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English Electric P1 Lightning

English Electric P1 Lightning

Ref: 5080

In stock

Price: £12.00

sadly, flyingbooks is now closed.

{detailed description}This is the inside story of the design and development of Britain's first - and to date only - supersonic 'air superiority' fighter, told by the distinguished pilot who was responsible for its flight testing.
In 1945 an unusual firm - English Electric - was contracted to produce the RAF's first jet bomber - eventually, the Canberra. It was chosen initially because although it was not known for its work in the aviation field, its work on sub-contracting for the Halifax had been exceptional and it had put together an outstanding team of designers. At that stage too, it was inclined to show an independence of mind towards technical development. As a result, the company not infrequently ran counter to the less adventurous attitudes of Air Ministry, the Ministry of Supply which then controlled such matters, the authoritative Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, and the Labour government of the day. Even as the Canberra was being developed to a performance that outpaced any but supersonic interceptors, that government ordered a moratorium on supersonic flying. Fortunately the design team on English Electric ignored the negative thinking by the government. Hence, when developments elsewhere in a more robust aviation world forced the government to change its mind, a design for a supersonic fighter was on the Warton drawing board. From that design stemmed the specification F23/49, the English Electric P1 and P1B prototypes and the Lightning which went into service with the RAF in 1960. It remains in service to this day and it still holds its own against all but the latest interceptors developed in the 1970s. It certainly outflies its so-called 'replacement', the Spey-engined Phantom. That the design was never itself developed properly lies at the door of another short-sighted administration. In 1957 a Conservative government decreed that as the day of the manned aircraft was at an end there was no point in further supersonic development . . . yet another sad and sorry story of the best that British industry can do being hamstrung by a purblind government.
What really happened to the Lightning from design to entry into Service and what could have happened to this highly successful aircraft make a fascinating story by a man whose life was the Lightning for over a decade.
{Author / Publisher / Date}by Roland Beamont
published by Ian Allan 1985 1st edn. 128pp illustrated, appendices 18x24
{condition}near fine inc. d/j.
{delivery info}
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U.K.tracked
first class (1-2 days)£4.75
second class (2-3 days)£4.25


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