The Concorde was the fastest commercial airliner in history with an astonishing cruising speed of roughly 1,354 miles per hour otherwise known as Mach

This is the Only Photo of the Concorde Flying at Supersonic Speed

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2025-01-26 21:30:02

The Concorde was the fastest commercial airliner in history with an astonishing cruising speed of roughly 1,354 miles per hour otherwise known as Mach 2.04.

Being the iconic airplane that it was, picture desks around the world wanted a photo of Concorde traveling at Mach 2 — twice the speed of sound.

But the only aircraft capable of reaching those speeds was also a Concorde which is not an aircraft you can commandeere solely for the purpose of taking a photo.

So in April 1985, a Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado jet rendezvoused with a Concorde above the Irish Sea and Adrian Meredith was able to capture a photo of the airplane traveling at supersonic speed. But it wasn’t straightforward.

While the RAF Tornado could match Concorde’s cruising speed, it could only sustain such speeds for a few minutes due to the immense fuel consumption. The Aviation Geek Club reports the Tornado had to be stripped of all unnecessary equipment to maximize its performance.

After multiple attempts to get the perfect shot, Concorde had to reduce its speed from Mach 2 to Mach 1.5-1.6 to allow the Tornado crew to position themselves.