Firstly, the Lightning had a very limited time-on-task without Tanker Support. However, once you were engaged and burning fuel, popping back to a Tanker was not a readily available option and probably not required...
Secondly, the aircraft carried an inadequate number of weapons, 2 x AAM are quickly fired out. Of course, some variants had Guns but not really the weapon of choice for the Lightning's war role in the UK ADR. Having scrambled into the North Sea Lanes and engaged, after 30 mins or so, you would probably end up fired out some 100 plus miles from base, short of fuel and essentially useless as an AD asset unless you wished to opt for the ramming tactic. Meanwhile, quite a lot of baddies are still streaming towards the UK whilst most of the UK AD assets need to scuttle back home to replenish weapons and fuel, which takes a lot of time.
Here are some Pilot's Notes extracts from 50 years ago.
All Lightnings had fuel in their flaps from day 1.
Fuel quantity & performance are always opposing variables.
We were lucky enough to have enjoyed flying the several hotrod Marks of Lightning over many years.
