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The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It was capable of a top speed of above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufactured by English Electric.
Sep 28, 2022 · With a top speed of Mach 2.27 and over 1,500 mph, it is the fastest British-made fighter ever. The aircraft was slowly phased out of service from 1974 to 1988, and by that point the aircraft needed huge levels of maintenance, due to how many hours had were now accumulated on the airframes.
Apr 30, 2015 · Later models, the F.2A, F.3, F.3A, F.6, and F.53, had a rated top speed of Mach 2.0 (2,136 km/h) at 36,000 feet (11,000 m), and speeds up to 700 knots (1,300 km/h) indicated air speed for “operational necessity only”.
Sep 14, 2022 · The first "true" flight of the P.1 was conducted by Beaumont on August 4th, 1954, reaching a top speed of Mach 0.85. The flight allowed the airframe to effectively "stretch her legs" and work out any inherent design kinks.
- Lightning Origins: P.1A / P.1B
- Lightning F.1 Described / F.1A
- Lightning F.2 / F.3
- Lightning F.3A (Interim F.6) / F.6
- Lightning T.4 & T.5 Trainers
- Lightning in Raf Service
- Lightning in Saudi & Kuwaiti Service
- Twilight of The Lightning / Production Summary
- Comments, Sources, & Revision History
* Although the performance increases of jet-powered aircraft introducedtowards the end of World War II over their piston-powered ancestors werebreathtaking, there were those at the time who believed that much more waspossible. As far back as 1943, the British Ministry of Aircraft Productionhad issued a specification designated "E.24/43" for a super...
* The Lightning was one of the most distinctive combat aircraft to reach fulloperational service. It had a broad resemblance to some Soviet fighterdesigns, particularly the Mikoyan MiG-19, but its "cutout delta" wing andover-under engine arrangement made it clearly different from any other majorfirst-line combat jet fighter ever built. Some found i...
* Production of a further refined Lightning, the "F.2", had been authorizedin 1958, and the first of 44 production Lightning F.2s performed its initialflight on 11 July 1961. Two of these 44 machines were actually upgraded toother variants before their first flight. The F.2 featured: 1. A standby DC electric generator. 2. A liquid oxygen breathing ...
* The F.3 really did little to address the endurance issue, and so in 1963BAC began work on an "F.3A" or "F.3 Extended Range Aircraft (ERA)", theprimary feature being a much larger and longer ventral tank that gave theaircraft something of a "pregnant" appearance. The tank could be removed onthe ground, but not jettisoned in flight. The larger vent...
* Since the Lightning was such a "hot" machine, a two-seat conversion trainerseemed like a good idea from the outset, with work beginning in 1957.Initial flight of the first two-seater, then known as the "P.11", was on 6May 1959. It had a side-by-side cockpit and lacked the twin Aden cannon inthe nose. This particular aircraft was lost in an accide...
* Initially, RAF Lightnings were assigned for point defense of high-valueinstallations in the UK, such as "V-bomber" bases, where Britain's strategicnuclear bombers roosted. Lightnings didn't have the range to do much else.Interceptions of Soviet intruders over the North Sea on "quick reactionalerts (QRAs)" had to wait for the F.1A with inflight re...
* The Lightning did not shine in export sales. In December 1965, as part ofa large package deal, Saudi Arabia ordered 34 single-seat and six two-seatLightnings. The single-seaters were to be "F.53s", which were basicallyF.6s, featuring the long ventral tank and the kinked wings, but more capable. BAC had tried to promote a multi-role version of the...
* By the late 1970s, the Lightning was beginning to be replaced by theMcDonnell Douglas Phantom in RAF service, with a number of Lightningsrelegated to such roles as ground decoys. Overall performance of the Phantomwas comparable to that of the Lightning, with pluses and minuses, but thePhantom provided better endurance; more sophisticated and capa...
* There are stories that Lightnings intercepted high-flying US Air ForceLockheed U-2 spy aircraft operating out of Wethersfield, irritating USAFbrass, and late in its career a Lightning would even outclimb a McDonnellDouglas F-15 Eagle. These stories are popular with Lightning fans, but theyclearly have to be taken with a grain of salt. The RAF did...
The English Electric Lightning (later BAC Lightning) was a supersonic fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, particularly remembered for its great speed and natural metal exterior. It was the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft.
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This raised the service clearance from Mach 1.7 (2,083 km/h) to Mach 2.0 (2,450 km/h). Changes and deletions on the weapons front were also included and the English Electric Lightning F.3 was the highest performance variant at that point.
