Collection Item

BAC TSR2: Cockpit section

The contract for the TSR2 low-level, 'tactical strike and reconnaissance' aircraft was one of the main factors behind the formation in 1960 of the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) with its Headquarters at Brooklands. Arguably the finest military aircraft ever produced by the British aircraft industry, TSR2 was first flown from A&AEE Boscombe Down on 30/9/64 with Roland Beamont as test pilot and Don Bowen as navigator. With the controversial cancellation of the entire project by the British government on 6/4/65, the sole airworthy TSR2 prototype (XR219) and all jigs, tools and unfinished airframes at Brooklands and Warton were scrapped. Only two incomplete prototypes, XR220 and XR222, escaped destruction and are now preserved at Cosford and Duxford aviation museums.

This unique surviving 20ft long TSR2 cockpit section was specially built by the BAC at Weybridge in c1963 for thermal test work at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough. It was then retained for further RAE heat trials related to Concorde and other projects. Largely forgotten outside Farnborough, it became surplus to requirements by the mid-eighties and was ultimately donated by the Defence Research Agency (formerly RAE) Farnborough and delivered to Brooklands Museum by National Rescue on 13/8/92. The exhibit was refurbished externally by Museum volunteers and loaned briefly to British Aerospace Warton for display purposes in 1998. The cockpit interior unfortunately lacks all original fixtures and fittings.