ABSTRACT
This chapter traces British aircraft industrial policy from the closing years of the Second World War to the short-lived Eden government of 1955–1957. During this period, Britain attempted to maintain and even extend its independent military aircraft industry. The historian Correlli Barnett has described this enterprise as a “neo-Edwardian dream”, and “technological overstretch”. In fact, however, Britain’s attempted preservation of independent aircraft production later provided the basis for an expanded British aircraft industry. To be sure, Britain’s attempt to take on American airliners through the production of the jet-powered Comet and Viscount was doomed to failure. From 1955, US airliners (such as the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8) regained competitive superiority. And yet, by pragmatically agreeing to power the Boeing 707, Rolls-Royce was able to gain access to the world market and sow the seeds for a future, vital British role.
