The only photograph ever taken of Concorde flying at supersonic speed is blowing people's minds

The Concorde remains one of the most iconic planes ever - it's instantly recognizable to so many people, even though it was retired over 20 years ago.

That means loads of us never even came close to flying a working Concorde and never will, but that hasn't stopped its legacy from spreading.

A post on Reddit in late 2022 really struck a chord, showing what is apparently 'the only photo ever taken of Concorde flying at Mach 2 (2172km/h), taken from an RAF Tornado'.

This means the plane is flying well above the speed of sound, and despite this incredible supersonic velocity, the photo is extremely serene, with the curvature of the planet even visible behind the Concorde itself.

The fact that the photo was taken from a fighter jet flying alongside the plane only adds to its sense of majesty and mystique.

And people commenting on the post were as amazed as you would expect.

One popular response said: "It continues to blow my mind that we had faster commercial flights in the 80s than we do now. I understand the reason to retire them, but wild that we just didn’t try and improve the tech."

This is pretty accurate, too - the Concorde was around for quite a long time, and no commercial flight has come close to matching its speeds since it retired, although a fatal crash in France was the obvious cause for the end of its service.

As responses to that comment pointed out, though, it was a pretty expensive and inefficient way to fly, consuming a lot more fuel than slower planes did making the same journey.

aviation-images.com / Contributor / Getty

Another response from a user had some wishful thinking that many people would probably agree with - "I wish they kept one flying for heritage purposes. Even just for a few flights a year, so sad."

This is a really nice idea, but the reality is that the insurance and upkeep costs for this sort of project are probably why it doesn't already exist somewhere, so chances to actually fly on a Concorde remain slim to none.

Another comment, though, summed up some of that impressive Concorde glitz, observing: "The real marvel of this aircraft was that there are a hundred people sipping champagne and eating caviar in there, sat in comfy leather seats and with great big smiles on their faces. All travelling at the speed of a rifle bullet." We can't disagree - it sounds like it was a heck of a ride.