The English Electric Lighting was developed in the 1950s. It entered frontline service with the Royal Air Force in 1960 serving as an interceptor aircraft until it retired in 1988.
Powered by two Rolls Royce Avon turbojet engines arranged in a unique vertical, staggered configuration the Lightning had exceptional performance capabilities. It was best known for its exceptional rate of climb. In a zoom climb, Lightnings could reach altitudes in excess of 80,000 feet.
The main Lightning role was the air defense of the United Kingdom. During the cold War, Lightnings were regularly scrambled to intercept probing Soviet bombers. This artwork depicts a pair of Lightning F6 aircraft closing to intercept such a bomber over the North Sea.