Tour around the English Electric Lightning

Did you know the English Electric Lightning was capable of accelerating through the sound barrier while in the climb?

The Lightning first flew in August 1954 and entered service with the Royal Air Force in 1960. Over 330 Lightnings were built and they remained in service until 1988, the same year I was born.

Powered by two Rolls Royce Avon engines the Lightning was capable of flying at twice the speed of sound and was designed to protect British Airfields from Soviet nuclear-powered bombers. Since there wasn’t much room for fuel in the aircraft’s fuselage owing to the massive engines, the tanks were fitted to the aircraft’s thin wings. All of this power came at a price – compared to other contemporary fighters that Lightning had quite a restricted range, so over wing fuel tanks were developed for the F6 variant, however this also had the side-affect of reducing the aircraft’s maximum speed to around 1,000 mph.

The Lightning is quite a unique-looking aircraft, with its engines being stacked on top of each other. The wings were initially swept at 40 degrees, however this was increased to 60 degrees when plans were adjusted in order for the aircraft to reach speeds in excess of Mach 2. Unlike more conventional designs, the ailerons of the Lightning are fitted to the wingtips, instead of to the trailing edge of the wing.

The first 3 Lightnings rolled-off the production line at Samlesbury Aerodrome in 1953, and all lightnings would be built here. The Lightning’s party-trick was its fast climb – using full-afterburner on take-off, the aircraft would be accelerated to 430 knots before pitching-up into a vertical climb that stabilised at around 450 knots, giving it a climb rate of around 20,000 feet per minute. The aircraft climbed so quickly that it could reach the tropopause in less than 3 minutes! Trials were made with the Lightning to see whether the aircraft was capable of intercepting the American U2 spy plane and it was concluded they could be intercepted at heights of between 60 – 65,000 feet. Lightning pilot Brian Carroll reported he once took a Lightning up to 87,300 feet over Saudi Arabia.

In order to protect their border towns, the Royal Saudi Air Force ordered a number of BAC Lightnings and they were first delivered in 1968. Their Lightnings saw action against South Yemen and one was even shot down by Yemeni ground fire in 1970, during a reconnaissance mission.