Ministry of Supply, Air Division, and Ministry of Aviation: Registered Files (AA...

Files, bearing the prefix AA, of Air A1 Branch of Air Division (A) of the Ministry of Supply and successor departments. They reflect the responsibilities of the Ministry of Supply and the Ministry of Aviation for the development, production and maintenance of civil and military aircraft. The files relate, for example, to mergers within and to policy on the aircraft industry (especially with regard to financial assistance from the government), to supersonic aircraft, and to particular aircraft, such as the Airbus. Also included are the papers of the Transport Aircraft Requirements Committee, the Transport Aircraft Technical Committee and the Transport Aircraft Study Group, and papers concerned with tariff questions and import and export controls. Early Concorde files can also be found in this series.

For other Concorde papers see: BT 242 FV 2

For files in the CA series produced by the Air A Division, Air A2 Branch and successors (of the Ministry of Technology and successors) see FV 14 SUPP 29

• Board of Trade, Civil Aviation Department, 1966-1970
• Department of Trade and Industry, 1970-1974
• Ministry of Aviation, 1959-1967
• Ministry of Supply, Air Division, 1946-1972

Topics

Taxation

Trade and commerce

Air Force

Air transport

The Air Division was created to deal with work transferred to the Ministry of Supply from the Ministry of Aircraft Production upon its dissolution in April 1946. The Division came under the control of a Controller of Supplies (Air), redesignated the Controller of Aircraft in 1953. As far can be ascertained, Air A Division was set up circa 1955. Before that it was either Air 1 Branch or Air Division. Air A appears to have inherited Air 1 Branch/ Air Division's files.

The Air Division had administrative and financial responsibility in five main fields: the development, production and testing of civil and certain military aircraft; the production and repair for the Services of aircraft and equipment, for which it was the technical authority; sponsorship and investigation of the aircraft industry; the stores depots and the sponsorship of certain industries allied to civil aviation.

Air A1 was the branch with administrative responsibility primarily for the research and development, proving and production of civil aircraft and engines. It provided the Secretariat for the Transport Aircraft Requirements Committee (TARC), the Transport Aircraft Technical Committee (TATC) and the Transport Aircraft Study Group (TASG). By the early 1960s it was also responsible for general policy towards and sponsorship of the aircraft industry, but later in the 1960s lost this responsibility together with its responsibility for Concorde, Airbus and advanced Rolls Royce engines.