English Electric Lightning

The English Electric Lightning is a interceptor built by the the United Kingdom and brought into service in 1960. It is in fact the first military aircraft Supersonique conceived by this country. It had a single silhouette with its 2 superimposed engines and its sweptback wings very marked, without forgetting the carrying of tanks on (and not under) the wings starting from the F.6 version. In spite of a limited autonomy and an armament, its performances were impressive at the point to equalize, for some, those of F-15 American Eagle however conceived 10 years later.

History

Design

The origin of Lightning goes back to 1946, when a team of the company English Electric started to work on a project of Fighter plan Supersonique in the hope to take down a ordering of the Royal Air Force. In 1949, a contract was signed for 3 prototypes of an experimental plane indicated P.1, but designed to if need be receive a radar and armament. The design of P.1 rested on 2 engines placed one with the top of the other in order to reduce frontal surface and 2 sweptback wings pronounced with the end perpendicular to the fuselage.

Calling into question the choices of the engineers, Royal Aircraft Establishment required the construction of a plane of demonstration. Shorts SB.5 were then built and made its first flight on December 2nd, 1952. It had one engine and its gear landing was fixed, while the wing sweepback could be easily modified and several provisions of the ailerons could be tested. The tests showed that the formula suggested by English Electric was the good one, and fortunately because the assembly of the prototype of P.1 was practically finished when the final results arrived.

First P.1 made its inaugural flight on August 4th, 1954. It exceeded Mach 1,2 easily although equipped with provisional engines without Postcombustion. Encouraged by these performances, the engineers modified the second prototype so that it is closer to an operational version: 2 guns of 30mm were added in the nose and a tank fuel installed in a bump under the belly of the apparatus. First flight of this second prototype take place on July 18th, 1955.

Almost at once was launched the construction of 3 prototypes of a reality interceptor, the P.1B, with engines equipped with Postcombustion, an increased drift, a radar in the nasal nose bullet of air and the possibility of carrying 2 air-to-air missiles, fixed in bottom of the fuselage right behind the cockpit. The first flight take place on April 4th, 1957 and, 18 months later, a P.1B exceeded Mach 2 for the first time.

Production

The first version of production of the Lightning , indicated F.1, was built with 47 specimens, including 28 F.1A incorporating some modifications like the addition of a pole of removable supply and a radio UHF. In 1961, the production rocked on the F.2 version with a modified avionics and more powerful engines. As of the following year the first specimen of the version F.3 with engines even more powerful flew, a new drift increased of 15%, and able to carry definitely improved air-to-air missiles.

The F.3 version did not solve however the main issue of the Lightning , namely a very weak autonomy. The only solution was to increase the ventral tank which formed a bump under the fuselage, which gave birth in 1964 to version F.3A. This version also had new wings facilitating the operations at low speed. Only 16 specimens of this version were built, for which it is necessary to add 14 F.2 in the course of delivery which was put at this standard. The F.6 final version appeared in 1965: they were simply F.3A able to carry 2 fuel external reservoirs fixed on the upper part of the wing (and not in lower part as it is the case usually)

Two two-seater versions of drive were carried out: in 1962 appeared T.4 (equivalent with single-seat version F.1A) and in 1965 T.5 (which corresponded to F.3). The pupil and the instructors were placed side by side. Separately the removal of the guns, the two-seaters preserved all their operational capacities.

Lightning in RAF

In 1957, whereas prototype P.1B had just made its first flights, the famous White paper appeared Ministry for English Defense exhibitor who the future was with the guided missiles and either with the manually-controlled planes. This thought was then rather widespread at the time, and caused the stop of several project of military aircrafts as well to the the United Kingdom as in other countries like the Canada. The program of the Lightning was however very advanced, and the Ministry considered that one needed a solution of waiting in any event while the missiles were developed.

The Royal Air Force thus received its first P.1B at the end of 1959. The 20 delivered specimens were used at the same time for the tests of this new plane and the training of the first pilots. The first squadron was declared operational in 1961. The Lightning ensured only the defense of the airspace of the the United Kingdom until the end of the years 1970, date on which it started to be partly replaced by the F-4 Phantom II. The last specimens were withdrawn in 1988, definitively yielding the place to the Panavia Tornado.

Lightning with export

In December 1965, the Saudi Arabia ordered 40 Lightning (34 F.53 single-seaters and 6 T.55 two-seaters). F.53 were of F.6 able also of missions of attacks on the ground thanks to 2 additional pylons of carrying of load under the wings, as well as recognition using pods special assembled in the place of the missiles on the fuselage.

Five F.2 and two T.4 were provided as of July 1966, while waiting for the delivery of first F.53 two years later. Following the arrival of the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter in 1971, the Lightning were finally confined with their initial role of interception. When they were withdrawn from the service in 1986,20 planes had been lost. On the 27 surviving specimens, 22 were returned with the the United Kingdom and the 5 others preserved to be exposed.

At the end of 1966, the Kuwait ordered 12 F.53 and 2 T.55 which were delivered to him in 1968 and 1969. These planes were withdrawn from the service in 1977.

Engagements

The Saudi Arabia used its Lightning F.53 for missions of attacks on the ground at the end of 1969/at the beginning of 1970, in order to counter incursions of the Yemen.

Alternatives

P.1A - prototypes (5 specimens)
P.1B - version of préproduction (20 specimens)
F.1 - first version of series (19 specimens)
F.1A - minor modifications, ravitaillable in flight (28 specimens)
F.2 - more powerful engines, modified avionics (44 specimens)
F.2A - F.2 put at the standard of F.6 (31 modified planes)
F.3 - news derives, missiles Red Top, ravitaillable in flight (70 specimens)
F.3A - news wings, ventral fuel tank (16 new modified planes and 14 F.3)
F.6 - which can F.3A to carry 2 tanks on the wings (39 new modified planes and 22 F.3)
F.53 - F.6 capable of attacks on the ground for the Saudi Arabia and the Kuwait (46 specimens)

T.4 - two-seater version of drive of the F.1A (22 specimens)
T.5 - two-seater version of drive of F.3 (22 specimens)
T.55 - version two-seater of drive of F.6 for the Saudi Arabia and the Kuwait (8 specimens)

Country users

Other characteristics

The two engines were not superimposed exactly, since the air intake of the lower engine was on the level of the root of the wings and the air intake of the higher engine just behind the root. This made it possible to reduce the frontal surface of the fuselage, and to as limit the risks as a fire on an engine is not propagated with the other. A consequence of this fact was that the conduit of the lower engine was longer.

The principal landing gear, under the wings, was not folded up towards the interior (i.e. towards the fuselage) as it is the case usually but on the contrary towards the end of the wings. Consequently, the tires were of a rather low width and wore at such a speed that they had to be changed all the 7 landings.

External bonds

History of Lightning on Air Vectors
The Lightning Association

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