The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) TSR-2 was a cancelled Cold War tactical strike and reconnaissance aircraft developed for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The programme influenced the direction of the British aircraft industry and many of its design and technological breakthroughs could be seen in subsequent aircraft designs.
The project for a low-level tactical strike and reconnaissance aircraft was conducted against requirement (G)OR.339, issued in 1956. The requirement itself indicated that the Government was only willing to give the contract to a consortium of companies, in an attempt to force a degree of rationalisation of the industry. A number of initial submissions were made, such as the P.17A by Shorts / English Electric and the NA.39 by Blackburn Aircraft.
The Air Ministry eventually selected the P.17A and the Vickers-Armstrongs Type 571 for further consideration, although it soon became known that the Ministry favoured the Vickers submission which included not only the aircraft design but also a ‘total systems concept’. In January 1959, the Minister announced that the contract was to be awarded to Vickers with English Electric as a sub-contractor. It was also announced that the project would be called TSR-2 (Tactical Strike and Reconnaissance, Mach 2).
Following huge government pressure, Bristol Aeroplane Company, English Electric Company, Vickers-Armstrongs Limited and Hunting Aircraft all combined in 1960 to form the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) to produce the BAC TSR-2. The remaining major concerns, de Havilland, Hawker Siddeley, Gloster Aircraft, Armstrong Whitworth, Folland Aircraft and Blackburn Aircraft combined to form Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd to concentrate on other civil and military contracts.
The TSR-2 was a very long (89ft) slim aircraft with a shoulder-mounted delta wing and turned down wing tips. Power was provided by two Bristol Siddeley Olympus 320 engines equipped with afterburners. The tandem main wheel units retracted into the fuselage, allowing a very thin wing to be fitted. The fin and horizontal tail surfaces were all-moving and provided control around all axes, with the ailerons providing both pitch and roll control.
The prototype TSR-2 (XR219) made its first flight at Boscombe Down on 27th September 1964, in the hands of test pilot Roland Beamont and was the only example to fly. The development programme showed that the design had great potential, although engine development and undercarriage retraction problems caused delays to the flight test programme.
On another test flight, the port main undercarriage failed to retract as the 'down' selector successfully lowered the nose and starboard main undercarriages but left both main undercarriages with bogies in a partially extended vertical position. Beamont determined that a landing was possible due to the good low-speed handling characteristics of the aircraft and, after consultation with the ground engineers, conducted a very gentle approach with low sink rate. At touchdown, both bogies rotated to the correct position; the problem was soon resolved and the test programme continued.
The cost of the programme became a matter of political contention and at two Cabinet meetings held on 1st April 1965, it was decided to cancel the BAC TSR-2. This was claimed to be on the grounds of projected costs, although some point more directly to a political option to acquire up to 110 General Dynamics F-111 aircraft from the USA. The decision was announced in the Budget Speech of 6th April 1965.
The maiden flight of the second development aircraft (XR220) was due to take place on the same day but following an accident in conveying the airframe to Boscombe Down by road this never happened. The subsequent cancellation of BAC TSR-2 led the industry to focus on collaborative projects such as the military Jaguar and Tornado, and civil projects such as Concorde and Airbus.