Catalogue description Ministry of Aviation and successors: Air A Division and successors: Registered Files (TS Series)

The development of the Anglo-French Concorde supersonic aircraft was one of the largest and most advanced technological projects ever undertaken in Western Europe. Preliminary research in industry and government establishments on the problems of supersonic flight as applied to passenger aircraft started in Europe in 1956, and between 1959 and 1961 independent design studies in Britain and France reached similar conclusions. Discussions which began in 1961 led to the signing in London on 29 November 1962 of an agreement between the British and the French Governments to share costs, design, development and production work and the proceeds of sales of a supersonic aircraft which ultimately became known as Concorde.

Detailed work was the responsibility of the companies concerned in both countries. These were the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), which became part of British Aerospace when this new public corporation was established in 1977, and the French Company Sud Aviation (which became part of the Société Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale) for the airframe. This was assembled at Filton near Bristol and at Toulouse in France. Rolls Royce Ltd and Société Nationale d'Étude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation (SNECMA) were responsible for the power plant which was assembled at Bristol.

Altogether hundreds of companies were involved in the project through sub-contracting and supplying materials. Overall control of the project was exercised by a Directing Committee comprising officials responsible to the British and French Governments.

The project was originally the responsibility of the Ministry of Aviation, but was dealt with in turn by a number of government departments. Each of these departments had a Concorde Division, which worked together with the Directing Committee.