British Airways Ltd
Company type | Public limited company |
---|---|
Industry | Air transport |
Predecessor | |
Founded | 30 September 1935 |
Defunct | 1 September 1939 |
Fate | Merged with Imperial Airways |
Successor | British Overseas Airways Corporation |
Headquarters | |
Number of locations |
British Airways Ltd was a British
History
On 30 September 1935, Allied British Airways Ltd was formed for the purpose of merging the publicly quoted company Hillman's Airways with the private companies of Spartan Air Lines and United Airways Ltd, both controlled by
In early 1936, aircraft and services of Hillman's Airways were transferred from
In April 1936 the airline merged with British Continental Airways; the merged fleet continued to operate as British Airways.
On 25 May 1936, the service from London to Cowes and Ryde aerodromes on the Isle of Wight, that was still jointly operated by Spartan Air Lines and Railway Air Services using DH.84s, was transferred from Heston to Gatwick Airport. Gatwick was then undergoing renovation and redevelopment, to include a new terminal and linked railway station, completed in 1937. In 1936, services from London to Paris, Brussels, Ostend, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Malmö and Stockholm were flown using DH.89s and DH.86s. Four Fokker F.XIIs were purchased from KLM, after attempted purchase and use by Crilly Airways for a London-Lisbon service, and they were employed on the Paris service until sold in September 1936 for intended use in the Spanish Civil War. During 1936, and into 1937, various night mail contracts were operated, using DH.86s and additional two Fokker F.XIIs, two Fokker F.VIIIs, and three Junkers Ju 52s, to Lille, Cologne, and Hanover.[1][2]
On 7 February 1937, all services were transferred to
On 15 September 1938,
During 1939, new services were operated to Berlin, Frankfurt, Budapest, Warsaw and Lisbon.[1]
Second World War
Before the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939, the British government had already implemented the Air Navigation (Restriction in Time of War) Order 1939. That ordered military takeover of most civilian airfields in the UK, cessation of all private flying without individual flight permits, and other emergency measures. It was administered by a statutory department of the Air Ministry titled National Air Communications (NAC). By 1 September 1939, the aircraft and administrations of British Airways Ltd (BAL) and Imperial Airways were physically transferred to Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport, to be operated jointly by NAC. On 1 April 1940, British Airways Ltd and Imperial Airways Ltd were officially combined into a new company, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), that had already been formed on 24 November 1939 with retrospective financial arrangements.[5]
Fleet
British Airways Ltd operated the following aircraft:[6]
Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Airspeed AS.40 Oxford I | 1 | 1938 | 1939 | |
Armstrong Whitworth Argosy | 1 | 1935 | 1936 | |
de Havilland DH.60 Moth | 2 | 1935 | 1936 | |
de Havilland DH.83 Fox Moth
|
2 | 1935 | Unknown | |
de Havilland DH.84 Dragon
|
2 | 1935 | Unknown | |
de Havilland DH.86 Express
|
11 | 1935 | 1938 | |
de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide
|
13 | 1935 | Unknown | |
Fokker F.VIII | 2 | 1936 | 1939 | |
Fokker F.XII | 6 | 1936 | 1939 | |
Junkers Ju 52 | 3 | 1937 | 1939 | |
Lockheed Model 10 Electra | 7 | 1936 | 1939 | |
Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior | 3 | 1938 | 1939 | |
Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra | 9 | 1938 | 1939 | |
Spartan Three Seater | 1 | 1935 | Unknown | |
Spartan Cruiser | 8 | 1935 | 1936 |
Accidents and incidents
- On 16 May 1936, a Glasgow (Renfrew) Airport. Despite the loss of a wing in the accident, the aircraft was repaired and returned to service.[7]
See also
Notes
- Doyle, Neville. 2001. The Triple Alliance: The Predecessors of the first British Airways. ISBN 0-85130-286-6
- Moss, Peter W. 1962. Impressments Log (Vol I-IV). Air-Britain.
- Moss, Peter W. October 1974. British Airways. Aeroplane Monthly.
- Poole, Stephen (1999). Rough Landing or Fatal Flight. Douglas: Amulree Publications. ISBN 1-901508-03-X.
- Sherwood, Tim. 1999. Coming in to Land: A Short History of Hounslow, Hanworth and Heston Aerodromes 1911–1946. Heritage Publications (Hounslow Library) ISBN 1-899144-30-7
References
- ^ a b c d e Doyle (2001)
- ^ Moss (1974)
- ^ Sherwood, 1999
- ^ Flight, 22 February 1957, p. 247
- ^ Moss (1962)
- ^ "British Airways-1935 fleet". aerobernie.bplaced.net. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
- ^ Poole 1999, p. 14.
External links
- Photo of Spartan Cruisers of British Airways Ltd at Hall Caine Aerodrome IoM, 1936
- Photo of Dragon Rapide (G-ADAG) of Hillmans Airways
- Photo of De Havilland Dragon (G-ADCT) 'Orcadian' of Highland Airways
- Photo of Lockheed 10A (G-AEPR) at Heston, 15 September 1938
- Polish National Archives photo of Lockheed 14 (G-AFGN) with Chamberlain at Heston, 24 September 1938
- Polish National Archives photo of Lockheed 14 with pilot Giles Guthrie
- Polish national Archives photo of Lockheed 14 (G-AFKE) at Warsaw, 1939
- Documents and clippings about British Airways Ltd in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW