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First Lakenheath run for a year.


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Gents.

 

Here's some fairly regular pics from RAF Lakenheath and the 48th Fighter Wing taken over two days last week with some decent weather. This was the first time I have been able to get over since the Aviano F-16s visited early September last year. Nothing much has changed recently, the 492nd and 493rd are at home with the 494th deployed out East but due back within the next month or so following their six month stint. The newly reformed 495th should be standing up soon with the first F-35s due in December. 

 

492nd lead jet on the tight bank for runway 24.

 

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The 494th may be away but some of their jets remain and are used by the 492nd daily.

 

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Ops group bird, they'll have to add a new fin flash soon with the 495th added.

 

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Same with the wing jet, which has changed since I last saw it.

 

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On the go around.

 

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Never knew that a certain sith lord had signed up and completed F-15E training!

 

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To me it looks like he's carrying inert Mk 84's?

 

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Which were gone when he came back from the range on the Welsh coast, nice wave from the WSO.

 

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Locally it seems to be taken as read that the days of the 493rd on F-15C/Ds are numbered now that the first of two F-35 squadrons are about to form here alongside the two F-15E units. There is no reliable word yet that they're going anywhere in the near future. Personally, I guess that the 493rd will pass it's F-15s back to the US and become the second F-35 unit, thereby restoring the 48th FW back to the 492nd through 495th Squadrons from it's old F-111 days. If that's right, and it is only speculation then I think they'll be here for a little while yet. They were reasonably busy last week.

 

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Most of the jets with kills were active.

 

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A combined F-15C and E missing man formation was flown across the base in honour of the Battle of Britain, here seen after reforming for the overhead break.

 

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Surprise visitors for the weekend at the end of flying on Friday was a couple of RAF Hawk T2's in after working alongside the 493rd.

 

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Hope that's okay. Still got a fair bit of leave to take before the end of the year so hoping for some of that winter sun!

 

Gary

 

 

 

Edited by gary1701
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Hi habu,

 

Figured it out, now working backwards!

 

Edit; should be sorted now. Strange, as although it's been a long time since I posted any pics I'm damn sure you used to link the image code across with the [img] at either end here - as I do at any other forum I've ever posted at. Has something changed?

 

Gary

Edited by gary1701
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/1/2021 at 4:43 AM, gary1701 said:

Hi habu,

 

Figured it out, now working backwards!

 

Edit; should be sorted now. Strange, as although it's been a long time since I posted any pics I'm damn sure you used to link the image code across with the [img] at either end here - as I do at any other forum I've ever posted at. Has something changed?

 

Gary

Nice shot Gary, thanks for sharing

 

As for the image linking, there was a forum update a while ago that screwed the use of IMG tags resulting in linking direct to a URL. There is a back end tweak to the forum that would make them work again as the BritModeller forum (they use the same software) had the same issue and it was tweaked to fix the same issue.

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Thanks for the kind words gents. I have the coming week off as well but the weather doesn't look anything as kind as when I shot those. If it does change I will probably make another trip over. Also thanks for the info about the posting of images, I was sure it wasn't my imagination and it used to be easier to link images, now I know I'll get it right in future!

 

Gary

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