The publication of the 1957 Defence White Paper on April 4 that year coincided with the maiden flight of the first English Electric P.1B, XA847. The paper called for an air-defence strategy relying on ground-based guided missiles, but development of the Lightning (as it became) was deemed too far advanced for it to be cancelled.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: English Electric / BAC Lightning - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1957

Although the 1957 Defence White Paper favoured an air-defence strategy centred around ground-to-air guided missiles, manned interceptors would still be required to fill the gaps in the system until the missile infrastructure was fully in place. The Lightning F.1 entered operational RAF service with No 74 Sqn in June 1960 - the same year No 56 Sqn received the Lightning F.1A, six examples of which are seen here armed with pairs of Firestreak air-to-air missiles.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: English Electric / BAC Lightning - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1957

In June 1957 London Heathrow Airport was the departure and return point for the Rotodyne when it flew to Brussels and to Paris for the Aero Show, its first overseas flight. The aircraft’s smart “airline” colour scheme made it look the part.
One of the UK’s most ambitious aircraft research and development programmes at the time of the 1957 Defence White Paper was the Fairey Rotodyne, a compound helicopter conceived as a short- to medium-haul airliner capable of operating into and out of city centres. The sole prototype, XE521, first flew in November 1957.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Fairey Rotodyne - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1957

Первый экземпляр P.1A в полете
English Electric’s P.1 was originally conceived in response to Air Ministry Specification F.23/49, which called for a supersonic interceptor capable of destroying high-altitude bombers. The P.1A research protoype, WG760, seen here, first flew in August 1954, but by 1957 the government had begun reshaping its defence policy.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: English Electric P.1 - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1954