Britannias in Service

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28479, 8 January 1958, Page 8

Britannias in Service

British aviation has suffered more than a fair share of disappointments in recent years, and the Bristol Britannia had given signs of adding to them. Great hopes had been set on the Britannia, a radical departure in design intended to keep British aircraft manufacturers and the airlines they supply well ahead of competitors. But the Britannia suffered a number of misfortunes, acquiring the reputation of being unreliable. A number of mishaps to Britannias were well publicised. The managing director of the British Overseas Airways Corporation made serious public criticisms of the technical reliability of the aircraft. 8.0.A.C. was then operating medium-range Britannias, and was the potential first operator of the long-range type. The Bristol Aircraft Company assembled evidence showing that the record of Britannias did not compare unfavourably with other aircraft during their first months in the air, notwithstanding the fact that the Britannia was not the last of a long line of aircraft of which performances and problems were known, but was a new type which would be expected to show some defects when put into the air. The chief fault that could fairly be alleged against the Britannia until recently was the delay in finding a cure for icing at the air intake in certain conditions. The doubts that have gathered round the Britannias make reports of their recent successes particularly gratifying. A long-range Britannia went into regular commercial service on the London-New

1 York run on December 19, with • such success that favourable , attention was attracted in the I United States. Almost sjmul- . taneously with 8.0.A.C.’s easti west flight with a long-range Britannia, another Britannia i made the first non-stop flight • from New York to Tel Aviv. ■ These flights have been noticed • in the United States not only i for their speed, but for their • comfort and economy. The i Britannia appears to be con- • solidating the high opinions ■ Vickers Viscounts and Van- ' guards have won for the turbo- > prop type of engine. Britain is ■ leaning heavily on the turbo- • props—Viscount, Vanguard and ■ Britannia—with the Comet 4 as • her only pure jet contender. , Big American jets, due in a : couple of years, are expected . to dominate the long-range field ■ for some years to come, unless ; the Britannia can hold a place > for Britain. This the Britannia ■ now seems likely to do, par- ■ ticularly with airlines which are more interested in low ■ operating costs and greater peri formance flexibility than in i speed. The progress of the : Britannia would be assisted greatly if, as is now suggested, the United States placed orders for Britannias as military transports. Military orders have encouraged American manufacturers to lay down long assembly lines, thereby facilitating delivery schedules. If the Britannia received help that would hasten delivery dates, it could well establish itself firmly in the highly competitive—and extremely lucrative—market for airliners before the speedier, but much more costly, pure jets became fully available.