Combat aviation: Lightning. A supersonic fighter-interceptor aircraft of the Cold War era. It was designed, developed, and manufactured by English Electric (later British Aircraft Corporation). It was then marketed as the BAC Lightning. The Lightning was the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. First flight – 1954. Ink pen and pencil colors by Joan Mañe.
The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became “parents” of BAC with shareholdings of 20%, 40% and 40% respectively. BAC in turn acquired the share capital of their aviation interests and 70% of Hunting Aircraft several months later.
