According to a recent international study, the Lightning is the fifth most popular military aircraft of all time. It has many thousands of devotees who are a ready market for this timely and entertaining book which, with over twenty individual stories from former Lightning pilots, relates the highs and lows, the dramas and the demands of those who operated this iconic aircraft from the sharp end.
Tales include the recollections of an aerobatic display pilot, an implausible yet true account of telepathic communication, and an extraordinary episode when a Lightning pilot on an exchange programme with the French air force became embroiled in a mid-air collision. An unverified yet probably genuine world record is revealed in one of the chapters.
In addition to the original photographs that accompany the text, the renowned aviation artist Chris Stone (himself a former Lightning pilot) has provided a unique sketch as well as copies of some of his paintings. The style, scope and pace of the writing in this book will appeal to the general reader as well as to the enthusiast.
Chapter one - 'Fiery Baptism' - Roger Colebrook's flaming first flight - (56 Squadron)
Chapter two - 'Gorilla Tactics' - Sir William Wratten's aerobatic days - (19 Squadron)
Chapter three - 'Touch and Go' - Ross Payne tries to land - (5 Squadron, 11 Squadron, 19 Squadron, Lightning Training Flight)
Chapter four - 'Battle Flight' - Peter Vangucci in Germany - (Officer Commanding 19 Squadron, 74 Squadron, 226 Operational Conversion Unit)
Chapter five - 'Paper Tiger?' - David Roome aspires to become a spaceman - (74 Squadron)
Chapter six - 'Tight Timing' - Clive Mitchell cuts it fine - (56 Squadron, 74 Squadron)
Chapter seven - 'Ulp!' - Rick Groombridge finds himself all over the place - (29 Squadron, 226 Operational Conversion Unit)
Chapter eight - 'Not Amused' - Anthony 'Bugs' Bendell creates a stir - (111 Squadron, Air Fighting Development Squadron)
Chapter nine - 'Basket Case' - John Walmsley receives more than he bargained for from a Victor tanker - (5 Squadron)
Chapter ten - 'Should be a doddle' - Colin Wilcock returns XR755 to Binbrook the next day (sequel to Chapter nine) - (5 Squadron)
Chapter eleven - 'Early Days' - Bruce Hopkins gets started - (23 Squadron, Air Fighting Development Squadron, 226 Operational Conversion Squadron)
Chapter twelve - 'Russian Roulette' - Jerry Parr is led astray - (19 Squadron, 23 Squadron, 92 Squadron)
Chapter thirteen - A Man's Aircraft' - Alan White recollects - (Officer Commanding 5 Squadron, 11 Squadron)
Chapter fourteen - 'Twenty Lightning Years' - Peter Collins looks back on a long association with the Lightning - (11 Squadron, 23 Squadron, Officer Commanding 111 Squadron, All-Weather Development Squadron)
Chapter fifteen - 'Supersonic Stretch' - John Hall pushes the boundaries - (5 Squadron, 19 Squadron)
Chapter sixteen - 'A Visident Too Far' - Jerry Parr saved by a Victor tanker - (19 Squadron, 23 Squadron, 92 Squadron)
Chapter seventeen - 'Timely Telepathy' - Steve Gyles in a jam - (11 Squadron, 19 Squadron)
Chapter eighteen - 'Fine Art' - Chris Stone recalls a close shave - (Officer Commanding 23 Squadron, 111 Squadron)
Chapter nineteen - 'Vive La Difference' - Dave Bramley in a fraught French formation (29 Squadron)
Chapter twenty - 'Last Flight of the P1' - Graham Perry's P1 predicament - (Officer Commanding Engineering Wing at RAF Binbrook)
Chapter twenty-one - 'Combat Clashes' - Jim Wild's winning ways - (5 Squadron, 11 Squadron (twice), 92 Squadron, Lightning Training Flight)
Chapter twenty-two - 'Name Game' - Richard Pike has his day - (19 Squadron, 29 Squadron, 56 Squadron)