Bristol Britannia 102 (G-ANBH) in flight, 5 July 1955

The Bristol Britannia first flew in 1952 but it didn’t enter service with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) until 1957 and the Royal Air Force in 1959.

Bristol Britannia 102 G-ANBH was one of the first batch to enter service with BOAC. Early destinations included South Africa, Australia and Japan. The type was sold to other airlines, but its success was hampered by Bristol’s restricted manufacturing capacity. The last scheduled BOAC Britannia service was April 1965 with most of the aircraft sold for scrap.