Imperial Airways
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Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range
airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...
, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
routes to
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Australia and the
Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...
, including Malaya and
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. 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 British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pass ...
(BOAC) in 1939. BOAC in turn merged with the
British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The a ...
(BEA) in 1974 to form
British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
.


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 The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
after the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and after some experimental (and often dangerous) long-distance flying to the margins of Empire.Pirie, 2009


Formation

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.Ord-Hume, 2010, pp.7–9 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 Sir Samuel Instone (16 August 1878 – 9 November 1937) was a British shipping and aviation entrepreneur and the founder of the Instone Air Line. Personal history Instone was born in Gravesend, Kent, the eldest of three brothers born to Ad ...
,
Noel Pemberton Billing Noel Pemberton Billing (31 January 1881 – 11 November 1948), sometimes known as Noel Pemberton-Billing, was a British aviator, inventor, publisher and Member of Parliament for Hertford. He founded the firm that became Supermarine and promoted ...
's British Marine Air Navigation (part of the
Supermarine Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that is most famous for producing the Spitfire fighter plane during World War II as well as a range of seaplanes and flying boats, and a series of jet-powered fighter aircraft after World War II ...
flying-boat company), the
Daimler Airway Daimler Airway was an airline subsidiary of the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA)'s Daimler Company. It was created to use some of the assets of the failed ventures Airco and its subsidiary, Aircraft Transport and Travel, which was acquired ...
, under the management of George Edward Woods, and Handley Page Transport Co Ltd., should be merged.Ord-Hume, 2010, p.10 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 Air Council (or Air Force Council) was the governing body of the Royal Air Force until the merger of the Air Ministry with the other armed forces ministries to form the Ministry of Defence in 1964. It was succeeded by the Air Force Board. Me ...
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. 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 Sir Eric Campbell Geddes (26 September 1875 – 22 June 1937) was a British businessman and Conservative politician. With a background in railways, he served as head of Military Transportation on the Western Front, with the rank of major-ge ...
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 The London Institute of Banking & Finance is the oldest training and professional body for banking and financial services in England and Wales, and works internationally with partners to establish ethical and professional standards across the ...
) and Major John Hills, a former Treasury Financial Secretary. The land operations were based at Croydon Airport to the south of
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. 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. 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 The de Havilland DH.34 was a single engined British biplane airliner built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company in the 1920s. 12 were built, with the DH.34 serving with Imperial Airways and its predecessors for several years. Design and develo ...
.Stroud, June 1984, pp. 315–19 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 The Handley Page W.8, W.9 and W.10 were British two- and three-engine medium-range biplane airliners designed and built by Handley Page. The W.8 (also known as the H.P.18) was the company's first purpose-built civil airliner although it was a ...
''City of Washington'', delivered on 3 November 1924. 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.


Empire services


Route proving

Between 16 November 1925 and 13 March 1926,
Alan Cobham Sir Alan John Cobham, KBE, AFC (6 May 1894 – 21 October 1973) was an English aviation pioneer. Early life and family As a child he attended Wilson's School, then in Camberwell, London. The school relocated to the former site of Croydo ...
made an Imperial Airways' route survey flight from the UK to Cape Town and back in the
Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar The Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar was an aircraft engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley. The Jaguar was a petrol-fuelled air-cooled 14-cylinder two-row radial engine design. The Jaguar III was first used in 1923, followed in 1925 by the Jaguar ...
–powered de Havilland DH.50J floatplane ''G-EBFO''. The outward route was
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
Pisa
Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
Sollum Sallum ( ar, السلوم, translit=as-Sallūm various transliterations include ''El Salloum'', ''As Sallum'' or ''Sollum'') is a harbourside village or town in Egypt. It is along the Egypt/Libyan short north–south aligned coast of the Mediterra ...
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...
Aswan Aswan (, also ; ar, أسوان, ʾAswān ; cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲁⲛ ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the ...
Wadi Halfa
Atbara Atbara (sometimes Atbarah) ( ar, عطبرة ʿAṭbarah) is a city located in River Nile State in northeastern Sudan. Because of its links to the railway industry, Atbara is also known as the "Railway City'. As of 2007, its population is 1 ...
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
Malakal Malakal is a city in South Sudan. It is the capital of Upper Nile State, South Sudan, along the White Nile River. It also serves as the headquarter of Malakal county and it used to be the headquarter of Upper Nile Region from 1970s to late 1990s. ...
MongallaJinja
Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victoria Basin. Apart from being an important polit ...
Tabora Tabora is the capital of Tanzania's Tabora Region and is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat of Tabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226,999. ...
Abercorn Abercorn (Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a pop ...
Ndola Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia and third in terms of size and population, with a population of 475,194 (''2010 census provisional''), after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development aft ...
Broken HillLivingstone
Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council ...
Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
Kimberley
Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
. On his return Cobham was awarded the Air Force Cross for his services to aviation. On 30 June 1926, Cobham took off from the River Medway at
Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...
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 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 George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
. 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.Stroud, Nov 1986, pp. 609–14


The Eastern Route

Regular services on the
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
to
Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...
route began on 12 January 1927 using DH.66 aircraft, replacing the previous RAF mail flight. Following 2 years of negotiations with the Persian authorities regarding overflight rights, a London to
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
service started on 30 March 1929, taking 7 days and consisting of a flight from London to
Basle , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...
, a train to
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
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 Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital ...
now part of the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
. 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 Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
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Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
-
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
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Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
- Brindisi-
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
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Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
-
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
where it followed the normal route to
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
then onwards to
Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the ...
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Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
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Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
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Akyab Sittwe (; ; formerly Akyab) is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe, pronounced ''sait-tway'' in the Rakhine language, is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emp ...
- Rangoon-
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
- Prachuab- Alor Setar-
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
- Palembang-
Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
- Sourabaya-
Bima Bima (Indonesia: ''Kota Bima'') is a city on the eastern coast of the island of Sumbawa in central Indonesia's province West Nusa Tenggara. It is the largest city on the island of Sumbawa, with a population of 142,443 at the 2010 census and 155,1 ...
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Koepang Kupang ( id, Kota Kupang, ), formerly known as Koepang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 C ensus, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 455,850. It is the largest ci ...
- Bathurst Island- Darwin-
Newcastle Waters Newcastle Waters is a town and locality off the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory. The nearest petrol station and accommodation is found south at Elliott. The Newcastle Waters School draws most of its few students from the Marlinja hom ...
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Camooweal Camooweal is an outback town and locality in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. The locality is on the Queensland border with the Northern Territory. In the , the locality of Camooweal had a population of 208 people. Geography The l ...
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Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Cloncurry had a population of 2,719 people. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known a ...
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Longreach Longreach is a town and a locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and Isisford ...
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Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...
reaching Eagle Farm, Brisbane on 23 June. Sydney was visited on 26 June, Canberra on 28 June and Melbourne on 29 June. There followed a rapid eastern extension. The first London to
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
service departed on 1 July 1933, the first London to Rangoon service on 23 September 1933, the first London to
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
service on 9 December 1933, and the first London to
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
service on 8 December 1934, with
Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...
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 Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
passengers departed London on 14 March 1936 following the establishment of a branch from Penang to Hong Kong.


The Africa Route

On 28 February 1931 a weekly service began between London and Mwanza on Lake Victoria in
Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...
as part of the proposed route to
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
. 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
Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...
s replaced the DH.66s on the Kisumu to Cape Town sector of the London to Cape Town route.Stroud, June 1986, pp.321–326 On 9 February 1936 the trans-Africa route was opened by Imperial Airways between Khartoum and
Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...
in Nigeria. This route was extended to
Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
on 15 October 1936.


Short Empire flying boats

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 Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
,
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, Brindisi,
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
,
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
, Port Bell,
Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victoria Basin. Apart from being an important polit ...
and onwards by land-based craft to Nairobi, Mbeya and eventually
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
. 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. 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.


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.Pirie, 2012 There was opportunity for sightseeing from the air and at stops.


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.Pirie, 2012


Air Mail

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 Secretary, 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 Christopher Bullock, Bullock's reinstatement which he declined. The Empire Air Mail Programme started in July 1937, delivering anywhere for 1 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 Station (London), 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. 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 Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
, out of the eastbound New York City, 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. 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. 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.


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 British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pass ...
(BOAC), that had already been formed on 24 November 1939 with retrospective financial arrangements.


Accidents and incidents


Fatal accidents


1920s

* 24 December 1924:
de Havilland DH.34 The de Havilland DH.34 was a single engined British biplane airliner built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company in the 1920s. 12 were built, with the DH.34 serving with Imperial Airways and its predecessors for several years. Design and develo ...
G-EBBX ''City of Delhi'' 1924 Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.34 crash, crashed and caught fire shortly after take-off from Croydon Airport, killing the pilot and all seven passengers. *13 July 1928: Vickers Vulcan G-EBLB 1928 Imperial Airways Vickers Vulcan crash, crashed at Purley, London, Purley during a test flight, killing four of the six people on board.Stroud, Nov 1987, pp.609–612 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'' 1929 Imperial Airways Handley Page W.10 crash, ditched in the English Channel following engine failure whilst on a flight from Croydon to Paris with the loss of seven lives. *6 September 1929: de Havilland Hercules G-EBMZ ''City of Jerusalem'' 1929 Jask Imperial Airways de Havilland Hercules crash, 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. *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.Stroud, Feb 1987, pp.97–103


1930s

*30 October 1930: Handley Page W.8g G-EBIX ''City of Washington'' struck high ground in fog at Boulogne-Billancourt, Boulogne,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, France, killing three of six on board. *28 March 1933: Armstrong Whitworth Argosy G-AACI ''City of Liverpool'' 1933 Imperial Airways Diksmuide crash, 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.Stroud, May 1985, pp.265–269 *30 December 1933: Avro Ten G-ABLU ''Apollo'' collided with a radio mast at Ruysselede, Belgium and 1933 Imperial Airways Ruysselede crash, crashed. All ten people on board were killed.Stroud, Feb 1991, pp.115–120 *31 December 1935: Short Calcutta G-AASJ ''City of Khartoum'' crashed off Alexandria, Egypt, 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. *22 August 1936: Short Kent G-ABFA ''Scipio'' sank at Mirabello Bay, Crete after a heavy landing, killing two of 11 on board. *24 March 1937: Short Empire G-ADVA ''Capricornus '' crashed in the Beaujolois Mountains near Ouroux, France, following a navigation error, killing five. *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. *5 December 1937: Short Empire G-ADUZ ''Cygnus '' crashed on takeoff from Brindisi, Italy due to incorrect flap settings, killing two. *27 July 1938: Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta G-ABTG ''Amalthea'' flew into a hillside near
Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victoria Basin. Apart from being an important polit ...
, Kenya shortly after takeoff, killing all four on board. *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. *21 January 1939: Short Empire G-ADUU ''Cavalier'' 1939 Imperial Airways flying boat ditching, ditched in the Atlantic 285 mi off New York (state), 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.


1940

*1 March 1940: Flight 197, 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 Type W, Handley Page W.10 G-EBMS '' City of Melbourne'' ditched in the English Channel off the English coast after an engine failed. All 12 people on board were rescued by FV ''Invicta''.Stroud, Oct 1983, pp.535–539 * 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, Surabaya, Soerabaja and Kupang. *8 August 1931: Handley Page H.P.42 G-AAGX ''Hannibal'' was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Croydon to Paris - Le Bourget Airport, 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. *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. *29 September 1936: Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta G-ABTK burned out in a hangar fire at Delhi, India. *31 May 1937: Handley Page H.P.42, Handley Page H.P.45 (former H.P.42) G-AAXE ''Hengist'' was destroyed in a hangar fire at
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
, India.Stroud, Aug 1985, pp.433–437 *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, Dutch East Indies, 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. *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.42, 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.


References


Footnotes


Notes


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. * *Budd, Luc
"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 *Davies, R.E.G 2005. ''British Airways: An Airline and Its Aircraft, Volume 1: 1919–1939—The Imperial Years.'' McLean, VA: Paladwr Press. *Doyle, Neville. 2002. The Triple Alliance: The Predecessors of the first British Airways. Air-Britain. *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''. * *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. . *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. . *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. *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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


www.imperial-airways.com enthusiast website at archive.org

British Airways "Explore our past"





Website for historical information on the airline

Website for the Imperial Airways Museum

Website for The Crete2Cape Vintage Air Rally
* {{British Airways Imperial Airways, Airlines established in 1924 Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom Airlines disestablished in 1939 Defunct seaplane operators