English Electric Lightning
Few British aircraft have inspired such love and devotion as the English Electric Lightning. This famous fighter was designed in the 1950s, at a time of urgent need for faster interceptors. It was a long-lived servant of the RAF during the Cold War and was also operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force and Kuwait Air Force. Only 337 examples were built, but its legacy lives on in the relatively large number of survivors, a few of which are kept in ground running condition.
Lightning event sells out in a day
The Lightning Preservation Group has announced its first event in three years – and it has sold out in less than 24 hours
Historic Aviation Quiz - English Electric Lightning
On par with the Spitfire, Phantom and Vulcan, English Electric’s incredible Lightning is still as popular today as it was half a century ago but how much do you know about it?
Eject! Eject! - Lightning pilot describes punching out
Air Commodore Terry Carlton told Hugh Trevor about his quick exit from Lightning T.4 XM971 in the August 2012 issue of FlyPast
The inside story of RAF Germany Lightning operations
Hugh Trevor examines the aircraft and operations of RAF Germany’s Lightning-equipped interceptor wing
‘Pure adrenalin’: what it was like to fly the English Electric Lightning
In the March 2014 issue of FlyPast Ian Black reflected on flying the ‘Ferrari of fighters’ – the English Electric Lightning
11 Sqn Lightning pilot – Binbrook memories
Ian Black described in the January 2016 issue of Aviation News his time flying the English Electric Lightning on 11 (Fighter) Squadron at RAF Binbrook
Kuwait Air Force Lightnings: A secret history
Hugh Trevor describes the career of the Lightning with the Kuwait Air Force and speaks to the British pilots who delivered the jets and assisted the Kuwaitis in operating them
Royal Saudi Air Force Lightnings at War: an armourer’s story
Phil Isaac talked to Hugh Trevor for the March 2015 issue of FlyPast about his time arming English Electric Lightnings in Saudi Arabia
74 Sqn Lightning pilot recalls Singapore adventures
Trevor MacDonald Bennett talked to Hugh Trevor for the February 2015 issue of FlyPast about his time with 74 Squadron
English Electric Lighting vs MiG-21 and F-104: Cold War Warriors compared
How did the English Electric Lightning compare with other fast jets in service at the time? The July 2014 issue of FlyPast provided this comparison