Originally established in Egypt of 1917, No. 111 (Fighter) Squadron, RAF, was a unit with a rich tradition of operations in the Middle East by the time it deployed 11 of its jets to Cyprus for an annual exercise, in 1964. This is how its English Electric Lightning F.Mk 3 interceptors became involved in monitoring – and then intercepting – Greek and Turkish aerial operations in August 1964; reportedly, none of the jets were armed during such operations. As of the time, all of No. 111 Squadron’s jets were left in bare metal overall but also wore the unit’s colours (black and yellow) applied from the cockpit down the spine and over all of the fin, with a large squadron crest and the code. This jet’s serial number – XR712 – was applied in black on the rear fuselage and repeated on both of the undersurfaces of the wing. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)