Lightning F.53

This page is about the premium gift British jet fighter Lightning F.53. For the regular version, see Lightning F.6.

Lightning F.53

Lightning F.53

Britain

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
9.3	9.3	9.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Jet fighter

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

Show in game

Description

The Lightning F.53 is a premium gift rank VI British jet fighter with a battle rating of 9.3 (AB/RB) and 9.7 (SB). It was introduced in Update "Danger Zone" as a premium pack but was removed from the Gaijin store after the 2022 "Winter sale". It was briefly made available for purchase with Golden Eagles for the 2023 anniversary of its first flight.

The Lightning F.53 is an export variant of the Lightning F.6 which was used by the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) and the Kuwait Air Force (with the in-game vehicle representing a RSAF Lightning). The main difference between the Lightning F.53 and the standard F.6 version is that the F.53 can carry a selection of ground attack ordnance (bombs and rockets). The Lightning F.53 retains the stacked engines and side-mounted missiles, while adding to the list of unusual design choices with the unique ability to carry ordnance on top of the wings; something very few other aircraft were designed to do (the Jaguar GR.1A being a notable one).

General info

Flight performance

Arrestor gear

Accelerates braking by grabbing the brake cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Drogue parachute

Reduces braking distance when landing on any runway

Max speed

at 12 192 m2 290 km/h

Turn time26 s

Max altitude18 288 m

Engine2 х Rolls-Royce Avon Mk.302C

TypeJet

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight19 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 12,192 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	2,240	2,213	18288	22.8	28.0	124.6	115.4	850
Upgraded	2,353	2,290		24.4	26.0	177.8	150.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
X	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
1361	463	N/A	654	463	~10	~6

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 850	< 700	< 700	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
Rolls-Royce Avon Mk.302		2	14,020 kg		436 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)			Max Takeoff Weight
Weight (each)	Type		6m fuel	20m fuel	22m fuel
1,310 kg	Afterburning axial-flow turbojet		15,382 kg	18,109 kg	18,559 kg	19,000 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
Condition	100%	WEP	6m fuel	20m fuel	22m fuel	MTOW
Stationary	5,616 kgf	7,413 kgf	0.96	0.82	0.80	0.78
Optimal	5,616 kgf (0 km/h)	7,747 kgf (1,000 km/h)	1.01	0.86	0.83	0.82

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural1 361 km/h

Gear463 km/h

The Lightning F.53 has an identical internal layout to the Lightning F.6 upon which it is based. This means that most of the area in the wings is full of fuel tanks; likewise the stacked and staggered engines are retained. While the top engine is exposed and vulnerable to enemy attacks it can often absorb bullets, protecting the lower engine from damage (assuming the enemy is attacking you from the rear and above).

Where the Lightning F.53 does differ from the Lightning F.6 is in the addition of a 64 mm bulletproof glass windscreen. This is the only armour found on either aircraft.

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB2 142

RB5 378

SB6 799

Crew training10 000

Experts1 010 000

Aces2 600

Research Aces2 020 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 130 / 380 / 600 %

2 × 226 / 226 / 226 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Compressor New boosters Wings repair Engine G-suit	Airframe EFS Cover	aden_belt_pack Matra SNEB Mk.N1 540lb Red Top aden_new_gun Matra JL-100R Mk.10 1000lb

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Lightning F.53 is armed with:

• 2 x 30 mm ADEN cannons, belly-mounted (120 rpg = 240 total)

Suspended armament

The Lightning F.53 can be outfitted with the following ordnance presets:

• Without load
• 2 x Firestreak missiles
• 2 x Red Top missiles
• 4 x 540 lb Mk.M2 bombs (2,160 lb total)
• 2 x 1,000 lb L.D H.E. M.C. Mk.1 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 144 x SNEB type 23 rockets + 48 x RN rockets
• 144 x SNEB type 23 rockets + 2 x Firestreak missiles
• 2 x Firestreak missiles + 4 x 540 lb Mk.M2 bombs (2,160 lb total)
• 2 x Red Top missiles + 144 x SNEB type 23 rockets
• 2 x Red Top missiles + 4 x 540 lb Mk.M2 bombs (2,160 lb total)

Custom loadout options

	1	2	3	4	5
540 lb Mk.M2 bombs	1, 2				1, 2
1,000 lb L.D H.E. M.C. Mk.1 bombs	1				1
RN rockets			48
SNEB type 23 rockets	18, 36	36		36	18, 36
Firestreak missiles			2
Red Top missiles			2
Maximum permissible weight imbalance: 450 kg

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good climb rate and acceleration.
• Formidable angle-of-attack above low speeds.
• Very powerful cannons, and good missiles.
• Surprisingly good turn rate between 800 and 1,000 km/h IAS.
• Large rocket payload.

Cons:

• Quite poor energy retention.
• Large target for enemy aircraft.
• Awkward under-belly cannon placement.
• Relatively low top speed (1,280 km/h IAS at sea level).
• Poor low-speed manoeuvrability - accurate low-speed usage of rockets against ground targets is difficult.

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Lightning F.53 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #315 - Metal Beasts section at 00:28 discusses the Lightning F.53.

See also

• Lightning F.6
• MiG-21 SPS-K (Germany)
• F-104 (Family)

External links

• [Devblog] New Premium jets: Lightning F.53 and Ariete

The English Electric Company Limited
Jet Fighters	Lightning F.6 · Lightning F.53
Jet Bombers	Canberra B Mk 2 · Canberra B (I) Mk 6
Tanks	Excelsior
	The English Electric Company allowed the Glenn L. Martin Company to license-build Canberra bombers for the United States Air Force.