Every aircraft carries anti-collision lights: the bright, rhythmic red flashes that make it visible to other aircraft in the sky and to crews on the ground. What makes this one unusual is that it extends and retracts. Mounted on the underside of the fuselage, just behind the forward landing gear, a fixed light in that position would have created significant drag — so a retractable unit was fitted instead, extending when needed and retracting to eliminate the drag and turbulent wake a fixed fixture would leave behind. It helped, too, that Concorde was designed to cruise above 60,000 ft, well clear of other air traffic.
On the later pre-production and production Concordes, the anti-collision lights were moved to the wing leading-edge panels, where they could be mounted flush. That makes the retracting light a feature unique to the prototypes.
This example was manufactured by the Grimes Manufacturing Company in October 1970 and came from G-BSST — the British prototype, Concorde 002. It still carries its original identification labels and manufacturing stamps.
Concorde Equipment Code: 66-336-163-00
The fuselage side panel retains a small crack in its mounting ring. Perhaps the defect that led to its removal.
Up until now, the anti-collision light remained as a static display piece in our archive. We passed it to Graham Cahill from Heritage Concorde who has worked wonders by powering it up. The result speaks for itself, and now the beacon flashes exactly as it would on the aircraft.
It’s a small part, but a satisfying one to see brought back to life — and the first in a new “From the Archive” series, where we’ll share pieces from the collection and the stories and restoration behind them.
With thanks to Graham Cahill. Check out their website at heritageconcorde.com
