Of all the world’s air forces only the RAF made the jump from subsonic to Mach 2.0 fighter with no Mach 1.0 plus intermediary, by replacing the Hawker Hunter day fighter and the Gloster Javelin all-weather fighter with the Mach 2 English Electric (later BAC) Lightning. The Lightning had its origin in a Ministry of Supply specification that was issued in 1947 and called for a manned supersonic research aircraft. English Electric’s design, the P.1, submitted in 1949, was quickly seen to have an operational application and development of the aircraft for research and military purposes continued in parallel. Although technically not a Lightning, the Shorts Brothers SB5 was used by the Royal Aircraft Establishment in its technical dispute with English Electric to investigate different wing sweep angles and tailplane positions. The research confirmed that the English Electric configuration was right all along.
Two P.1s (WG760 and WG763) were ordered on 1st April 1950, with a third airframe constructed for static testing. The design team now turned its attention to a supersonic fighter derivative of the P.1. The fighter variant required a redesigned fuselage, with the cockpit raised to provide a better all-round view for the pilot. A long spine fairing from the redesigned canopy to the base of the fin provided additional equipment space. The Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire engines used in the P.1 were to be replaced by more powerful Rolls Royce Avons, which promised speeds above Mach 2 with reheat. A suitable air intake was required to manage the shock waves which appear at such high speeds. The answer was to mount a central conical 'bullet' in a circular air intake. The central cone was also used to mount the Ferranti AIRPASS radar scanner. While it was expected that air-to-air missiles would eventually be the main armament of interceptor fighters, their reliability was not yet high enough to guarantee a kill, and so guns and air-to-air unguided rockets were recommended as effective alternatives. The new fighter therefore had provision for all three types of armament.
Both WG763 and WG760 used to be on display by the parade ground at RAF Henlow, but as they gradually deteriorated their historical significance was eventually realized and both were moved on to safer homes. The photograph on the right is WG763 (P.1A), one of the first exhibits to be acquired in the early 1980s by the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, while WG760 (P.1A), shown below, was placed in saving keeping at RAF Cosford.
In 1952 the original two research aircraft were re-designated P.1A and the fighter version designated P.1B. A contract for three P.1B prototypes was agreed in August 1953. To speed-up development, a pre-production batch of 20 aircraft was ordered in February the following year.
English Electric Lightning P.1A (WG760) [@ RAF Cosford]
On 4th August 1954, the first P.1A prototype (WG760) made its maiden flight at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire powered by two Bristol Siddeley Sa5 Sapphires. The new aircraft handled extremely well and exceeded Mach 1.0 in level flight on 11th August 1954. The second P.1A prototype (WG763) joined the flight test programme on 18th July 1955. This aircraft featured two Aden guns in the upper nose and a bulged ventral fairing to accommodate an additional fuel tank. WG760 was then fitted with a simple afterburner (reheat) and resumed flight testing on 31st January 1956. It eventually reached a top speed of Mach 1.53.
English Electric Lightning F.1/P.1B (XG337) [@ RAF Cosford]
XG337, became 8056M, was the last of twenty fully equipped pre-production aircraft (also called P1.B). This aircraft first flew in September 1959 and was used for armament, general handling, radar and engine testing and was based at Farnborough. It was was retired to RAF Cosford in December 1983.
XA847 was the first of the three operational prototypes (P.1B's). It first flew on 4th April 1957 powered by two Rolls Royce Avon 200Rs and exceeded Mach 1.0 on its first flight. On the same day the Government published a White Paper forecasting the end of manned aircraft and their replacement with missiles. As a result several British military aircraft projects were cancelled, but the Lightning survived.
English Electric Lightning F.1A (XM135) [@ RAF Duxford]
On 25th November 1958 XA847 became the first British aircraft to reach Mach 2.0, which it did in level flight. By this time the P.1B had been given the name Lightning and ordered into production for RAF Fighter Command. The first of 49 production Lightning F.1 variants flew on 29th October 1959 and fully combat-equipped Lightning’s began entering RAF service in July 1960 with 74 Squadron at RAF Coltishall. It was designed so that its armaments, radar and radio aids were integrated into the aircraft's flight and engine systems. The equipment; long range radar to find enemy aircraft by day and night and in all weathers, radio and navigational aids for operations under the worst conditions, and a dual armament of two guided Firestreak air-to-air missiles and two 30 mm Aden cannon, were all as important as the aircraft's manoeuvrability and supersonic speed. In appearance the F.1 differed very little from the P.1B; the ventral fuel tank now had a small fin and the main vertical tail was enlarged. The F.1A followed on, entering service with 56 and 111 Squadrons at RAF Wattisham. It differed from the F.1 in several respects. Provision was made for in-flight refuelling through a detachable probe fitted under the port wing and the radio fit was changed from VHF to UHF. Wiring changes to the missile pylons resulted in external ducts along the fuselage side. The engines were the Avon 210R with a four position re-heat control.
XM135 first flew on 14th November 1959 and was delivered to the Central Fighter Establishment, RAF Coltishall, on 25th May 1960. XM135 is in 74 'Tiger' Squadron colours from 1961/1962 when the squadron was Fighter Command’s Aerobatic Team. XM135 served with 74 Squadron, 226 OCU, the Leuchars Target Facilities Flight and on 28th June 1971 with 60 MU . XM135 was the very first full-production F.1 to enter RAF service and also the last F.1 to leave. XM135 is also famous for being the aircraft in which an engineering officer had a frightening flight when he inadvertently advanced the throttles too far during a ground test. Flying with no canopy, not strapped in and with his flying experience limited to prop trainers, he successfully managed to avoid obstructions on the runway, lift off and then land safely! XM135 retired to Duxford on 20th September 1974 with 1343 flying hours.
The T.4 was the first of the two-seater trainer version and was based upon the F.1A variant. The upper forward fuselage was widened to accommodate side by side seats and the cannon armament was deleted. In all 20 T.4 were built for the RAF.
XN723 was the first F.2 to fly on 11th July 1961. The variant entered service with 19 Squadron at RAF Leconfield in December 1962. It was externally virtually similar to the F.1A; the only external difference was a small intake scoop on the fuselage spine for a DC standby generator. However it incorporated internal design changes. These included improved navigation equipment, a steerable nosewheel, offset TACAN, liquid oxygen breathing and variable nozzle reheat. The following F.2A variant had some more major changes; more powerful Avon 211R engines, a larger square-topped fin, cambered wing, a much enlarged ventral tank and the cannon armament was retained. Basically it was a rebuilt F.2 that incorporated some of the later F.6 features. 31 of the original 44 F.2s were converted from 1968 to this standard.
English Electric Lightning F.2A (XN776) [@ RAF East Fortune]
XN776 first flew as an F.2 on 18th October 1962 and was delivered on 13th February 1963 to19 Squadron with whom it served until 14th January 1969 when it was dispatched to BAC Warton for modification to F.2A standard. On 13th August 1969 XN776 returned to active service. In the photograph XN776 is displayed in the colours of 92 Squadron, based at RAF Gutersloh, West Germany with whom it served until its last operational flight on 3rd March 1977. For a while XN776 served as a decoy at RAF Leuchars before being refurbished to display standard and was gifted to the Scottish Museum of Flight in 1982.
The first of 63 F.3 variants entered RAF service with 23 Squadron in August 1964. Powered by the Avon 301R it was the fastest of all Lightnings by having a superb power to weight ratio of nearly 1:1. It had improved radar capability (AI-23B) and Red Top missile capability. The two Red Top collision course missiles mated to the revised radar but the Aden cannon were omitted. It retained the original small ventral tank and even with auxiliary over wing fuel tanks its range was limited. The Cockpit instrumentation was brought up to full OR946 Integrated Flight System standard. In order to maintain stability with the new missile the fin was enlarged by 15% and given a square-cut tip.
The T.5 was the second trainer variant, while similar to the T.4 it was based on the F.3. 22 were built for the RAF, it was capable of carrying either Firestreak or Red Top missiles and was fully operational.
English Electric Lightning T.5 (XS458) [@ Cranfield, Bedfordshire]
XS458 is the only T.5 in the UK that is in a running condition. First flown on the 3rd December 1965 and delivered to 226 OCU at RAF Coltishall on 2nd February 1966, XS458 went on to serve with 5 Squadron and later 11 Squadron at RAF Binbrook in 1983. Privately purchased on 30th June 1988 XS458 underwent restoration at Cranfield.
To address the limited range problem of the F.3s some were converted to the F.6 standard, lacking only the over-wing tanks, and being briefly known as F.3As before being fully converted to full F.6 standard. The production F.6 was the definitive and ultimate Lightning variant; including a much larger ventral fuel pack with more than double the capacity of earlier packs. A larger, more efficient wing with kinked and cambered leading edges was incorporated to reduce drag and improve range at subsonic speeds. The wing also incorporated a revised spar which enabled the carriage of jettisonable over-wing tanks. The prototype F.6 was an F.3, XP697, which flew for the first time on 17th April 1964 and the variant entering RAF service the following year. From 1970 a number of F.6s were again fitted with two 30mm Aden cannon in the forward section of the ventral tank since the missile-only armament was considered to be a disadvantage when handling Soviet North Sea reconnaissance flights. A total of 62 F.6s were delivered to the RAF.
English Electric Lightning F.6 (XS904) & F.3/6 (XR728) [@ RAF Bruntingthorpe]
Both of these Lightning's are now preserved by the “The Lightning Preservation Group” at RAF Bruntingthorpe who keep them in a running condition. XS904 first flew on 26th August 1966 and was then placed in storage. Delivered to 11 Squadron on the 18th April 1967 XS904 was for a short time loaned to 5 Squadron in early 1971. Alternating between service with 11 Squadron and storage XS904 in December 1987 was fitted with over-wing tanks and was involved in the BAE Tornado F.3 radar development trials which were flown by 11 Squadron. On 11th April 1988 XS904 was delivered to BAE Warton for continuation of these trials. XS904 made the world's last military Lightning flight when it flew from BAE Warton to RAF Bruntingthorpe on the 21st January 1993.
XR728 first flew on 17th March 1965 as an F.3 but was placed in storage before conversion to F.6 standard. The aircraft was delivered to 23 Squadron on 1st November 1967. XR728 went on to serve with 56, 5 and again 56 Squadrons before being placed in storage at RAF Binbrook in July 1976. Despite air tests and short spells with 5 and 11 Squadrons essentially XR728 remained in storage until July 1987 when it became the “mount” for Binbrook’s Station Commander, Gp Capt John Spencer. XR728’s last flight was on 28th August 1983 when it was flown to RAF Bruntingthorpe.
Export versions of the Lightning were built for Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Five F.52s, basically an F.2, were built for Saudi Arabia. The F.53 followed on and was basically an F.6 with additional air-to-ground capability in the form of rocket pods and bombs on under-wing and over-wing pylons.
English Electric Lightning F.53 (53-686) [@ City of Norwich Aviation Museum]
53-686 was built on 29th May 1968 as one of thirty four aircraft for the RSAF (Royal Saudi Air Force) and was first flown on 11th June 1968. It was shown as G-AWON in a static display at the 1968 Farnborough air show. Delivered to the RSAF Jeddah on the 16th April 1969 53-686 entered service with 2 Squadron at the Khamis Mushayt Air Base. 53-686 also flew with 13 Squadron RSAF. Having been replaced by the F-15 Eagle 53-686 (and the remaining Lightnings) was returned on 22nd January 1986 to BAe Warton from Tabuk as ZF592 after flying 2,297hrs. Having spent some time with a dealer of surplus military equipment 53-686 was privately bought at the end of 2001. In February 2002 the aircraft arrived at the museum in kit form for reassembly. Although the main fuselage and nose section are from 53-686 the wings are from a sister aircraft 53-700 (ZF589).
English Electric Lightning F.6 (XR771) [@ Midland Air Museum]
XR771 first flew on 20th January 1966 and was delivered 74 Squadron on 20th January 1966. XR771 also served with 56, 5 and 11 Squadrons. Last flown on 23rd March 1988 XR771 retired to the Midland Air Museum in July 1988.
English Electric Lightning F.6 (XS903) [@ Yorkshire Air Museum]
XS903 first flew on 17th August 1966 and entered service with 5 Squadron at RAF Binbrook on 16th March 1967. It also served with 23 and 5 Squadrons until 7th January 1974 when it was sent to 60 MU. XS903 made a nose wheel up landing at RAF Coningsby on 14th September 1979. From 1983 XS903 was essentially in storage at RAF Binbrook but it did various spells with 11 Squadron and was taken by 5 Squadron to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. By July 1987 XS903 was back with 11 Squadron. It lost a part of its rudder in flight and had to make an emergency landing on 4th August 1987. On 18th May 1988 XS903 was flown to RAF Elvington by Wing Commander Jarron, Commanding Officer of 11 Squadron, for preservation by the Yorkshire Air Museum.
Two T.54s, (basically T.4s) were built for Saudi Arabia and was then followed by the T.55. A much-improved T.5; with the large belly tank and kinked and cambered wings of the F.6 variant, basically a two-seat F.6 with ground attack capabilities. The RAF's T.5s only had the small ventral fuel tanks and straight wings of earlier variants.
English Electric Lightning T.55 (55-713) [@ Midland Air Museum]
It was the last jet fighter of purely British design and it was to serve the RAF well in the front line of NATO’s air defences until its eventual retirement after thirteen years of service in 1976. The RAF had decided that the Phantom would take over the primary air defence role. This was due to a combination of factors including the aftermath of the TSR.2 fiasco and the down sizing of the Navy's carrier force and was no reflection on the Lightning's capabilities. The Lightning was still a formidable opponent; even high-flying U-2 pilots became accustomed to being caught by a Lightning!
English Electric made several proposals for other Lightning variants; a multi-role version (eventually built as the F.53), a variable geometry variant for the Fleet Air Arm and an F.7 variant. The F.7 version was to include variable geometry wings, extended fuselage; intakes relocated to the fuselage sides, retractable refuelling probe, Sparrow/Skyflash capability and improved radar capability. All were rejected by the MOD including adding Sidewinder capability to existing Lightning’s.
First flown on 16th September 1967 55-713 was posted to RAF Coltishall for Saudi pilot training on 2nd February 1968. Only one of eight, this type was a conversion trainer for the Saudi and Kuwait Air Force. 55-713 was delivered to the Royal Saudi Air Force via RAF Akrotiri on 27th August 1969 where it served with 2, 6 and 13 Squadrons before being returned to BAe Warton on 14th January 1986 from Tabuk as ZF598 for storage. Having flown 2233.5hrs it was acquired by the museum in 1989 and is the only T.55 on display in the UK. It is displayed in the colours of the Royal Saudi Air Force.
The Lightning was almost certainly the last single-seat fighter to be designed and built in Britain (what a pity)! On its entry into service it represented a spectacular advance over the Hunter, with its top speed in excess of Mach 2 and a ceiling of 60,000ft which it could reach in little over a minute. It remained in front-line service with the RAF from 1960 to 1987.
