page_title: Bristol Britannia
section_title: Delays
hierarchical_section_title: Bristol Britannia / Design and development / Delays
caption_attribution_description: English: Britannia Airways Bristol Britannia 102 G-ANBO at Manchester (Ringway) Airport in 1965
context_page_description: The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire. During development two prototypes were lost and the turboprop engines proved susceptible to inlet icing, which delayed entry into service while solutions were sought.
  By the time development was completed, "pure" jet airliners from France, United Kingdom, and the United States were about to enter service, and consequently, only 85 Britannias were built before production ended in 1960. Nevertheless, the Britannia is considered one of the landmarks in turboprop-powered airliner design and was popular with passengers. It became known as "The Whispering Giant" for its quiet exterior noise and smooth flying, although the passenger interior remained less tranquil.
  Canadair purchased a licence to build the Britannia in Canada, adding another 72 variants. These were the stretched Canadair CL-44/Canadair CC-106 Yukon, and the greatly modified Canadair CP-107 Argus maritime patrol aircraft.
context_section_description: However, in 1953 and 1954, three de Havilland Comets crashed without explanation, which led the Air Ministry to demand that the Britannia undergo lengthy tests. Further delays were attributed to teething problems with the engine resulting in the loss in February 1954 of the second prototype, G-ALRX, caused by a failed reduction gear that led to an engine fire and the aircraft landing on the mudflats of the Severn Estuary. Resolving easily avoidable inlet icing issues — by selecting a slightly different cruising height than that specified — that were discovered at the last minute as the first aircraft were being delivered to BOAC, and which then were exaggerated by BOAC in public destroying the Britannia's sales prospects and delaying the Britannia's introduction by two years, also took time.
  The first prototype G-ALBO was subsequently modified to more closely approximate a production standard, but was retained by the company to undergo engine testing and development. Bristol revised the design into a larger transatlantic airliner for BOAC, resulting in the Series 200 and 300; the Britannia 300LR (Long-Range) was viewed as being "eminently suitable" for BOAC's services between London and Sydney. The purchase price paid by BOAC for each Britannia 100-series aircraft agreed on in 1955 was £768,000.
  Australian airline Qantas is known to have considering the procurement of a sizable Britannia fleet; however, the airliner's protracted development had eroded the competitive advantage that it would have enjoyed prior to the introduction of newer aircraft, such as the Douglas DC-8 and de Havilland Comet 4, onto the market. Route-proving trials continued through 1955, although orders were on the books from El Al and Canadian Pacific Air Lines alongside the standing order placed by BOAC.
  During the first eight months of its operational trials, a total of 16 in-flight engine failures and 49 unscheduled engine changes punctuated the ongoing engine dilemma and delayed the Britannia's in-service date until February 1957, roughly two years late. The Britannia received a fair amount of attention in both the popular press and the British House of Commons, especially when it was revealed that BOAC had contemplated fitting Rolls-Royce Tynes to their fleet of Douglas DC-7s as an interim measure until the Britannia was cleared for service.
  In 1956, Bristol's managing director Peter Masefield flew the tenth production Britannia, G-ANBJ, on a world sales tour. American interest was strong, since the Britannia seemed to be a faster, longer-range, higher-capacity sister of the Vickers Viscount, which was already a marketing success on US domestic routes, and, compared to the piston-engined DC-7C, itself a new type, the Britannia offered similar transcontinental or transatlantic range with greater speed and the publicity appeal of more modern powerplants. Eastern Air Lines and TWA both wished to place orders, which might have forced competitors to follow suit. TWA's majority owner Howard Hughes took the controls of the Britannia for one flight and immediately requested 30 aircraft. However, the Americans wanted delivery in the next couple of years, and Bristol, with its limited production facilities and the prior commitment to the BOAC order, could not meet the required dates, so, with the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 jets expected in service by 1958-9, the opportunity passed.  
  Aviation historian Peter Pigott summarised the impact of the delays:
  Had the Britannia appeared in 1950, when it was faster than every American aircraft, it would have put the British at the forefront of commercial aviation sales. Now, competing with the Boeing 707, the turboprop airliner had become passé.
caption: Britannia Airways Britannia Model 102 at Manchester Airport in 1965
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