Avro 707

The Avro 707 was an experimental aircraft designed and produced by Avro to test the tailless thick delta wing chosen for the Avro 698 jet bomber, later named the Vulcan, since the low-speed behaviour of such aircraft was little known. Aerodynamically it was a one-third scale Vulcan, ordered under Specification E.15/48, and all were powered by a single Rolls-Royce Derwent turbojet. The first flew from RAF Boscombe Down on 4 September 1949 and crashed on 30 September 1949, killing Squadron Leader Eric Esler. The 707B first flew on 6 September 1950, the 707A was built for higher speed testing, and the two-seat 707C first flew on 1 July 1953. Five were completed, and the survivors served as research aircraft until 1966.