Back at Wattisham a days duty would be to start at O8.OO hrs to 2O.OO hrs for two days then a change to 20:OO hrs to O8:OO hrs for 2 nights. I served as a crash fireman from 1963 to 1971.

   The Javelins at Wattisham belonging to 41 Sqn.  were disbanded in December I963. We had an old Javelin at Wattisham for our practice rescue training. This gave a very realistic approach to practicing crash rescue should the time ever arise, of which, it eventually did and many times did we rescue the pilots and the like be it for practice or for real.

Again at Wattisham and from  O8:OO hrs onwards the noise from the Huchin would be heard and the smell of Avpin starter fuel in the air was abundant, Lightning's F Mk1As would taxi out and the Rolls Royce Avons would swing into action, F MK 1As with full re heat and away into the sky, sometimes one after the other at second intervals they then went strait up into the vertical climb, scenes probably never to be seen again. Shame.

As time went into the 1960s Lightning F MK 1As were replaced by the F MK 3 of which 29 Sqn., 111 Sqn. and 56 Sqn. equipped at Wattisham. Firestreak missiles were also replaced by the more advanced Redtop.

 Lightning XM192 F.MK1A from 111 Sqn. was gate guard at Wattisham and was the aircraft that Airfix kits modelled their kit from. The aircraft has since been removed.