The Bristol Type 223 was an early design for a
supersonic transport
A supersonic transport (SST) or a supersonic airliner is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. To date, the only SSTs to see regular service have been Concorde and the Tupol ...
. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the
Bristol Aeroplane Company studied a number of models as part of a large British inter-company effort funded by the government. These models eventually culminated in the Type 223, a transatlantic transport for about 100 passengers at a speed around
Mach 2. At about the same time
Sud Aviation in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
was developing the similar
Super-Caravelle design, and in November 1962 the efforts were merged to create the
Concorde
The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
project.
Development
Background
In the
UK, as elsewhere in the 1950s, the aero industry had been producing a series of supersonic test aircraft and had extensively studied the problems of sustained high-speed flight. By the mid-1950s, two designs had been shown to have a
lift-to-drag ratio
In aerodynamics, the lift-to-drag ratio (or L/D ratio) is the lift generated by an aerodynamic body such as an aerofoil or aircraft, divided by the aerodynamic drag caused by moving through air. It describes the aerodynamic efficiency under gi ...
suitable for supersonic cruise, a sharply swept
M-wing pioneered at
Armstrong-Whitworth
Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and a ...
for slightly-supersonic flight and very slender
delta wings suitable for a wide range of speeds. Higher speeds up to Mach 3 had been considered and found to be possible, but it appeared that a practical upper limit was Mach 2.2; above this speed the
duralumin used for most aircraft construction would start to soften due to the heat of friction, and some new material would have to be used instead. Stainless steel was considered, but the
Bristol 188
The Bristol 188 is a British supersonic research aircraft built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the 1950s. Its length, slender cross-section and intended purpose led to its being nicknamed the "Flaming Pencil". proved this to be difficult and expensive.
STAC
By 1956 there was enough official interest in this research for the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee, or STAC, to be formed under Sir
Morien Morgan to investigate the creation of a supersonic transport. Its first report, in 1959, recommended two designs. One was an M-wing Mach 1.2 medium range airliner and the other a straight wing, Mach 1.8 design with six wingtip engines. Soon after, however, studies at the
Royal Aircraft Establishment began to favour the
gothic delta and design contracts using this planform went to
Hawker Siddeley and Bristol in late 1959. Both were asked to look at both Mach 2.2
aluminium alloy
An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principa ...
and Mach 2.7 stainless steel structures.
[ Bristol's Mach 2.7 design was labelled the Type 213. Their designer, ]Archibald Russell
Sir Archibald Russell, CBE, FRS (30 May 1904 – 29 May 1995) was a British aerospace engineer who worked most of his career at the Bristol Aeroplane Company, before becoming managing director of the Filton Division when Bristol merged into Brit ...
, was influenced by the constructional problems and expense encountered with the Bristol 188
The Bristol 188 is a British supersonic research aircraft built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the 1950s. Its length, slender cross-section and intended purpose led to its being nicknamed the "Flaming Pencil". and favoured the lower speed alloy aircraft.
The thin wing design of the Type 213 was preferred by the STC and a 1961 contract encouraged a detailed series of studies of a 130-seat, Mach 2.2 aircraft powered by six Bristol Olympus engines under the generic Type 198 label. Aware of the great expense of the project, STAC required Bristol to share the cost with an overseas partner. In 1961, Sud Aviation revealed their plans for the Super-Caravelle at the Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...
, a smaller aircraft than the Type 198. Bristol proposed a design which came between the Super Caravelle and the Type 198 which they called the Type 223; the French were looking at a slightly larger version of the Super Caravelle and the two companies had a specification for agreement to build an aircraft jointly. Throughout 1962 they and their respective governments negotiated the formation of a consortium to share development and production costs, estimated at £15m-£170m.[ On 29 November 1962 an agreement was jointly signed by the UK Minister for Aviation, ]Julian Amery
Harold Julian Amery, Baron Amery of Lustleigh, (27 March 1919 – 3 September 1996) was a British Conservative Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 39 of the 42 years between 1950 and 1992. He was appointed to the Pr ...
and the French ambassador, Geoffrey de Courcel and the Concorde project was underway.[
]
Specifications
See also
References
{{Supersonic transport
Abandoned civil aircraft projects of the United Kingdom
Concorde
Type 223
1960s British airliners
Supersonic transports
Quadjets
Tailless delta-wing aircraft