[2][3], BAC's origins can be traced to a statement issued by the British government that it expected the various companies involved in the aircraft, guided weapons and engine industries to consolidate and merge with one another. On 30 October 1974, the first British prototype (the second to fly) took off from the BAC airfield at Warton. Most people likely have heard of the Spitfire and Hurricane, of Battle of Britain fame, and certainly some know of the Sopwith Camel, thanks either to Charles M. Schulz or that master writer of aviation fiction for youngsters, Captain W.E. [24][25] The AFVG was to be jointly developed by BAC and Dassault Aviation, while the proposed M45G turbofan engine to power the aircraft was to also be jointly developed by SNECMA and Bristol Siddeley. Oct 23, 2013 - The golden years of British aviation. There are a total of [ 32 ] individual aircraft entries in the Active Royal Air Force (Britain) Aircraft (2020) category in the Military Factory. The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Scheduled services commenced on 21 January 1976 on both the London–Bahrain and Paris–Rio de Janeiro routes. [4] Furthermore, the government also promised incentives to motivate such restructuring; the maintenance of government research and development spending and the guarantee of aid in launching "promising new types of civil aircraft". In September 1971, the governments of Britain, Italy and Germany signed an Intention to Proceed (ITP) with the Panavia Tornado. English Electric Aircraft, a subsidiary of the English Electric Company. Category page. Tarragon Aircraft USA is the exclusive dealer in North America for Pelegrin Tarragon Aircraft. In 1968, Britain was invited to join Canada and the F-104 Consortium (a grouping of Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands), all of whom wished to replace their current aircraft with a common design, subsequently described as the Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA). The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. Hughes awarded major contracts to BAC, including sub-systems for Intelsat satellites. In 1964 the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) designed a hypersonic aircraft capable of flight at five times the speed of sound, nicknamed MUSTARD … [14], BAC had inherited the aerospace activities of several companies via its formation, and research into various space-related ventures continued at the new entity. "Short Cut to Suicide. [17][15], Development of the TSR-2 was one of the company's most high-profile endeavours. The Harrier emerged as the only truly successful V/STOL design of the many attempted during that era. While Britain created the immortal Spitfire, Lancaster and Edgley Optica, it also created a wealth of dangerous, disgraceful and diabolical designs. The number of British-designed aircraft types to see service with the Royal Air Force during its first century of flight is legion. [7], Prior to the merger, Bristol had eschewed the subsonic airliner market in favour of working on the Bristol 223 supersonic transport,[8] The effort continued under BAC and was eventually merged with similar efforts underway at the French aircraft company Sud Aviation, resulting in the Anglo-French Concorde. ", "BAE confirms £5bn Eurofighter sale to Saudi Arabia", "BAE clinches new £2.5bn Tornado deal with Saudis", Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot, Defence Electronics and Components Agency, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=British_Aircraft_Corporation&oldid=987575062, Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom, Defunct helicopter manufacturers of the United Kingdom, Former defence companies of the United Kingdom, Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1960, Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1977, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2019, Articles with dead external links from September 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, BAC / Hunting Jet Provost – military jet trainer, Hill, C.N. English Electric had Napier & Son aero-engines, Bristol had 50% of Bristol Aerojet and Bristol Siddeley engines and smaller investments in Westland and Short Brothers & Harland. The other was the BAC/Dassault AFVG, a larger, variable geometry carrier-capable fighter aircraft for the French Navy (Aéronavale) as well as fulfilling interceptor, tactical strike and reconnaissance roles for the RAF. [28][29] During 1973, service entry was achieved with the French Air Force, by which time Breguet had become part of Dassault Aviation. [1] Its head office was on the top floors of the 100 Pall Mall building in the City of Westminster, London. Dive bombing in Vietnam. Many aircraft types have served in the British Royal Air Force since its formation in April … However, as the programme proceeded, continuous cost rises were incurred,[18] while inter-service rivalry led to frequent challenges of its necessity. The Harrier, informally referred to as the Harrier Jump Jet, is a family of jet-powered attack aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing operations (V/STOL). [4], Accordingly, during 1960, BAC was created as a jointly-owned corporation by Vickers, English Electric and Bristol. American Airlines opened domestic jet service with its own 707s in January 1959. Aircraft Origin Role No used Notes Saab Gripen C and D Sweden Sweden: Multirole fighter 17 and 9 British Aerospace Hawk Mk.120 United Kingdom/. The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Return to the Modern Aircraft Index. Akin to BAC, the Hawker Siddeley Group was expanded by merger, while engine design and manufacturing was concentrated at Rolls-Royce and the newly formed Bristol-Siddeley Engines. [35] BAC argued against the proposal in favour of their BAC Three-Eleven project, intended as a large wide-bodied airliner like the Airbus A300, Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed TriStar. Entries are listed below in alphanumeric order (1-to-Z). During 1966, Rolls-Royce acquired Bristol Aeroplane from BAC, integrating the firm into its Bristol Siddeley aero-engine business, but declared it had no interest in the BAC shareholding. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. [33] In the first half of the following year, BAC submitted its proposals for the production of two separate double-decker versions of the VC10, which was commonly referred to as the Super VC10; however, it was quickly recognised that the British government would be required substantial support for the initiative to succeed, involving "several tens of millions of pounds". On 29 April 1977, BAC, the Hawker Siddeley Group and Scottish Aviation were nationalised and merged under the provisions of Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977. F11f grumman tiger. Purchased rights for various Beagle and Handley-Page designs from the liquidator. The ownership of BAC would thus give the government a minority stake in the new company. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Jet technology was refined throughout the decade, providing the first-ever jet-versus-jet duel over the skies of Korea. The main contract was signed in 1966 for forty Lightnings and twenty-five (ultimately forty) Strikemasters. There are a total of [ 104 ] British X-Plane Aircraft entries in the Military Factory. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. [37], BAC, with the Lightning/Strikemaster contract; British Aerospace, with the Al Yamamah contracts; and most recently BAE Systems, with the order for Typhoon multi-role fighters, have all benefited from massive arms contracts with Saudi Arabia.[38][39][40]. [22][23], On 17 May 1965, the British and French governments announced the signing of a pair of agreements to cover the two joint projects; one based on the French aircraft company Breguet Aviation Br.121 ECAT ("Tactical Combat Support Trainer") proposal; this would evolve into the SEPECAT Jaguar. These studies eventually became known as the BAC Advanced Combat Aircraft programme. Products usually known under the BAC name include: In addition BAC continued with the Bristol Bloodhound and English Electric Thunderbird surface-to-air missiles. BAC in turn acquired the share capital of their aviation interests and 70% of Hunting several months later. During the 1960s, VTOL jet-powered flight was operationally achieved with the arrival of the British Harrier while other technologies continually evolved to new heights. [11] While by March 1969, the consortium had arrangements totalling 74 options from 16 airlines,[12] only two airlines, Air France and the British Overseas Airways Corporation, would proceed with their orders. 1950s British fighter aircraft. These jets, turboprops or piston airplanes may have previously served in one of the world’s air forces or navies, as a commercial airline several decades ago, or been a popular Business or General Aviation model that was mass-produced between the 1920s and 1960s (for example). It remains the only UK-designed-and-built fighter capable of Mach 2.The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufactured by English Electric, which was later absorbed by the newly-formed British Aircraft Corporation. 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