Roland Beamont demonstrating a Vampire 1 at the 1946 SBAC display at Radlett.

Eric Greenwood flying Meteor F.3 EE457.

Bill Eaves pre-flights the high altitude research Meteor at Warton in 1948.

VN799 airborne for the first time, on May 9, 1949, in a short hop on Warton's 1900yd main runway. Note the original rudder shape, which was modified to cure over-balance after the first flight.
The B.3/45 in its final twin engined configuration, airborne on a straight “hop” in May 1949 at Warton.

A 1945 English Electric study for the B3./45 with single-engined layout.

English Electric's supersonic design and test centre, Warton, photographed in the Fifties. Five development Lightnings can be seen at the “South Side" experimental flight shed.

Rendered irrelevant by the 1957 Defence White Paper, which effectively cancelled all future supersonic military aircraft developments, the P.28 proposal of 1955 by English Electric for Mach 2 cruise, Mach 25 maximum, development of the Lightning.

The P.1B prototype, XA847. It was Britain's first supersonic fighter and the first British aircraft to reach Mach 2 (November 1958).

The P.1 prototype with the later cambered leading edge modification.
The English Electric P.IA, WG 760, progenitor of the Lightning, perhaps the one really outstanding British fighter of the thirty years following World War II. First flown on 4 August 1954, with 'Bea' Beamont at the controls, the twin 8.100lb s.t. unreheated Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire AS8a5-powered P.1A became the first British aircraft to exceed Mach 1 when it reached Mach 1.02 at 30.000 feet, or 692mph on 11 August just six days into flight testing.