2. To what degree was the British
Supersonic Transport (SST) venture
about a need for prestige after the
failures of their Space Programme?
3. Historical Context
Historiography of SST
Why this topic
Resources: Primary and Secondary
Current Research
Provisional Structure
Conclusion
4. Post – WW2
◦ Military focus
◦ Misconceptions of civil
aviation needs
Cold War
◦ Rivalry between West and
East
◦ Space Race, Arms
Race, SST Race, etc...
Britain’s World
Standing and
Decolonisation
◦ Change in form of
prestige – scientific and
technological
Timeline
1956 The Supersonic
Transport Aircraft
Committee (STAC)
1962 Concorde Treaty
1968 Flight of
‘Concordski’
1969 First flight
(prototype)
1976 Commercial
introduction
2003 Retired
5. Much on technical aspects
◦ Sonic boom, wing type, etc.
Limited on political issues
◦ Johnman, Lynch
◦ American not British
Lots on ‘The Concorde Story’
◦ Orlebar, March, etc.
Not much written on motivation for SST
More recent work is commemorative
6. Gaps in early historiography
◦ Little research into the British socio-political context
Competition in Cold War beyond US and USSR
Help to explain why SST was only successful
in Britain (and France)
◦ Less motivation abroad?
7. Primary Secondary
Majority based on
primary research
Archives
◦ National
◦ Farnborough?
Articles
◦ Newspapers
◦ Flight Magazine
Books
◦ Costello, Hughes, Knight
Articles
◦ Johnman, Lynch
Websites
◦ BA, Heritage Concorde
9%
27%
9%
9%
37%
9%
Spread of Current Secondary
Paper Resources over Decades
1967-1969
1970-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
2000-2009
2010-2012
8. Contacting people and organisations
◦ British Airways
◦ Farnborough
Archival research
◦ National archives
Treasury and Cabinet papers
Ministry of Supply and Ministry of Aviation
Secondary Resources
◦ Searching for more
◦ Focus on academic articles
10. To what degree was the British Supersonic Transport (SST)
venture about a need for prestige after the failures of their
Space Programme?
Context of a SST race
Gaps in historiography
Focus on primary research
Thematic structure
Notas do Editor
The whole project rivalled the scale of the American space programme (Costello and Hughes, 1976: 16)
Post war misconception that the range and capacity of aircraft would need to fit Imperial needs no thought of transatlantic flight even from the AmericansFocus on short range American dominance, esp. in long range result of agreement made in 1943Possible for individual firms to conduct research + development at their own expense at a reasonable cost even with initial modest gov. supportRise of French rivalry with the CaravelleMuch experience – only matched by Americans (Knight, 1976: 8; Costello and Hughes, 1976: 19)“designers of genius” (Knight, 1976: 8)Experience of tested ss flightMost advanced jet engine in world - OlympusBreakthrough with the jet engine first operational jet airliner = de Havilland Comet (1949) “first step in the direction of Concorde” (Costello and Hughes, 1976: 19)Aircraft industry a huge part of the reconstruction programme (Costello and Hughes, 1976: 18)Farnborough dominated by concept of faster flight from wartime aircraft devel.STAC 5th Nov 1956 Min of Aviation, Duncan Sandys: “If we are not in the supersonic aircraft business... Then its really only a matter of time before the whole British aircraft industry packs in... It may not pay, but we cannot afford to stay out.” (Costello and Hughes, 1976: 39)
Graph – from 22 resources books and journal articlesSurge of resources after first flight, retired – aka major events
PrestigeNot only space race failuresDecolonisation Suez crisisEconomicgenuinely thought it would be profitableExpensive to develop/produce hence collaborationPoliticalwanted to join the EECPotentially going to combine with US and/or Canadians‘Other’ purposefully vague depending on what surfaces in researchCould include a few ‘smaller’ influences