Concorde BMC Mini, the miniskirt, the Jaguar E-Type, the London Tube map and the Supermarine Spitfire. The type was retired in 2003, three years after the crash of Air France Flight 4590, in which all passengers and crew were killed. The general downturn in the commercial aviation industry after the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the end of maintenance support for Concorde by Airbus (the successor company of both Aérospatiale and BAC) also contributed. The origins of the Concorde project date to the early 1950s, when Arnold Hall, director of the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) asked Morien Morgan to form
HMS Concorde (1783) 1794 to take command of HMS "Melampus", and in August Captain Anthony Hunt took over command of "Concorde". "Concorde" was part of John Warren's squadron off Quiberon between June and July 1795, supporting the Quiberon Expedition, after which she joined Sir Edward Pellew's squadron. On 20 April 1796 Pellew's squadron, then consisting of "Concorde", Pellew's 38-gun and the 36-gun under Captain Robert Carthew Reynolds, spotted and chased a mysterious sail. After chasing her for 15 hours over 168 miles they caught up with her, with "Indefatigable" leading the attack. Both ships exchanged fire, considerably damaging each other, upon which "Concorde"