english electric lightning

The English Electric Lightning is a jet fighter/interceptor aircraft developed by English Electric (later British Aerospace) for the Royal Air Force (RAF). It is visually distinctive for having its two jet engines stacked one on top of the other in the fuselage, rather than side-by-side as is seen in virtually every other twin-powered aircraft with internal engines. It is also notable for having both overwing and underwing hardpoints in its wings.

Background information

First flying in 1954, the Lightning was one of the earliest military aircraft to achieve speeds of Mach 2, and the first jet ever to achieve "supercruise" (supersonic flight without the use of afterburners).

Though lightly armed with only two very short-range missiles and two cannons, the Lightning's high speed, even higher acceleration, fast climbing and agility made it very popular with pilots even long after it became obsolete, and assignments to Lightning squadrons were highly prized in the RAF. In 1988 the last Lightnings were finally retired and replaced by the Panavia Tornado ADV.