English Electric Lightning Aircraft

Lightning F.1, Cosford

Production Details

Design Company:

English Electric Aviation Ltd, Warton

First Flight:

4 August 1954

P.1:

25 - English Electric Aviation Ltd, Warton

P.11:

2 - English Electric Aviation Ltd, Warton

Lightning F.1:

49 - English Electric Aviation Ltd, Warton

Lightning F.2:

44 - English Electric Aviation Ltd, Warton

Lightning F.3:

63 - British Aircraft Corporation Ltd, Warton

Lightning T.4:

20 - British Aircraft Corporation Ltd, Warton

Lightning T.5:

22 - British Aircraft Corporation Ltd, Warton

Lightning F.6:

62 - British Aircraft Corporation Ltd, Warton

Lightning F.53:

46 - British Aircraft Corporation Ltd, Warton

Lightning T.55:

8 - British Aircraft Corporation Ltd, Warton

Type Specification

Applies to:

English Electric Lightning F.1A

Type:

Single seat supersonic all weather interceptor

Wing:

Cantilever mid-wing monoplane. Sweepback 60 degrees on leading edge, 52 degrees on trailing edge. All metal five spar construction

Fuselage:

Parallel section all metal structure

Tail Unit:

Cantilever monoplane type. All metal structure. Low set one piece all moving tailplane follows wing shape. Delta shaped fin and rudder

Landing Gear:

Retractable tricycle type. Main units retract outwards into wing. Nose wheel retracts forward into fuselage

Power Plant:

Two Rolls-Royce Avon 210 turbojet engines each 14,430 lb with reheat, stagged one above the other in the fuselage

Accommodation:

Enclosed cockpit for pilot

Armament:

Two 30mm Aden Mk 4 guns in fuselage, on each side of the cockpit, and two de Havilland Firestreak air to air missiles on pylons projecting laterally from fuselage

Span:

34 ft 10 in

Length:

55 ft 3 in

Height:

19 ft 7 in

Wing Area:

380.1 sq ft

Empty:

25,000 lb

Max Loaded:

35,000 lb

Max Mach No.:

2.0

Initial Rate of Climb:

50,000 ft per minute

Service Ceiling:

60,000 ft +

Preserved in British Museums

P.1:

WG760 - Royal Air Force Museum, Cosford Airfield - Display WG763 - Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, Manchester - Display

Lightning F.1:

XG329 - Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton - Display XG337 - Royal Air Force Museum, Cosford Airfield - Display XM135 - Imperial War Museum, Duxford Aerodrome - Display XM167 - Highland Aviation Museum, Inverness - Nose XM192 - Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre, Tattershall Thorpe - Display

Lightning F.2:

XN776 - Museum of Flight, East Fortune Aerodrome - Display

Lightning F.3:

XP706 - AeroVenture, Doncaster - Display

Lightning T.5:

XS417 - Newark Air Museum, Winthorpe Show Ground Display XS420 - FAST, Farnborough - Display XS459 - Fenland and West Norfolk Aviation Museum, West Walton Highway - Display XV328 - Phoenix Aviation, Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome - Nose

Lightning F.6:

XR728 - Lightning Preservation Group, Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome - Regular fast runs XR754 - AeroVenture, Doncaster - Nose XR771 - Midland Air Museum, Coventry Airport - Display XS897 - AeroVenture, Doncaster - Display XS903 - Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington - Display XS904 - Lightning Preservation Group, Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome - Regular fast runs XS925 - Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon - Display XS932 - FAST, Farnborough - Nose

Lightning F.53:

XR753 - Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, Tangmere - Display ZF579 - Gatwick Aviation Museum, Charlwood - Display ZF582 - Bournemouth Aviation Museum, Bournemouth - Nose ZF583 - Solway Aviation Museum, Carlisle Airport - Display ZF584 - Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum, Dumfries - Restoration ZF587 - Lashenden Air Warfare Museum, Lashenden - Nose ZF588 - Aeropark, Nottingham East Midlands Airport - Display ZF592 - City of Norwich Aviation Museum, Norwich Airport - Display ZF594 - North East Aircraft Museum, Sunderland - Display

Lightning T.55:

55-713 - Midland Air Museum, Coventry Airport - Display

Web Sites