English Electric Lightning

The English Electric Lightning, and later BAC Lightning, was a twin-engine interceptor of the British manufacturer English Electric. The machine was the 1950 to 1988 used from the end with the Royal Air Force and of the Arab air forces.

  • 3.1 stationing locations in Germany

Development

The prototype P.1A launched on 4 August 1954 for the first flight. In contrast to former NATO considerations for multi-role combat aircraft, the Lightning was designed from the outset only as interceptor and found only as such use.

Technology

The Lightning possessed thanks to their uncompromising slender hull form with highly swept wings without boundary layer fences excellent flight performance in terms of speed, climb rate and top elevations. The ailerons were mounted transversely to the direction of flight at the trailing edges of the wing tips as with delta wings.

She was the first British fighter aircraft that reached with use of the afterburner a speed of Mach 2 and one of the first pattern ever that could fly fast without afterburners on Mach 1 (known as supercruise ). Their disadvantages were the low application range and the scarcely measured armament. It was noteworthy that the two jet engines were arranged side by side over the other and not, as in other fighter jets in the fuselage: This means that even when an engine failure, the aircraft is capable of straight flight without action by the pilot.

Versions

For the armed forces of the United Kingdom following series have been developed (see also the information on the British aircraft designation system ):

The following versions were designations for export:

Specifications

Arming

Board weapons

  • 2 × or 4 × 30 mm ADEN cannons machines, each with 130 rounds of ammunition in a quickly removable weapons tub

Air - to-air missiles

  • 2 × de Havilland " Firestreak " (F.1, F.2/2A )
  • 2 × Hawker Siddeley " Red Top " ( F.3, F.6 )
  • 48 × unguided rockets (caliber 50 mm)

Container

  • 2 x 1182 liter About wing auxiliary tanks

User

Military user

  • United Kingdom United Kingdom ( Royal Air Force):

120 (100 F.1/F.2/F.2A/F.3/F.3A/F.6 and 20 T.4/T.5 )

The British models used for air defense were beginning in the 1970s by the McDonnell Douglas F -4 Phantom II added into this role, finally taken after the introduction of the Panavia Tornado F3 end of the 1980s, completely out of the service. In the RAF Germany Lightnings were the F2a series 1965-1977 at the airport Gütersloh at the 19th and 92nd Squadron operated, the latter only since 1968 in Gutersloh, after three years of operation on the Air Base Geilenkirchen. They asked, among other things, the Quick Reaction Alert ( QRA ) Alarm Rotten North West Germany.

41 (35 F.52, 2 T.54, T.55 6 )

  • Kuwait Kuwait (Kuwait Air Force Al Quwwat al - Jawwiya al - Kuwaitiya ):

14 (12 F.53, 2 ​​T.55 )

Household users

  • South Africa South Africa City Thunder

Flyable copies with ability to Mitflug there until November of 2009 with the provider Thunder City at Cape Town International Airport in South Africa, where two - seater and a F.Mk.6 T.Mk.5 two-seater ready for flight were held. The second run of the company doubles was lost on 14 November 2009, the flight operation was then adjusted, the company is in the summer of 2011 for sale.

Stationing locations in Germany

  • Royal Air Force Germany RAF Geilenkirchen, from December 1965 to January 1968, Lightning F.2 ( 92 Squadron )
  • RAF Gütersloh, from September 1965 to March 1977, Lightning F.2/F.2A ( 19 and 92 Squadron )

In the Flugausstellung Hermes wedge the XN782 XN730 is as well as the display in the Air Force Museum of the Bundeswehr in Berlin- Gatow.

Wing fence Mach number Rolls-Royce Avon De Havilland Firestreak NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen Flugausstellung Hermeskeil Integrated Authority File
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