Raf Cosford

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de Havilland Comet

Hawker Siddeley Trident

(above and left)

BOAC
De Havilland DH-106 Comet 1A
The first jet airliner in the world.
 

(above and right)

Hawker Siddeley Trident 1 in British Airways colours.
A 3-engined airliner, first flew in 1962.
 

Vickers Viscount 701

Shorts Belfast C1

(above and left)

The Vickers Viscount was the worlds first true turboprop aircraft and sold in large numbers on both sides of the Atlantic.

(XR371 above and left)

Ten of these aircraft entered service with the RAF, each named after giants of the ancient world.

Vickers VC-10

BAC One-Eleven

(G-AVMO left)

The 1-11 was a short-range airliner, first flying in 1963. To learn more about the 1-11 click here.

(above)

The VC-10 had 4 engines mounted at the rear making it the world’s first rear-engined intercontinental jet. It’s maiden flight was in 1962.

Boeing 707

V-Force Bombers

The Avro Vulcan was the world’s first Delta-winged bomber and along with the Victor carried Britain’s nuclear deterrent for many years.

(above)
Boeing’s first jet transport. They risked the entire company’s worth on developing this plane and benefitted from the lessons learnt of the early Comet’s crashes. The gamble paid off and became the world’s first effective long-range transport.
To learn more about this remarkable plane click here.

The Handley Page Victor was the last in a long line of Handley Page bombers. The prototype flew in 1952 and the last Victor’s served in the first Gulf war.

Bristol Britannia 312

Handley Page HP-137 Jetstream 200

(G-AOVF above)

The RAF used 23 of these aircraft nicknamed the “Whispering Giant”.
The prototype first flew in 1952.

First flown in 1967, Handley Page finished 38 before collapsing in 1970. British Aerospace later bought the license to build and develop the model.

Lockheed SP-2H Neptune

First flown in 1945 the Neptune is one the longest-serving military planes ever built, and was also the first land-based aircraft designed specifically for long-range maritime reconnasance.

This Neptune served with the Netherlands Airforce and had a crew of 10.

English Electric Canberra

Hawker Hunter

The Canberra was Britains biggest aviation success story in the post-war era with exports around the world.

This swept-wing fighter first flew in 1951. It is a single-seat plane and carried a mix of guns, rockets and bombs.

all pictures on this page ©2006 M.Greenough    planecrazy.me.uk
photographed at RAF Cosford, 2005