Brabazon Commission
Brabazon Commission was the name given to two committees convened one after the other that dealt with the future of British civil aviation after the end of the Second World War . Due to an agreement between the USA and Great Britain that was valid for the war years, according to which all military transport aircraft were manufactured by the USA, the British aviation industry had to catch up with a deficit of five years in the development of multi-engine transport aircraft.
The first committee, established by order of Prime Minister Winston Churchill , had its opening meeting on December 23, 1942 and reported to the cabinet on February 6, 1943 after six weeks of deliberation. The second committee was established on May 25, 1943 and made its proposals in November 1943 known. A total of about 60 meetings of the committee were held with representatives of BOAC and later also with the participation of manufacturers.
In both cases, the leadership was held by one of the pioneers of English aviation, namely John Moore-Brabazon, 1st Baron Brabazon of Tara . The proposals were accordingly conservative. Initially, four requirement profiles were defined as important for post-war aviation, a fifth type was added later:
| designation | Air Ministry Specification (assigned later) | description | The resulting aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type I. | 2/44 or 2/46 | A luxury transatlantic plane for connections between London and New York | Bristol Brabazon I or Brabazon II, Miles X-15 (not built) |
| Type IIA | C. 25/43 | A medium-range shuttle aircraft with piston engines. The division into IIA and IIB took place later. | Airspeed Ambassador |
| Type IIB | C. 16/46 | A medium-haul turbo-prop engine feeder aircraft | Vickers Viscount |
| Type III | C.2 / 47 | Large medium-haul airliner to service the Empire routes | no resulting design |
| Type IV | 20/44 | High speed turbine jet airliner | De Havilland DH.106 Comet |
| Type VA | 26/43 | A short-haul shuttle aircraft with piston engines. The Type V was introduced to resume the original requirements for a Type II feeder aircraft after Type II resulted in much larger designs than originally planned | De Havilland DH.104 Dove |
| Type VB | 18/44 | A medium-range shuttle aircraft with piston engines | Miles marathon |
The Comet was initially enthusiastically received, but had to be withdrawn due to several technical problems and catastrophic crashes. The Bristol Brabazon was a complete failure. Only the Vickers Viscount and the de Havilland Dove were able to hold their own. The Brabazon Commission's proposals ultimately ensured that British aviation lost its supremacy, which was then taken over by the USA and the USSR .
literature
- Tony Taylor: Brabazon - The work of the committees. In: AIR Enthusiast Vol. 26, March 1985.