HALF a century ago the British aviation industry was rocked when the newly elected Labour-Government announced the cancellation of the RAF’s futuristic new multi-role combat aircraft, which was capable of carrying nuclear weapons amongst other various payloads, and would continue to ensure the country’s air supremacy during the Cold War era.

Just seven months earlier the world had cast its eyes upon the skies over the south of England to catch the first glimpse of the visionary TSR-2 as it roared into the air above Wiltshire.

In fact it was fifty-one years ago this week that test pilot Roland Beaumont, the man who was piloting Hurricanes and shooting down flying bombs during the Second World War, introduced the latest weapon to the country's defensive system when he lifted the T.S.R.2 off the Boscombe Down runway.

Dozens of official sightseers watched the long-awaited take-off from inside the top security re-search establishment. The "No cameras" rule was lifted as Press-men were escorted to and from a vantage point. In the fields around the aerodrome, and alongside country roads, hundreds of unofficial on-lookers held hands to ears as the all-white aircraft roared overhead and up to 10,000ft above south Wiltshire. The noise of the two Bristol-Siddeley Olympus Mk 320 jet engines, belching flame and smoke, shattered many Sunday afternoon naps. There was jubilation among the many design and development "boffins" of the British Aircraft Corporation, which is building a pre-production batch of 20 T.S.R.2s, and 30 have been ordered by the RAF for introduction into service about 1968.

The take-off of the T.S.R.2 (It means Tactical/Strike/Reconnaissance No. 2) had been eagerly anticipated for the past three weeks, but at lunchtime on the 27 September 1964, after a mid-morning taxi run the flight was finally fixed. Fire engines and crash tenders took up strategic positions along the 10,000ft runway, while an ambulance unit discretely assembled in the background. Overhead a helicopter hovered. Operating as "chase" aircraft, carrying cameras and test equipment recording every move the TSR2 made, were the latest type Canberra and Lightning They were appropriate, as it was "Roly" Beaumont who had flown the first Canberra in 1949 and the first Lightning some eight years later in 1957 from that same runway. They celebrated the "hat-trick' with a victory roll after the T.S.R 2 had completed two circuits and a successful landing.

Afterwards, pilot Roland Beaumont said: "It is a beautiful aeroplane. Everything went well. There were no snags." Accompanying Mr. Beaumont was chief test navigator Mr. Donald Bowen, who had seen service as a wartime Coastal Command observer during the war. With satisfied smiles they said they were able to complete all tests scheduled, with Mr Beaumont adding "We could have taken her up again.”

However despite the glowing endorsements by all those involved with the TSR-2’s maiden flight, it was less than a year before the project was ultimately cancelled as the aircraft, described by many subsequently as being well ahead of its time, became a victim of its own sophistication.

Some of the most advanced aviation technology of the period was incorporated in order to make it the highest-performing aircraft in the world that was capable of operating a variety of projected missions.

But the ever-rising costs and the inter-service squabbling between the RAF top brass and other top military figures, in particular Lord Mountbatten who championed the rival Blackburn Buccaneer aircraft for Britain's future defence needs, led to the controversial decision to scrap the programme in April 1965.

The years that followed saw continued deliberation over various other aircraft programmes suggested with a view to fulfil the multi-role requirements of the RAF’s next front line aircraft with the smaller variable geometry winged Panavia Tornado developed and adopted by a European consortium to fulfil broadly similar requirements to the TSR-2.

The cancellation of the TSR-2 aircraft, had a considerable effect on the aircraft industry in the Southampton area. Although no actual labour working force figures were disclosed at the time, it was known at that a substantial number of men at Vickers-Armstrong’s factory at Itchen had been engaged on the project and were expecting to be hit hard. Workers at the Hamble works of the Hawker-Siddeley Aviation where a small amount of sub-contracting work was being carried, were also bracing themselves for the worst as Sir George Edwards, managing director for the British Aircraft Corporation, described the cancellation as a “sad blow”.

Among the disenchanted voices within the industry who were dismayed at the Government’s decision was aeronautical engineer Sir Sydney Camm, the famed designer who, during his association with Hawker, designed some of the most iconic British aircraft including the Hurricane and the post war jets like the Harrier and the Hunter. Reflecting on the decision Camm said of the TSR-2: “All modern aircraft have four dimensions: span, length, height and politics. TSR-2 simply got the first three right.”