Vincent Black Shadow to the new specifications. The prototype Black Shadow had engine number F10AB/1B/558 in frame R2549, and was completed on 16 February 1948. The bike was road tested by Charles Markham in Motor Cycling May 1948, during which test the bike was reported to have reached . The Black Shadow was officially introduced at the 1948 Motorcycle Show at Earls Court in London. The Black Shadows were built with the same labour-intensive hand-fitting of bearings and major engine parts that Vincent had used prior to the war. Official records say that 1774 Vincent Black Shadows were made. Vincent also built 15
Black Prince (rocket) Aerospace author C.N Hill wrote that this declaration had been made: "Mainly, I suspect, to minimise the political damage that ensued from the [Blue Streak] decision". The 1957 concept design for a combined Blue Streak-Black Knight launcher was put forward once again, and this time received a favourable appraisal; the project was assigned the rainbow code of "Black Prince". In official documentation, the platform was referred to as the "Blue Streak Satellite Launch Vehicle" (BSSLV). The development of Black Prince was driven by the conjunction of the RAE and two private firms, aerospace manufacturer Saunders Roe and engine firm Bristol