Brabazon Committee
Part One
The Avro Lancaster was one of Britain's most successful World War II bombers
In 1942, during World War II, the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to split
responsibility for aircraft construction; the US would concentrate on transport aircraft while
the UK would concentrate on their heavy bombers. This would leave the UK with little experience
in transport construction at the end of the war, a worrying development given the production
infrastruction that would now be useless. Moreover the massive infrastructure in the US would
allow them to produce civilian designs at low cost.
Starting in February 1943 a committee met under the leadership of
Lord Brabazon of Tara
in order to investigate the future needs of the British civilian airliner market. The Brabazon
Committee studied a number of designs and technical considerations, and delivered a report
calling for the construction of four general designs they had studied along with members of the
airlines BOAC and BEA.
Douglas DC-3
Type I was a very large transatlantic airliner serving the high-volume routes like
London-New York, seating its passengers in luxury for the 12-hour trip.
Type II was a feederliner intended to replace the DC-3 and De Havilland Dragon Rapide,
although BEA suggested a larger and much more capable design. Type II was later split into two
designs, IIA was a piston-powered aircraft, and the IIB was turboprop powered.
Type III called for a larger medium-range aircraft for various multi-hop
routes serving the British Empire.
Dragon Rapide
Type IV was the most advanced of them all, a jet-powered 100-seat design.
Added at the personal urging of one of the committee members, Geoffrey de Havilland, the Type IV
could, if the whole concept of a jet airliner could be made to work, be able to replace the Type
III outright, and many of the duties of the other planes in shorter routes.
The committee published versions of the report several times between August 1943 and November
1945, each time further solidifying one of the types. In 1944, the Ministry of Supply started a
tender process for contracts for all of these planes. After a short selection process the Type I
was given to the Bristol Aeroplane Company and was produced as the Brabazon, Type IIA became the
Airspeed Ambassador and IIB the Vickers Viscount, Type III also went to Bristol as the Britannia
and the Type IV went to De Havilland and would become the world's first jet airliner, the Comet.
Airspeed Ambassador
Vickers Viscount
Bristol Brabazon
Bristol Britannia
De Havilland Comet
