Contents
- From British Aerospace to
BAE SYSTEMS 1977-
The story of British Aerospace from its establishment in
1977, the takeover of GEC-Marconi which led to the
formation BAE SYSTEMS in 1999 and its evolution into a
broad-based defence contractor. - Legacy Aircraft
When British Aerospace took over BAC, Hawker Siddeley
and Scottish Aviation in 1977, it inherited substantial work
programmes on their aircraft, whether out of production
or near the end of their production cycles. - The 748 and its successor – the ATP
The 748 twin-turboprop airliner continued to sell well
under BAe management. In 1986 its replacement, the ATP
took to air but failed to emulate the success of the 748. - Executive best-seller – the 125
The 125 executive jet was a great success, remaining in
production for 50 years, though for the last 19 years it was
under American ownership.
36. Jetstream reborn
British Aerospace relaunched the Jetstream feeder airliner
project, originally devised by Handley Page, at its Prestwick
plant. Many Jetstream 31s and 41s remain in service.
42. The last British airliner – the BAe
The best-selling British jet airliner, the BAe146 was sold to
many operators and though production finished 14 years
ago it remains in demand not only as an airliner but for
fire-fighting and other varied tasks.
52. British Aerospace and Airbus
A major objective for British Aerospace on its formation
was to rejoin the Airbus consortium and make the UK the
centre for the design and manufacture of all Airbus wings.
58. Harrier – conquering the vertical
The prototypes that were the forerunner to the Harrier flew
in 1960 and under British Aerospace substantial
development continued to and refine the design
whose effectiveness was proven during the Falklands
conflict.
4 The Aircraft of British Aerospace and BAE SYSTEMS 1977 - 2017004-5 Contents.indd 4 31/07/2017 11: