The British fighter that could exceed Mach 1 in a vertical climb

The English Electric Lightning is a twin-engine, sweep-wing, single-seat, supersonic fighter. Developed to bring the RAF into the supersonic age, the aircraft was able to fly at twice the speed of sound. The Lightning was an incredible leap forward in performance and technology. In fact, it had such a power to weight ratio that it could stand on its tail and exceed the speed of sound in a vertical climb.

Our Lightning on display at IWM Duxford, XM135, is particularly interesting. In 1966 Wing Commander Walter 'Taffy' Holden accidentally took to the sky in this aircraft without a canopy, radio, usable ejector seat or any jet flying experience. In this episode of Duxford in Depth, Liam Shaw takes a detailed look at the Lightning's design, development, armament and service history as well as 'Taffy' Holden's incredible story.

Join us for an all day event exploring the legacy of fighter aircraft and the lives of those who fly them. Former pilots Paul Tremelling and Mike Sutton will discuss their experiences flying the Harrier and the Typhoon, plus a chance to ask them your questions and a book signing. Book now: https://bit.ly/3N7Yk3e

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See the full list of archive films used in this video, available for licensing and downloading: https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/c/2025

Find out more about our Lightning XM135: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/70000160

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Creative Commons Attributions:

English Electric Lightning F.53 418 of the Kuwait Air Force at Paris Le Bourget in 1969 by RuthAS. CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

English Electric Lightning T.55 55-714 of the Royal Saudi Air Force at RAF Coltishall in 1968 by RuthAS. CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

Видео The British fighter that could exceed Mach 1 in a vertical climb канала Imperial War Museums