The English Electric Lightning was the only single-seat supersonic interceptor fighter designed and manufactured in the UK. It saw service with the RAF in the sixties and seventies and gained a worthy reputation for its speed and phenomenal rate of climb. It was, however, a not entirely reliable aeroplane and over fifty were lost during its operational career. The author has gathered together 16 personal accounts of what it was like to fly the Lightning, thrilling stories that convey the immense brute power of the machine and also its many pitfalls.