The English Electric Lightning (later the 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. XS897 Lightning of RAF 5 Squadron breaks over XR770 Lightning on one of the squadrons last sorties prior to disbandment. ... No. ... The MiG-25 is a Russian interceptor that was the mainstay of the Soviet air defence. ... An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... English Electric logo English Electric was a 20th-century British industrial manufacturer, initially of electric motors, and expanding to include railway locomotives and aviation, before becoming part of GEC. // 1917: Dick, Kerr & Co. ... William Edward Willoughby Petter (1908-1968) known as Teddy was an English aircraft designer. ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... English Electric logo English Electric was a 20th-century British industrial manufacturer, initially of electric motors, and expanding to include railway locomotives and aviation, before becoming part of GEC. // 1917: Dick, Kerr & Co. ... The British Aircraft Corporation, or BAC, was a British aircraft manufacturer, formed from the merger (under government pressure) of English Electric Aviation Ltd. ... An A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fly in formation during an air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

The Lightning was used throughout much of its service life by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Saudi Air Force. The aircraft was a stunning performer at airshows; it broke the world air-speed record and was the first aircraft capable of supercruise. The Lightning was one of the highest performance planes in formation aerobatics. The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... RSAF Tornado during Gulf War Boeing F-15S Eagle, the multirole backbone fighter of the RSAF RSAF Lockheed C-130H Hercules RSAF Boeing E-3A Sentry RSAF BAe Hawk The Royal Saudi Air Force (Arabic: , ), is the air force of Saudi Arabia. ... The UK Utterly Butterly wing-walking display team flying Boeing Stearman PT-17 biplanes An airshow is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their flying machines to the crowd. ... A supercruising aircraft is able to cruise at supersonic speeds efficiently without the use of afterburners. ...

In July 2006, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was officially named "Lightning II" to distinguish it from English Electric Lightning and the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. The F-35 Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engine, stealth-capable military strike fighter, a multi-role aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air-to-air combat. ... P-38 may also refer to the P-38, an army-issue can opener, or to the Walther P38 handgun The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was one of the most important American fighters of the Second World War. ...

Design and development

Lightning's first and second prototype

The prototype, known as the English Electric P.1, was built to satisfy the British Air Ministry's 1947 specification F23/49 and flew for the first time from RAF Boscombe Down on 4 August 1954. This specification followed the cancellation of the Air Ministry's 1942 E.24/43 supersonic research aircraft specification which had resulted in the Miles M.52. The Lightning shared a number of innovations first planned for the Miles M.52 including the shock cone and all-flying tailplane, the latter described by Chuck Yeager as the single most significant contribution to the final success of supersonic flight. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... English Electric logo English Electric was a 20th-century British industrial manufacturer, initially of electric motors, and expanding to include railway locomotives and aviation, before becoming part of GEC. // 1917: Dick, Kerr & Co. ... The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supplying of equipment to the British armed forces. ... This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry specifications for aircraft. ... is the 216th day of the year (217th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry specifications for aircraft. ... Miles M.52 The Miles M.52 was a supersonic research aircraft project which was undertaken in top secret conditions between 1942 and 1945. ... Tailplane or horizontal stabilizer of a Boeing 737 A tailplane, also known as horizontal stabilizer, is a small lifting surface located behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes. ... Charles Yeager Charles Elwood Chuck Yeager (born on February 13, 1923, in Lincoln County, West Virginia) is an American former general officer in the United States Air Force and a noted test pilot. ...

The P.1's designer was W. E. W. Petter, formerly chief designer at Westland Aircraft. The design was controversial and the Short SB5 was built to test wing sweep and tailplane combinations. The original combination was proved correct. William Edward Willoughby Petter (1908-1968) known as Teddy was an English aircraft designer. ... Westland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil in Somerset, formed just before the start of World War II. During the war the company produced a number of generally unsuccessful designs, but their Lysander would serve as an important liaison aircraft with the RAF. After the war the... Short SB/5 (1953); note the tailplane position Short SB/5 at the Empire Test Pilots School (1968 at the latest); note the wing sweep and the tailplane in the lower position The Short SB/5 (WG768) was a highly unorthodox, adjustable wing research aircraft designed in response to ER...

The Lightning was specifically designed as a point defence interceptor - essentially a guided missile-armed, air superiority fighter optimised to defend mainland Britain against bomber attacks. In order to reduce cross sectional area of the fuselage and improve performance, the fuel capacity was highly restricted. It was armed with two 30 mm ADEN cannons and two air-to-air missiles, at first the de Havilland Firestreak and later the Hawker Siddeley Red Top. The Royal Small Arms Factory ADEN is a 30mm cannon used on many military aircraft, particularly those of the British RAF and FAA. Development The ADEN (named for the Armament Development Establishment, where it was designed, and Enfield, where it is produced) was developed in the late 1940s as a... A US Navy VF-103 Jolly Rogers F-14 Tomcat fighter launches an AIM-54 Phoenix long-range air-to-air missile. ... Type air-to-air Nationality United Kingdom Era Cold War Launch platform fixed wing aircraft Target aircraft History Builder de Havilland Propellors Date of design ? Production period ? Service duration 1958 - 1988 Operators United Kingdom, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia. ... Hawker Siddeley Red Top missile mounted on a English Electric Lightning at the RAF Museum at Hendon, London. ...

A unique way of minimising the drag of the twin engine installation was put forward by Petter. This involved stacking the engines vertically (staggered to avoid too much weight aft, with the lower engine forward of the upper), effectively tucking them behind the cockpit, fed from the nose and achieving minimum frontal area. This effectively gave twice the thrust of its contemporaries for an increase in frontal area of only 50%. The Ferranti AI23 AIRPASS: Airborne Interception Radar and Pilot Attack Sight System was mounted in the shock cone.

Limitations of fuel capacity dominated this aircraft's design as its fuselage was nearly all engines and ducting, and thus could not hold much fuel. Hence all available room was adapted to the purpose of holding fuel. The flaps were even used as fuel tanks, and the landing gear had very narrow tyres that retracted outward so that there could be greater tankage inboard. This also meant that when the addition of drop tanks for greater range was considered, they could not be placed beneath the wing and were mounted on top instead. When the aerodynamic principle of the area rule became standard practice, a ventral tank was added to the fuselage so the aircraft could carry more fuel while being more aerodynamic. Flaps are hinged surfaces on the trailing edge of an airplane wing which, when deployed, increase the lift (and drag) of a wing by changing the camber of the airfoil. ... The Whitcomb area rule (sometimes just called the area rule) is a design technique used to reduce an aircrafts drag at transonic speeds, speeds between about Mach 0. ...

Operational history

The first operational aircraft, a pre-production P.1B (XG336), arrived at RAF Coltishall in Norfolk in December 1959. From 1960 the production mark F1 served initially with 74 Squadron. An improved variant the F2 first flew on 11 July 1961 and entered service with 19 Squadron at the end of 1962. The F.3 was first flown on 16 June 1962 and the longer-range F.6 on 16 June 1965. The versions sold to Saudi Arabia were essentially similar to the T.5 and F.6 models in UK service and this final production batch reverted to the classic natural metal external finish which lasted well in the drier Arabian climate. A serial number is a unique number that is one of a series assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value. ... RAF Coltishall is a Royal Air Force station near Norwich in eastern England. ... Norfolk (IPA: //) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England. ... No. ... is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... No. ... is the 167th day of the year (168th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 167th day of the year (168th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

During the 1960s, as strategic awareness increased and a multitude of alternative fighter designs were developed by Warsaw Pact and NATO members, the Lightning's shortcomings in terms of range and firepower became increasingly apparent. The withdrawal of McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms from Royal Navy service enabled these slower but much longer-ranged aircraft to be added to the RAFs interceptor force alongside those withdrawn from Germany which were being replaced by SEPECAT Jaguars in the ground attack role. Later the Tornado F3s also arrived to defend UK airspace. While slower and less agile than the Lightning, the Tornado carries a much larger armament load and much more advanced avionics. Lightnings were slowly phased out of service between 1974 and 1988, although much testing and modification was needed to keep them in air-worthy condition due to the high number of flight hours accumulated. Unofficial Seal of the Warsaw Pact Distinguish from the Warsaw Convention, which is an agreement about airlines financial liability and the Treaty of Warsaw (1970) between West Germany and the Peoples Republic of Poland. ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague. ... DC-10, retired from American Airlines fleet at gate McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. ... The F-4 Phantom II (simply F-4 Phantom after 1990) is a two-place (tandem), supersonic, long-range, all-weather fighter-bomber built by McDonnell Douglas Corporation. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French ground attack aircraft in service with the Royal Air Force and several export customers, notably the Indian Air Force. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Panavia Tornado. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

In their final years of UK service, all RAF Lightnings were based at RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire and many were camouflaged to make them less conspicuous when flying at low level. They tended to defend the Flamborough Head Sector of airspace above the North Sea. These later aircraft were the single-seater F.3 and F.6 and the twin seat trainer variant T.5, all constructed by British Aircraft Corporation and distinguished from earlier versions by their flat topped fins. In their last year of service their pilots regularly pushed the aircraft to their limits as they used up the remaining hours of fatigue time. Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the east of England. ... The chalk tower near Flamborough Head. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... The British Aircraft Corporation, or BAC, was a British aircraft manufacturer, formed from the merger (under government pressure) of English Electric Aviation Ltd. ...

Many Lightnings are conserved in museum collections where they delight visitors with their clean sleek lines, evocative of the high speeds that they once attained. The Short SB5 and a P.1.A are at the RAF Museum, Cosford. The Civil Aviation Authority refused a licence for the surviving airworthy examples to perform at air shows in the UK but there are a few flying in South Africa (see Operators below). An Avro Lancaster in the main hangar of the RAF Museum London The Royal Air Force Museum (RAF Museum) is a museum dedicated to the history of aviation, and the British Royal Air Force in particular. ...

Performance comparison

Lightning XM215 at Farnborough Air Show, England, in 1964

The Lightning’s speed and climb performance were excellent not just by 1950s or 1960s standards but even compared with modern operational fighters. Its initial rate of climb was 50,000 ft per minute (15 km/min). The Mirage IIIE climbed initially at 30,000 ft/min (9 km/min), the MiG-21 managed 36,090 ft/min (11 km/min), and the Tornado F3 43,000 ft/min (13 km/min). The official ceiling was a secret to the general public and low security RAF documents simply stated 60,000+ ft (18 000+ m), although it was well known within the RAF to be capable of much greater heights. Recently the actual operating ceiling has been made public by the late Brian Carroll, a former RAF Lightning pilot and ex-Lightning Chief Examiner, who reports taking a Lightning F53 up to 87,300 feet (26 600 m) at which level "Earth curvature was visible and the sky was quite dark". Lightning XM215 at Farnborough Air Show, England, in 1964. ... Lightning XM215 at Farnborough Air Show, England, in 1964. ... The Dassault Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed in France by Dassault Aviation during the 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. ... Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Panavia Tornado. ...

In 1984, during a major NATO exercise, Flt Lt Mike Hale intercepted an American U-2 at a height which they had previously considered safe from interception. Records show that Hale climbed to 88,000 ft (26,800 m) in his Lightning F3. Hale also participated in time-to-height and acceleration trials against F-104 Starfighters from Aalborg. He reports that the Lightnings won all races easily with the exception of the low level supersonic acceleration, which was a "dead heat".^[1] The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed Dragon Lady, is a single-seat, single-engine, high-altitude aircraft flown by the United States Air Force. ... The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1958 until 1967 and continued in service with the Air National Guard until it was phased out in 1975. ... View of Aalborg railroad station from J.F. Kennedys Square, 2004 Aalborg (help· info) is a municipality (Danish, kommune) in North Jutland County on the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. ...

Carroll reports in a side-by-side comparison of the Lightning and the F-15C Eagle (which he also flew) that "acceleration in both was impressive, you have all seen the Lightning leap away once brakes are released, the Eagle was almost as good, and climb speed was rapidly achieved. Takeoff roll is between 2,000 & 3,000 feet [600 to 900m], depending upon military or maximum afterburner-powered take-off. The Lightning was quicker off the ground, reaching 50 feet [15m] height in a horizontal distance of 1,630 feet [500m]". The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the U.S. Air Force to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. ...

In British Airways trials in April 1985, Concorde was offered as a target to NATO fighters including F-15s, F-16s, F-14s, Mirages, F-104s - but only Lightning XR749, flown by Mike Hale and described by him as "a very hot ship, even for a Lightning", managed to overtake Concorde on a stern conversion intercept.^[2] For the 1930s airline of similar name, see British Airways Ltd. ... British Airways Concorde G-BOAB. Concorde G-BOAD on a barge beneath Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York City in November 2003, bound for the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. ... The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the U.S. Air Force to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. ... The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a modern multi-role jet fighter aircraft built in the United States and used by dozens of countries all over the world. ... Sailors prepare an F-14 Tomcat for flight on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003). ... Former South African Air Force Mirage IIICZ The Dassault Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed in France during the 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. ... The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was the last of the day fighters, a high-performance supersonic interceptor aircraft capable of high speeds and climb rates. ...

Despite its remarkable performance, the Lightning inevitably found itself outclassed by newer fighters in terms of range, radar, avionics, weapons load and air-to-air capability. The short range of the Lightning - just 900 miles - was a significant disadvantage.

Variants

Lightning landing, 1964

Lightning XM974 at Farnborough Airshow, England, in 1964

Lightning F Mk.6

P.1A

• Single-seat supersonic research aircraft.
• 2 prototypes built and one static test airframe

P.1B

• Single-seat operational prototypes.
• 3 prototypes built
• 2 pre-production aircraft
• 3 test airframes

F.1

• Single-seat fighter
• Delivered in 1960
• 19 built (and one static test airframe)
• 2 × Rolls-Royce Avon 200R engines
• VHF Radio
• 2 × 30 mm ADEN cannons in nose
• 2 × Firestreak missiles
• Ferranti AI-23 "AIRPASS" radar

F.1A

• Single-seat fighter
• Delivered in 1961
• Now the "BAC Lightning"
• Avon 210R engines
• Addition of in-flight refuelling probe
• UHF Radio
• 28 built

F.2

• Single-seat fighter (an improved variant of the F.1)
• Delivered in 1962
• 44 built
• 31 later modified to F.2A
• 5 later modified to F.52 for export to Saudia Arabia

F.2A

• Single-seat fighter (F.2s upgraded to near F.6 standard)
• 31 converted from F.2
• Avon 211R engines
• Retained ADEN cannon and Firestreak of F.2 (The Firestreak Pack could be replaced with an Aden Cannon Pack to give the aircraft 4 Aden Cannon)
• Larger Ventral Tank and Arrester Hook
• About 2 hours endurance

F.3

• Single-seat fighter
• Upgraded radar - AI-23B
• Avon 301R engines
• Clipped tailfin
• Firestreak changed for Red Top missiles
• ADEN cannon removed
• 70 built (at least nine were converted to F.6 standard and the last 16 were built as an F3 Interim version (also known as the F.3A) before being fully modified to F6 standard)

F.3A

• Single-seat fighter
• Extended range, 800 miles
• 16 Built at the end of F.3 production, modified later to full F.6 standard

T.4

• Two-seat side-by-side training version, based on the F.1A.
• 2 prototypes and 20 production built
• 2 aircraft later converted to T.54

T.5

• Two-seat side-by-side training version, based on the F.3.
• 22 production aircraft built
• one former RAF aircraft later converted to T.55 for Saudia Arabia (crashed before delivery)
• two former RAF aircraft later civilian operated

F.6

• single-seat fighter (an improved longer-range variant of the F.3)
• New wings with better efficiency and subsonic performance, increased fuel storage
• Overwing fuel tanks and larger ventral fuel tank
• 30 mm cannons returned (Initially no cannons but later in the forward part of ventral pack rather than in nose).
• 2 x Red Top missile
• 39 built (also conversions from F.3 and F.3A)

F.52

• Slightly modified ex-RAF F.2 single-seat fighters for export to Saudi Arabia (5 converted from F.2).

F.53

• Export version of the F.6 with pylons for bombs or unguided rocket pods (44 × 2 in (50 mm)
• 46 built and one converted from F.6 (12 F.53Ks for the Kuwaiti Air Force, 34 F.53s for the Royal Saudi Arabian Air Force, one aircraft crashed before delivery)
• Used air-to-ground in dispute near border with South Yemen in 1969 with great success

T.54

• Ex-RAF T.4 two-seat trainers supplied to Saudi Arabia (2 converted).

T.55

• Two-seat side-by-side training aircraft (export version of the T5).
• Eight built (6 T.55s for the Royal Saudi Arabian Air Force, two T.55Ks for the Kuwaiti Air Force and one converted from T5 that crashed before delivery)

Total production was 277 single-seat fighters and 52 two-seater trainers, including RAF and export aircraft. English Electric Lightning landing at Filton, Bristol, England. ... English Electric Lightning landing at Filton, Bristol, England. ... English Electric Lightning at Farnborough air show. ... English Electric Lightning at Farnborough air show. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet was developed by Cyril Lovesey who had previously been in charge of Merlin development at Rolls-Royce. ... The Royal Small Arms Factory ADEN is a 30mm cannon used on many military aircraft, particularly those of the British RAF and FAA. Development The ADEN (named for the Armament Development Establishment, where it was designed, and Enfield, where it is produced) was developed in the late 1940s as a... Type air-to-air Nationality United Kingdom Era Cold War Launch platform fixed wing aircraft Target aircraft History Builder de Havilland Propellors Date of design ? Production period ? Service duration 1958 - 1988 Operators United Kingdom, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia. ... Ferranti or Ferranti International plc by the time of its collapse, was a major UK electrical engineering and equipment firm, known primarily for defence electronics and power grid systems. ... Hawker Siddeley Red Top missile mounted on a English Electric Lightning at the RAF Museum at Hendon, London. ... Hawker Siddeley Red Top missile mounted on a English Electric Lightning at the RAF Museum at Hendon, London. ... National motto: ??? Official language Arabic Capital Aden Area 287,680 km² Population  - Total (1973)  - Density 1,590,275 5. ...

Popular culture

• British journalist and TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson borrowed a Lightning (Serial XM172) which was temporarily placed in his garden and documented on Clarkson's TV show "Speed".
• Fuselages from scrapped Lightnings were used in the sci-fi movie Wing Commander. These were the basis for a space fighter called the CF-117b Rapier and were mistaken in some early released photos as being fuselages from MiG-21s.

Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster and writer who specialises in motoring. ... Wing Commander (rank) is a rank in the Royal Air Force, equivalent to a Lieutenant Colonel in most Armies, the Royal Marines and the United States Marine Corps. ... The (fictional) F-44A Rapier II is a spacecraft in the Wing Commander computer game. ... Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ...

Operators

Military operators

Preserved Lightning at East Fortune

 Kuwait

• Kuwait Air Force operated both the F.53K single-seat fighter and the T.55K training version from 1968 to 1977

 Saudi Arabia

• Royal Saudi Air Force operated the Lightning from 1967 to 1986
  • RSAF Squadrons
    • 2 Squadron operated the F.53 and T.55
    • 6 Squadron operated the F.52 and F.53
    • 13 Squadron operated the F.52, F.53 and T.55
    • RSAF Lightning Conversion Unit

 United Kingdom

• Royal Air Force operated the Lighting from 1959 to 1988.
  • RAF Aerial display teams
    • The Tigers of No 74 Squadron. Lead RAF aerial display team from 1962 and first display team with Mach 2 aircraft.
    • The Firebirds of No 56 Squadron from 1963 in red and silver.
  • RAF Squadrons
    • 5 Squadron operated the F.1A and F.6
    • 11 Squadron operated the F.3 and F.6
    • 19 Squadron operated the F.2 and F.2A
    • 23 Squadron operated the F.3 an F.6
    • 29 Squadron operated the F.3
    • 56 Squadron operated the F.1, F.1A, F.3 and F.6
    • 74 Squadron operated the F.1, F.3 and F.6
    • 92 Squadron operated the F.2 and F.2A
    • 111 Squadron operated the F.1A, F.3 and F.6
    • 226 Operational Conversion Unit operated the F.1A, F.3, T.4 and T.5
    • Air Fighting Development Squadron
    • Lightning Conversion Squadron
  • RAF Flights
    • Binrook Target Facilities Flight
    • Leuchars Target Facilities Flight
    • Wattisham Target Facilities Flight
    • Lightning Training Flight
  • RAF Bases
    • RAF Akrotiri
    • RAF Binbrook
    • RAF Coltishall
    • RAF Geilenkirchen
    • RAF Gütersloh
    • RAF Leconfield
    • RAF Middleton St. George
    • RAF Leuchars
    • RAF Tengah
    • RAF Wattisham

Image File history File links EELightningEastFortuneJM.jpg Summary Taken and donated by John Mullen. ... Image File history File links EELightningEastFortuneJM.jpg Summary Taken and donated by John Mullen. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Kuwait. ... The Kuwait Air Force (al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya) is the air arm of the State of Kuwait. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia. ... RSAF Tornado during Gulf War Boeing F-15S Eagle, the multirole backbone fighter of the RSAF RSAF Lockheed C-130H Hercules RSAF Boeing E-3A Sentry RSAF BAe Hawk The Royal Saudi Air Force (Arabic: , ), is the air force of Saudi Arabia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... Number 56 (R) Squadron is one of the oldest and most successful squadrons in the Royal Air Force, with battle honours from many of the significant air campaigns of both world wars. ... No. ... 92 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was a fighter squadron which disbanded in 1992. ... No. ... No. ... RAF Akrotiri is one of the few full-scale Royal Air Force stations left outside the United Kingdom. ... RAF Coltishall is a Royal Air Force station near Norwich in eastern England. ... RAF Geilenkirchen was a Royal Air Force station in German, built by the British who used the facility mainly as a base for RAF fighter squadrons from May 1953 until January 1968. ... RAF Gütersloh was an air base in RAF Germany, the nearest RAF air base to the East/West German border. ... RAF Leconfield was a Royal Air Force station in Leconfield (near Beverley), East Riding of Yorkshire, England Leconfield opened in December 1936 as part of RAF Bomber Command. ... RAF Middleton St. ... RAF Leuchars is the most northerly air defence station in the United Kingdom. ... RAF Tengah was a former Royal Air Force station in Singapore. ... RAF Wattisham was a Royal Air Force station in Suffolk, England. ...

Civil operators

 South Africa

• Thunder City, a civilian company based in South Africa operates two Lightning T.5 and two single-seat F.6 (current September 2006).^[3]

Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa. ...

Specifications (Lightning F.6)

Data from Air Vectors^[4] Image File history File links EE_Lightning_3-view. ...

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 55 ft 3 in (16.84 m)
• Wingspan: 34 ft 10 in (10.62 m)
• Height: 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m)
• Wing area: 474.5 ft² (44.1 m²)
• Empty weight: 28,040 lb (12,720 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 41,700 lb (18,900 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce Avon 301R afterburning turbojets
  • Dry thrust: 13,220 lbf (58.86 kN) each
  • Thrust with afterburner: 16,360 lbf (72.77 kN) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 2.27 (1,500 mph, 2,415 km/h) at altitude
• Range: 800 mi (1,300 km) combat
• Ferry range: 1,560 mi (1,360 nm, 2,500 km)
• Service ceiling: >60,000 ft (18,000 m) officially
• Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (260 m/s)
• Wing loading: 87.9 lb/ft² (429 kg/m²)
• Thrust/weight: 0.63

Armament

• Guns: 2× 30 mm (1.18 in) ADEN cannon
• Missiles: 2× Red Top missiles

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft is allowed to try to achieve flight. ... The Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet was developed by Cyril Lovesey who had previously been in charge of Merlin development at Rolls-Royce. ... Turbojets are the simplest and oldest kind of general purpose jet engines. ... For other uses of afterburner, see Afterburner (disambiguation). ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... The maximal total range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing as limited by its fuel capacity. ... In aeronautics, the service ceiling is the maximum density altitude where the best rate of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet per minute climb(twin engine) and 50 feet(single engine) at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ... Thrust-to-weight ratio (where weight means weight at the Earths surface) is a dimensionless parameter characteristic of rocket and jet engines, and of vehicles propelled by such engines (typically space launch vehicles and jet aircraft). ... The Royal Small Arms Factory ADEN is a 30mm cannon used on many military aircraft, particularly those of the British RAF and FAA. Development The ADEN (named for the Armament Development Establishment, where it was designed, and Enfield, where it is produced) was developed in the late 1940s as a... Hawker Siddeley Red Top missile mounted on a English Electric Lightning at the RAF Museum at Hendon, London. ...

References

• Winchester, Jim, ed. "English Electric Lightning." Military Aircraft of the Cold War (The Aviation Factfile). Rochester, Kent, UK: The Grange plc., 2006. ISBN 1-84013-929-7.

Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... April 14 is the 104th day of the year (105th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 261 days remaining. ...

External links

• Video #1
• Video #2
• Video #3
• Video #4
• Video #5
• Video #6
• Video #7
• Video #8
• Thunder and Lightnings
• XS458 preserved running Lightning at Cranfield
• English Electric / BAC Lightning Information
• The Lightning Association
• Warbird Alley: Lightning page
• Silent Sentinel: The tale of an A1 milestone
• APH's English Electric (BAC) Lightning - Vertical Reality
• Picture of 4-ship formation by Vivian Watts at Airliners.net
• Video of the 4 ThunderCity Lightings at the AAD Airshow (AFB Ysterplaat, South Africa) by Simon Bloomer at YouTube
• 5 minuted RAF Recruiting film "Streaked Lightning" from 1962 at the National Archives Public Information Film library WMP and Quicktime

Related content

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

English Electric Lightning

Related development

• Short SB.5

Comparable aircraft

• F-104 Starfighter
• Sukhoi Su-15

Designation sequence

• English Electric Canberra - English Electric P.1A - English Electric Lightning

Related lists

• List of aircraft of the RAF
• List of fighter aircraft

See also

• Portal:British aircraft since World War II