BAC (English Electric) Lightning
Photo from Thunder and Lightings
The BAC formerly English Electric Lightning is the only pure British supersonic jet ever built. The Lightning was designed in the fifties to defend the UK air defence zone. Lightning could fly in excess of Mach 2 and using their advanced (for the time) fire control systems attack enemy aircraft with a variety of AAMs and rockets. The mounting of the Lightning's two engines one on top of the other is quite unusual, but nonetheless, the Lightning was very successful in the face of successive British governments which believed maned aircraft obsolete. This philosophy was apparent as Lightnings served in active RAF squadrons until 1988. Lightnings were supplemented by F-4 Phantom in the seventies and were finally replaced by Tornado ADVs in the late eighties. The legacy of the Lightnings will last for a long time in the RAF.
Specifications
(Data for Lightning F.6)
Origin: British Aicraft Corporation (BAC) (English Electric)
Type: Fighter Interceptor
Crew: Pilot
Powerplant: Two Rolls-Royce Avon 301 afterburning turbojets each delivering 7 427 kg (16 360 lbs) of thrust
Dimensions
Span: 10.62 m (34' 10")
Height: 6.06 m (19' 7")
Length: 16.32 m (53' 3")
Maximum Loaded Weight: 22 680 kg (50 000 lbs)
Performance
Maximum Speed: Mach 2.3 (2 447 kph) (1 520 mph)
Sea Level Speed:
Climb Rate:
Loaded Range: 1 287 km (800 miles)
Service Ceiling: 18 290 m (60 000 feet) +
Armament
Red Top or Firestreak AAMs or two ventrally mounted 30 mm cannons or rocket packs
First Flight: P.1A Prototype: August 4, 1954
User(s): (RETIRED) RAF, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
Production: 338
Unit Cost:
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