When the British Airways Film Unit produced the promotional film “Transatlantic Supersonic” in 1976, the Aérospatiale / BAC Concorde supersonic transport (SST) had only just entered scheduled service with British Airways. The Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty. A total of 20 Concordes were built including the first six airframes used for testing and development. Thanks to YouTuber PeriscopeFilm for uploading this look at the Concorde.
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The Concorde was flown by only two airlines- Air France and British Airways. The Concorde was capable of flying at just over twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354 miles per hour or 2,180 kilometers per hour) at the aircraft’s cruising altitude of 60,000 feet. The aircraft could be configured to seat from 92 to 128 passengers. The Concorde flew for the first time in 1969 but took until 1976 to enter service. The last operational Concorde was retired in 2003. The world’s only other operational SST was the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 Charger, 16 of which were built and operated by the Soviets for only six years.
