ABSTRACT
The late 1960s saw intensifying competition in the production of wide-body airliners in both the airframe and aero-engine sectors. This period was also marked by extensive conflict and adjustment in the industrial policies of the American, British, French and German governments. In these burgeoning conflicts, the British once again found themselves in a basically conflicted position. They continued to co-operate with the French and Germans on the European Airbus Consortium. This constituted a clear attempt to break the monopoly on wide-body airliners operated by US manufacturers. At the same time, however, the British also aimed to power the American-produced Lockheed TriStar with a Rolls-Royce RB211 engine. In 1971, the escalating developmental costs of this engine tipped Rolls-Royce into bankruptcy. Only a last-minute intervention by the Nixon administration and the Heath government saved the British manufacturer.
