Nostalgia in the Air: Bristol Brabazon

Here is an interesting video from YouTube about the Brabazon.

The comment about MPs proves that little has changed in 60 years regarding our attitudes to politicians!

The Brabazon was, in the end, a commercial failiure, a classic case of government investing in a project based on a complete lack of understanding of the market developments already in progress.

In 1942, with World War Two still raging the British Government instituted a committee to investigate post war civil aircraft requirements and recommend specifications for aircraft to fulfill those needs. The Minister for Aircraft Production Col Llewellyn asked his predecessor Lord Brabazon of Tara (John Moore-Brabazon) to be the chairman and after taking comprehensive expert opinions its report was delivered on 9th February 1943. The conclusions called for five designs to meet different requirements, the first of which led directly to the Bristol 167 later christened the Brabazon.

Design work was carried out during the later years of the war and the first prototype built in the immediate post war period made its maiden flight on 4th September 1949 with Bristol's chief test pilot, Bill Pegg at the controls.

Although technically advanced the Brabazon proved to be a white elefant, despite the intention that its main user would be the British national airline BOAC nobody seems to have ever asked their management if they wanted the type. Meanwhile the airline's chairman, no doubt for political reasons, carefully avoided making any statement either confirming or denying the company's intentions regarding purchasing the aircraft.

In 1952 the decision was made to cancel the project with the second prototype under construction, the two airframes were reduced to scrap and only a few pieces of undercarriage remain in museums.

However the vast assembly hall and runway specially constructed at Filton proved to be more enduring and in the end are probably the Brabazon's true legacy justifing the (at the time) eye watering amount of money spent on the project.

Bristol Aircraft Since 1910 (Putnam's British aircraft)