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🇬🇧 #ZF593 #RAF #ROYAL-AIR-FORCE #UK-AIR-FORCE #F53 #ENGLISH-ELECTRIC #LIGHTNING #DISPLAY #PIMA-AIR-SPACE #MUSEUM #TUCSON #AZ #USA © #AWP #CHR-2014
@ UK - Air Force ( RAF ) 🇬🇧
English Electric Lightning F53 - msn 95298
• Reg : ZF593
• Engines : 2x Rolls-Royce Avon 301R
@ History Aircraft :
• 1968 : manufactured Samlesbury UK
• 24.SEP.1968 : first flight with J. Cockburn
• 17.APR.1969 : Delivered to "Royal Saudi Air Force" Lightning F.53 serial 53-692 - 1307 then 225 of 337 built
• 1974 : Damaged at Khamis Mushayt Saudi after engaging barrier
• 22.01.1986 : Ferried back to Warton UK by the RAF as ZF593
• JUN.1990 : Donated to the Warner Robins AFB museum by British Aerospace in 29 Squadron colours ( Total hours flown 2130h 6m )
• 2014 : Tsfd to Pima Air & Space Museum AZ USA and now displayed re-painted as a Royal Air Force 5 Squadron F6
ZF593 KDMA 23-04-2023 (U.S.A.) United Kingdom - Royal Air Force (RAF) English Electric Lightning F.53 CN 95298
Warner Robins 2004. This ex-R.Saudi AF machine was donated by BAe. Unfortunately, it didn't fit into their collecting policy and I believe that it was transferred to Pima Air Museum.
Two Rolls-Royce Avon 301R turbojets, 12,690-lbf each dry, 16,360-lbf each with reheat
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Markings: Royal Air Force (RAF) No. 5 Squadron, RAF Station Binbrook, Brookenby, Lincolnshire, 1965-88 (airframe was originally delivered to Saudi Arabia in 1969)
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Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona
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Britain's premier air-defence fighter from 1959 to 1988. It was also used by the Kuwait Air Force and the Royal Saudi Air Force.
This example was originally operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force but now is on display at Pima Air and Space Museum outside Tucson, Arizona, which is one of the largest, and best, aviation museums in the world. Here is a list of what they have:
www.pimaair.org/visit/new-aircraft-list
As a bonus for aviation enthusiasts, just over the road is the legendary "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base where literally thousands of military aircraft are stored. This list indicates what they currently have in storage:
www.amarcexperience.com/ui/index.php?option=com_content&a...
English Electric Lightning F-53 False markings RAF ZF593 29 Squadron
Photo taken at Pima Air & Space Museum Tucson Arizona USA May 2025 While on Holiday
HAA_5453
Former Saudi Air Force Lightning F53 (Saudi ID 53-692) carrying it's allocated serial ZF593 for the ferry flight back to the UK after withdrawal from Royal Saudi Air Force service. Now preserved at Pima Air Museum, Tucson in a 5 Squadron, RAF colour scheme.
Looking like she needs some TLC, this Ex Saudi Air Force Lightning now resides at Pima air and Space museum, Arizona in the USA.
C/n 95298 built in 1968 to Royal Saudi Air Force marked 53-692 later 1307 then 225. In 1986 to RAF marked ZF593. In Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ, USA 17. October 2017
At the end of World War II, the United Kingdom began work on a supersonic research aircraft similar to the US’ Bell X-1, the Miles M.52. In 1949, the RAF issued a requirement for a supersonic fighter interceptor, and the Miles M.52 research team realized that their experimental aircraft—still on the drawing board—would actually be better suited to satisfying this requirement. Under the leadership of W.E.W. “Teddy” Petter, the designer of the wartime Westland Lysander and postwar English Electric Canberra, the English Electric P.1 was built as a technology demonstrator before the RAF gave permission for full production: this was because the P.1 was considered very radical for its time.
As Petter preferred small fighter designs, the P.1 crammed as many innovations into the airframe as possible. Since emphasis was placed on speed, use was made of a notched-delta wing design and conventional tailplane, with a nose mounted “shock body” conical intake which would contain a radar on an operational aircraft—similar to the Soviet MiG-21. However, what made the P.1 most innovative was its unique twin-engined design which stacked the engines atop each other rather than in tandem. This was to give the P.1 less drag as it had a smaller frontal area, and had the added benefit of being more efficient and easier to handle on one engine. Fuel tanks had to be carried in the wings (and even the flaps) as there was no room in the fuselage. The first P.1 flew in August 1954, and a P.1B became the first British aircraft to reach Mach 2 in November 1958. The RAF was impressed and ordered the P.1 into production as the Lightning F.1.
The Lightning soon became very popular with pilots for its performance. Lightnings could reach altitudes rivaled only by the Lockheed U-2, and its time-to-climb would not be equaled until the F-15 Eagle, well over 30 years after the Lightning’s entry into service. Despite this high performance, the Lightning still had viceless handling. Its only weakness was its chronic lack of range: even with the addition of a ventral tank, giving the Lightning its characteristic tadpole shape, it simply could not sustain its incredible speed for very long without exhausting its fuel. It also lacked armament: though the Lightning F.1 had two fixed 30mm cannon and an option for a ventral pack with two more cannon, 48 rockets, and/or Firestreak missiles, later Lightning marks depended solely on either Firestreak or Red Top missiles, neither of which were particularly reliable. The ventral gun pack was reintroduced in the Lightning F.6, but it was still limited to two missiles and two cannon, when contemporary fighters had far more options. In an effort to extend its range and provide more options, overwing hardpoints were introduced in export Lightning F.53s and retrofitted to RAF examples, but this only mitigated the problem.
Nonetheless, as a point-defense interceptor, the Lightning was unmatched, and it survived several attempts to replace it in the form of the Phantom FGR.2 and numerous unbuilt successors. This also meant, however, that the Lightning’s late-1950s era Ferranti Airpass radar system was never updated. Maintenance was also a nightmare due to the stacked engines, which had a tendency towards hydraulic leaks and engine fires; Kuwait became the only other export nation for the Lightning besides Saudi Arabia, but had to rapidly replace their Lightnings with Mirages because the maintenance was beyond their capabilities.
The Lightning was retired in favor of the Tornado F.3 in the mid-1980s; it was to be the RAF’s last single-seat fighter until the Eurofighter Typhoon entered service in 2002, and the last all-British pure fighter design.
ZF593 is the only Lightning currently on display in the Western Hemisphere; though displayed as a RAF Lightning F.6, it is actually the export version of the F.6, the F.53, and flew with the Royal Saudi Air Force from 1969 to 1986. It finished its RSAF career with 6 Squadron at Khamis Mushayt, and when the squadron replaced its Lightnings with Tornado F.3s, it was sent back to the United Kingdom as part of the deal. The intent was to display it at Warton, UK but in 1990 it was sold to the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB, Georgia. To make room for newer acquisitions, ZF593 was then sold to the Pima Air and Space Museum in 2012.
Though the aircraft never served with the RAF, it is painted as an aircraft of 5 Squadron at RAF Binbrook, wearing RAF tactical camouflage of the 1970s and early 1980s. This is the first time I've seen a Lightning since I was a kid living in then-West Germany, so it was quite a treat.
Markings: RAF No. 5 Squadron, Royal Air Force Station Binbrook, Brookenby, Lincolnshire, 1965-88
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Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona
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C/n 95298 built in 1968 to Royal Saudi Air Force marked 53-692 later 1307 then 225. In 1986 to RAF marked ZF593. In Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ, USA 17. October 2017
Back in January, I was able to visit the amazing Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. This fabulous collection contains nearly 300 aircraft from the very smallest Bedejet to the largest B52 Stratofortess. I will post some more in due course.
10/28/2017 Royal Air Force English Electric Lightning 10/28/2017 Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson AZ.
Royal Saudi Air Force English Electric F.53 Lightning c/n 95298 in the markings of RAF No. 5 Fighter Squadron F6 s/n ZF593, Pima Air and Space Museum restoration yard, Tucson, AZ.
French AF Dassault MD454 Mystere IVA 57/8-MT fuselage, T-37A Tweet s/n 56-3537 fuselage, Boneyard Project C-97 Stratofreighter cockpit. Royal Saudi Air Force English Electric F.53 Lightning c/n 95298 tail and Lockheed EC-121T Constellation s/n 53-554 at left. Pima Air and Space Museum restoration yard, Tucson, AZ.
Convair F-106A "Delta Dart" 59-0003,
Convair F-102A "Delta Dagger" 56-1393
English Electric "Lightning F5.3" ZF593
Ling-Temco-Vought A-7D "Corsair II" 70-0973
English Electric Lightning F.53 c/n 95298, ZF593, in the markings of RAF No. 5 Squadron. Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, AZ.
Royal Saudi Air Force English Electric F.53 Lightning c/n 95298 in the markings of RAF No. 5 Fighter Squadron F6 s/n ZF593, Pima Air and Space Museum restoration yard, Tucson, AZ.
Warner Robins Museum of Aviation
The BAe Lightning was the Royal Air Force’s first supersonic Mach II fighter and the last fighter entirely of British design and manufacture. The prototype first flew on 4 April 1957. The Lightning Mk.1 entered service in 1960 and was soon replaced by the Mk.3 and Mk.6 versions with more powerful engines, increased range, improved avionics and heavier armament. It can exceed the speed of sound in level flight without afterburner and can accelerate from Mach I to Mach II in less than 3.5 minutes.
The Lightning incorporated a number of unique design features. Its over and under engine installation allows for greater thrust provided by the two engines without the drag penalty of side-by-side placement. Its unusual wing shape reduces drag while placing the ailerons in the best position for maneuverability.
The Museum’s aircraft is a Lightning Mk.53, and export version of the Mk.6. The Mk.53s were first delivered in 1966 and served as interceptors and ground attack aircraft. The aircraft on display was delivered in 1968 and bears the markings of the Royal Air Forces No. 29 Squadron, one of the ten RAF squadrons to operate the Lightning until 1988. This aircraft was presented to the Museum of Aviation in June 1990 by officials of British Aerospace (Military Aircraft) Ltd., Warton, Lancashire, England as a token of friendship between the two nations.
SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 34 feet 10 inches
Length: 55 feet 3 inches
Height: 19 feet 7 inches
Weight: 41,700 lbs max
Engines: Two Rolls-Royce Avon 302C of 13,300 lbs thrust each with afterburner
Serial Number: ZF593 (53-692)
PERFORMANCE
Maximum Speed: 1,500 mph
Range: 800 miles
Service Ceiling: 60,000 feet
C/n 95298 built in 1968 to Royal Saudi Air Force marked 53-692 later 1307 then 225. In 1986 to RAF marked ZF593. In Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ, USA 17. October 2017
C/n 95298 built in 1968 to Royal Saudi Air Force marked 53-692 later 1307 then 225. In 1986 to RAF marked ZF593. In Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ, USA 17. October 2017
EE Lightning F53 at Warner Robins Museum of Aviation
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February 2015. English Electric Lightning F.53 fighter version and former Royal Saudi Air Force example.