AP 118 · No. 10 Section II · Aircraft 1952

Aircraft hub · 1952 · Early jet age

Bristol Britannia

The Whispering Giant — perfected just in time to be outrun by the 707. Grace has no schedule. The gazetteer currently lists it at 5 UK museums.

1952
First flight
85
Built
397 mph
Top speed
5
Museums

Last verified 2026-10-11 against the gazetteer Compendium. Airframes move — confirm on museum pages before travel.

On charge

Where to see the Bristol Britannia in the UK

The gazetteer records 5 Bristol Britannia airframes (including cockpit sections and replicas where noted) across 5 UK collections, in 4 regions: East of England, Midlands & Lincolnshire, South West England, Northern England.

MuseumCityRegionAirframes recorded
Aerospace BristolChecked 2026-10-08 Bristol South West England Bristol Britannia 101 forward fuselage G-ALRX Cockpit or section
British Phantom Group & Bristol Britannia XM496 (Kemble)Checked 2026-10-08 Cirencester South West England Bristol Britannia C.1 XM496
IWM DuxfordChecked 2026-10-08 Cambridge East of England Bristol Britannia 312 G-AOVT
Royal Air Force Museum MidlandsChecked 2026-10-08 Shifnal Midlands & Lincolnshire Bristol Britannia 312 G-AOVF
Speke Aerodrome Heritage GroupChecked 2026-10-08 Liverpool Northern England Bristol Britannia 308F G-ANCF

3D model

The Britannia 312 in 3D

A procedural model built in Blender from the type’s published dimensions, painted as G-AOVT, a Bristol Britannia Series 312 (c/n 13427), one of the long-bodied Proteus-powered Britannias built for BOAC’s North Atlantic services, later flown by British Eagle and Monarch Airlines and flown into Duxford in 1975 for the Duxford Aviation Society’s British Airliner Collection: the four-turboprop airliner, 142 ft in span, shown standing level on its tricycle gear with the propellers parked, in Monarch Airlines’ colours as restored: a white cabin roof over a black window cheat line, Monarch gold below and over the belly, a black radome cap and anti-glare panel, black ‘MONARCH’ titles over the wing, a gold fin and rudder with a black band carrying the gold crown-and-M badge, white ‘G-AOVT’ at the rear, natural-metal wings, tailplane and nacelles with red-and-white check panels on the cowlings and red intake rings, and pale propellers with yellow tips, as it is displayed at IWM Duxford (most starboard cabin windows are shown blanked as preserved, and the badge letterforms are simplified). Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom · all 215 models · download .glb (2.1 MB) · Plate 152 in The Hangar

Computed from the survey

Collection context

Types you’ll see alongside

Bristol Blenheim, Gloster Meteor, Harrier family, McDonnell Douglas Phantom, Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde.

Where the type is thickest

South West England has 2 collections recording the type.

Marks and variants recorded

Bristol Britannia C.1.

Type notes

The Bristol Britannia in brief

TypeBristol Britannia
UK museums holding one5
Airframes recorded in this survey5

Serials are the gazetteer's survey snapshot of what each collection records on charge — restorations move between workshops and reserve hangars, so check the museum page for opening times and current display status before travelling. Every type across 119 museums is indexed in the Compendium.

Aircraft questions

Frequently asked

How many Bristol Britannia airframes are left in the UK?

The Aviation Gazetteer records 5 Bristol Britannia airframes in UK collections.

Which museum has the most Bristol Britannia airframes?

Aerospace Bristol has the most in this survey, with 1 recorded airframe.