Plans for a supersonic passenger plane were first mooted around 1958, in France, the USA, UK and USSR. By the early 1960s the UK was ready to produce a prototype. Political pressure, brought about by the huge costs involved, which the UK government was being asked to underwrite, meant that BAC, the UK aircraft company, was forced to look to other countries for financial support. It turned to France where Sud Aviation (which evolved into Aerospatiale) was working on a similar project, to be called the Super-Caravelle.

Concorde was born though not without controversy, and not just about the cost. It was initially spelt with the final "e" but British PM Harold Macmillan, in response to a haughty snub by Charles de Gaulle, removed the "e". Tony Benn (Minister for Technology), once the Labour party was re-elected, changed it back and "Concorde" it remained, despite the discord ! Construction of two prototypes began in 1965 with the first flight in 1969. Launch orders were signed for over 100 planes, with BOAC, Air France, Pan Am, Panair do Brasil, Japan airlines, Qantas, Singapore, Air Canada, Lufthansa, United, Braniff, Iran Air, MEA and TWA but only BOAC (later British Airways) and Air France accepted deliveries, the other orders being cancelled due to the 1973 oil crisis, the cost and the crash of the Russian Tu-144 at the Paris air show.

The Russian plane, which bore an uncanny resemblance to Concorde, was to be have been faster in the air, but had a higher fuel consumption and shorter range. The world was not then ready to buy Russian-built aircraft for civilian use. There were also environmental concerns about the sonic boom and this was the reason the Americans gave for refusing Concorde permission to fly supersonically across the continental United States. Many suggested that this refusal was based on pique at not being the first nation to build a supersonic airliner. At the time both Boeing and Lockheed were still working on an SST but the US government cancelled these in 1971.

Concorde would eventually be granted permission to fly into New York and Washington (though it took a Supreme Court judgement in the USA to get New York to allow it in) and Braniff went on to lease ten Concordes from both BA and AF for flight between Dallas and Washington. The flights were crewed by Braniff pilots and only flew subsonically, AF or BA pilots then taking over for the Atlantic crossing to Paris or London. This deal only lasted two years though as bookings were so low. Concorde was a massive technical success. The advanced avionics, engine systems and performance surpassed expectations. Its cruise speed was Mach 2.02 (about 1330 mph – 2140 km/h) at a height of 55-60,000 feet. Take-off speed varied but was around 250 mph (400 km/h) and landing speed was also high by normal aircraft standards at around 300 km/h (186 mph).

One of the huge hurdles to be overcome was the engine intakes. Jet engines suck in air at around 350 mph. When travelling at four times that speed the incoming air would literally have snuffed out the ignition process causing the engines to shut down. Special intake ramps were built on the front of the engines – a bit like an exhaust system but in reverse – to slow the air down. Concorde also had after-burners fitted, for use during take-off and also for the part of the flight when it accelerated from subsonic cruise to supersonic, literally pushing it through the sound barrier. But those engines were thirsty at subsonic speeds and especially during taxiing for take-off when two tonnes of fuel were regularly burnt.

Concorde also had fuselage heating problems. After take-off the fuselage cooled as the plane climbed. Once through the sound barrier the fuselage skin heated up, to about 120°C. During descent the plane first cooled down and then warmed up on landing. Expansion and contraction had to be within strict limits. The braking systems on Concorde also had to be specifically designed (by Dunlop) and could stop a fully loaded (188 tonnes) plane from 190 mph within one mile – though the brakes heated up to an unhealthy 500°C requiring several hours to cool down. BA had services to New York, Washington and Miami. There was also an early series of flights between London and singapore in conjunction with Singapore Airlines, the plane being painted on one side in BA colours, the other side in Singapore Airlines'. The flight touched down at Bahrain for refuelling but was cancelled as both India and Malaysia refused permission for supersonic overflights. Air France also operated a route from Paris to Rio de Janeiro, stopping at Dakar in Senegal on the way. AF also flew to Mexico via Washington or New York.

Concorde never made money on its huge investment. The figures make grim reading and the programme only went ahead, and was sustained by government grants, from both France and the UK. The aircraft needed expensive service checks and replacement parts and earlier aircraft were cannibalised for spares as the main Concorde assembly lines had been shut down. The future was looking increasingly difficult. Then came the nail in the coffin, the Paris Concorde crash of July 25th, 2000.

A fully laden chartered AF Concorde (AF4590) with 100 passengers, mainly from Germany on their way to pick up a cruise ship in New York, rolled out at CDG airport, Paris. Four minutes earlier a Continental Airlines DC-10 had taken off but as it did an item fell from one of its engines, part of the thrust-reverser mechanism. The Concorde hit this during take-off, bursting a tyre which then flew up and ruptured a fuel tank, causing a devastating on-board fire. Both engines on the port side lost power and were shut down but as take-off velocity had been reached the pilot continued the climb, hoping to land at either nearby Le Bourget or back at CDG. The plane could not gain enough height on two engines and in an unbalanced state and clearly on fire crashed into an hotel nearby, hitting it tail-down. All 109 people on board, plus four in the hotel, were killed.

Concorde was immediately grounded. Several expensive alterations were made and it resumed service on September 11 2001. It was literally in the air between London and New York when terrorists struck that city. Supersonic services never again made enough money and the planes were retired from commercial service in 2003. Today the remaining planes can be seen at various air museums around the world.

A few plans and proposals keep coming along for new SSTs (including one for a supersonic executive aircraft) but nothing is yet flying. There are no plans for a commercial SST. The end of Concorde was a very sad day for all aviation enthusiasts, together with the hundreds of thousands who either flew on Concorde or who worked on its design and construction.