The Fairey Delta 2 was designed by Leslie Appleton, the man who was also partially responsible for the sale of the Harrier to the USMC. In March 1956, an FD2 piloted by Peter Twiss flew at a speed of 1,132mph, breaking the world airspeed record (set by the North American Super Sabre) by more than 300mph. The FD2 was designed to help the British aircraft industry catch up with the Americans, who were thought to be seven years ahead in terms of research. Hailed as a massive success, the FD2 was never built for the RAF because of the infamous 1957 Defence White Paper. The FD2 was all but forgotten, until Marcel Dassault of France took an interest in the aircraft. Fairey passed information of the FD2 to Dassault, who then based the highly successful Mirage on the aircraft. The FD2 was also the forerunner of the world's first & most successful supersonic airliner, the Concorde. The FD2 shared several key features with Concorde, including the famous drooping nose. Without the FD2, it is certain that at least two of the world's most successful aircraft would never have existed.
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