F-5C Lightning 42-67114 “Maxine” of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group on a low flyby of RAF Attlebridge (colorized).
This is a colorized photograph of the F-5C Lightning “Maxine” (42-67114) of the the 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron on a low flyby of the RAF airfield at Attlebridge around February 1945. The original is somewhat low quality, but there is a second higher quality photo of possibly the same pass. The photograph doesn’t name the pilot, but it is most likely Malcolm Hughes, who enjoyed making low passes. In April of 1943 when the 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron was being inspected in New Mexico before shipping overseas, Hughes made an inverted low pass of the field. Here is a photo of Hughes in June 1943 at RAF Mount Farm after his first mission. In August 1943, Hughes was forced to bail out of a F-5C (42-13099) at high altitude when a trim-tab control rod failure resulted in loss of the aircraft tail section. In February 1944, Hughes was sent with a detachment from RAF Mount Farm to RAF Attlebridge to test the feasibility of photo recon from forward bases. The 466th Bombardment Group had just arrived at Attlebridge and it is likely that the crews being buzzed in the above photo are from the 466th. Here is a photo of Maxine on the ground at Attlebridge and here is Hughes in March 1944. After returning from a successful recon mission to Brittany in April 1944, Hughes buzzed the Mount Farm field and clipped the intelligence building, damaging Maxine’s propeller. He was temporally grounded and fined but both he and Maxine kept on flying. In August 1944, Maxine became the first 7th Photographic Group F-5 to complete 50 missions.
