ENGLISH ELECTRIC LIGHTNING^69
A
lthough not an o cial world record
breaker, there is one British aircraft
that will forever be remembered
for its raw power and speed. The English
Electric Lightning occupies a unique place
in aviation history. It was the rst British
production supersonic ghter, and indeed
the only British production supersonic
ghter. When it rst entered service in the
summer of 1960, it provided Royal Air Force
ghter pilots with the greatest increase in
performance ever o ered. Transitioning
from the subsonic Hawker Hunter, they were
suddenly able to sample the joys of ying at
speeds approaching Mach 2.
The English Electric Lightning was quite
a long time in coming into RAF service. Two
prototypes of the English Electric P1 were
ordered to government speci cation F23/49 on
1 April 1950, the rst of them (WG760) making
its rst ight at Boscombe Down on 4 August- It immediately demonstrated its potential
by going supersonic in level ight on its third
test ight. The rst Lightning mark to enter
operational service was the F1, examples of
which were delivered to No 74 Squadron at
RAF Coltishall from late June 1960. Its internal
fuel load was pitifully small and although the
following F1A had no increase in tankage, it
did introduce a detachable ight refuelling
probe under the port wing, which for the rst
time made possible longer-range deployments.
Finally, the RAF had a world-class supersonic
ghter to be proud of.
While the Lightning’s total production run
of just 339 is comparatively small, there was
no shortage of variants or mark numbers.
Following on from the F1A was the F2,
featuring a fully variable afterburner tted to
its Avon 210 engines, along with an improved
cockpit layout and instrument panel. The F2
equipped the two RAF Germany interceptor
squadrons, Nos 19 and 92, at Gütersloh until
1977, maintaining the 24-hour Battle Flight
air defence alert and being very much in the
vanguard of NATO’s front line.
The F3 represented a more signi cant step
forward, this mark introducing an improved
AIRPASS radar and a pair of Red Top missiles,
these together allowing for the rst time head-
on (rather than tailchase) missile engagements.
This mark had uprated Avon 300 series engines,
while an external di erence was to be seen
in the square-topped n of increased area. In
fact, the F3 was to be an interim mark pendingdeliveries of the nal – at least in RAF terms- Lightning variant. The F6 nally addressed
the problem of restricted fuel tankage by the
tment of a large 600-gallon ventral tank,
while a cambered wing with reduced sweep
on the outer panels gave improved low-speed
handling and manoeuvrability at little cost to
performance at higher speeds. This ‘ultimate’
Lightning variant also tted an arrestor hook
for emergency use (at air elds where a RHAG
cable was installed) and provision for two
260-gallon jettisonable overwing fuel tanks.
No 5 Squadron was the initial RAF user,
receiving the F6 from December 1965.
Despite its incredible performance, the
Lightning never found the export market it
deserved. That said, a developed multi-
role Lightning designated F53
While the Lightning’s total production run
of just 339 is comparatively small, there was
no shortage of variants or mark numbers.while an external di erence was to be seen
in the square-topped n of increased area. In
fact, the F3 was to be an interim mark pendingLightning never found the export market it
deserved. That said, a developed multi-
role Lightning designated F53Left: Airshow audiences of the 1960s (not to mention the ’70s and ’80s) thrilled to the sight of a Lightning taking o in full afterburner,
cleaning up its undercarriage with the nose still held down, then accelerating before pulling up at 3-4g into a near-vertical climb,
eventually disappearing from sight. The Lightning could reach 36,000ft in less than three minutes from brakes o .Top right: The Lightning had its limitations. Like so many British ghters before it, it was short on internal fuel, and a
40-minute sortie in a Lightning F1 was considered ‘good’. Armament was light, with early marks featuring just two
cannon and two air-to-air missiles. But any such reservations were soon dispelled by the sheer level of performance
o ered by the two afterburning Rolls-Royce Avon turbojets mounted one above the other in the fuselage.Below: Lightning F1, XM165, of No 74 (Tiger) Squadron, RAF.