On 30 Oct 2003 13:24:56 -0000, (ANDREW ROBERT BREEN)
wrote in Message-Id: :

One of the design proposals in the 1950s for an alternative to what became
Concorde (the M1.8, later M2.0 SST) was a M1.2 to M1.5 aeroplane with a
wing shape designed to not produce sonic booms at ground level - Armstrong
Whitworth produced a design with an "M" shaped wing, and the oblique-wing
design from Handley-Page may have been intended for the same job. There's
a picture of a design mock-up of the A-W M-wing in this month's Aeroplane
Monthly. There's a plan-view of it at:
http://airlines.afriqonline.com/aircraft/paper/

Thank you for the information and the link. It looks like something
out of a 1930s episode of Buck Rogers. The concept of the probe on
the nose to keep the supersonic shock wave clear of the wings probably
wouldn't stop it from causing ground level sonic booms.

The oblique-wing H-P is in there too.
There was also an M-wing proposal (M1.3) from Bristol, for the same
reasons as the A-W:
http://www.chew76.fsnet.co.uk/concorde/bris2.jpg

Wow! That design is even more bizarre. However, it doesn't seem to
be designed to reduce sonic booms either. The concept of placing the
passengers in the wing is consistent with Boeing's latest proposed
creation.