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Imperial Airways

Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers were typically businessmen or colonial administrators, and most flights carried about 20 passengers or less. Accidents were frequent: in the first six years, 32 people died in seven incidents. Imperial Airways never achieved the levels of technological innovation of its competitors and was merged into the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in 1939. BOAC in turn merged with the British European Airways (BEA) in 1974 to form British Airways.

Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways Speedbird logo, mainly used in advertising and rarely on aircraft before 1939
TypePrivate
IndustryAir transport
Predecessor
Founded31 March 1924; 98 years ago (1924-03-31)
Defunct24 November 1939; 83 years ago (1939-11-24)
FateMerged with British Airways Ltd
SuccessorBritish Overseas Airways Corporation
Headquarters,
England

Background

The establishment of Imperial Airways occurred in the context of facilitating overseas settlement by making travel to and from the colonies quicker, and that flight would also speed up colonial government and trade that was until then dependent upon ships. The launch of the airline followed a burst of air route surveying in the British Empire after the First World War, and after some experimental (and often dangerous) long-distance flying to the margins of Empire.[1]

Formation

 
Handley Page W.8b inherited from Handley Page Transport when Imperial Airways was formed

Imperial Airways was created against a background of stiff competition from French and German airlines that enjoyed heavy government subsidies and following the advice of the government's Hambling Committee (formally known as the C.A.T Subsidies Committee) under Sir Herbert Hambling.[2] The committee, set up on 2 January 1923, produced a report on 15 February 1923 recommending that four of the largest existing airlines, the Instone Air Line Company, owned by shipping magnate Samuel Instone, Noel Pemberton Billing's British Marine Air Navigation (part of the Supermarine flying-boat company), the Daimler Airway, under the management of George Edward Woods, and Handley Page Transport Co Ltd., should be merged.[3][4] It was hoped that this would create a company which could compete against French and German competition and would be strong enough to develop Britain's external air services while minimizing government subsidies for duplicated services. With this in view, a £1m subsidy over ten years was offered to encourage the merger. Agreement was made between the President of the Air Council and the British, Foreign and Colonial Corporation on 3 December 1923 for the company, under the title of the 'Imperial Air Transport Company' to acquire existing air transport services in the UK. The agreement set out the government subsidies for the new company: £137,000 in the first year diminishing to £32,000 in the tenth year as well as minimum mileages to be achieved and penalties if these weren't met.[5]

Imperial Airways Limited was formed on 31 March 1924 with equipment from each contributing concern: British Marine Air Navigation Company Ltd, the Daimler Airway, Handley Page Transport Ltd and the Instone Air Line Ltd. Sir Eric Geddes was appointed the chairman of the board with one director from each of the merged companies. The government had appointed two directors, Hambling (who was also President of the Institute of Bankers) and Major John Hills, a former Treasury Financial Secretary.[4]

The land operations were based at Croydon Airport to the south of London. IAL immediately discontinued its predecessors' service to points north of London, the airline being focused on international and imperial service rather than domestic. Thereafter the only IAL aircraft operating 'North of Watford' were charter flights.[citation needed]

Industrial troubles with the pilots delayed the start of services until 26 April 1924, when a daily London–Paris route was opened with a de Havilland DH.34.[6] Thereafter the task of expanding the routes between England and the Continent began, with Southampton–Guernsey on 1 May 1924, London-Brussels–Cologne on 3 May, London–Amsterdam on 2 June 1924, and a summer service from London–Paris–Basel–Zürich on 17 June 1924. The first new airliner ordered by Imperial Airways, was the Handley Page W8f City of Washington, delivered on 3 November 1924.[7] In the first year of operation the company carried 11,395 passengers and 212,380 letters. In April 1925, the film The Lost World became the first film to be screened for passengers on a scheduled airliner flight when it was shown on the London-Paris route.[citation needed]

Empire services

 
April 1935 map showing Imperial Airways'
Air routes between England, India, Australia and South Africa

Route proving

Between 16 November 1925 and 13 March 1926, Alan Cobham made an Imperial Airways' route survey flight from the UK to Cape Town and back in the Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar–powered de Havilland DH.50J floatplane G-EBFO. The outward route was LondonParisMarseillePisaTarantoAthensSollumCairoLuxorAswanWadi HalfaAtbaraKhartoumMalakalMongallaJinjaKisumuTaboraAbercornNdolaBroken HillLivingstoneBulawayoPretoriaJohannesburgKimberleyBloemfonteinCape Town. On his return Cobham was awarded the Air Force Cross for his services to aviation.[citation needed]

On 30 June 1926, Cobham took off from the River Medway at Rochester in G-EBFO to make an Imperial Airways route survey for a service to Melbourne, arriving on 15 August 1926. He left Melbourne on 29 August 1926, and, after completing 28,000 nautical miles (32,000 mi; 52,000 km) in 320 hours flying time over 78 days, he alighted on the Thames at Westminster on 1 October 1926. Cobham was met by the Secretary of State for Air, Sir Samuel Hoare, and was subsequently knighted by HM King George V.[citation needed]

On 27 December 1926, Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.66 Hercules G-EBMX City of Delhi left Croydon for a survey flight to India. The flight reached Karachi on 6 January 1927 and Delhi on 8 January 1927. The aircraft was named by Lady Irwin, wife of the Viceroy, on 10 January 1927. The return flight left on 1 February 1927 and arrived at Heliopolis, Cairo on 7 February 1927. The flying time from Croydon to Delhi was 62 hours 27 minutes and Delhi to Heliopolis 32 hours 50 minutes.[8]

The Eastern Route

 
A 1936 advertisement

Regular services on the Cairo to Basra route began on 12 January 1927 using DH.66 aircraft, replacing the previous RAF mail flight.[8] Following two years of negotiations with the Persian authorities regarding overflight rights, a London to Karachi service started on 30 March 1929, taking seven days and consisting of a flight from London to Basle, a train to Genoa and a Short S.8 Calcutta flying boats to Alexandria, a train to Cairo and finally a DH.66 flight to Karachi. The route was extended as far as Delhi on 29 December 1929. The route across Europe and the Mediterranean changed many times over the next few years but almost always involved a rail journey.

In April 1931 an experimental London-Australia air mail flight took place; the mail was transferred at the Dutch East Indies, after the DH66 City of Cairo crashed landed in Timor, on the 19th April, having run out of fuel, and took 26 days in total to reach Sydney. For the passenger flight leaving London on 1 October 1932, the Eastern route was switched from the Persian to the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf, and Handley Page HP 42 airliners were introduced on the Cairo to Karachi sector. The move saw the establishment of an airport and rest house, Mahatta Fort, in the Trucial State of Sharjah now part of the United Arab Emirates.[citation needed]

On 29 May 1933 an England to Australia survey flight took off, operated by Imperial Airways Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta G-ABTL Astraea. Major H. G. Brackley, Imperial Airways' Air Superintendent, was in charge of the flight. Astraea flew Croydon-Paris-Lyon-Rome-Brindisi-Athens-Alexandria-Cairo where it followed the normal route to Karachi then onwards to Jodhpur-Delhi-Calcutta-Akyab-Rangoon-Bangkok-Prachuab-Alor Setar-Singapore-Palembang-Batavia-Sourabaya-Bima-Koepang-Bathurst Island-Darwin-Newcastle Waters-Camooweal-Cloncurry-Longreach-Roma-Toowoomba reaching Eagle Farm, Brisbane on 23 June. Sydney was visited on 26 June, Canberra on 28 June and Melbourne on 29 June.[citation needed]

There followed a rapid eastern extension. The first London to Calcutta service departed on 1 July 1933, the first London to Rangoon service on 23 September 1933, the first London to Singapore service on 9 December 1933, and the first London to Brisbane service on 8 December 1934, with Qantas responsible for the Singapore to Brisbane sector. (The 1934 start was for mail; passenger flights to Brisbane began the following April.) The first London to Hong Kong passengers departed London on 14 March 1936 following the establishment of a branch from Penang to Hong Kong.[citation needed]

The Africa Route

 
de Havilland Hercules City of Cairo

On 28 February 1931 a weekly service began between London and Mwanza on Lake Victoria in Tanganyika as part of the proposed route to Cape Town. On 9 December 1931 the Imperial Airways' service for Central Africa was extended experimentally to Cape Town for the carriage of Christmas mail. The aircraft used on the last sector, DH66 G-AARY City of Karachi arrived in Cape Town on 21 December 1931. On 20 January 1932 a mail-only route to London to Cape Town was opened. On 27 April this route was opened to passengers and took 10 days. In early 1933 Atalantas replaced the DH.66s on the Kisumu to Cape Town sector of the London to Cape Town route.[9] On 9 February 1936 the trans-Africa route was opened by Imperial Airways between Khartoum and Kano in Nigeria. This route was extended to Lagos on 15 October 1936.

Short Empire flying boats

 
Short Empire flying boat Challenger.

In 1937 with the introduction of Short Empire flying boats built at Short Brothers, Imperial Airways could offer a through-service from Southampton to the Empire. The journey to the Cape was via Marseille, Rome, Brindisi, Athens, Alexandria, Khartoum, Port Bell, Kisumu and onwards by land-based craft to Nairobi, Mbeya and eventually Cape Town. Survey flights were also made across the Atlantic and to New Zealand. By mid-1937 Imperial had completed its thousandth service to the Empire. Starting in 1938 Empire flying boats also flew between Britain and Australia via India and the Middle East.[10]

In March 1939 three Shorts a week left Southampton for Australia, reaching Sydney after ten days of flying and nine overnight stops. Three more left for South Africa, taking six flying days to Durban.[11]

Passengers

Imperial's aircraft were small, most seating fewer than twenty passengers; about 50,000 passengers used Imperial Airways in the 1930s. Most passengers on intercontinental routes or on services within and between British colonies were men in colonial administration, business or research. To begin with only the wealthy could afford to fly, but passenger lists gradually diversified. Travel experiences related to flying low and slow, and were reported enthusiastically in newspapers, magazines and books.[12] There was opportunity for sightseeing from the air and at stops.[13]

Crews

Imperial Airways stationed its all-male flight deck crew, cabin crew and ground crew along the length of its routes. Specialist engineers and inspectors – and ground crew on rotation or leave – travelled on the airline without generating any seat revenue. Several air crew lost their lives in accidents. At the end of the 1930s crew numbers approximated 3,000. All crew were expected to be ambassadors for Britain and the British Empire.[12]

Air Mail

 
Flown cover carried around the world on PAA Boeing 314 Clippers and Imperial Airways Short S23 flying boats 24 June – 28 July 1939

In 1934 the government began negotiations with Imperial Airways to establish a service (Empire Air Mail Scheme) to carry mail by air on routes served by the airline. Indirectly these negotiations led to the dismissal in 1936 of Sir Christopher Bullock, the Permanent Under-Secretary at the Air Ministry, who was found by a Board of Inquiry to have abused his position in seeking a position on the board of the company while these negotiations were in train. The government, including the Prime Minister, regretted the decision to dismiss him, later finding that, in fact, no corruption was alleged and sought Bullock's reinstatement which he declined.[14]

The Empire Air Mail Programme started in July 1937, delivering anywhere for 11/2 d./oz. By mid-1938 a hundred tons of mail had been delivered to India and a similar amount to Africa. In the same year, construction was started on the Empire Terminal in Victoria, London, designed by A. Lakeman and with a statue by Eric Broadbent, Speed Wings Over the World gracing the portal above the main entrance. From the terminal there were train connections to Imperial's flying boats at Southampton and coaches to its landplane base at Croydon Airport. The terminal operated as recently as 1980.[15]

To help promote use of the Air Mail service, in June and July 1939, Imperial Airways participated with Pan American Airways in providing a special "around the world" service; Imperial carried the souvenir mail from Foynes, Ireland, to Hong Kong, out of the eastbound New York to New York route. Pan American provided service from New York to Foynes (departing 24 June, via the first flight of Northern FAM 18) and Hong Kong to San Francisco (via FAM 14), and United Airlines carried it on the final leg from San Francisco to New York, arriving on 28 July.[citation needed]

Captain H. W. C. Alger was the pilot for the inaugural air mail flight carrying mail from England to Australia for the first time on the Short Empire flyingboat Castor for Imperial Airways' Empires Air Routes, in 1937.[4]

In November 2016, 80 years later, the Crete2Cape Vintage Air Rally flew this old route with fifteen vintage aeroplanes – a celebration of the skill and determination of these early aviators.[16]

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 Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd were physically transferred to Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport, to be operated jointly by NAC. On 1 April 1940, Imperial Airways Ltd and British 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.[17]

Accidents and incidents

Fatal accidents

1920s

  • 24 December 1924: de Havilland DH.34 G-EBBX City of Delhi crashed and caught fire shortly after take-off from Croydon Airport, killing the pilot and all seven passengers.[6][18]
  • 13 July 1928: Vickers Vulcan G-EBLB crashed at Purley during a test flight, killing four of the six people on board.[19] As a result of the crash, Imperial Airways stopped the flying of staff (so called joy rides) during test flights.
  • 17 June 1929: Handley Page W.10 G-EBMT City of Ottawa ditched in the English Channel following engine failure whilst on a flight from Croydon to Paris with the loss of seven lives.[20]
  • 6 September 1929: de Havilland Hercules G-EBMZ City of Jerusalem crashed and burned on landing at Jask, Iran in the dark due to the pilot misjudging the altitude and stalling the aircraft, killing three of five on board.[21]
  • 26 October 1929: Short Calcutta G-AADN City of Rome force-landed off La Spezia, Italy in poor weather; the flying boat sank in the night during attempts to tow it to shore, killing all seven on board.[22][23]

1930s

  • 30 October 1930: Handley Page W.8g G-EBIX City of Washington struck high ground in fog at Boulogne, Paris, France, killing three of six on board.[20][24]
  • 28 March 1933: Armstrong Whitworth Argosy G-AACI City of Liverpool crashed at Diksmuide, Belgium following an in-flight fire. This is suspected to be the first case of sabotage in the air. All fifteen people on board were killed.[25]
  • 30 December 1933: Avro Ten G-ABLU Apollo collided with a radio mast at Ruysselede, Belgium and crashed. All ten people on board were killed.[26]
  • 31 December 1935: Short Calcutta G-AASJ City of Khartoum crashed off Alexandria, Egypt when all four engines failed on approach, possibly due to fuel starvation; twelve of 13 on board drowned when the flying boat sank.[23][27]
  • 22 August 1936: Short Kent G-ABFA Scipio sank at Mirabello Bay, Crete after a heavy landing, killing two of 11 on board.[23][28]
  • 24 March 1937: Short Empire G-ADVA Capricornus crashed in the Beaujolois Mountains near Ouroux, France, following a navigation error, killing five.[29]
  • 1 October 1937: Short Empire G-ADVC Courtier crashed on landing in Phaleron Bay, Greece due to poor visibility, killing two of 15 on board.[30]
  • 5 December 1937: Short Empire G-ADUZ Cygnus crashed on takeoff from Brindisi, Italy due to incorrect flap settings, killing two.[31]
  • 27 July 1938: Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta G-ABTG Amalthea flew into a hillside near Kisumu, Kenya shortly after takeoff, killing all four on board.[32]
  • 27 November 1938: Short Empire G-AETW Calpurnia crashed in Lake Habbaniyah, Iraq in bad weather after the pilot descended to maintain visual contact with the ground following spatial disorientation, killing all four crew.[33]
  • 21 January 1939: Short Empire G-ADUU Cavalier ditched in the Atlantic 285 mi off New York due to carburettor icing and loss of engine power; three drowned while ten survivors were picked up by the tanker Esso Baytown. Thereafter Imperial Airways and Pan-American trans-oceanic flying boats had the upper surfaces of the wings painted with orange high visibility markings.
  • 1 May 1939: Short Empire G-ADVD Challenger crashed in the Lumbo lagoon while attempting to land at Lumbo Airport, killing two of six on board.[34]

1940

  • 1 March 1940: Flight 197,[35] operated by Handley Page H.P.42 G-AAGX Hannibal, disappeared over the Gulf of Oman with eight on board; no wreckage, cargo or occupants have been found. The cause of the crash remains unknown, but fuel starvation, a bird strike damaging a propeller and causing an engine or wing to separate, an in-flight breakup or multiple engine failure were theorized. Two months after the crash, the H.P.42 was withdrawn from passenger operations. It was also recommended that all commercial aircraft used in long flights over water be equipped with personal and group life saving gear; this would later become standard throughout the airline industry.

Non-fatal accidents

  • 21 October 1926: Handley Page W.10 G-EBMS City of Melbourne ditched in the English Channel 18 nautical miles (33 km) off the English coast after an engine failed. All 12 people on board were rescued by FV Invicta.[20][36]
  • 19 April 1931: de Havilland DH.66 Hercules with registration G-EBMW, damaged beyond repair in a forced landing following fuel starvation at Surabaya. The airplane operated on a trial mail flight from India to Melbourne with en route stops at Semarang, Soerabaja and Kupang.
  • 8 August 1931: Handley Page H.P.42 G-AAGX Hannibal was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Croydon to Paris when an engine failed and debris forced a second engine to be shut down. A forced landing at Five Oak Green, Kent resulted in extensive damage. No injuries occurred. Hannibal was dismantled and trucked to Croydon to be rebuilt.[37]
  • 9 November 1935: Short Kent G-ABFB Sylvanus caught fire and burned out during refueling in Brindisi Harbor; the refueling crew were able to jump clear of the burning aircraft and survived.[nb 1]
  • 29 September 1936: Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta G-ABTK burned out in a hangar fire at Delhi, India.
  • 31 May 1937: Handley Page H.P.45 (former H.P.42) G-AAXE Hengist was destroyed in a hangar fire at Karachi, India.[39]
  • 3 December 1938: de Havilland Express G-ADCN burned out at Bangkok.
  • 12 March 1939: Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat Mk 1 G-ADUY, damaged beyond repair at Tandjong, Batavia, Netherlands East Indies. Struck a submerged object while taxiing after alighting. Aircraft beached but damaged beyond repair by immersion and mishandling during salvage. Aircraft dismantled and shipped to England but not returned to service.[40]
  • 7 November 1939: Handley Page H.P.42 G-AXXD Horatius was written off following a forced landing at a golf course at Tiverton, Devon.
  • 19 March 1940: Handley Page H.P.45 G-AAXC Heracles and H.P.42 G-AAUD Hanno were written off after being blown over in a windstorm while parked at Whitchurch Airport.

Aircraft

Imperial Airways operated many types of aircraft from its formation on 1 April 1924 until 1 April 1940 when all aircraft still in service were transferred to BOAC.[41]

Aircraft Type Number Period Names Notes
Armstrong Whitworth Argosy Mk.I landplane
City class
3 1926–34 Birmingham (crashed 1931), City of Wellington (later City of Arundel) (1934), Glasgow (retired 1934) [25][42]
Armstrong Whitworth Argosy Mk.II 4 1929–35 City of Edinburgh (wrecked 1926), City of Liverpool (wrecked 1933), City of Manchester (sold 1935) and City of Coventry (scrapped 1935) [25][42]
Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta[43] landplane
Atalanta class
8 1932–41 Atalanta (sold), Andromeda (withdrawn 1939), Arethusa (renamed Atalanta), Artemis, Astraea, Athena (burnt 1936), Aurora (sold) and Amalthea (wrecked 1938). For Nairobi-Cape Town leg on South Africa route & Karachi-Singapore leg on Australia route.[9][43]
Armstrong Whitworth Ensign landplane
Ensign class
12 1938–46 Empire type (27 passengers) Ensign, Egeria, Elsinore, Euterpe, Explorer, Euryalus, Echo, Endymion and Western Type (40 passengers) Eddystone, Ettrick, Empyrean and Elysian Everest & Enterprise delivered to BOAC. Intended to deliver 1st-class mail to the Empire by air.[41][42][44]
Avro 618 Ten[42] landplane 2 1930–38 Achilles (crashed 1938)[42] Apollo (collided with radio mast 1933) licence-built Fokker F.VII 3/m[26]
Avro 652 2 1936–38 Avalon and Avatar (later Ava) to RAF in 1938.[42] Prototypes for Anson bomber/trainer[26]
Boulton & Paul P.71A landplane
Bodiciea class
2 1934–36 Bodiciea (lost 1935) and Britomart (lost 1936)[42] Experimental mailplanes[45]
Bristol Type 75 Ten-seater landplane 2 1924–26 G-EAWY, G-EBEV (retired 1925) ex-Instone Air Line used as freighters
de Havilland DH.34 7 1924–26 ex-Instone Air Line G-EBBR (wrecked 1924), G-EBBT (scrapped 1930), G-EBBV (scrapped 1926), G-EBBW (scrapped 1926) and ex-Daimler Airway G-EBBX (wrecked 1924), G-EBBY (scrapped 1926), G-EBCX (wrecked 1924) [6]
de Havilland DH.50 3 1924–33 G-EBFO (damaged 1924 and sold), G-EBFP (scrapped 1933), G-EBKZ (crashed 1928) G-EBFO used for surveys, later fitted with twin floats and sold in Australia[42]
de Havilland Highclere 1 1924–27 G-EBKI freighter, destroyed in hangar collapse
de Havilland Giant Moth 1 1930-30 G-AAEV (wrecked 1930) crashed in Northern Rhodesia 2 weeks after hand over.
de Havilland Hercules 9 1926–35 City of Cairo (wrecked 1931), City of Delhi (to SAAF 1934), City of Baghdad (withdrawn 1933), City of Jerusalem, City of Tehran, City of Basra (to SAAF 1934), City of Karachi (withdrawn 1935), City of Jodhpur (sold) and City of Cape Town (sold)[42]
de Havilland Express[42] landplane
Diana class
12 1934–41 Daedalus (burned 1938), Danae, Dardanus, Delia (wrecked 1941), Delphinus, Demeter, Denebola, Dido, Dione, Dorado, Draco (wrecked 1935), and Dryad (sold 1938) All surviving aircraft impressed in 1941
de Havilland Albatross landplane
Frobisher class
7 1938–43 Faraday (impressed 1940), Franklin (impressed 1940), Frobisher (destroyed 1940), Falcon (scrapped 1943), Fortuna (crashed 1943), Fingal (crashed 1940) and Fiona (scrapped 1943).[42] 1 used as long range mail carrier[46]
Desoutter IB landplane 1 1933–35 G-ABMW Air-taxi No 6
Handley Page O/10 1 1924-24 G-EATH ex-Handley Page Transport but never used
Handley Page W8b 3 1924–32 Princess Mary (wrecked 1928), Prince George (retired 1929) and Prince Henry (retired 1932)[20][42] ex-Handley Page Transport[20]
Handley Page W8f Hamilton 1 1924–30 City of Washington (wrecked 1930)[20][42] Converted to twin engines and redesignated as W8g in 1929
Handley Page W9a Hampstead 1 1926–29 City of New York (sold 1929)[20][42]
Handley Page W.10 4 1926–33 City of Melbourne (sold 1933), City of Pretoria (sold 1933), City of London (crashed 1926) and City of Ottawa (crashed 1929).[20][42]
Handley Page H.P.42E landplane
Hannibal class
4 1931–40 Hannibal (wrecked 1940), Horsa (impressed 1940), Hanno (wrecked 1940), Hadrian (impressed 1940) (24 passengers) used on long "Empire" routes[39]
Handley Page H.P.42W/H.P.45 landplane
Heracles class
4 1931–40 Heracles (wrecked 1940), Horatius (wrecked 1939), Hengist (wrecked 1937) and Helena (impressed 1940) (38 passengers) on short "Western" routes, Hengist and Helena converted to H.P.42E.[39]
Short S.8 Calcutta flying boat 5 1928–35 City of Alexandria (wrecked 1936), City of Athens (later City of Stonehaven) (scrapped), City of Rome (wrecked 1929), City of Khartoum (wrecked 1935) and City of Salonica (later City of Swanage) (scrapped)[23]
Short Kent flying boat
Scipio class
3 1931–38 Scipio (wrecked 1936), Sylvanus (burned 1935) and Satyrus (scrapped 1938)[23]
Short Scylla landplane 2 1934–40 Scylla (wrecked 1940) and Syrinx (scrapped 1940)[42] Landplane version of Kent, replacement for lost H.P.42s.[47]
Short Mayo Composite flying boat 2 1938–40 Mercury (scrapped 1941) and Maia (destroyed in German raid, 1942).[42] Long range piggyback Composite aircraft derived from Short Empire.
Short S.26 Empire flying boat
C class
31 1936–47 Canopus, Caledonia, Centaurus, Cavalier, Cambria, Castor, Cassiopea, Capella, Cygnus, Capricornus, Corsair, Courtier, Challenger, Centurion, Coriolanus, Calpurnia, Ceres, Clio, Circe, Calypso, Camilla, Corinna, Cordelia, Cameronian, Corinthian, Coogee, Corio, and Coorong. Carpentaria, Coolangatta, Cooee delivered but not used, and transferred to Qantas provided mail and passenger service to Bermuda, South Africa and Australia.[42][48][49]
Short S.26 flying boat
G class
3 1939–40 Golden Hind, Golden Fleece and Golden Horn Built for trans-atlantic service, impressed by RAF before entering revenue service.[42] 2 returned to BOAC service and used until 1947.
Short S.30 Empire flying boat
C class
9 1938–47 Champion, Cabot, Caribou, Connemara, Clyde, Clare, Cathay, Ao-tea-roa (to TEAL as Aotearoa), Captain Cook (to TEAL as Awarua). long range variant of S.23[42][48][49]
Supermarine Sea Eagle flying boat 2 1924–29 Sarnia/G-EBGR (retired 1929) and G-EBGS (wrecked 1927) ex-British Marine Air Navigation[42]
Supermarine Southampton 1 1929–30 G-AASH RAF S1235 on loan for 3 months to replace crashed Calcutta on Genoa-Alexandria airmail run.[50]
Supermarine Swan 1 1925–27 G-EBJY (scrapped 1927) RAF prototype loaned for cross-Channel service
Vickers Vanguard landplane 1 1926–29 G-EBCP (wrecked 1929) on loan from Air Ministry for evaluation
Vickers Vellox 1 1934–36 G-ABKY (wrecked 1936) cargo/experimental flights.[42] Crashed at Croydon in August killing pilots and two wireless operators.[51]
Vickers Vimy Commercial 1 1924–25 City of London (wrecked 1925) ex-Instone Air Line[42][52]
Vickers Vulcan 3 1924–28 G-EBLB/City of Brussels (wrecked 1928), G-EBFC (withdrawn 1924 unused), G-EBEK (loaned from Air Ministry for 1925 Empire Exhibition Display.[42]) [19]
Westland IV and Wessex 3 1931–37 G-AAGW, G-ABEG (wrecked 1936), G-ACHI 2 leased to other operators. IV (G-AAGW) upgraded to Wessex.[53]

References

  1. ^ Pirie, 2009
  2. ^ Ord-Hume, 2010, pp.7–9
  3. ^ Ord-Hume, 2010, p.10
  4. ^ a b c Bluffield, Robert (19 November 2014). Over Empires and Oceans: Pioneers, Aviators and Adventurers - Forging the International Air Routes 1918-1939. Tattered Flag. ISBN 9780954311568.
  5. ^ Terms of Agreement Published Flight, 1924.
  6. ^ a b c Stroud, June 1984, pp. 315–19
  7. ^ . Archived from the original on 11 November 2007.
  8. ^ a b Stroud, Nov 1986, pp. 609–14
  9. ^ a b Stroud, June 1986, pp.321–326
  10. ^ Imperial Airways Timetable October 1938. London: Curwen Press. 1938. pp. 2–3.
  11. ^ Imperial Airways Timetable April 1939. London: Curwen Press. 1939. p. 2.
  12. ^ a b Pirie (2012)
  13. ^ Pirie, G. H. (2009). "Incidental tourism: British imperial air travel in the 1930s". Journal of Tourism History (1): 49–66.
  14. ^ Allaz, Camille (2005). History of Air Cargo and Airmail from the 18th Century. Gardners Books. p. 97. ISBN 0954889606.
  15. ^ . 8 October 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  16. ^ "CRETE2CAPE". VintageAirRally. 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  17. ^ Moss (1962)
  18. ^ "Air Disaster at Croydon". Flight. No. 1 January 1925. p. 4.
  19. ^ a b Stroud, Nov 1987, pp.609–612
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h Stroud, Oct 1983, pp.535–539
  21. ^ Accident description for G-EBMZ at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 18 January 2013.
  22. ^ Accident description for G-AADN at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 18 January 2013.
  23. ^ a b c d e Stroud, Feb 1987, pp.97–103
  24. ^ Accident description for G-EBMZ at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 18 January 2013.
  25. ^ a b c Stroud, May 1985, pp.265–269
  26. ^ a b c Stroud, Feb 1991, pp.115–120
  27. ^ Accident description for G-AASJ at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 18 January 2013.
  28. ^ Accident description for G-ABFA at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 18 January 2013.
  29. ^ Accident description for G-ADVA at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 18 January 2013.
  30. ^ Accident description for G-ADVC at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 18 January 2013.
  31. ^ Accident description for G-ADUZ at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 18 January 2013.
  32. ^ Accident description for G-ABTG at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 18 January 2013.
  33. ^ Accident description for G-AETW at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 18 January 2013.
  34. ^ Accident description for G-ADVD at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 18 January 2013.
  35. ^ "Crash of a Handley Page H.P.42E into the Gulf of Oman, 8 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  36. ^ "ACCIDENT DETAILS". Plane Crash Info. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  37. ^ "Accident To Air Liner. Damaged in Forced Landing". The Times. No. 45897. London. 10 August 1931. col G, p. p10.
  38. ^ "Crash of a Short S.17 Kent in Brindisi: 12 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  39. ^ a b c Stroud, Aug 1985, pp.433–437
  40. ^ ASN Aircraft accident Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat Mk I G-ADUY Tandjong, Batavia, Java (Netherlands East Indies)
  41. ^ a b Jackson, 1973, pp.55–57
  42. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Bluffield 2009, pp. 211–213
  43. ^ a b Jackson, 1973, pp.52–54
  44. ^ Stroud, June 1988, pp.433–437
  45. ^ Stroud, Aug 1986, pp.433–436
  46. ^ Jackson, 1973, 433–437
  47. ^ Stroud, Oct 1984, pp.549–553
  48. ^ a b Stroud, Dec 1989, pp.763–769
  49. ^ a b Stroud, Jan 1990, pp.51–61
  50. ^ Jackson, 1974, p.443
  51. ^ "Commercial Aviation" Flight 13 August 1936 p181
  52. ^ Stroud, Feb 1984, pp.101–105
  53. ^ Stroud, Dec 1985, pp.657–661

Footnotes

Notes

  1. ^ One source states the aircraft caught fire before takeoff with 12 killed.[38]

Bibliography

  • Baldwin, N.C. 1950.Imperial Airways (and Subsidiary Companies): A History and Priced Check List of the Empire Air Mails. Sutton Coldfield, England: Francis J. Field.
  • Bluffield, Robert (2009). Imperial Airways – The Birth of the British Airline Industry 1914–1940. Hersham, Surrey, England: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-906537-07-4.
  • Budd, Lucy "Global Networks Before Globalisation: Imperial Airways and the Development of Long-Haul Air Routes" Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Research Bulletin 253, 5 December 2007.
  • Cluett, Douglas; Nash, Joanna; Learmonth Bob. 1980. Croydon Airport 1928 – 1939, The Great Days. London Borough of Sutton ISBN 0-9503224-8-2
  • Davies, R.E.G 2005. British Airways: An Airline and Its Aircraft, Volume 1: 1919–1939—The Imperial Years. McLean, VA: Paladwr Press. ISBN 1-888962-24-0
  • Doyle, Neville. 2002. The Triple Alliance: The Predecessors of the first British Airways. Air-Britain. ISBN 0-85130-286-6
  • Higham, Robin. 1960. Britain's Imperial Air Routes 1918 to 1939: The Story of Britain's Overseas Airlines London: G.T. Foulis; Hamden, CT: Shoe String.
  • Jackson, A.J. 1959 and 1974. British Civil Aircraft since 1919 2 vols (1st ed.); 3 vols (2nd ed.) London: Putnam.
  • Moss, Peter W. 1962. Impressments Log (Vol I-IV). Air-Britain.
  • Moss, Peter W. October 1974. British Airways. Aeroplane Monthly.
  • Ord-Hume, Arthur W. J. G. (2010). . Catrine, Ayrshire: Stenlake Publishing. p. 10. ISBN 9781840335149. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  • Pirie, G.H. 2004. Passenger traffic in the 1930s on British imperial air routes: refinement and revision. Journal of Transport History, 25: 66–84.
  • Pirie, G.H. 2009. Air Empire: British Imperial Civil Aviation 1919–39. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-4111-2.
  • Pirie, G.H. 2009. Incidental tourism: British imperial air travel in the 1930s. Journal of Tourism History, 1: 49–66.
  • Pirie, G.H. 2012.Cultures and Caricatures of British Imperial Aviation: Passengers, Pilots, Publicity. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-8682-3.
  • Pudney, J. 1959. The Seven Skies - A Study of BOAC and its forerunners since 1919. London: Putnam.
  • Salt, Major A.E.W. 1930.Imperial Air Routes. London: John Murray.
  • Sanford, Kendall C. 2003. Air Crash Mail of Imperial Airways and Predecessor Airlines. Bristol: Stuart Rossiter Trust Fund. ISBN 0-9530004-6-X
  • Stroud, John 1962.Annals of British and Commonwealth Air Transport 1919–1960. London: Putnam.
  • Stroud, John. 2005. The Imperial Airways Fleet. Stroud, England: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2997-3
  • Stroud, John (May 1985). "Wings of Peace (Armstrong Whitworth Argosy)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 265–269.
  • Stroud, John (June 1986). "Wings of Peace (Armstrong Whitworth A.W.XV Atalanta)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 321–326.
  • Stroud, John (July 1988). "Wings of Peace (Armstrong Whitworth A.W.27 Ensign)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 433–437.
  • Stroud, John (February 1991). "Wings of Peace (Avro Monoplanes)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 115–120.
  • Stroud, John (August 1986). "Wings of Peace (Boulton Paul P.64 and P.71A)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 433–436.
  • Stroud, John (June 1984). "Wings of Peace (De Havilland DH.34)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 315–319.
  • Stroud, John (November 1986). "Wings of Peace (De Havilland DH.66 Hercules)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 609–614.
  • Stroud, John (June 1990). "Wings of Peace (De Havilland Albatross part 1)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 369–372.
  • Stroud, John (July 1990). "Wings of Peace (De Havilland Albatross part 2)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 433–437.
  • Stroud, John (October 1983). "Wings of Peace (Handley Page Type W & derivatives)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 535–539.
  • Stroud, John (August 1985). "Wings of Peace (Handley Page H.P.42 and H.P.45)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 433–437.
  • Stroud, John (February 1987). "Wings of Peace (Short S.8 Calcutta & S.17 Kent)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 97–103.
  • Stroud, John (October 1984). "Wings of Peace (Short L.17 Scylla)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 549–553.
  • Stroud, John (December 1989). "Wings of Peace (Short Empire flying-boats part 1)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 763–769.
  • Stroud, John (January 1990). "Wings of Peace (Short Empire flying-boats part 2)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 51–61.
  • Stroud, John (November 1987). "Wings of Peace (Vickers Vulcan)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 609–612.
  • Stroud, John (February 1984). "Wings of Peace (Vickers Vimy Commercial)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 101–105.
  • Stroud, John (December 1985). "Wings of Peace (Westland IV and Wessex)". Aeroplane Monthly. Kelsey. pp. 657–661.

External links

  • British Airways "Explore our past"
  • Imperial Airways Timetables
  • History Imperial Airways Eastern Route
  • Website for The Crete2Cape Vintage Air Rally
  • Documents and clippings about Imperial Airways in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

imperial, airways, confused, with, imperial, airlines, early, british, commercial, long, range, airline, operating, from, 1924, 1939, principally, serving, british, empire, routes, south, africa, india, australia, east, including, malaya, hong, kong, passenger. Not to be confused with Imperial Airlines Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long range airline operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa India Australia and the Far East including Malaya and Hong Kong Passengers were typically businessmen or colonial administrators and most flights carried about 20 passengers or less Accidents were frequent in the first six years 32 people died in seven incidents Imperial Airways never achieved the levels of technological innovation of its competitors and was merged into the British Overseas Airways Corporation BOAC in 1939 BOAC in turn merged with the British European Airways BEA in 1974 to form British Airways Imperial AirwaysImperial Airways Speedbird logo mainly used in advertising and rarely on aircraft before 1939TypePrivateIndustryAir transportPredecessorBritish Marine Air NavigationDaimler AirwayHandley Page TransportInstone Air LineFounded31 March 1924 98 years ago 1924 03 31 Defunct24 November 1939 83 years ago 1939 11 24 FateMerged with British Airways LtdSuccessorBritish Overseas Airways CorporationHeadquartersCroydon England Contents 1 Background 2 Formation 3 Empire services 3 1 Route proving 3 2 The Eastern Route 3 3 The Africa Route 3 4 Short Empire flying boats 3 5 Passengers 3 6 Crews 3 7 Air Mail 4 Second World War 5 Accidents and incidents 5 1 Fatal accidents 5 1 1 1920s 5 1 2 1930s 5 1 3 1940 5 2 Non fatal accidents 6 Aircraft 7 References 8 Footnotes 8 1 Notes 9 Bibliography 10 External linksBackground EditThe establishment of Imperial Airways occurred in the context of facilitating overseas settlement by making travel to and from the colonies quicker and that flight would also speed up colonial government and trade that was until then dependent upon ships The launch of the airline followed a burst of air route surveying in the British Empire after the First World War and after some experimental and often dangerous long distance flying to the margins of Empire 1 Formation Edit Handley Page W 8b inherited from Handley Page Transport when Imperial Airways was formed Imperial Airways was created against a background of stiff competition from French and German airlines that enjoyed heavy government subsidies and following the advice of the government s Hambling Committee formally known as the C A T Subsidies Committee under Sir Herbert Hambling 2 The committee set up on 2 January 1923 produced a report on 15 February 1923 recommending that four of the largest existing airlines the Instone Air Line Company owned by shipping magnate Samuel Instone Noel Pemberton Billing s British Marine Air Navigation part of the Supermarine flying boat company the Daimler Airway under the management of George Edward Woods and Handley Page Transport Co Ltd should be merged 3 4 It was hoped that this would create a company which could compete against French and German competition and would be strong enough to develop Britain s external air services while minimizing government subsidies for duplicated services With this in view a 1m subsidy over ten years was offered to encourage the merger Agreement was made between the President of the Air Council and the British Foreign and Colonial Corporation on 3 December 1923 for the company under the title of the Imperial Air Transport Company to acquire existing air transport services in the UK The agreement set out the government subsidies for the new company 137 000 in the first year diminishing to 32 000 in the tenth year as well as minimum mileages to be achieved and penalties if these weren t met 5 Imperial Airways Limited was formed on 31 March 1924 with equipment from each contributing concern British Marine Air Navigation Company Ltd the Daimler Airway Handley Page Transport Ltd and the Instone Air Line Ltd Sir Eric Geddes was appointed the chairman of the board with one director from each of the merged companies The government had appointed two directors Hambling who was also President of the Institute of Bankers and Major John Hills a former Treasury Financial Secretary 4 The land operations were based at Croydon Airport to the south of London IAL immediately discontinued its predecessors service to points north of London the airline being focused on international and imperial service rather than domestic Thereafter the only IAL aircraft operating North of Watford were charter flights citation needed Industrial troubles with the pilots delayed the start of services until 26 April 1924 when a daily London Paris route was opened with a de Havilland DH 34 6 Thereafter the task of expanding the routes between England and the Continent began with Southampton Guernsey on 1 May 1924 London Brussels Cologne on 3 May London Amsterdam on 2 June 1924 and a summer service from London Paris Basel Zurich on 17 June 1924 The first new airliner ordered by Imperial Airways was the Handley Page W8f City of Washington delivered on 3 November 1924 7 In the first year of operation the company carried 11 395 passengers and 212 380 letters In April 1925 the film The Lost World became the first film to be screened for passengers on a scheduled airliner flight when it was shown on the London Paris route citation needed Empire services Edit April 1935 map showing Imperial Airways Air routes between England India Australia and South Africa Route proving Edit Between 16 November 1925 and 13 March 1926 Alan Cobham made an Imperial Airways route survey flight from the UK to Cape Town and back in the Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar powered de Havilland DH 50J floatplane G EBFO The outward route was London Paris Marseille Pisa Taranto Athens Sollum Cairo Luxor Aswan Wadi Halfa Atbara Khartoum Malakal Mongalla Jinja Kisumu Tabora Abercorn Ndola Broken Hill Livingstone Bulawayo Pretoria Johannesburg Kimberley Bloemfontein Cape Town On his return Cobham was awarded the Air Force Cross for his services to aviation citation needed On 30 June 1926 Cobham took off from the River Medway at Rochester in G EBFO to make an Imperial Airways route survey for a service to Melbourne arriving on 15 August 1926 He left Melbourne on 29 August 1926 and after completing 28 000 nautical miles 32 000 mi 52 000 km in 320 hours flying time over 78 days he alighted on the Thames at Westminster on 1 October 1926 Cobham was met by the Secretary of State for Air Sir Samuel Hoare and was subsequently knighted by HM King George V citation needed On 27 December 1926 Imperial Airways de Havilland DH 66 Hercules G EBMX City of Delhi left Croydon for a survey flight to India The flight reached Karachi on 6 January 1927 and Delhi on 8 January 1927 The aircraft was named by Lady Irwin wife of the Viceroy on 10 January 1927 The return flight left on 1 February 1927 and arrived at Heliopolis Cairo on 7 February 1927 The flying time from Croydon to Delhi was 62 hours 27 minutes and Delhi to Heliopolis 32 hours 50 minutes 8 The Eastern Route Edit A 1936 advertisement Regular services on the Cairo to Basra route began on 12 January 1927 using DH 66 aircraft replacing the previous RAF mail flight 8 Following two years of negotiations with the Persian authorities regarding overflight rights a London to Karachi service started on 30 March 1929 taking seven days and consisting of a flight from London to Basle a train to Genoa and a Short S 8 Calcutta flying boats to Alexandria a train to Cairo and finally a DH 66 flight to Karachi The route was extended as far as Delhi on 29 December 1929 The route across Europe and the Mediterranean changed many times over the next few years but almost always involved a rail journey In April 1931 an experimental London Australia air mail flight took place the mail was transferred at the Dutch East Indies after the DH66 City of Cairo crashed landed in Timor on the 19th April having run out of fuel and took 26 days in total to reach Sydney For the passenger flight leaving London on 1 October 1932 the Eastern route was switched from the Persian to the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf and Handley Page HP 42 airliners were introduced on the Cairo to Karachi sector The move saw the establishment of an airport and rest house Mahatta Fort in the Trucial State of Sharjah now part of the United Arab Emirates citation needed On 29 May 1933 an England to Australia survey flight took off operated by Imperial Airways Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta G ABTL Astraea Major H G Brackley Imperial Airways Air Superintendent was in charge of the flight Astraea flew Croydon Paris Lyon Rome Brindisi Athens Alexandria Cairo where it followed the normal route to Karachi then onwards to Jodhpur Delhi Calcutta Akyab Rangoon Bangkok Prachuab Alor Setar Singapore Palembang Batavia Sourabaya Bima Koepang Bathurst Island Darwin Newcastle Waters Camooweal Cloncurry Longreach Roma Toowoomba reaching Eagle Farm Brisbane on 23 June Sydney was visited on 26 June Canberra on 28 June and Melbourne on 29 June citation needed There followed a rapid eastern extension The first London to Calcutta service departed on 1 July 1933 the first London to Rangoon service on 23 September 1933 the first London to Singapore service on 9 December 1933 and the first London to Brisbane service on 8 December 1934 with Qantas responsible for the Singapore to Brisbane sector The 1934 start was for mail passenger flights to Brisbane began the following April The first London to Hong Kong passengers departed London on 14 March 1936 following the establishment of a branch from Penang to Hong Kong citation needed The Africa Route Edit de Havilland Hercules City of Cairo On 28 February 1931 a weekly service began between London and Mwanza on Lake Victoria in Tanganyika as part of the proposed route to Cape Town On 9 December 1931 the Imperial Airways service for Central Africa was extended experimentally to Cape Town for the carriage of Christmas mail The aircraft used on the last sector DH66 G AARY City of Karachi arrived in Cape Town on 21 December 1931 On 20 January 1932 a mail only route to London to Cape Town was opened On 27 April this route was opened to passengers and took 10 days In early 1933 Atalantas replaced the DH 66s on the Kisumu to Cape Town sector of the London to Cape Town route 9 On 9 February 1936 the trans Africa route was opened by Imperial Airways between Khartoum and Kano in Nigeria This route was extended to Lagos on 15 October 1936 Short Empire flying boats Edit Short Empire flying boat Challenger In 1937 with the introduction of Short Empire flying boats built at Short Brothers Imperial Airways could offer a through service from Southampton to the Empire The journey to the Cape was via Marseille Rome Brindisi Athens Alexandria Khartoum Port Bell Kisumu and onwards by land based craft to Nairobi Mbeya and eventually Cape Town Survey flights were also made across the Atlantic and to New Zealand By mid 1937 Imperial had completed its thousandth service to the Empire Starting in 1938 Empire flying boats also flew between Britain and Australia via India and the Middle East 10 In March 1939 three Shorts a week left Southampton for Australia reaching Sydney after ten days of flying and nine overnight stops Three more left for South Africa taking six flying days to Durban 11 Passengers Edit Imperial s aircraft were small most seating fewer than twenty passengers about 50 000 passengers used Imperial Airways in the 1930s Most passengers on intercontinental routes or on services within and between British colonies were men in colonial administration business or research To begin with only the wealthy could afford to fly but passenger lists gradually diversified Travel experiences related to flying low and slow and were reported enthusiastically in newspapers magazines and books 12 There was opportunity for sightseeing from the air and at stops 13 Crews Edit Imperial Airways stationed its all male flight deck crew cabin crew and ground crew along the length of its routes Specialist engineers and inspectors and ground crew on rotation or leave travelled on the airline without generating any seat revenue Several air crew lost their lives in accidents At the end of the 1930s crew numbers approximated 3 000 All crew were expected to be ambassadors for Britain and the British Empire 12 Air Mail Edit Flown cover carried around the world on PAA Boeing 314 Clippers and Imperial Airways Short S23 flying boats 24 June 28 July 1939 In 1934 the government began negotiations with Imperial Airways to establish a service Empire Air Mail Scheme to carry mail by air on routes served by the airline Indirectly these negotiations led to the dismissal in 1936 of Sir Christopher Bullock the Permanent Under Secretary at the Air Ministry who was found by a Board of Inquiry to have abused his position in seeking a position on the board of the company while these negotiations were in train The government including the Prime Minister regretted the decision to dismiss him later finding that in fact no corruption was alleged and sought Bullock s reinstatement which he declined 14 The Empire Air Mail Programme started in July 1937 delivering anywhere for 11 2 d oz By mid 1938 a hundred tons of mail had been delivered to India and a similar amount to Africa In the same year construction was started on the Empire Terminal in Victoria London designed by A Lakeman and with a statue by Eric Broadbent Speed Wings Over the World gracing the portal above the main entrance From the terminal there were train connections to Imperial s flying boats at Southampton and coaches to its landplane base at Croydon Airport The terminal operated as recently as 1980 15 To help promote use of the Air Mail service in June and July 1939 Imperial Airways participated with Pan American Airways in providing a special around the world service Imperial carried the souvenir mail from Foynes Ireland to Hong Kong out of the eastbound New York to New York route Pan American provided service from New York to Foynes departing 24 June via the first flight of Northern FAM 18 and Hong Kong to San Francisco via FAM 14 and United Airlines carried it on the final leg from San Francisco to New York arriving on 28 July citation needed Captain H W C Alger was the pilot for the inaugural air mail flight carrying mail from England to Australia for the first time on the Short Empire flyingboat Castor for Imperial Airways Empires Air Routes in 1937 4 In November 2016 80 years later the Crete2Cape Vintage Air Rally flew this old route with fifteen vintage aeroplanes a celebration of the skill and determination of these early aviators 16 Second World War EditBefore 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 Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd were physically transferred to Bristol Whitchurch Airport to be operated jointly by NAC On 1 April 1940 Imperial Airways Ltd and British 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 17 Accidents and incidents EditFatal accidents Edit 1920s Edit 24 December 1924 de Havilland DH 34 G EBBX City of Delhi crashed and caught fire shortly after take off from Croydon Airport killing the pilot and all seven passengers 6 18 13 July 1928 Vickers Vulcan G EBLB crashed at Purley during a test flight killing four of the six people on board 19 As a result of the crash Imperial Airways stopped the flying of staff so called joy rides during test flights 17 June 1929 Handley Page W 10 G EBMT City of Ottawa ditched in the English Channel following engine failure whilst on a flight from Croydon to Paris with the loss of seven lives 20 6 September 1929 de Havilland Hercules G EBMZ City of Jerusalem crashed and burned on landing at Jask Iran in the dark due to the pilot misjudging the altitude and stalling the aircraft killing three of five on board 21 26 October 1929 Short Calcutta G AADN City of Rome force landed off La Spezia Italy in poor weather the flying boat sank in the night during attempts to tow it to shore killing all seven on board 22 23 1930s Edit 30 October 1930 Handley Page W 8g G EBIX City of Washington struck high ground in fog at Boulogne Paris France killing three of six on board 20 24 28 March 1933 Armstrong Whitworth Argosy G AACI City of Liverpool crashed at Diksmuide Belgium following an in flight fire This is suspected to be the first case of sabotage in the air All fifteen people on board were killed 25 30 December 1933 Avro Ten G ABLU Apollo collided with a radio mast at Ruysselede Belgium and crashed All ten people on board were killed 26 31 December 1935 Short Calcutta G AASJ City of Khartoum crashed off Alexandria Egypt when all four engines failed on approach possibly due to fuel starvation twelve of 13 on board drowned when the flying boat sank 23 27 22 August 1936 Short Kent G ABFA Scipio sank at Mirabello Bay Crete after a heavy landing killing two of 11 on board 23 28 24 March 1937 Short Empire G ADVA Capricornus crashed in the Beaujolois Mountains near Ouroux France following a navigation error killing five 29 1 October 1937 Short Empire G ADVC Courtier crashed on landing in Phaleron Bay Greece due to poor visibility killing two of 15 on board 30 5 December 1937 Short Empire G ADUZ Cygnus crashed on takeoff from Brindisi Italy due to incorrect flap settings killing two 31 27 July 1938 Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta G ABTG Amalthea flew into a hillside near Kisumu Kenya shortly after takeoff killing all four on board 32 27 November 1938 Short Empire G AETW Calpurnia crashed in Lake Habbaniyah Iraq in bad weather after the pilot descended to maintain visual contact with the ground following spatial disorientation killing all four crew 33 21 January 1939 Short Empire G ADUU Cavalier ditched in the Atlantic 285 mi off New York due to carburettor icing and loss of engine power three drowned while ten survivors were picked up by the tanker Esso Baytown Thereafter Imperial Airways and Pan American trans oceanic flying boats had the upper surfaces of the wings painted with orange high visibility markings 1 May 1939 Short Empire G ADVD Challenger crashed in the Lumbo lagoon while attempting to land at Lumbo Airport killing two of six on board 34 1940 Edit 1 March 1940 Flight 197 35 operated by Handley Page H P 42 G AAGX Hannibal disappeared over the Gulf of Oman with eight on board no wreckage cargo or occupants have been found The cause of the crash remains unknown but fuel starvation a bird strike damaging a propeller and causing an engine or wing to separate an in flight breakup or multiple engine failure were theorized Two months after the crash the H P 42 was withdrawn from passenger operations It was also recommended that all commercial aircraft used in long flights over water be equipped with personal and group life saving gear this would later become standard throughout the airline industry Non fatal accidents Edit 21 October 1926 Handley Page W 10 G EBMS City of Melbourne ditched in the English Channel 18 nautical miles 33 km off the English coast after an engine failed All 12 people on board were rescued by FV Invicta 20 36 19 April 1931 de Havilland DH 66 Hercules with registration G EBMW damaged beyond repair in a forced landing following fuel starvation at Surabaya The airplane operated on a trial mail flight from India to Melbourne with en route stops at Semarang Soerabaja and Kupang 8 August 1931 Handley Page H P 42 G AAGX Hannibal was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Croydon to Paris when an engine failed and debris forced a second engine to be shut down A forced landing at Five Oak Green Kent resulted in extensive damage No injuries occurred Hannibal was dismantled and trucked to Croydon to be rebuilt 37 9 November 1935 Short Kent G ABFB Sylvanus caught fire and burned out during refueling in Brindisi Harbor the refueling crew were able to jump clear of the burning aircraft and survived nb 1 29 September 1936 Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta G ABTK burned out in a hangar fire at Delhi India 31 May 1937 Handley Page H P 45 former H P 42 G AAXE Hengist was destroyed in a hangar fire at Karachi India 39 3 December 1938 de Havilland Express G ADCN burned out at Bangkok 12 March 1939 Short S 23 Empire Flying Boat Mk 1 G ADUY damaged beyond repair at Tandjong Batavia Netherlands East Indies Struck a submerged object while taxiing after alighting Aircraft beached but damaged beyond repair by immersion and mishandling during salvage Aircraft dismantled and shipped to England but not returned to service 40 7 November 1939 Handley Page H P 42 G AXXD Horatius was written off following a forced landing at a golf course at Tiverton Devon 19 March 1940 Handley Page H P 45 G AAXC Heracles and H P 42 G AAUD Hanno were written off after being blown over in a windstorm while parked at Whitchurch Airport Aircraft EditImperial Airways operated many types of aircraft from its formation on 1 April 1924 until 1 April 1940 when all aircraft still in service were transferred to BOAC 41 This list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items August 2013 Aircraft Type Number Period Names NotesArmstrong Whitworth Argosy Mk I landplaneCity class 3 1926 34 Birmingham crashed 1931 City of Wellington later City of Arundel 1934 Glasgow retired 1934 25 42 Armstrong Whitworth Argosy Mk II 4 1929 35 City of Edinburgh wrecked 1926 City of Liverpool wrecked 1933 City of Manchester sold 1935 and City of Coventry scrapped 1935 25 42 Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta 43 landplaneAtalanta class 8 1932 41 Atalanta sold Andromeda withdrawn 1939 Arethusa renamed Atalanta Artemis Astraea Athena burnt 1936 Aurora sold and Amalthea wrecked 1938 For Nairobi Cape Town leg on South Africa route amp Karachi Singapore leg on Australia route 9 43 Armstrong Whitworth Ensign landplaneEnsign class 12 1938 46 Empire type 27 passengers Ensign Egeria Elsinore Euterpe Explorer Euryalus Echo Endymion and Western Type 40 passengers Eddystone Ettrick Empyrean and Elysian Everest amp Enterprise delivered to BOAC Intended to deliver 1st class mail to the Empire by air 41 42 44 Avro 618 Ten 42 landplane 2 1930 38 Achilles crashed 1938 42 Apollo collided with radio mast 1933 licence built Fokker F VII 3 m 26 Avro 652 2 1936 38 Avalon and Avatar later Ava to RAF in 1938 42 Prototypes for Anson bomber trainer 26 Boulton amp Paul P 71A landplaneBodiciea class 2 1934 36 Bodiciea lost 1935 and Britomart lost 1936 42 Experimental mailplanes 45 Bristol Type 75 Ten seater landplane 2 1924 26 G EAWY G EBEV retired 1925 ex Instone Air Line used as freightersde Havilland DH 34 7 1924 26 ex Instone Air Line G EBBR wrecked 1924 G EBBT scrapped 1930 G EBBV scrapped 1926 G EBBW scrapped 1926 and ex Daimler Airway G EBBX wrecked 1924 G EBBY scrapped 1926 G EBCX wrecked 1924 6 de Havilland DH 50 3 1924 33 G EBFO damaged 1924 and sold G EBFP scrapped 1933 G EBKZ crashed 1928 G EBFO used for surveys later fitted with twin floats and sold in Australia 42 de Havilland Highclere 1 1924 27 G EBKI freighter destroyed in hangar collapsede Havilland Giant Moth 1 1930 30 G AAEV wrecked 1930 crashed in Northern Rhodesia 2 weeks after hand over de Havilland Hercules 9 1926 35 City of Cairo wrecked 1931 City of Delhi to SAAF 1934 City of Baghdad withdrawn 1933 City of Jerusalem City of Tehran City of Basra to SAAF 1934 City of Karachi withdrawn 1935 City of Jodhpur sold and City of Cape Town sold 42 de Havilland Express 42 landplaneDiana class 12 1934 41 Daedalus burned 1938 Danae Dardanus Delia wrecked 1941 Delphinus Demeter Denebola Dido Dione Dorado Draco wrecked 1935 and Dryad sold 1938 All surviving aircraft impressed in 1941de Havilland Albatross landplaneFrobisher class 7 1938 43 Faraday impressed 1940 Franklin impressed 1940 Frobisher destroyed 1940 Falcon scrapped 1943 Fortuna crashed 1943 Fingal crashed 1940 and Fiona scrapped 1943 42 1 used as long range mail carrier 46 Desoutter IB landplane 1 1933 35 G ABMW Air taxi No 6Handley Page O 10 1 1924 24 G EATH ex Handley Page Transport but never usedHandley Page W8b 3 1924 32 Princess Mary wrecked 1928 Prince George retired 1929 and Prince Henry retired 1932 20 42 ex Handley Page Transport 20 Handley Page W8f Hamilton 1 1924 30 City of Washington wrecked 1930 20 42 Converted to twin engines and redesignated as W8g in 1929Handley Page W9a Hampstead 1 1926 29 City of New York sold 1929 20 42 Handley Page W 10 4 1926 33 City of Melbourne sold 1933 City of Pretoria sold 1933 City of London crashed 1926 and City of Ottawa crashed 1929 20 42 Handley Page H P 42E landplaneHannibal class 4 1931 40 Hannibal wrecked 1940 Horsa impressed 1940 Hanno wrecked 1940 Hadrian impressed 1940 24 passengers used on long Empire routes 39 Handley Page H P 42W H P 45 landplaneHeracles class 4 1931 40 Heracles wrecked 1940 Horatius wrecked 1939 Hengist wrecked 1937 and Helena impressed 1940 38 passengers on short Western routes Hengist and Helena converted to H P 42E 39 Short S 8 Calcutta flying boat 5 1928 35 City of Alexandria wrecked 1936 City of Athens later City of Stonehaven scrapped City of Rome wrecked 1929 City of Khartoum wrecked 1935 and City of Salonica later City of Swanage scrapped 23 Short Kent flying boatScipio class 3 1931 38 Scipio wrecked 1936 Sylvanus burned 1935 and Satyrus scrapped 1938 23 Short Scylla landplane 2 1934 40 Scylla wrecked 1940 and Syrinx scrapped 1940 42 Landplane version of Kent replacement for lost H P 42s 47 Short Mayo Composite flying boat 2 1938 40 Mercury scrapped 1941 and Maia destroyed in German raid 1942 42 Long range piggyback Composite aircraft derived from Short Empire Short S 26 Empire flying boatC class 31 1936 47 Canopus Caledonia Centaurus Cavalier Cambria Castor Cassiopea Capella Cygnus Capricornus Corsair Courtier Challenger Centurion Coriolanus Calpurnia Ceres Clio Circe Calypso Camilla Corinna Cordelia Cameronian Corinthian Coogee Corio and Coorong Carpentaria Coolangatta Cooee delivered but not used and transferred to Qantas provided mail and passenger service to Bermuda South Africa and Australia 42 48 49 Short S 26 flying boatG class 3 1939 40 Golden Hind Golden Fleece and Golden Horn Built for trans atlantic service impressed by RAF before entering revenue service 42 2 returned to BOAC service and used until 1947 Short S 30 Empire flying boatC class 9 1938 47 Champion Cabot Caribou Connemara Clyde Clare Cathay Ao tea roa to TEAL as Aotearoa Captain Cook to TEAL as Awarua long range variant of S 23 42 48 49 Supermarine Sea Eagle flying boat 2 1924 29 Sarnia G EBGR retired 1929 and G EBGS wrecked 1927 ex British Marine Air Navigation 42 Supermarine Southampton 1 1929 30 G AASH RAF S1235 on loan for 3 months to replace crashed Calcutta on Genoa Alexandria airmail run 50 Supermarine Swan 1 1925 27 G EBJY scrapped 1927 RAF prototype loaned for cross Channel serviceVickers Vanguard landplane 1 1926 29 G EBCP wrecked 1929 on loan from Air Ministry for evaluationVickers Vellox 1 1934 36 G ABKY wrecked 1936 cargo experimental flights 42 Crashed at Croydon in August killing pilots and two wireless operators 51 Vickers Vimy Commercial 1 1924 25 City of London wrecked 1925 ex Instone Air Line 42 52 Vickers Vulcan 3 1924 28 G EBLB City of Brussels wrecked 1928 G EBFC withdrawn 1924 unused G EBEK loaned from Air Ministry for 1925 Empire Exhibition Display 42 19 Westland IV and Wessex 3 1931 37 G AAGW G ABEG wrecked 1936 G ACHI 2 leased to other operators IV G AAGW upgraded to Wessex 53 References Edit Pirie 2009 Ord Hume 2010 pp 7 9 Ord Hume 2010 p 10 a b c Bluffield Robert 19 November 2014 Over Empires and Oceans Pioneers Aviators and Adventurers Forging the International Air Routes 1918 1939 Tattered Flag ISBN 9780954311568 Terms of Agreement Published Flight 1924 a b c Stroud June 1984 pp 315 19 Imperial Airways Archived from the original on 11 November 2007 a b Stroud Nov 1986 pp 609 14 a b Stroud June 1986 pp 321 326 Imperial Airways Timetable October 1938 London Curwen Press 1938 pp 2 3 Imperial Airways Timetable April 1939 London Curwen Press 1939 p 2 a b Pirie 2012 harvp error no target CITEREFPirie2012 help Pirie G H 2009 Incidental tourism British imperial air travel in the 1930s Journal of Tourism History 1 49 66 Allaz Camille 2005 History of Air Cargo and Airmail from the 18th Century Gardners Books p 97 ISBN 0954889606 The Imperial Airways Empire Terminal Victoria London 8 October 2021 Archived from the original on 8 October 2021 Retrieved 19 December 2021 CRETE2CAPE VintageAirRally 2019 Retrieved 30 June 2019 Moss 1962 Air Disaster at Croydon Flight No 1 January 1925 p 4 a b Stroud Nov 1987 pp 609 612 a b c d e f g h Stroud Oct 1983 pp 535 539 Accident description for G EBMZ at the Aviation Safety Network Retrieved on 18 January 2013 Accident description for G AADN at the Aviation Safety Network Retrieved on 18 January 2013 a b c d e Stroud Feb 1987 pp 97 103 Accident description for G EBMZ at the Aviation Safety Network Retrieved on 18 January 2013 a b c Stroud May 1985 pp 265 269 a b c Stroud Feb 1991 pp 115 120 Accident description for G AASJ at the Aviation Safety Network Retrieved on 18 January 2013 Accident description for G ABFA at the Aviation Safety Network Retrieved on 18 January 2013 Accident description for G ADVA at the Aviation Safety Network Retrieved on 18 January 2013 Accident description for G ADVC at the Aviation Safety Network Retrieved on 18 January 2013 Accident description for G ADUZ at the Aviation Safety Network Retrieved on 18 January 2013 Accident description for G ABTG at the Aviation Safety Network Retrieved on 18 January 2013 Accident description for G AETW at the Aviation Safety Network Retrieved on 18 January 2013 Accident description for G ADVD at the Aviation Safety Network Retrieved on 18 January 2013 Crash of a Handley Page H P 42E into the Gulf of Oman 8 killed Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Retrieved 24 September 2019 ACCIDENT DETAILS Plane Crash Info Retrieved 8 March 2011 Accident To Air Liner Damaged in Forced Landing The Times No 45897 London 10 August 1931 col G p p10 Crash of a Short S 17 Kent in Brindisi 12 killed Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Retrieved 24 September 2019 a b c Stroud Aug 1985 pp 433 437 ASN Aircraft accident Short S 23 Empire Flying Boat Mk I G ADUY Tandjong Batavia Java Netherlands East Indies a b Jackson 1973 pp 55 57 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Bluffield 2009 pp 211 213 a b Jackson 1973 pp 52 54 Stroud June 1988 pp 433 437 Stroud Aug 1986 pp 433 436 Jackson 1973 433 437 Stroud Oct 1984 pp 549 553 a b Stroud Dec 1989 pp 763 769 a b Stroud Jan 1990 pp 51 61 Jackson 1974 p 443 Commercial Aviation Flight 13 August 1936 p181 Stroud Feb 1984 pp 101 105 Stroud Dec 1985 pp 657 661Footnotes EditNotes Edit One source states the aircraft caught fire before takeoff with 12 killed 38 Bibliography EditBaldwin N C 1950 Imperial Airways and Subsidiary Companies A History and Priced Check List of the Empire Air Mails Sutton Coldfield England Francis J Field Bluffield Robert 2009 Imperial Airways The Birth of the British Airline Industry 1914 1940 Hersham Surrey England Ian Allan Publishing ISBN 978 1 906537 07 4 Budd Lucy Global Networks Before Globalisation Imperial Airways and the Development of Long Haul Air Routes Globalization and World Cities GaWC Research Bulletin 253 5 December 2007 Cluett Douglas Nash Joanna Learmonth Bob 1980 Croydon Airport 1928 1939 The Great Days London Borough of Sutton ISBN 0 9503224 8 2 Davies R E G 2005 British Airways An Airline and Its Aircraft Volume 1 1919 1939 The Imperial Years McLean VA Paladwr Press ISBN 1 888962 24 0 Doyle Neville 2002 The Triple Alliance The Predecessors of the first British Airways Air Britain ISBN 0 85130 286 6 Higham Robin 1960 Britain s Imperial Air Routes 1918 to 1939 The Story of Britain s Overseas Airlines London G T Foulis Hamden CT Shoe String Jackson A J 1959 and 1974 British Civil Aircraft since 1919 2 vols 1st ed 3 vols 2nd ed London Putnam Moss Peter W 1962 Impressments Log Vol I IV Air Britain Moss Peter W October 1974 British Airways Aeroplane Monthly Ord Hume Arthur W J G 2010 Imperial Airways From Early Days to BOAC Catrine Ayrshire Stenlake Publishing p 10 ISBN 9781840335149 Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 6 February 2013 Pirie G H 2004 Passenger traffic in the 1930s on British imperial air routes refinement and revision Journal of Transport History 25 66 84 Pirie G H 2009 Air Empire British Imperial Civil Aviation 1919 39 Manchester Manchester University Press ISBN 978 0 7190 4111 2 Pirie G H 2009 Incidental tourism British imperial air travel in the 1930s Journal of Tourism History 1 49 66 Pirie G H 2012 Cultures and Caricatures of British Imperial Aviation Passengers Pilots Publicity Manchester Manchester University Press ISBN 978 0 7190 8682 3 Pudney J 1959 The Seven Skies A Study of BOAC and its forerunners since 1919 London Putnam Salt Major A E W 1930 Imperial Air Routes London John Murray Sanford Kendall C 2003 Air Crash Mail of Imperial Airways and Predecessor Airlines Bristol Stuart Rossiter Trust Fund ISBN 0 9530004 6 X Stroud John 1962 Annals of British and Commonwealth Air Transport 1919 1960 London Putnam Stroud John 2005 The Imperial Airways Fleet Stroud England Tempus Publishing ISBN 0 7524 2997 3 Stroud John May 1985 Wings of Peace Armstrong Whitworth Argosy Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 265 269 Stroud John June 1986 Wings of Peace Armstrong Whitworth A W XV Atalanta Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 321 326 Stroud John July 1988 Wings of Peace Armstrong Whitworth A W 27 Ensign Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 433 437 Stroud John February 1991 Wings of Peace Avro Monoplanes Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 115 120 Stroud John August 1986 Wings of Peace Boulton Paul P 64 and P 71A Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 433 436 Stroud John June 1984 Wings of Peace De Havilland DH 34 Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 315 319 Stroud John November 1986 Wings of Peace De Havilland DH 66 Hercules Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 609 614 Stroud John June 1990 Wings of Peace De Havilland Albatross part 1 Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 369 372 Stroud John July 1990 Wings of Peace De Havilland Albatross part 2 Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 433 437 Stroud John October 1983 Wings of Peace Handley Page Type W amp derivatives Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 535 539 Stroud John August 1985 Wings of Peace Handley Page H P 42 and H P 45 Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 433 437 Stroud John February 1987 Wings of Peace Short S 8 Calcutta amp S 17 Kent Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 97 103 Stroud John October 1984 Wings of Peace Short L 17 Scylla Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 549 553 Stroud John December 1989 Wings of Peace Short Empire flying boats part 1 Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 763 769 Stroud John January 1990 Wings of Peace Short Empire flying boats part 2 Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 51 61 Stroud John November 1987 Wings of Peace Vickers Vulcan Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 609 612 Stroud John February 1984 Wings of Peace Vickers Vimy Commercial Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 101 105 Stroud John December 1985 Wings of Peace Westland IV and Wessex Aeroplane Monthly Kelsey pp 657 661 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Imperial Airways www imperial airways com enthusiast website at archive org British Airways Explore our past Imperial Airways Timetables History Imperial Airways Eastern Route Website for historical information on the airline Website for the Imperial Airways Museum Website for The Crete2Cape Vintage Air Rally Documents and clippings about Imperial Airways in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Imperial Airways amp oldid 1131171444, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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