The Last Dogfight
The Last Dogfight
The final extension has been and gone, and the Lightning era is coming to an end. An era that shaped the RAF throughout the Cold War.
After winning World War II, let's not forget that the world entered the dawn of the jet age. As the war came to an end, the Germans experimented with rockets and jet engines and, in my opinion, were streets (no pun intended) ahead of the Brits and Yanks.
We stuck to some fairly unadventurous designs like the Gloster Meteor, whilst the Germans pushed boundaries with tailless aircraft like the Komet and Me 262. Whilst the Meteor and ME262 had similar layouts, with engines placed in pods beneath the wings, the ME262 did have some wing sweep, which proved vital in the race towards supersonic flight.
With the wonder of the internet, I thought I'd check whether they ever faced each other in combat. I doubted it based on fuel and range alone.
As I expected, after first being taken to a page to meet mature singles...
It turns out no combat ever took place.
I think the first jet-to-jet combat took place during the Korean War.
I need to empty both my web browser and my mind...
As I thought, meeting mature women from Ukraine is definitely pay-per-view, and the first jet combat was in 1950 when a USAF P-80 Shooting Star shot down a Soviet-built MiG-15.
Am I a genius or what?
In fact, I am available for pub quiz nights on any weekday from Monday to Sunday. I just need an invite.
With the increase in speed came the need to push the envelope in every respect of aeronautics. Pilots would need protection. A bit like Prince Harry and his adventures at another pub quiz night in Wiltshire.
Protection from both the cold and the heat whilst flying into the upper atmosphere at high supersonic speeds.
I'll try and find some images of what Lightning pilots wore in my collection of Gratton's ladies' underwear catalogues to illustrate my fantasy...
Ironically, all the test pilots at English Electric seemed to wear a standard outfit. Having kissed their wives on the cheek, sometimes both cheeks, they would set off in their austere, normally black saloon cars to work in a smart suit and tie.
Not forgetting that in those days, when men wore shirts, the collars weren't attached. No link to matching collars and cuffs, but the collar itself was held on by a stud at the back. I remember my father wearing them and uttering that they were totally impractical and uncomfortable.
So, dressed to kill, literally, the dashing test pilot simply pulled his flying suit over the top of his Savile Row whistle.
One for Lord Leahy: whistle and flute... suit!
I frankly can't imagine how uncomfortable it must have been to strap yourself into a Lightning wearing a smart suit beneath your flying overalls.
Although, once I flew an F-4 Phantom in my pyjamas in Germany. I was fast asleep at 0400 when the hooter went, the term for a scramble, and off I shot. Jimmys on and my G-suit waiting in the cockpit.
Long story, will have to wait...
Where were we? Ah yes, the dashing deeds of young airmen.
Another fascinating bit of trivia, and a good one for a pub quiz, is this.
Why did the early test pilots never wear exposure suits?
Flying from Warton, testing normally took place over the cold Irish Sea near the Isle of Man, yet I have only ever seen one photograph of a test pilot, our own Don Knight, wearing a survival suit.
Brave men indeed.
Back to what they wore, we had now entered the Dan Dare world, touching the edge of space.
Whilst we moved away from fighting with guns, we embraced the missile era for around a decade and then decided that every man needs a gun.
There's something about having a pistol in your pocket that not only puts a smile on a girl's face but also gives you that killer instinct.
There is something in a fighter pilot's DNA that makes you positively turgid at the thought of a gun kill.
It brings together all your skills in one split second and kills the bad guy in spectacular fashion.
It's very, very satisfying.