Supersonic fighters and the gas-turbine airliner, which, it is hoped will give Britain a world lead, dominate the 1952 display of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors. Over 300,000 people come to Farnborough to see and hear. In a Hawker Hunter, Neville Duke flies through the sound barrier at 700 mph. The Vickers Supermarine Swift and the Vickers Supermarine 508 are on show – the latter has a ‘butterfly’ tail, helping to give the wide speed range needed for naval, work. The Avro 707B, low-speed version of the 707A, is now seen to have been planned with a view to development of the world’s first Delta-wing bomber – the Avro 698. In airliners, besides the Comet and the Viscount, the Bristol Britannia is on show, designed to carry up to 114 passengers, at a cruising speed of 400 mph, for a lower cost per ton-mile than any competitive aircraft. The Bristol 173 is the first British twin-rotor helicopter; able to fly on one engine only, it can vary 13 passengers at speeds of up to...