This short film shows activities at the Farnborough Air Show in 1956, with narration by Geoffrey Summer. It includes footage of the cutting edge designs offered by Britain in the 1950s — the “Challenge in the Air.” Among the many aircraft demonstrated are the Avro Vulcan delta wing bomber, the Lincoln flying testbed is shown with the Tyne engine built by Rolls-Royce, the Handley Page Victor bomber, the Vickers Valiant (doing a JATO assist short takeoff), the Canberra bomber, Gloster Javelin interceptors, Vickers Supermarine Swifts, the Vickers N-113 carrier-based aircraft, the Folland Gnat jet trainer, the Fairey Delta II supersonic research aircraft, Royal Air Force Hunters and T-7 trainers, the Fairey Gannet, Blackburn Beverley transport aircraft, Bristol Brittania civil aircraft, helicopters made by Bristol, Skeeter, Westland, Fairey and others.

The Russian delegation is shown periodically throughout the film, reminding us that this was a Cold War exhibition.

The Farnborough International Airshow is a week-long event that combines a major trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries with a public airshow. The event is held in mid-July in even-numbered years at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, England. The first five days (Monday to Friday) are dedicated exclusively to trade, with the final two days open to the public.

The airshow is an important event in the international aerospace and defence industry calendar, providing an opportunity to demonstrate civilian and military aircraft to potential customers and investors. The show is also used for the announcement of new developments and orders, and to attract media coverage.

The Farnborough Airshow has its origins in the annual RAF Airshow at Hendon from 1920 to 1937. On 27 June 1932, the Society of British Aircraft Constructors held an exhibition of 35 aircraft by 16 companies at Hendon as a showpiece for the British aircraft industry. After World War II, the show recommenced at Radlett (the site of Handley Page’s airfield) in 1946 and was held there until 1948, when the show moved to its present location of Farnborough, Hampshire, home of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, about 30 miles (48 km) south-west of central London.

Initially an annual event, the show has been biennial since 1962. It has become an international event that attracts exhibitors from all over the world — with the exception, during the Cold War, of countries behind the Iron Curtain.

The Handley Page Victor was a British jet-powered strategic bomber, developed and produced by the Handley Page Aircraft Company, which served during the Cold War. It was the third and final of the V-bombers operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the other two V-bombers being the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. The Victor had been developed to perform as part of the United Kingdom’s airborne nuclear deterrent. In 1968, the type was retired from the nuclear mission following the discovery of fatigue cracks, which had been exacerbated by the RAF’s adoption of a low-altitude flight profile to avoid interception.

The Vickers-Armstrongs Valiant was a British four-jet bomber, once part of the Royal Air Force’s V bomber nuclear force in the 1950s and 1960s. The Valiant was the first of the V bombers to become operational, and was followed by the Handley Page Victor and the Avro Vulcan; however it was noticeably less advanced than its counterparts. Several Valiants were soon converted to perform various support roles, such as aerial refuelling tankers and reconnaissance aircraft.

The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation jet-powered medium bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft (21,430 m) in 1957. Due to its ability to evade the early jet interceptors and its significant performance advancement over contemporary piston-engined bombers, the Canberra was a popular export product and served with air forces of many nations.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com