Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1910 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
The Bristol Type 223 represented an initial concept for a supersonic transport aircraft. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Bristol Aeroplane Company produced multiple designs as part of a government-backed British collaborative initiative. This process culminated in the Type 223, envisioned as a transatlantic airliner capable of carrying approximately 100 passengers at speeds near Mach 2. At the same time, the French company Sud Aviation was working on a comparable aircraft known as the Super-Caravelle. In November 1962, these parallel projects combined efforts to create what became the Concorde program.
Background
By the mid-1950s, British aerospace had successfully developed supersonic experimental planes and conducted extensive research into sustained high-velocity flight. Two wing configurations emerged with favorable lift-to-drag ratios suitable for supersonic cruising: a sharply swept M-wing and slender delta wing designs. Although speeds approaching Mach 3 were theoretically achievable, practical constraints limited operations to around Mach 2.2 due to structural heating issues affecting conventional duralumin alloys. Alternative materials such as stainless steel were investigated but presented significant cost and manufacturing difficulties, exemplified by the experience with the Bristol 188.
STAC
In 1956, the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee (STAC), led by Sir Morien Morgan, was established to assess supersonic transport development possibilities. Their 1959 findings recommended two distinct concepts: a medium-range airliner with an M-wing design cruising at Mach 1.2, and a straight-wing model capable of Mach 1.8 powered by six engines mounted at the wingtips. Later evaluations favored the gothic delta wing shape, prompting design contracts in late 1959 awarded to both Hawker Siddeley and Bristol for exploring aluminium alloy structures at Mach 2.2 and stainless steel constructions for Mach 2.7 speeds. Bristol’s Mach 2.7 proposal was designated the Type 213, though chief designer Archibald Russell advocated for the lower-speed aluminium alternative due to financial considerations and difficulties encountered with the Bristol 188’s construction.
The sleek-winged Type 213 gained preference from STAC, leading to a 1961 contract focused on detailed design studies of a six-engine aircraft seating 130 passengers and cruising at Mach 2.2, known as the Type 198. To control expenses, STAC mandated that Bristol seek international collaboration. At the Paris Air Show in 1961, Sud Aviation revealed their smaller Super-Caravelle model. Bristol responded with an intermediate proposal—the Type 223—positioned between Sud’s Super-Caravelle and Bristol’s Type 198 concepts. France considered enlarging their Super-Caravelle variant slightly, which prompted negotiations between both companies toward a joint development agreement. By November 1962, after thorough governmental discussions with projected development costs ranging from £15 million to £170 million, UK Aviation Minister Julian Amery and French ambassador Geoffrey de Courcel signed an accord initiating the Concorde project.