Vickers & Supermarine Aircraft Advertisements Volume 2 1941-1960

In the space of 20 years both companies progressed from producing war winning military aircraft to cutting edge airliners and fighter jets. In 1950 the Vickers Viscount was the first turbine engined airliner in the world to carry fare paying passengers, and the many adverts for the type stress both the operational virtues and the 'romance' of the aircraft in equal measure. Indeed these are classics of the advertisers art and stand scrutiny even today.

A mere 10 years later we see the first adverts for the iconic VC10 under the Vickers name and sadly the end of the line for the Vickers brand as they became fully integrated into the newly formed British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).

Adverts featuring Spitfire variants in this volume include the Seafang, Seafire and Spiteful. The company's first Jet fighter 'The Attacker' appearing as early as 1948.

The enthusiast will also enjoy studying the adverts for the other famous aircraft from these stables including the Viking, Varsity, Valiant and Vanguard. And finally from Supermarine came the Swift and Scimitar before aircraft production ceased around 1957 and the 'brand' name consigned to history books.

The great airline industry rationalisation programme of the late 1950s witnessed the end of the line for many famous British aircraft manufacturers as individual entities, it was an uncomfortable but necessary measure as the cost and complexity of both civil and military aerospace projects were simply too much for individual companies to bear, especially without government backing.

These compilations are designed as works of reference to catalogue and illustrate the press adverts for the subject company and are intended to augment rather than replace other sources of company or product history.

The adverts are presented without narrative, in chronological order and annotated with the image source and date of publication thus creating a comprehensive timeline of the company's publicity and marketing efforts.

Additionally each image is given a unique reference number (Ad Ref) which corresponds to the record number in the Aviation Ancestry master database.

Due to the cost of production all images are reproduced in black and white (grayscale), which in most cases was the original format. Where original images were published in colour the caption is amended to reflect this. (To view or request a copy of the colour version visit AviationAncestry.co.uk.)

As always let the adverts tell the story and I'm confident that this unique compilation will prove not only captivating but a valuable resource to both researchers and enthusiasts alike.