English Electric Lightning F6 – 56 Sqn Firebirds, RAF Wattisham, England, 1975 (With Red Top Missiles)

Corgi Aviation 1/72 scale AA32315 M: English Electric Lightning F6 XP770 of 56 Sqn Firebirds, RAF Wattisham, England, 1975. Limited edition of 1,000 models with carded certificate.

Length 9.25 inches Wingspan 5.75 inches

PLEASE NOTE: Model arrived from factory with flaking decals where the casting line met on the front fuselage. I stripped the model down, removed the old decals and replaced with an after market set. Decalset was used to ensure the  decals sit correctly around the Lightnings fuselage cable ducts, While disassembled I took the opportunity to replace the Firestreak missiles with Red Tops. This has created a uniquely different look to the model. Missiles and refuel probe are push fitted into place so removable if required. I have also added a correctly coloured yellow access ladder.

As the only British built Mach 2 capable fighter, the BAC Lightning spent the Cold War years being scrambled to challenge Soviet Tu-95 “Bear” bombers, which regularly encroached into British airspace. A highly capable interceptor aircraft, the Lightning possessed both blistering speed and spectacular acceleration and is regarded as perhaps the most enigmatic jet aircraft to ever serve with the Royal Air Force. XR770 first flew in 1966 and famously appeared at that years Farnborough Airshow, wearing Royal Saudi Air Force colours, where it flew ten demonstration flights. In the years to follow, this famous aircraft went on to serve with 74 “Tigers” and 56 “Firebirds” Squadrons, before ending its service life with the last Lightning fighters at 5 Squadron at RAF Binbrook.

If you were to ask aviation enthusiasts of a certain age “What was the most exciting aircraft that you ever saw display?” many would undoubtedly reply the English Electric/BAC Lightning. Built purely for speed, the Lightning was designed to protect UK airspace from encroaching Soviet bombers, which dictated that the aircraft had a phenomenal rate of climb. Lightning pilots described flying the aircraft as being strapped onto a rocket and having the Lightning in your logbook was certainly something to boast about. The lack of range was always something that plagued Lightning operations, and successive upgrades were always attempting to cram more fuel into the aircraft. It was fast though and anyone who saw a Lightning put through its paces will never forget this spectacular aviation experience.

Designed to meet a need for a supersonic research aircraft, the English Electric Lightning was first flown on August 4, 1954. The Lightning was uniquely designed-its delta wing was based on German engineering research captured during WWII-and it was the last RAF fighter to be produced entirely in Britain. Instead of being placed on the wings, the Lightning’s twin engines were stacked on top of one another, giving the aircraft an unusual height and an expanded profile. Capable of Mach 2.5, it had a rate-of-climb and manoeuvrability that could hold its own against any contemporary fighter.