In April 1985, as part of a trial pursued
by British Airways, many of the world's fastest aircraft reunited in one place to
test out the aviation world's latest star: the BAC Concorde, a supersonic airliner that
could maintain a supercruise up to Mach 2.04 Only a few months earlier, the Franco-British
aircraft flew from London Heathrow to Sydney in a record time of 17 hours, 3 minutes,
and 45 seconds, including refueling stops. Famous aircraft from NATO allied countries
like F-15 Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, Grumman F-14 Tomcats, Dassault
Mirages, and F-104 Starfighters, were offered the once-in-a-lifetime
chance to chase the Concorde. But despite their best efforts, time and time again, these guardians of the
skies could simply not reach the Concorde. Only a fellow British Aircraft Corporation model would beat the others to the punch.
A single BAC Lightning interceptor, flown by pilot Mike Hale, managed to overtake
Concorde on a stern conversion intercept. While the pilot described the Concorde
as a very hot ship, he knew the aircraft he was piloting was nothing less than the
fastest solely British fighter of all time. The Race For Supremacy When the Soviet Union dropped its
first atomic bomb in August 1949, the West was stunned. Only a year
later, the Korean War showed Russia's incredibly advanced technology in
the form of the Mig-15 fighter. In Britain, there now was an
urgent need for a new, fast, high-altitude interceptor jet that
could intercept a Soviet assault and shoot down enemy aircraft before they
could unleash a nuclear firestorm. As early as 1946, William Edward
Willoughby "Teddy" Petter, the chief designer at English Electric,
the designer of the famous Canberra bomber, had begun penciling ideas for that same concept. The following year, after the RAF
issued an Air Ministry identification, Petter and English Electric were awarded
a study contract for transonic research to delve into transonic flight, low
supersonic speeds, and their handling. As the nation's first project of that sort,
a transonic wind tunnel, the first of its kind outside of the United States, was
built to take on the evaluation process. In 1948, RAF Wing Commander R.P. Beamont was
sent to America to fly an early-form North American F-86 Sabre. This aircraft
was capable of flying at Mach 1, and Beamont’s experience with it opened a world
of possibilities for British jet-powered warfare. Upon his return, Commander Beaumont
met with English Electric engineers to review his experiences and build
the foundation of their new aircraft. By 1950, the contract agreement produced two prototypes and a static
test airframe for the trials. However, during the development process,
engineer Petter, increasingly frustrated with the management of the English
Electric company and the direction it was taking with military aircraft
development, resigned from the company. Trials And Tribulations Despite his departure, the aircraft's
development continued under his team's direction, and another engineer,
Frederick Page, took his place. Under the sponsorship of the
Royal Aircraft Establishment, the small-scale prototype of this model flew for
the first time in December 1952 to mixed results. To fix the issues, the model was modified to
a low-mounted tailplane. The new tests showed the modified prototype flying extremely well and
validated the entire concept of Wetter’s design. The project continued to see significant changes,
particularly in the wing and tail designs, eventually leading to the creation
of the final prototype, the P.1B. The first true flight of this model,
conducted by Beaumont on August 4, 1954, reached a top speed of Mach 0.85.
On a follow-up flight a week later, the prototype hit speeds of Mach 0.98, even
reaching past Mach 1.0 for a short time. On August 13, the P.1 officially broke
the sound barrier and maintained level flight above Mach 1.0, becoming the first
British-built aircraft to accomplish this feat. After much anticipation, a basic afterburning
system was integrated into the design, and the aircraft reached Mach 1.5. However, the aircraft suffered from some stability issues
at this speed, leading to a new prototype. In May 1956, the English Electric P.1B
received the official name Lightning, derived to reflect the aircraft's
incredible supersonic capabilities. The English Electric Lightning reached
Mach 2.0 for the first time during a test flight on November 25, 1958, piloted by Roland
Beamont, English Electric's chief test pilot. The pilot took the aircraft to an altitude of
36,000 feet to achieve this speed. This feat made the Lightning the first British-designed and
-built aircraft capable of attaining Mach 2.0 in level flight, a significant milestone
in the history of British aviation. The model was ready. Into The Skies The Mach 2.0 capable Lightning Interceptor finally
entered service with the Royal Air Force in 1960, entering frontline service with 74 Squadron. That same year, English Electric merged with
two other aircraft manufacturing companies, Vickers and Bristol, to form the British
Aircraft Corporation. From then on, the interceptor became widely
known as the BAC Lightning. With the 1960 introduction, the Lightning
became the second Western European-built combat aircraft with supersonic
capability to enter service, just after the Swedish Saab 35 Draken
entered service four months earlier. Design-wise, production Lightning models had a clean and oblong-shaped fuselage covered in
a silver finish, with highly-swept wings. The aircraft's cockpit was placed well forward and
seated fairly high, offering great vision for the pilot from all angles. One of the interceptor's
most unique design features was the vertical, staggered configuration of its duo Rolls-Royce
Avon turbojet engines within the fuselage. Operationally, the Lightning's powerful
radar could scan the forward horizon above and below. With it, the pilot
needed to do very little to take the aircraft within missile range of
the target and fire effectively. This feature evolved Royal Air Force fighter
aircraft from cannon-only platforms to fully-integrated weapons delivery platforms
from the Lightning to all current models. One of the most high-performance fighters of
the Cold War, the Lightning interceptor became the favorite aircraft of many of the pilots that
flew it, garnering admirers all over the world, both in operational squadrons and flying
at air shows all over Western Europe. The Good And The Bad The Lightning interceptor was an impressive
engineering feat for the British people. In addition to being the first British aircraft
to reach Mach 2 speeds and the first to have an integrated weapons system for automated missile
delivery, the aircraft achieved many firsts. The interceptor wasn’t only the fastest British
fighter of all time but the last one to be fully developed by a British aviation company, the
first to be designed with direct pilot input, and the first aircraft to reach supersonic
flight without the use of an afterburner, as well as the first with
the ability to supercruise. One of the pilot's favorite features
of the aircraft was that it had the fastest rate-of-climb of any combat aircraft,
according to aviation experts. The aircraft could famously go from its takeoff configuration
to a practically vertical climb almost instantly. However, despite many wonders, the branch initially struggled to get over 20
flying hours out of each Lightning per month. A major hurdle for the aircraft
was the fuel capacity; it could only be airborne for a short time
before needing to land and refuel. While later versions of the aircraft
attempted to rectify this with larger fuel and drop tanks, the issue was
never completely solved. Additionally, because the Lightning wasn’t equipped with many
hard points, the armament options were limited. Despite its drawbacks, the Lightning’s
performance was far beyond what most contemporary aircraft could even come close
to. Its potential was well based on its speed, power, and maneuverability, and
it was not to be underestimated. Potential The English Electric Lightning was
designed to serve a very specific role within the British Royal Air Force.
More than a bomber, it was an interceptor. Born during the height of the Cold War,
its primary purpose was to respond to potential threats from Soviet long-range bombers, like Tupolev's Tu-22 "Blinder,"
Tu-16 "Badger," and the Tu-95 "Bear." The Lightning was all about speed and
altitude. It had to intercept the enemy bombers before they could launch their
deadly payloads. There would be little time for dogfighting or tactical maneuvering. The Lightning was a pure interceptor, built
for the single purpose of destroying incoming threats before they could reach their targets. A typical operational day for the
Lightning would begin in a state of readiness. Pilots would be on high alert,
prepared to scramble at a moment's notice. Should the alarm ring, the room would
erupt into activity, and the pilots would dash to their planes, ready to
take down the potential nuclear attack. Within a minute or two of the alarm, the
Lightning's powerful Rolls-Royce Avon engines would roar to life. The aircraft,
now a flaming spear of British sovereignty, would be hurtling down the runway, its
pilot bracing for the violent acceleration. The Lightning would quickly
ascend into the high altitude, its twin engines in full afterburn,
pushing the aircraft faster and higher. Upon reaching interception altitude, the Lightning's radar would lock onto the
enemy aircraft. Its advanced Firestreak or Red Top missiles were poised under
the wings, ready to be unleashed. The pilot's breathing would be the only sound
in the cockpit as he zeroes in on the target, his gloved finger resting lightly
on the missile release button. However, the anticipated Soviet bomber assault
never came. Although the Lightning went out on many sorties, it never had to fire a single
shot. Its presence acted as a deterrent, contributing to the uneasy peace
during the Cold War period. Outpaced During the 1960s, the same decade the
groundbreaking model entered service, as strategic awareness and the cold
war progressed, there was a rise in the development of alternative fighter designs
developed by the Warsaw Pact and NATO members. The rise in these models only
highlighted Lightning's shortcomings, like the range and firepower,
which became increasingly apparent. One of the critical reasons for the Lightning's
retirement was the emergence of more sophisticated long-range, air-to-air missiles. These
allowed enemy aircraft to launch attacks from distances beyond the Lightning's
interception range. Simultaneously, airborne early warning and control
systems became more prevalent, which reduced the need for high-speed point
defense interceptors like the Lightning. The Lightning was eventually replaced
by the Panavia Tornado F3, a variant of the Italian-engineered multi-role fighter.
Some of this aircraft's advantages over the Lightning include a larger weapons
load and more advanced avionics. This new model allowed for strike fighters'
qualities with air-to-air capabilities, making them true multi-role performers
compared to Lightning's one role. As such, Lightnings were slowly phased out of
service between 1974 and 1988. In those final years, the maintenance costs kept climbing
to account for the number of flight hours the aging airframes had seen. The few remaining
Lightning in service were decommissioned in 1988. The final act for this groundbreaking interceptor
was a series of airshows, where formations of nine Lightnings flew to bid farewell to the model
that changed British aircraft history forever. The final flight occurred in
June 1988 as the Lightning flew to find its final resting place in a museum. With this, the career of the fastest British
fighter jet to ever grace the skies ended. During its service, at least 12 operational
frontline squadrons received the model. At the end of their production run, 337 examples,
277 fighters, and 52 trainers had been finished. While the model had an originally
expected service life of only ten years, the English Electric Lightning
flew for almost three decades, a testament to the capabilities of
this master of the Cold War skies. Thank you for watching the story of this legendary
high-speed interceptor that redefined British air defense during the Cold War. Before you go,
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