Planes That Never Flew

The Lockheed L133 was an aircraft designed to break the Sound Barrier before Pearl Harbor. Had it flown it would have swept all Nazi opposition from the skies and changed the course of World War Two. A pipe dream? Today, its legacy can still be found in every modern jet fighter.

In the grip of a rapidly escalating Cold War, America poured billions into developing a giant nuclear powered bomber, a plane so fantastic that it could stay aloft for months at a time. The Convair WS 125 was the ultimate doomsday machine.

Using secret Nazi technology, Britain developed an advanced rocket plane capable of climbing to the very edge of space to hunt high flying Soviet bombers. It was the ultimate interceptor but the Saunders Roe SR177 was to fall victim to sabotage by a rival aircraft company.

In the summer of 1963, President John F Kennedy called for America to build a supersonic airliner, an aircraft on the cutting edge of technology, flying faster and higher than any of its rivals. It would have been America's answer to Concorde.