A surprising number of of sortie's ended with fire engines in attendance. The aircraft shown on the right had just engaged the arrester barrier. As was usual the arrestor cables had caught the spine just behind the cockpit and had started a fire in the Avpin fuel tank. The aircraft is being towed back to the hangar for repair. In the 1960's the serviceability and reliability of the Lightning was poor by today's standards and there were numerous accidents and incidents. However at the time it was a formidable aircraft. I will never forget the time in 1965 when I watched as 16 aircraft in line astern climbed away from Wattisham in full reheat to start the flypast for the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill.