The Royal Aircraft Establishment was sceptical of Petter's swept wing concepts. To test the design of both the wing, the tailplane and to assess handling, Short Brothers were issued a contract to produce the Short SB.5 in mid-1950. This was a low-speed research aircraft and was designed so that different wing sweep angles could be assumed by the single aircraft. An assortment of tailplanes and wings were supplied and could be installed in order for their flight performance to be evaluated. However, following the first flight of the SB.5 on 2 December 1952, the trials demonstrated the choice of a tailplane and a 60-degree wingsweep and proved the design principles to be effective.