BAC Concorde

Concorde was the most glamorous expression of the jet age: an Anglo-French supersonic airliner created when national ambition, aerodynamics and luxury travel briefly aligned. Developed by the British Aircraft Corporation and Sud Aviation/Aérospatiale, it entered airline service in 1976 and routinely crossed the Atlantic at more than twice the speed of sound, turning London–New York into a flight of roughly three and a half hours.

Its slender delta wing, droop nose and afterburning Olympus engines made it instantly recognisable, but Concorde was also constrained by noise, fuel burn and politics. Only a small fleet entered service, yet its technological confidence and cultural status remain unmatched in commercial aviation.