France places first Concorde under monument protection

The first Concorde is now a monument. This was announced by French Culture Minister Rachida Dati.

"I am announcing that the Concorde No. 1 aircraft and all of its equipment will be listed as a historical monument," Dati wrote on the social media platform X. "This aircraft embodies France's industrial strength and capacity for innovation in aviation." It is also "a symbol of our capacity for international cooperation."

Concorde was a joint development between France and the UK. The nations signed an agreement to this effect at the end of 1962, with the first flight of Concorde 001 taking place on March 2, 1969 and the prototype 002 on April 9. On October 1, a Concorde flew faster than Mach 1 for the first time. Just over a year later, on November 4, 1970, it reached Mach 2, which corresponds to a good 1200 and just under 2500 km/h respectively.

The Concorde flew regularly from 1976

The supersonic aircraft entered commercial service at the beginning of 1976. However, it was already clear at that time that various countries would not allow the supersonic aircraft to fly because of its noise level.

From November 1977, the Concorde flew regularly across the Atlantic. From London to New York, it took less than 3.5 hours on average, at speeds of around 2100 km/h. The fastest Atlantic crossing took place on February 7, 1996: On that day, Concorde completed the route from New York to London in 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds.

On July 25, 2000, a Concorde crashed shortly after take-off from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. The accident killed 113 people. As a result, all aircraft of this type were decommissioned and extensively overhauled.

The end came in 2003

Concorde returned to service in November 2001. However, the high cost of fuel and maintenance ultimately led to its final decommissioning. The last commercial flight took place on October 24, 2003. The last take-off was on November 26, when a Concorde flew from London Heathrow to the factory in Filton in southwest England.

A total of 20 Concorde were built. 18 are still intact and are now on display in museums or at airports. One can be admired in the Museum of Technology in Sinsheim in Baden-Württemberg, together with its Soviet counterpart, the Tupolev Tu-144.

There are now several projects to develop new civilian supersonic aircraft. The US company Boom Supersonic has built a prototype that broke the sound barrier during test flights at the beginning of the year. The regular supersonic passenger aircraft should be ready for use in 2029.

Concorde was "a pioneer of supersonic flight", said Minister Dati, and will remain "unforgotten".

(wpl)