Here's a pretty painful sight for fellow Lightning afficianados. Feeling sorry for a hunk of metal is not something that lends itself to rational explanation. But I bet I'm not the only one who would like to see these remains speedily melted down, or whatever it is that scrap merchants do.
I quite like the picture though - captures not just the essence of the situation, but also the bleak flatlands of Lincolnshire so well-known to generations of RAF pilots. (There's a colour close-up at the link if you're in the mood. And some earlier thoughts on Lightnings likewise.)
Robert Prest, famously the author of F-4 Phantom: A Pilot's Story also wrote an article in Pilot magazine some years ago chronicling how he flew a Phantom on its decomissioning flight to somewhere or other and describing the eerie moment of switching off the electrics for the final time. Skin-tingling stuff. Doesn't seem to be on the web anywhere though.
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