English Electric Lightning - Survivor XN784
F.2A XN784 - Zruc Air Park, Pilsen, Czech Republic
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Lightning F.2A XN784 at Baarlo, 7th March 2017; Alan Allen
XN784 was first flown as an F.2 on 26th January 1963 and served with 19 Squadron, RAF Germany. The airframe was returned to Warton in January 1969, where she was converted to an F.2A and returned to 19 Squadron.
XN784 retired to ground instructional/decoy duties in 1977, with her last flight being on the 31st March 1977 to Bruggen, where she was put out on the airfield as a decoy and gained a rather odd wraparound camouflage scheme. She was later disposed of, initially going to the airfield at Mönchen-Gladbach, and then in the 1990s to the museum at Hermeskeil, where she was stored in the open in a dismantled state for many years, wearing the false serial 'XN781'. In the early 2000s, she was been bought by PS Aero in Holland and they had her moved, reassembled, and put on display at their facility in Baarlo. The decoy paint scheme was reapplied - a shame it's not a 'real' scheme. However, in more recent years, the paint has since faded and flaked, with the canopy clouding overdue to direct sunlight for several years, and oddly wears no serial at all.
Around the year 2020, XN784 was moved to the Zruc Air Park, in the Czech Republic. She is currently sat outside awaiting to be reassembled.
XN784 retired to ground instructional/decoy duties in 1977, with her last flight being on the 31st March 1977 to Bruggen, where she was put out on the airfield as a decoy and gained a rather odd wraparound camouflage scheme. She was later disposed of, initially going to the airfield at Mönchen-Gladbach, and then in the 1990s to the museum at Hermeskeil, where she was stored in the open in a dismantled state for many years, wearing the false serial 'XN781'. In the early 2000s, she was been bought by PS Aero in Holland and they had her moved, reassembled, and put on display at their facility in Baarlo. The decoy paint scheme was reapplied - a shame it's not a 'real' scheme. However, in more recent years, the paint has since faded and flaked, with the canopy clouding overdue to direct sunlight for several years, and oddly wears no serial at all.
Around the year 2020, XN784 was moved to the Zruc Air Park, in the Czech Republic. She is currently sat outside awaiting to be reassembled.
Information on this page current as of 16/06/2022, last updated by Jake |
Find other photos of XN784 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net