Cobham Air Routes was a 1930s

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

airline formed in 1935 to operate a service between Croydon and the Channel Islands. Following the loss of an aircraft in a fatal accident the airline was sold to Olley Air Service.

History

Cobham Air Routes Limited was formed on 3 May 1935 by

Sir 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 ...

to operate services between Croydon and Guernsey. The twice daily service started on 6 May 1935. The first sector from Croydon to Bournemouth via Portsmouth was flown by an

Airspeed Courier The Airspeed AS.5 Courier was a British six-seat single-engined light aircraft that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Airspeed Limited at Portsmouth. It has the distinction of being the first British aircraft fitte ...

with the Bournemouth to Guernsey sector flown by a six-passenger

Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34 (in US service known as Choctaw). It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main chang ...

. Following the loss of the Wessex aircraft on 3 July 1935, Cobham decided to withdraw from the airline business and sell the company to Olley Air Service.

Accidents and incidents

* On 3 July 1935 the three-engined

''G-ADEW'' ditched in the English channel close to

The Needles The Needles is a row of three stacks of chalk that rise about out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, United Kingdom, close to Alum Bay and Scratchell's Bay, and part of Totland, the wester ...

with the loss of the pilot; the passenger managed to escape. The aircraft was carrying one passenger from Guernsey to Bournemouth; it had a failure of the starboard engine 25 to 30 minutes into the flight and carried on with two engines. After half an hour, one or more of the remaining engines failed, and the aircraft crashed into the sea. The passenger was picked up after two hours by the ''Stanmore'' but the pilot was never found. An inquiry concluded that the pilot had taken an ''unnecessary but not wholly unjustifiable risk'' continuing with two engines, and he should have considered turning for the French coast."Channel Flight On Two Engines." Times ondon, England16 Oct. 1935: 8. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

Fleet

(3)

Guernsey Post Office

In 1973 the Guernsey Post Office issued a 3d stamp depicting the Wessex G-ADEW to represent the three aircraft used by Cobham on services to the island, to commemorate 50 years of commercial flying to the island."Stamps give air history of islands." Times ondon, England22 May 1973: 18. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Photo of Cobham Air Routes Envoy at Croydon in Swissair Archives http://ba.e-pics.ethz.ch/#1459860524225_68 {{Airlines of the United Kingdom Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom Airlines established in 1935 Airlines disestablished in 1935 1935 establishments in England 1935 disestablishments in England 1935 mergers and acquisitions British companies disestablished in 1935 British companies established in 1935

History

Accidents and incidents

Fleet

Guernsey Post Office

See also

References