced by a 3 foot high EMUAS Crest on its fin.

[ls7glider]

Not very long ago, the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington put a bid in to buy one of the old Blah-jet airframes that were 'parked' at Leeming back in the early 90s. Bid refused. Excuse given was that, as they were 'bought' through the lease/lend agreement with the USA that they are not the MoD's to sell to private museums. What a load of a##e! It was alright to flog them as scrap value to the scrappies that were at Leeming cutting them up the other day though. Some grey-suited idiot in a vague position of power ought to get his priorities sorted out. The Blah-jet has as much right of a place in a British air museum as all the other fine airframes that have shown service in the British military. And to hell with some stupid rule that probably no American worth his salt would actually care about.

As to all the other gate guardians that are going missing. The hierarchy seem to have forgotten that the job of the RAF is to fly aeroplanes, and it's aeroplanes the tax-paying public want to see at RAF bases, be they gate guards or BBMF or front-line types.

[Snapshot]

http://members.tripod.co.uk/AvCollect/pprune/xv332_scrap.jpg
Snapshot :mad: www.AvCollect.com (http://www.AvCollect.com) www.blackburnbuccaneer.co.uk (http://www.blackburnbuccaneer.co.uk)

[excrewingbod]

Adis,

Then why dont the MOD let the preservation movement look after their up-keep? After all it would be a great way to let the guys/girls transfer their skills to the younger generation.

It makes my blood boil when the government does its upmost to destroy OUR aviation heritage!

Still what to they care, the scrappy probably got enough recycled aluminium to make a single coke can!

Anyway what is the REAL story behind the Phantom debacle? One minute its the SALTII treaty, next its the excuse that the States still own them. One would have wondered if the yanks wanted them back, they would have flown them back to the states, would they not?

We lost our 'local' phantom last year, but at least the local ATC unit was donated the nose section.

[sad sad sad]

Just like many things in this Post-Maggie-Politically-Correct Royal Air Force this decision seems to have been made been anonymously. It's about time our Leaders demonstrated some IDENTIFIABLE AND ATTRIBUTABLE LEADERSHIP. If the person who made this sad decision to destroy one of our great traditions has any courage he should write to this vehicle or even Air Clues and explain his actions.

WHO ARE YOU ???

[Martel]

This is sad in the extreme. Our history is being destroyed. It is nothing short of vandalism. Lets spend the money that gets splashed out on shiny brochures, mission statement posters and compact discs on preserving our heritage.
Take a look at the main gate of NAS Oceana if you get the chance. They have a squadron of gate guards, it's like a history of US Naval carrier borne fast jettary and it keeps the memory of decades of aviation alive. We cannot do things on that scale but surely we can manage one gate guard per station? What bit of mindless anti-history thuggery are we to be subject to next?

[Tir renrie]

Bit like the battle ships after WW2
:confused:
Fortunately the branch of services i was in has a little more respect. Go into a certain camp on SP
(about 2 m north of a secret Wiltshire air base) and they have a large selection of Artillery lining the roads past the gate.
:)
Is that lightning on a stick still at BD?, haven't been up there in years.

[Firestreak]

:mad: It just seems that anything or everything that could just maintain/improve morale in the service is going by the board. OK, it might cost a bob or two to keep them looking good but compared to the millions that are wasted every day, so what? These gate guardians are a piece of our tradition, maybe we're not meant to remember the past any more.

[Negative 'G']

Well I'm glad it's not just me those a sad sentimental git,It also brings back the preservation of the Chippie & Bulldog debate that we talked about several months ago.
Come on it's about time people started to air there views on this Tight-arsed policy.

Who is in charge of such matters ?
An address for the Bigwig beancounter who makes these decisions would be a starting point so that he/she can be given 'The publics feelings'on this subject possibly followed up by a PPRuNe petition/campaign.

Andy,it's really sad to see the Banana end its life in such a tragically Sad way,I actually got one of the squadron prints off you that are in the shown boxes..........wow was that really 1994 :eek: :( :(

Come on show your support to the cause,state your views here.

Neg G :(

[Max R8]

I've got a feeling that these so called decisions are made by souless MOD aparatcheks who have never served in uniform, let alone flown one of these magnificent machines. The Taxpayer shelled out £Millions for them and they are works of aeronautical engineering artistry! I would prefer that Clarkson had the lot rather than the scrapman.

Surely it was worth its weight in motivational gold for the LUAS and MASUAS students who must have been awed by the sight of a Phantom outside their crewroom?

PS I wonder were the money goes? :mad:

[BossEyed]

Tir renrie: Lightning onna stick still OK at BD. It's even still red white and bare metal, not yet QQ Blue...

BD has a museum, too. You can see it through the fence, and it may even open to the taxpayer one of these days.

[MightyGem]

Yes, up until recently, here at Woodvale, we had a venerable old F4 Phantom as a gate guardian. Standing there, weather beaten, paint fading and starting to peel(the fin was red with two rows of red and white checks on the very top of the fin. Sqn??), it was still an imposing aircraft.

It gave rise to thoughts of where had it been, who had flown it, what tales of daring do could it tell. Indeed, it has been said that on quiet autumn nights, as the mist rolled in from the sea, one could see a faint glimmer of lights from the cockpit and cries of “dagadagadaga” and “fox 2” as it relived past glories.

Well it’s gone now. Lifted by crane and dumped ignominiously on the back of a truck, to be taken who knows where to who knows what fate.

Rumour has it that we are getting a Spitfire in return. Cries of “Wizard prang old boy”, “Red section, climb to angels 20”, “Tally Ho, Me 109s at 12 o’clock”…er no, not really. It’s plastic. Never felt the pull of the mighty Merlin, never looped and rolled, never been anywhere near the hand of God. What can it tell us? Not a lot, apart from what the inside of a mould looks like.

OK, so Phantoms were never based here, and Spitfires were, and it is a representative of a thoroughbred, and all the real ones are being restored, but it’s not real. It doesn’t have any soul.

[Snapshot]

Mightygem,
your words say it all mate, who wants a plastic 'PC' (no potential nasty bits inside or that might fall off) aeroplane to guard the gates of GREAT BRITISH memories. We ALL like to look up in awe at those once magnificent aircraft and simply recall/wonder how they once thundered into the air and removed a few hats on grad days!!! Your question on red tail with white checkers,is 56 Squadron (see below rotating from Wattisham).
http://members.tripod.co.uk/AvCollect/phantom/F4_takeoff_watt.jpg
Snapshot.

[ 08 August 2001: Message edited by: Snapshot ]

[BEagle]

Snappers/Mightygem - any idea which F4 was on the gate at Woodvale?

[Negative 'G']

BEagle,
ItWASXV468(H) which landed there (Rwy 22)on its final flight on 29/7/92 at 10.45 local. :p (Put spotter book away) :rolleyes:

Neg G :(

[gregor_jackson]

It is sad to see our heritage disappear from underneath us! However there are still some bastions standing.

Leuchars for instance still has the 'Black Knight' phantom hangared on station along with a superb example of a phantom gate guardian painted resplendidly in 43 and 111 sqn colours. I guess it pays to have an annual Air Show??!!
There is also at least one decent example of a lightning on station, aswell as the various 'not quite so good' phantoms!

(PS: It wasn't the Buchan phantom that had the nose section removed and donated to Aberdeen Wg ATC, was it? They were talking about that aswell)

Fly safely!! :)

[Cesspit 152]

Speaking as a Cadet I must say that I agree whole heartily with the posts above - Ask any 5+ year old who has walked around the Fleet Air Arm museum (or Duxford - not being biased against any crabs here am I?) and they will most certainly be of the opinion that it was bloody good. Testament to this was a kid who when walking out asked his father: "Why arn't there more places like this daddy?"

Nuff said. http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/aircraft/spitfire.gif [/IMG]

[BEagle]

Never flew '468, so at least it wasn't a jet which I'd strapped my bum to which was destroyed so shamelessly.

Ridiculous to know that such vandalism is being condoned; if the gate guardian at Base Aerea Gringo, Islas Malvinas can be kept in a tip-top condition, then so could one at Woodvale. Mark you, scousers had probably made sure that it had neither radios nor hubcaps by the time it was destroyed! Probably tried flogging the MCS Command Indicator to some scally in a pub pretending it was a TV as well.............

[Scorpius]

If it is any consolation - alot of the nav kit in the E3D originated in the good ole F4M! What used to be the AJB7 in the phantom is now our AHARS - thankfully we don't have the Computer Nav Controller with it's beautifully placed joystick - for the nav to kick when he got out. I suppose we have a few of the aircrew as well.
Apparently 23 Sqn have acquired an F4 and are in the throws of tarting it up to be their own sqn gate guardian - so at least one will live on.

[BEagle]

Not that 'The Crows' navigators knew anything else better to do with the CNC hand controller of course....

"Tally, contact, Judy.........More help!!"

[ 08 August 2001: Message edited by: BEagle ]

[Talking Radalt]

Anyone remember the legend of some paper-clip warrior at Innsworth or maybe it was Wyton who arranged the removal of the GG on the grounds the unit was "nothing to do with flying"?

[Oggin Aviator]

Can anyone shed any light on what happened to the Meteor that preceeded the F4 at Woodvale (the RAF's best kept secret)?

During my LUAS days I lost count of the number of times the Meteor was the focus of an impromptu party due to excessive "high spirits" :) :) :).

p.s. Does Celia still work behind the bar?

[Avoiding Action]

At a secret northern radar base, Harry and his mates decided that the Blah-Jet was too "expensive" to keep as a gate guardian. It's bad enough we only see sharp pointy things as blips on screens; the only real one we had has been replaced with a 1950's vintage "mobile" radar (green box with small dish on top to you and me).

F**king inspiring or what? :mad: :mad:

[f4phixeruk]

If you want to know which of the 'tooms' those awfully nice men at the ministry have set up for "culling", check out the September issue of 'FLYPAST'. Where a list of airframes is printed.

[gashman]

What as shame about the phantom. As for the parties on the meteor, you should be pleased to know that the tradition continued on the phantom until a girl slipped and fell off the beastie and seriously hurt herself. (a big drop as some of you guys know...). Not sure if that accident was a factor in its removal.
Another well looked after example can be found guarding the gate at 56sqns new home in deepest darkest Lincolnshire. I drive past it on my way home at the weekend. If you can wait for a couple of weeks, there is going to be lots of F3s needing a new non flying home.
;)

[dazbo]

Anyone know what happened to the Hunter that was hidden in the shed at Chiv? Was in 63 colours and was wheeled out every Airday. Think it belonged to the navy but got left at Chiv after an incident and Navy could not be bothered to collect it(or they forgot it was there).

[addinfurnightem]

There again, have we all considered the possibility that our Dear Leader and "New" Labour may be conducting a deliberate policy of "de-militarisation" of the country so that justifiable pride and sentiment will die away without such stimulants as Gate Guardians etc. then they can cut the Armed forces and the defence budget even further?
Or am I just a miserable cynic?!

[Low and Slow]

Oh yes, the glory of the F-4? I rather think that instead of "Tally ho," and "dagga dagga daga," "Fox Two" etc, it was more like

"Has that warning light gone out yet?"
"No."
"Ok what about now?"
"Yes it's off... no wait... it's back on again."

[Suit]

Chilled out chap,

The reason that the RAF F-4 fleet was treated so harshly by the MoD when it came to disposal has absolutely B***** all to do with souless "men from the ministry", or non caring suits or civil servants.

It's actually the US Govt, or the Dept of State to be precise!

The F-4's were a Foreign Military Sale (FMS), ie a Govt to Govt deal. One of the standard conditions for all such deals, set down by the US Govt as part of their export controls, is that when the item concerned is removed from service it cannot be sold, given, loaned or bartered to any non Government organisation. It must be scrapped or returned to the US. If it is sold onto an approved Government organisation then that has to be individually approved by the US Dept of State.

Everyone is having a go at these "souless civil servants" and "suits" again. The folk making policy on things such as gate guards are your own Air Officers!

Compare our pathetic attempts at preservation and nonsensical endeavours at generating pride in Unit and service to those in the US, it is so embarassing and is indicative of the state in which the Royal Air Force finds itself ENTIRELY THROUGH ITS OWN GROSS MISMANAGEMENT AND SELF SERVING INEFFICIENT AIR STAFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hong Kong Fuey]

Hmmm. I don't want to get involved in an argument with Suit here, but what you've just said doesn't quite ring true. Are you saying that the US govt is insisting on the Phantoms' destruction because the stations where they are GGs are now being run, or about to be run, by NGOs or similar? If this is the case, then why are you blaming Air Officers, be they incompetent or not?

Are they (the Gate Guardians, not the Air Marshalls!) being destroyed because of the terms of a FMS deal (as the stn will be run by civvies, who won't be allowed to own a piece of military hardware), or is it due to Stn Cdrs various who have decided that their budgets can't cope with the upkeep of the Guardian. I can understand the former, but the latter is somewhat distressing.

Anyway, whatever the reason, it is a callous and heartless decision. A Gate Guardian is a protector of souls, a means to ward off evil spirits. Any reason to remove them has to be explained properly - the manner in which it is being approached is reprehensible and, I am afraid to say, a sign of the times.

[excrewingbod]

Re the Buchan F4, the story in the local rag said that due to exposure to the salt air for the past five years it had deterioated to such a dangerous state it had to be scrapped.

The nose section was chopped off and apparently sent to Lossie for restoration, before being handed to the Aberdeen ATC wing. The rest of the hulk remained on the base for several months before being carted off to a scrappy somewhere. A very sad end to a mighty F4.

[SPIT]

I remember the ols Meatbox at Woodvale .When they had done with it as you say they replaced it with a beaut Phantom but now that has gone as well,There is an ATC Squadron on the airfield why are?did they not look after the aircraft.Somw ATC Units would give all they had to get there hand on a REAL AEROPLANE??? :confused:

[f4phixeruk]

Same with the FG.1's at Leuchars. There is an ATC unit on camp, St Andrews also has one. So why didnt they 'give' it to the 2 sqns to renovate / care for. It would give them more of an idea what looking after aircraft was like BEFORE they join up and decide they dont like getting hands dirty.

[Blue Stuff]

Re. the Woodvale Phantom: Alas, I believe that it had been allowed to deteriorate to such a degree that scrapping was the only option. I visited Woodvale in '99, and one look up into the wheel wells revealed severe structural corrosion, no doubt exacerbated by the salty air. Without major restoration (i.e. strip-down, re-spar, etc.), it was a gonner even then. The crying shame is that it was allowed to reach such a condition in the first place. One suspects that the aircraft was flown into Woodvale and 'dumped' on the gate, without any provision being made for its upkeep. If this is the case, the long-term outcome was always saddeningly predictable.

So how long is it before we lose all of our gate guards then? How long before Wadd's mighty Vulcan goes under the JCB, for example? If upkeep is the sole issue (Phantoms excepted), then surely resident Sqns would be more than happy to 'adopt' a gate guard, rather than see it reduced to bean tins? Thoughts please.

Regards,

Blue.

P.S. Does Coningsby still have her resident Phantom 'decoys', and if so, are there any plans to do away with them too?

[SPIT]

Re the request from BLUE STUFF for info regarding the Decoys he should look into (I will say this only once) F4 Aviation.co.uk and then to the bottom of the page do a GOOGLE SEARCH for Phantom decoy aircraft it will show a passage called Phantom Flier.
This MAY ANSWER his question, hope this helps him
PS: there is a very good page re all uk phantoms in F4 Aviation.
All the Best :rolleyes:

[Negative 'G']

Spit,
WOW What a site for Phantom fanatics,I just had to look up a picture of the Ex-WoodvalePhantom,and what a picture it was.
I never realised that XV468 was famous for something,check it out for yourself.
http://www.ffour.force9.co.uk/Hangar/Phantoms/56sq/xv468.htm

Having seen/read this it makes it even harder to accept its loss :(

[Q Banate]

One of the three F4s is still at Leeming - anyone know if Elvington WILL get it, or are the scrappies on an extended tea-break? :confused:

[Archimedes]

All very sad. There is some evidence that the MoD are frightened that some civvie type will take the gate guard, spend oodles of cash on it, and have his/her own Mach 2 death machine flying about the skies with the possibility of attacking Main Building with some covertly-acquired smart weapons. One of the civil service's finest of my vague acquaintance told me this (although I'll admit I have added just a hint of sarcasm in my version above) with complete seriousness.
He also compained that our finest aerospace company was a 'nuisance' for offering to help with getting XH558 back into the air, since this would give a 'bunch of civvies' (bear in mind that the cahp in question is a civvie himself) their own strategic bombing capability. We did worry at College when we heard that he'd be involved, albeit in a small way, in the defence of the realm.

[ 12 August 2001: Message edited by: Archimedes ]

[KwikPhix]

Not only do LEU have a F4 on the main gate but The glorious 43rd have one at the entrance to their site. I was there when we had to smash off the Engine mounting points so that it couln't be flown again !(something to do with Russian inspectors ?)

Quote from my 11 year old, whilst I drove past Blackpool Airport today: " WOW dad look at that, can we go and look at it ?" He was refering to the Vulcan Bomber parked outside the entrance. You must bear in mind that we have F3's flying at low level over our house every working day (I live in fife) but still a tired old Bird parked outside in the rain raised a, WOW!

[ 12 August 2001: Message edited by: KwikPhix ]

[ADIS5000]

Archimedes,
Why did u edit your post above? The original version had 4 points which were all perfectly accurate.

For my penny worth. Gate guardians cost money. In this time of extreme tight budgets, Harry staish has to make cuts somewhere. Although t'would be nice to have gate guardians everywhere, I don't think that a gate guardian is more important to morale than maintaining other facilities on whatever stn we are talking about.

Beags,
If u read this...on one of your other posts u talk about the CNC in the FGR2 RCP.
It was actually the CND, Controller Nav Display. Picky (and sad) I know, but couldn't resist it!!! :D

Cheers ADIS :cool:

[dazbo]

Nice idea to let ATC cadets 'maintain' Gate Guardians but in practice not v practical. My old Sqn had the last pre production Gnat outside for many years (2 seater but rear cockpit only used for carrying instruments and no seat ever fitted). We spent an entire summer 'servicing' to free up the ailerons to get them moving. It took 2 weeks to get the seat out as it had frozen to the rail having not been out for 9 years. Still it was great experience if not overly productive.

We were able to power the Gnat up and move the power tailpalne and get all the cockpit lights on. Had to be carefull as the chemical fire extinguisher was still fitted (big bang horrible smell if used) and the relighters still cracked (lots of static build up).

Unfortunately economics took over and AC was sold to buy a new minibus and space was needed for parking. Buyer claimed to be an enthusiast who was going to restore and fly it in the UK. 3 days later he sold it at auction at North Wheald for 3 times what he paid the Sqn for it......;Doh! :eek:

[Archimedes]

Adis 500 - edit occurred because of small technical problems with my PC. For some reason, I didn't see that there were three pages to this; this meant I repeated a few earlier points and questions, so I tidied it up to avoid irritation. I also took the opportunity to tidy up my jet-lagged prose!

[ADIS5000]

Archimedes,
Hat off to you sah, u r obviously a true gent!

Cheers ADIS :cool:

[Beeayeate]

There was/is an FGR4 Gate Guard, painted in 74Sqd colours, at Brampton a couple of years back. Is it still there?
-------------------------

[Tilt&Gain]

Here's a fresh slant on this debate!
Heard a rumour that a Scottish bomber base currently displaying a Banana as a gate guard is about to get something a bit more pointy. There is a jet there now that has been grossly overstressed (see below) and has been 'retired' early. Griff is that the Banana will go to make way for the Norfolk Land Shark.

Any takers

Guilty B*****d (http://www.xvsquadron.co.uk)

[Snapshot]

Tilt&Gain,
Not ANOTHER banana to go?????? Is there no pride, what's going on? Is our mate at the Buccaneer service station the ONLY patriotic dude left? First the Marham jet now it seems like Sea Witch!! :(
By the way, GREAT XV Website
Snappers, www.AvCollect.com (http://www.AvCollect.com) www.BlackburnBuccaneer.co.uk (http://www.BlackburnBuccaneer.co.uk)

[Avoiding Action]

You wanna see Gate Guardians?

Come Red Flagging at Nellis!

105F and more freakin gate Guardians than we have aircraft.....(well, sort of!)

Sorry ADIS, couldn't resist that one!

AA (Hungover, burnt and rich)

:cool:

[ADIS5000]

T&G + Snappers
Heard the other day that the guy at the Buccaneer Garage is hoping to make it a matching pair? Looks like another long tow for the engineers!!?


AA
How ya doing mate?! Obv working hard if you've time to post!! Can't believe u had the nerve, u cheeky g*t! Remember, your mission, should u choose to accept it, is to spend every penny their giving u! Say hello to Paynester (and Grim Dog). Mizzifish is twitching massively about whether he's gonna make it out or not!!

cheers ADIS :cool: Not hungover,v cold + broke.

[Snapshot]

Wonder if 'Aitch' is gonna steer the Banana like he did the last one? What a star!
Snaps ;)

[A D Mate]

I was on the Sqn when the Woodvale jet was delivered and, whilst I feel its not my place to name him, the pilot went on to command the UAS there (by some spookie coincidence). Some time later 74 delivered 6 jets to storage on our last sorties to a helo training base, which was suitably equipped with environmental controlled hangers - don't thing they lasted there too long before they were rumbled - guess they're razor blades too.
Incidentally the powers that be/power that was promised us crews who delivered the jets to Leeming that we'd be sent the stick tops and NHCs. These were carefully removed and suitably labeled as we got out, and entrusted to powers that be/power that was for the trip home. If you've still got them, sir, can you post them on?

you've got to hold on tight!

[ 15 August 2001: Message edited by: A D Mate ]

[West Coast]

First the Chinese won't give us back our planes, now you guys too.

[noprobs]

Regarding the history of the Woodvale Phantom, I think that the current CinC PTC (ex-LUAS) had some interesting history on that. If I remember correctly, he flew it down to Stanley (FI), only to see it later have the rear end damaged by a fast cable engagement in front of a VIP audience.

There used to be an interesting set of parked aircraft at Coltishall in 94 or so. The Lightning outside the gate (now gone) was privately owned. The Hurricane with Douglas Bader's OC 242 markings (inside the gate) was plastic, having been traded for a real Spitfire subsequently returned to the air. Over in the fire practice area were a Phantom and a Hunter. A forward-looking commander (!) had bid for the Hunter for the firemen to play with, then immediately had a mate with a Wokka lift it up the road to the Muckleborough Collection. Unfortunately, pictures of the lift appeared in the press, and orders came to put it back to rot militarily, rather than be cared for privately. Subsequently, the boss at Muckleborough learned a lesson, and used his considerable influence to get a Harrier GR3 donated to the Collection. Bizarrely, the Hunter was also involved in the American complexity, having been financed by US money post WW2.

Then again, what happened to the (?) Sqn Lightning at Leeming? I heard that it was being delivered on its last flight to Catterick, again for fire practice, when it had to divert in to Leeming with a major hydraulic failure, which occurred shortly after landing! Oddly enough, I heard that story when visiting to collect a GR3 that had diverted in after a birdstrike during its "last flight". After a lengthy repair, I flew it down to St Athan, never to fly again (the jet, not me). :eek:

[DamienB]

The Brampton Phantom's still there.

The Hunter at Colt escaped into private hands last year - gawd knows how.

The Leeming Lightning was last seen hiding in a HAS up that way, but don't know its current status.

On the endangered list - every other Phantom I would imagine plus the Victor at Marham (privately owned and apparently to be replaced with either a Can or a Tornado) which I can't see leaving in one piece.

[Beeayeate]

Thanks for the gen DeeBee, good to know Brampton's Phant is still in one piece.

Marham! Had heard that the "spare" PR.7 was to be displayed on the field. Could this be the Vic's replacement? The Cranberrie is sitting outside now after years in the back of the hangar.

[Cabe LeCutter]

Akrotiri had two GGs when I was last there, a yellow Whirlwind and a Lightning.
I was in the bar in 86 or so when the Lightning crashed about 200 yards from the Akrotiri main gate after injesting part of the banner.The Stn Cdr at the time wanted a Lightning as a Gate Guardian, APC sqn consoled Harry Staish by saying that they put it as close as they could to the gate.
Rambling on again, must go before I wake up.

Heads down, look out for the flack