WZ736

WZ736 was the second Avro 707A, ordered to speed up research for the Vulcan bomber. It was assembled at Avro's Bracebridge Heath site in Lincolnshire and first flew on 20 February 1953. The 707A was a one-third scale delta with intakes in the wing roots, built for higher-speed work than the first 707s.

In June 1953 WZ736 went to the Royal Aircraft Establishment. There it flew aerodynamic trials and, later, research into automatic control. It was also used at both Farnborough and Bedford. The leading-edge sweep it helped test was adopted on production Vulcans.

The aircraft was stored in 1966 with a view to preservation, and later received the instructional serial 7868M. It entered the RAF Museum collection under accession number 1994/0826/A. For years it was displayed at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

In June 2019 the RAF Museum listed WZ736 among objects available for long-term loan to other museums. The Manchester air and space hall closed in 2021 and its aircraft were dispersed. WZ736 moved to the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection at Old Sarum in January 2022, and had been reassembled there by late February 2022.

Displayed in the hangar at Old Sarum, reassembled after its move from Manchester. English Electric P.1A WG763, which came from the same Manchester hall, is also here.