Bristol Britannia

Known as the "Whispering Giant" the Britannia was powered by four Bristol Proteus engines and entered service with BOAC in 1957 and was the result of the Type III specification of the Brabazon Committee.

The Britannia suffered an unusually long gestation, the Ministry of Supply originally issued a contract for three prototypes in 1948, with Bristol Centaurus radial piston engines. However BOAC, who it was envisaged would be the main operator, preferred the Proteus turboprop and following a good deal of wrangling this became the standard powerplant for the type. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 16th August 1952 but a number of issues delayed the aircraft's entry into fare earning service, by which time the major airlines were committed to investing in a new generation of jet powered airliners.

In the end only 85 Britannias were built, although Canadair obtained a license to produce a couple of versions in Canada known as the Argus and Yukon.

The main operaters of the Britannia were BOAC (15, Model 102 and 18, Model 318) and the Royal Air Force who operated twenty C Mk.1s (Model 252) in the troop carrying role and three C Mk.2s (Model 253) combined cargo/troop carrying. Other customers included El Al, Cubana de Aviation,  Aeronaves de Mexico and Ghana Airways.

As they were retired from their original operators many were sold on to smaller airlines around the world and a few soldiered on well into the 1990s before being scrapped or acquired by museums. Preserved examples can be seen in the UK at the RAF Museum Cosford (The subject of the header photo), Duxford and Kemble.



This work by Roland Turner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Flying Legends 2002

Here is a YouTube slideshow video of photographs that I took at the Flying Legends display at Duxford in 2002. These are all prints that have been scanned and therefore the quality is not as good as I would like, none-the-less they may be of some interest.




Duxford aerodrome is now part of the Imperial War Museum and has a masive collection of historic aircraft as well as tank and military vehicles in the Land Warfare Hall plus a few maritime exhibits.

The airfield in itself is of great histroical significance, constructed in 1918 and first used by No.8 Squadron Royal Air Force, flying Bristol F.2Bs, for most of its operational life it was a fighter station.

A particularly noteable event took place on 4th August 1938 when Supermarine's chief test pilot Jeffery Quill delivered the RAF's first Spitfire to No. 19 Squadron at Duxford.

During the Battle of Britain Duxford was part of 12 Group with  Spitfires of No. 19 Squadron and Hurricanes of No.s 310 & 312 (Czech) Squadrons.

Later in World War Two the airfield became a home to fighter units of the USAAF's 8th Air Force, from mid 1943 untill December 1945 when it was returned to RAF use.

Post war Duxford contined as Fighter Command base receiving a paved runway and operating such types as the Meteor, Hunter and Javelin untill 1961 when it finally closed as an operational military airfield.

1968 saw the return of Spitfires and Hurricanes when the aerodrome became a set for the making of the "Battle of Britain" film, during the production of which, one of the original hangars war blown up without the premission of the Ministry of Defence.

In 1969 the Ministry of Defence declared the site surplus to requirements  and began to look for a buyer, meanwhile the Imerial War Museum were given permission to store some of their larger exhibits on the base. The Museum and several private aircraft preservation groups used the airfield's  facilites to restore exhibits and in 1973 the first airshow was held, with further shows in the following years providing funds to help finance the activities.

In 1977 the runway was bought by Cambridge County Council at which time part of the site was lost due to the construction of the M11 motorway.

Over the ensuing years the Museum has developed the site, noteably constructing the American Air Museum, The Land Warfare Hall and the AirSpace Hall and becoming one of the "must visit" destinations for aviation enthusiasts worldwide.

This work by Roland Turner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.