About This Aircraft
The British Aircraft Corporation BAC TSR-2, bearing the serial number XR220, stands as a poignant symbol of British aviation's zenith and its political downfall. While its sister aircraft, XR219, made history as the only TSR-2 to ever fly, XR220 holds a unique and arguably more tragic distinction: it was fully completed and prepared for its maiden flight on the very day the entire project was controversially cancelled. Today, this remarkable machine rests in the National Cold War Exhibition at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, a silent testament to a future that never was. XR220 was the second aircraft in the TSR-2 development batch, constructed at the BAC factory in Weybridge.Engineers intended it to serve as the primary airframe for flutter testing and weapon system trials. To achieve this purpose, they fitted it with distinctive fairings on the engine intake sides, designed to house high-speed cameras for monitoring stores separation during weapons trials. These subtle modifications make XR220 a unique specimen among the few surviving TSR-2 remnants.
The aircraft's journey to its current home was marked by misfortune. During delivery to AAEE Boscombe Down for flight testing, XR220's fuselage suffered damage in a handling accident. After repairs restored the aircraft to flight-ready condition, ground crews at Boscombe Down prepared it for its maiden flight on April 6, 1965. However, history intervened with cruel timing. The newly elected Labour government, citing escalating costs, abruptly cancelled the entire TSR-2 project that very morning.
The flight crew, poised to take XR220 to the skies for the first time, learned of the cancellation through a public radio broadcast.
In the aftermath, while most TSR-2 airframes, jigs, and tooling were ordered destroyed, XR220 was spared for an unexpected second life. Its robust airframe became a ground-based testbed for the Concorde program, specifically for noise trials of the Olympus 593 engines, which shared technological lineage with the TSR-2's own powerplants. After completing this vital but unglamorous service, XR220 was eventually transferred to the RAF Museum, where it has been meticulously preserved as a major attraction.
Standing before XR220 today, visitors witness more than an aircraft that never flew. They encounter a pivotal moment in aviation history frozen in time—a machine that embodied the cutting edge of 1960s aerospace technology and serves as a powerful reminder of how innovation, economics, and politics can converge to alter the course of history. .
Specifications
General Characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 89 ft (27.13 m)
- Wingspan: 37.14 ft (11.32 m)
- Height: 23.77 ft (7.25 m)
- Wing area: 702.9 ft² (65.3 m²)
Weight
- Empty weight: 54,750 lb (24,834 kg)
- Loaded weight: 79,573 lb (36,169 kg)
- Maximum takeoff weight: 103,500 lb (46,980 kg)
Powerplant
- Engines: 2 × Bristol Siddeley Olympus B.Ol.22R (Mk. 320) turbojet
- Dry thrust: 22,000 lb (97.87 kN) each
- Thrust with afterburner: 30,610 lb (136.7 kN) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 2.35 at 40,000 ft/12,000 m (Mach 1.1+ at sea level)
- Range: 2,500 nmi (2,877 mi, 4,630 km)
- Combat radius: 750 nmi (860 mi, 1,390 km); hi-lo-lo-hi
- Ferry range: 2,500 nmi (2,877 mi, 4,630 km)
- Service ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,000 m)
- Rate of climb: 15,000 ft/min (4,575 m/min)
- Thrust/weight: 0.59
Armament
- Weapon capacity: Up to 10,000 lbs total (6,000 lbs internal bay + 4,000 lbs external)
- Hardpoints: 4 hardpoints
- Nuclear capability: Red Beard 15 kiloton nuclear weapon and WE.177 nuclear bomb
Notable Features
- Heads Up Displays (HUDs)
- Forward and side-looking radars
- Integrated terrain-following capabilities for low-level approaches
- 60 degree wing sweepback on leading edge
- Shoulder-mounted delta wing with turned down wing tips
The TSR-2 was designed as a supersonic tactical strike and reconnaissance aircraft intended to replace the English Electric Canberra. First flight occurred on September 27th, 1964, but the program was cancelled in 1965 due to political and cost concerns.
