Britain's 300 MPH Most Successful Mistake

The Fairey Delta 2 was a speed demon born almost by accident. What began as a stopgap transonic fighter—a silver dart that looked more like a spacecraft than a warplane—shattered expectations by breaking the sound barrier on its early flights without even engaging afterburners. On March 10, 1956, test pilot Peter Twiss unleashed the Delta 2's full potential. Streaking over France's Châteauroux airbase, he obliterated the world airspeed record, clocking 1,132 miles per hour, a staggering 300 miles per hour faster than the American F-100 Super Sabre's previous mark. The Royal Air Force seemed destined to adopt this revolutionary breakneck interceptor until Britain's 1957 Defense White Paper changed everything. Combat aircraft were out; guided missiles were in. The Delta 2 was grounded before it could even take off. But this wasn't the end. The team behind Britain's fastest fighter found new life for their creation across the Channel... --- Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between. As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.