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Concorde was the first supersonic jet to enter commercial service with its inaugural flights in January 1976.

Revolutionary jet travelled from London to New York in just over three hours at Mach 2.04, twice the speed of sound. It was retired by British Airways and Air France in 2003 in a decline accelerated by a fatal crash and rising costs.

These vintage photographs reveal the beginnings of one of the most famous aircraft of all time before it took its first commercial flight 40 years ago.

A Concorde model at the Farnborough Air Show Exhibition in England. Sept. 9, 1962.

A wooden mockup of the Concorde nose and cockpit under construction at Filton factory in Bristol. October 1963.

Employees work on a full-scale wooden model of the Concorde. Oct. 24, 1963.

Designers and passenger stand-ins in the cabin of the Concorde. April 1964.

A model lineup of the various designs suggested for the shape of the Concorde, with the eventual design at the far end of the row. May 28, 1964.

Queen Elizabeth II visits the factory where the Concorde is being developed. September 1966.

Workers clean the fuselage of a Concorde prototype. January 1967.

Workers on the wing of a Concorde prototype. Jan. 30, 1967.

A full-scale wooden model of the Concorde on display. March 1, 1967.

A Concorde prototype undergoes vibration tests in Toulouse. Sept. 8, 1967.

Pilots and flight attendants from airliners which have ordered the Concorde stand in front of the plane in Toulouse. Dec. 11, 1967.

An early test of a Concorde prototype. Aug. 22, 1968.

A sugar model of the Concorde, c. 1965.

A model with makeup and hairstyle inspired by the Concorde. May 24, 1969.