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Never-before-seen Concorde test flight film found

Richard Lawsonand
Pete Simson,Bristol
Rare footage of Concorde test flight filmed by Tony Benn

Never-before-seen footage filmed from inside the cockpit of a Concorde during a test flight in 1970 has been unearthed.

The footage was taken by the late Bristol MP Tony Benn who was technology minister for the Labour government at the time.

He sat in the cockpit for the supersonic test flight on a Concorde prototype, while wearing a parachute.

Years later, Benn told a BBC Radio 4 documentary he had offered the footage to the BBC soon after the flight but it had been rejected as its quality "was not good enough".

Benn filmed on board the fourth supersonic flight in 1970 which took off from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire with chief test pilot Brian Trubshaw and co-pilot John Cochrane.

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Concorde 002, which is now on show at the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton, Somerset, was undergoing performance and handling checks as it increased speed over these tests from Mach 1 - which is equal to the speed of sound - to Mach 2, which is twice the speed of sound.

It had successfully gone supersonic on 25 March 1970 and would reach Mach 2 later that year on 12 November.

Benn family A grainy image of the inside of a Concorde cockpit, showing many of the plane's controls and dials.Benn family
Aviation expert Jonathan Glancey called it "a glorious piece of film"

Aviation expert and author of Concorde: The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner, Jonathan Glancey, described the footage as "a piece of history".

"It's remarkable to find footage of that age, it's the real thing," he said.

"Tony Benn flying in one of the first supersonic test flights with Brian Trubshaw at the controls.

"It's a historic moment. It's a glorious piece of film that captures the sense of adventure and flight in just a few seconds."

PA Media MP Tony Benn sits inside an office with boxes of paperwork behind him. He has short, grey hair and is wearing a black suit jacket with a white shirt and red tie.PA Media
The footage was unearthed in the private collection of Tony Benn's family

The film has spent decades in the private collection of the Benn family which has given the BBC access to the footage.

Benn's son Hilary, who is a Labour MP, said: "It was my brother who found it in boxes, he's been archiving his dad's work."

He said Concorde was a "huge part" of his father's political life.

"Many of his constituents worked there," he added. "He had responsibility for the project, he famously put the 'e' back on Concorde.

"He fought really hard to make sure the project prospered, he was determined to make sure it flew and it was a success."

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