Airwork Services - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

During the post-war

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

period Airwork also further expanded its business into civil aviation. This expansion was financed by its wealthy shareholders, including Lord Cowdray

Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray

Weetman Dickinson Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray GCVO, PC , known as Sir Weetman Pearson, Bt, between 1894 and 1910 and as The Lord Cowdray between 1910 and 1917, was a British engineer, oil industrialist, benefactor and Liberal politician...

, Whitehall Securities, the Blue Star shipping line

Shipping line

-History of shipping lines:Large-scale shipping lines became widespread in the nineteenth century, after the development of the steamship in 1783. At first, Great Britain was the centr of development; in 1819, the first steamship crossing of the Atlantic Ocean took place and by 1833, shipping lines...

, Furness Withy

Furness Withy

Furness Withy was a major British transport business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange.-History:The Company was founded by Christopher Furness and Henry Withy in 1891 in Hartlepool. This was achieved by the amalgamation of the Furness Line of steamers with the business of Edward Withy and...

and Thomas Loel Evelyn Bulkeley Guinness

Loel Guinness

Group Captain Thomas Loel Evelyn Bulkeley Guinness OBE was a British Conservative politician, Member of Parliament for Bath , business magnate and philanthropist...

.

Airwork's other air transport related activities include contracting, aircraft servicing and maintenance, sale and purchase of aircraft, operation and management of flying schools and clubs, contract charter flying, overhaul and modification of aircraft, specialised aerodrome catering and aviation insurance

Aviation insurance

Aviation insurance is insurance coverage geared specifically to the operation of aircraft and the risks involved in aviation. Aviation insurance policies are distinctly different from those for other areas of transportation and tend to incorporate aviation terminology, as well as terminology,...

Airline operations

During the early post-World War II years, charter flights using Handley Page Hermes

Handley Page Hermes

The Handley Page HP 81 Hermes was a British civilian airliner built by Handley Page in the 1940s and 50s. Closely related to Handley Page's Hastings military transport, the Hermes was a low-wing monoplane powered by four piston engines...

and Vickers Viking

Vickers VC.1 Viking

The Vickers VC.1 Viking was a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Viking was an important airliner with British airlines...

airliner

Airliner

An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...

s, primarily flying out of Blackbushe Airport

Blackbushe Airport

Blackbushe Airport , in the civil parish of Yateley in the north-east corner of the English county of Hampshire, comprises an airfield, much reduced in size since its heyday, a British Car Auctions site, a kart track owned by Camberley Kart Club, and a small business park...

, constituted the bulk of Airwork's commercial air transport activities. These included a twice weekly series of flights on behalf of the Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

ese government, which carried 10,000 passengersincluding 394 babies between London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Wadi Halfa

Wadi Halfa

Wadi Halfa is a city in the state of Northern, in northern Sudan, on the shores of Lake Nubia . It is the terminus of a rail line from Khartoum and the point where goods are transferred from rail to ferries going down the Lake Nasser...

and Khartoum

Khartoum

Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...

between 1947 and 1950, as well as a series of inclusive tour (IT) flights under contract to the UK Civil Service, and flights carrying Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

pilgrims to and from Jeddah

Jeddah

Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...

during the annual Hajj

Hajj

The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...

season. Airwork was also among the UK independentindependent from government-owned corporation

Government-owned corporation

A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...

s airlines participating in the Berlin Airlift.

Airwork first proposed transporting troops by air rather than by sea in 1950. The company's contacts with the War Office

War Office

The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...

helped Airwork become the first carrier to be awarded a trooping flight contract. The War Office subsequently made Airwork its main contractor for the UK—Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

trooping service, as well as its unofficial "chosen instrument" for all trooping flights that were contracted to third parties. However, the Hermes

Handley Page Hermes

aircraft that operated most of these flights frequently suffered from engine faults. This resulted in crash landing

Emergency landing

An emergency landing is a landing made by an aircraft in response to a crisis which either interferes with the operation of the aircraft or involves sudden medical emergencies necessitating diversion to the nearest airport.-Types of emergency landings:...

s on a number of occasions. These incidents cast doubt on the aircraft's reliability and the airline's safety record, as a result of which the firm lost its monopoly in the trooping business.

In 1952, Airwork applied for UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

and US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

authority to operate scheduled transatlantic

Transatlantic flight

Transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. A transatlantic flight may proceed east-to-west, originating in Europe or Africa and terminating in North America or South America, or it may go in the reverse direction, west-to-east...

all-freight services from London via Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

to New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

's Idlewild

John F. Kennedy International Airport

John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...

airport (later JFK

John F. Kennedy International Airport

).

The same year, on 14 June, Airwork began operating quasi-scheduled low-fare services from the UK to East

East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

, Central

Central Africa

Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....

, Southern

Southern Africa

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...

and West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

using Vikings. These services were part of a joint operation with Hunting Air Transport

Hunting-Clan Air Transport

Hunting-Clan Air Transport was a wholly private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline that was founded in the immediate post-World War II period. It began trading on 1 January 1946 as Hunting Air Travel Ltd...

, another wholly private British

United Kingdom

independent airline of that era. Flights initially operated on a fortnightly basis. International Air Transport Association

International Air Transport Association

The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...

(IATA) minimum fare rules did not apply to these services because the governments that owned most of IATA's member airlines had not empowered it to set and control domestic air fares, including dependent overseas territories.

The first joint Airwork—Hunting all-economy

Economy class

__FORCETOC__Economy class, also called coach class , steerage, or standard class, is the lowest class of seating in air travel, rail travel, and sometimes ferry or maritime travel....

Safari/colonial coach classBritish residents only service from London to Nairobi

Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...

routed via Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

, Benghazi

Benghazi

Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...

, Wadi Halfa, Khartoum, Juba

Juba, Sudan

Juba is the capital and largest city of the Republic of South Sudan. It also serves as the capital of Central Equatoria, the smallest of the ten states of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and functions as the seat and metropolis of Juba County.- Population :In 2005, Juba's...

and Entebbe

Entebbe

Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...

. It utilised single-class 27-seat Vikings, which took three dayswith night stops to complete the journey. Although this compared unfavourably with British Overseas Airways Corporation

British Overseas Airways Corporation

The British Overseas Airways Corporation was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974. The company started life with a merger between Imperial Airways Ltd. and British Airways Ltd...

(BOAC), whose regular scheduled services took only 24 hours, load factors averaged 93% during the first nine months of operation. Airwork and Hunting-Clan

Hunting-Clan Air Transport

continued to achieve very high average load factors of 85-90% because their £98 single fare was £42 cheaper than the comparable BOAC fare. These load factors were much higher than BOAC's, as a result of which the independents doubled the flight frequency on their London-Nairobi Safari/colonial coach route to once-a-week. This service proved to be so popular that a second weekly frequency was eventually added, which was operated alternately by each airline.

In June 1953, Airwork and Hunting jointly launched a fortnightly Safari/colonial coach service between London and Salisbury

Salisbury

Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...

, entailing one round trip per month by each company.

In June 1954, Airwork and Hunting launched a joint Safari/colonial coach service to West Africa linking London with Accra

Accra

Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...

via Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

, Las Palmas

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria commonly known as Las Palmas is the political capital, jointly with Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 383,308 in 2010. Nearly half of the people of the island...

, Bathurst

Bathurst

-Places:In Australia:* Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia and the following things associated with the city** Bathurst Regional Council, the local government area for the Bathurst urban area and rural surrounds...

and Freetown

Freetown

Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...

.
Following long-delayed approval of Airwork's application for a scheduled transatlantic London — Manchester — New York all-cargo service, flights eventually commenced in early 1955, using aircraft chartered from US supplemental carriersUS non-scheduled airlines as classified by the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

in 1963. However, the operation was short-lived.it ceased at the end of 1955

By 1957, Airwork and Hunting-Clan had converted their successful East

East Africa

, West

West Africa

and Southern Africa

Southern Africa

n Safari/colonial coach flights into regular "third-class" scheduled services. However, the Government forced the independents to maintain additional stops that were no longer needed, as a result of replacing Vikings with technologically advanced Douglas DC-6

Douglas DC-6

The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...

s and Vickers Viscount

Vickers Viscount

The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...

s. It also required them to share all traffic with BOAC on a 30:70 basis. Despite these restrictions, the indepents' services were fully booked five months ahead within a fortnight of their launch. When Britain

United Kingdom

's Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n colonies became independent, Safari/colonial coach was converted into a fully fledged scheduled service. To secure their traffic rights between the UK and the newly independent African nations, Airwork and Hunting-Clan began participating in revenue-sharing agreements with BOAC and the destination countries' flag carrier

Flag carrier

A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given country, enjoys preferential rights or privileges, accorded by the government, for international operations. It may be a state-run, state-owned or private but...

s.following Airwork's absorption into British United Airways

British United Airways

British United Airways was a private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed as a result of the merger of Airwork Services and Hunting-Clan Air Transport in July 1960, making it the largest wholly private airline based in the United Kingdom at the time...

(BUA) and that airline's subsequent acquisition by Caledonian Airways

Caledonian Airways

Caledonian Airways was a wholly private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations Scottish charter airline formed in April 1961. It began with a single Douglas DC-7C leased from Sabena. Caledonian grew rapidly over the coming years to become the leading transatlantic "affinity...

to form British Caledonian

British Caledonian

British Caledonian was a private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline, operating out of Gatwick Airport in the 1970s and 1980s...

(BCal), these arrangements continued to be the legal basis of BUA's and BCal's UK—Africa

Africa

scheduled services

1957 was also the year Airwork acquired control of Transair

Transair (UK)

Transair Limited was an early post-World War II private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed in 1947. It began as an air taxi operator at Croydon Airport. In 1953, it started inclusive tour charter flights. By 1957, Transair became part of the Airwork...

, a fellow independent airline. A year later the process of merging the Airwork-controlled airlines with Hunting-Clan to form British United Airways (BUA) started. In 1959, Airwork took over Air Charter

Air Charter Limited

Air Charter was an early post-World War II private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline formed in 1947. The airline conducted regular trooping flights to Cyprus as well as worldwide passenger and freight charter flights from its bases at Southend Airport and...

, Freddie Laker

Freddie Laker

Sir Frederick Alfred Laker was a British airline entrepreneur, best known for founding Laker Airways in 1966, which went bankrupt in 1982...

's first airline venture. By the time Airwork merged with Hunting-Clan to form BUA in 1960, the former's air transport subsidiaries already included Airwork Helicopters, Air Charter, Bristow Helicopters

Bristow Helicopters

Bristow Helicopters is a British helicopter airline originally based at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, part of the Bristow Group based in Houston, Texas, USA....

, Channel Air Bridge

Channel Air Bridge

Channel Air Bridge was a private British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline specialising in cross-Channel vehicle-cum-passenger ferry services. Freddie Laker started Channel Air Bridge as a sister airline of Air Charter on a provisional basis in 1954. Operations...

, Transair and Morton Air Services

Morton Air Services

Morton Air Services was one of the earliest post-World War II private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airlines formed in 1945. It mainly operated regional short-haul scheduled services within the British Isles and between the United Kingdom and Continental Europe....

. By that time, Airwork had also negotiated a long-term charter contract with the Gold Coast Chamber of Mines. This entailed regular Hermes services between the UK and West Africa.

In addition to Airwork's airline operations, the company serviced numerous airliners in the civil maintenance hangar at Hurn Airport. These included Sudan Airways

Sudan Airways

Sudan Airways is the national airline of Sudan, headquartered in Khartoum. The airline operates under the IATA airline designator SD and the ICAO airline designator SUD, while its callsign is SUDANAIR....

Dove

De Havilland Dove

The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British monoplane short-haul airliner from de Havilland, the successor to the biplane de Havilland Dragon Rapide and was one of Britain's most successful post-war civil designs...

s and Dakotas, Skymasters, and Vikings of various operators.

Post-war fleet details

The Airwork airline operated the following aircraft types:

Airspeed Consul
Airspeed Consul
-See also:-References:...
Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...

/C-47A/B/Dakota C.4
Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...

/C-54/54A
Douglas DC-6
Douglas DC-6
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...

A
Handley Page Hermes
Handley Page Hermes
The Handley Page HP 81 Hermes was a British civilian airliner built by Handley Page in the 1940s and 50s. Closely related to Handley Page's Hastings military transport, the Hermes was a low-wing monoplane powered by four piston engines...

4/4A/5
Vickers Viking
Vickers VC.1 Viking
The Vickers VC.1 Viking was a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Viking was an important airliner with British airlines...

1B
Vickers Viscount
Vickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...

700/800 series.

In April 1958, the Airwork fleet comprised twelve aircraft.

**Airwork fleet in April 1958**
Aircraft	Number
Handley Page Hermes Handley Page Hermes The Handley Page HP 81 Hermes was a British civilian airliner built by Handley Page in the 1940s and 50s. Closely related to Handley Page's Hastings military transport, the Hermes was a low-wing monoplane powered by four piston engines...	4
Vickers Viscount 800 Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...	2
Vickers Viking Vickers VC.1 Viking The Vickers VC.1 Viking was a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Viking was an important airliner with British airlines...	5
Airspeed Consul Airspeed Consul -See also:-References:...	1
Total	12

Accidents and incidents

A fatal accident occurred on 25 August 1952. It involved a Handley Page HP.81 Hermes 4A (registration: G-ALDF) operating an international non-scheduled passenger flight from Blackbushe to Khartoum via Malta. When the aircraft approached Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, an engine malfunction affecting engines no. 2 and 3 forced the flightdeck crew to shut down both engines as well as to feather both propellers. Intensive use of the onboard radio equipment to send out emergency signals soon depleted the aircraft's batteries. The resulting electrical power failure caused the remaining two engines to fail as well. This in turn forced the flightdeck crew to ditch the aircraft off the port of Trapani

Trapani

Trapani is a city and comune on the west coast of Sicily in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the main gateway to the nearby Egadi Islands.-History:...

, which killed seven of the 57 occupants (all six crew members and one out of 51 passengers). The subsequent accident investigation established the failure of one or both of the inner two engines (no. 2 and 3) as the primary cause. Although the reason for the engines' failure could not be determined, the investigators concluded that only one of these engines malfunctioned and that an error of the flight engineer

Flight engineer

Flight engineers work in three types of aircraft: fixed-wing , rotary wing , and space flight .As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs...

caused the other one to fail. The investigators furthermore cited a number of contributory factors. These included:

The flightdeck crew's state of mind arising from the knowledge of an earlier accident involving the same aircraft type that had been caused by a power plant failure.
Failure of electrical generators following the stoppage of the no. 2 and 3 engines.
Inadequate batteries that neither ensured normal flight functions nor permitted the transmission of a satisfactory distress message.
Limited experience of the flightdeck and cabin crew on this aircraft type.
The cabin crew's failure to properly follow emergency procedures.
Missing or unusable life rafts.
The failure of life belts.

The first non-fatal accident occurred on 23 July 1952. It involved a Handley Page HP.81 Hermes 4A (registration: G-ALDB) operating a trooping flight from Blackbushe to the RAF station in Fayid, Egypt. While the aircraft was overflying France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, the flightdeck crew noticed a defect in the no. 4 engine and decided to make an emergency landing

Emergency landing

at the nearest diversion airfield. This resulted in a crash landing

Crash Landing

"Crash Landing" is the only single by Route 1. The single features ex-Atomic Kitten member, Jenny Frost. "Crash Landing" is commonly, yet mistakenly, referred to as a single by Jenny Frost featuring Route 1 because the CD cover features only her with her name in a larger font.-Charts:...

at Pithiviers

Pithiviers

Pithiviers is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. It is twinned with Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, England....

. Although the aircraft was damaged beyond repair, there were no fatalities among the 70 occupants (six crew and 64 passengers). The evidence at the crash site seemed to suggest that an internal failure occurred inside the no. 4 engine, which caused over-speeding and subsequent disintegration of the reduction gear pinion bearing.

The second non-fatal accident occurred on 15 August 1954. It involved a Vickers 627 Viking 1B (registration: G-AIXS) operating a passenger flight from Blackbushe to Nice Côte d'Azur Airport. The captain

Pilot in command

The pilot in command of an aircraft is the person aboard the aircraft who is ultimately responsible for its operation and safety during flight. This would be the "captain" in a typical two- or three-pilot flight crew, or "pilot" if there is only one certified and qualified pilot at the controls of...

noticed oil streaming from the no. 2 engine ten minutes after takeoff

Takeoff

Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle goes from the ground to flying in the air.For horizontal takeoff aircraft this usually involves starting with a transition from moving along the ground on a runway. For balloons, helicopters and some specialized fixed-wing aircraft , no...

from Blackbushe. He decided to feather the propeller and to return to Blackbushe, where the aircraft struck the ground 135 yd (123.4 m) short of the runway. Although this damaged the aircraft beyond repair, there were no fatalities among the 37 occupants (five crew and 32 passengers). The accident investigators concluded that the captain's failure to prevent the aircraft from stall

Stall (flight)

In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as angle of attack increases. This occurs when the critical angle of attack of the foil is exceeded...

ing while making a single engine approach

Final approach (aviation)

A final approach is the last leg in an aircraft's approach to landing. In aviation radio terminology, it is often shortened to "final".In a standard airport landing pattern, which is usually used under visual meteorological conditions , aircraft turn from base leg to final within one to two miles...

was the probable cause. The captain's distraction by a flickering red undercarriage

Undercarriage

The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...

indicator light during the critical final approach

Final approach (aviation)

stage was cited as a contributory factor.

The third non-fatal accident occurred on 1 September 1957. It involved a Handley Page HP.81 Hermes 4A (registration: G-AKFP) operating an international non-scheduled passenger flight from Blackbushe to Singapore via Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

, Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

and Calcutta

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

. While approaching Calcutta, the aircraft was cleared for a runway 19L Instrument Landing System

Instrument Landing System

An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...

approach at Dum Dum Airport

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is an airport located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, serving the greater Kolkata metro area. The airport was originally known as Dum Dum Airport before being renamed in the honour of Subhas Chandra Bose...

. A shower passed at break-off height, as a result of which the flightdeck crew could not see the runway and decided to carry out an overshoot. Dum Dum Air Traffic Control

Air traffic control

Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...

then offered the captain an assisted approach to runway 01R and advised that he was no. 2 to land. Radar Control

Radar control

Radar control is a method of providing air traffic control services with the use of radar and Automatic Dependent Surveillance . The provision of air traffic control services without the use of radar is called procedural control.-Separation:...

guided the aircraft during the assisted approach and cleared it for a visual landing. At that time the aircraft was a mile from the runway threshold and to the left of 01R's centreline. After breaking through the clouds, the captain was able to see the runway and continued his visual approach without realising that he was actually approaching 01L. When the Airwork Hermes came in to land, an Indian Airlines DC-3

Douglas DC-3

The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...

(registration: VT-AUA) had just been cleared to line up and hold on runway 01L. This resulted in the Hermes striking the DC-3. This in turn resulted in the death of the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n aircraft's four crew members who were its only occupants. There were no fatalities among the Hermes's 64 occupants (six crew and 58 passengers) although the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. Accident investigators cited the Hermes captain's failure to maintain effective radio communications with the tower

Control tower

A control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...

during the final stage of the radar

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

-assisted approach and his decision to continue with a visual approach under conditions that did not allow him to positively identify the correct runway as the probable cause of this runway collision

Runway incursion

A runway incursion is an incident where an unauthorized aircraft, vehicle or person is on a runway. This adversely affects runway safety, as it creates the risk that an airplane taking off or landing will collide with the object...

Fleet Requirements Unit

A major contract was secured in September 1952 when Airwork was selected by the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

to operate the Fleet Requirements Unit (FRU) at Hurn Airport, near Bournemouth

Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...

. The FRU employed civilian pilots using Fleet Air Arm

Fleet Air Arm

The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...

aircraft to provide target aircraft for the training of Royal Navy radar operators. The first type of aircraft, Sea Mosquito

De Havilland Mosquito

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...

, began arriving at Hurn in August 1952 and these were replaced during 1953 by the de Havilland Sea Hornet. Over the next decade the FRU's duties were expanded to include all aspects of Fleet requirement tasks including target towing for gunnery purposes, eventually covering not just UK based destroyers and frigates but the Mediterranean Fleet as well. A wide variety of aircraft types were used over the years with the Sea Hornet being followed, in chronological order, by the Supermarine Attacker

Supermarine Attacker

The Supermarine Attacker was a British single-seat naval jet fighter built by Supermarine for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm . It was the FAA's first jet fighter.-Design and development:...

(1955–1957), Sea Fury

Hawker Sea Fury

The Hawker Sea Fury was a British fighter aircraft developed for the Royal Navy by Hawker during the Second World War. The last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, it was also one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built.-Origins:The Hawker Fury was an...

(1955–1961), Sea Hawk

Hawker Sea Hawk

The Hawker Sea Hawk was a British single-seat jet fighter of the Fleet Air Arm , the air branch of the Royal Navy , built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its origins stemmed from earlier Hawker piston-engined fighters, the Sea Hawk became the...

(1956–1969), Westland Dragonfly

Westland Dragonfly

|-See also:-External links:* Westland entry in the helis.com database*...

(1958–1961), Gloster Meteor

Gloster Meteor

The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...

(1958–1971), Supermarine Scimitar

Supermarine Scimitar

-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3.* Birtles, Philip. Supermarine Attacker, Swift and Scimitar . London: Ian Allan, 1992. ISBN 0-7110-2034-5.* Buttler, Tony. "Database: Supermarine Scimitar"....

(1965–1970), Hawker Hunter

Hawker Hunter

The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...

(1969–1972) and English Electric Canberra

English Electric Canberra

The English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft in 1957...

(1969–1972).

Military training in the UK

Airwork was also contracted by the Fleet Air Arm in January 1950 to provide aircraft at RNAS Brawdy to exercise the Aircraft Direction School at nearby Kete. They also undertook a Heavy Twin Conversion Course for Fleet Air Arm

Fleet Air Arm

pilots using Sea Hornets and Sea Mosquitos. This Unit moved to St. Davids in September 1951 and operated a jet

Jet aircraft

A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...

conversion course with Meteor T.7s. It returned to Brawdy in October 1958 but continued to use St. Davids as a satellite. Finally, in January 1961, it relocated to RNAS Yeovilton

RNAS Yeovilton

Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, or RNAS Yeovilton, is an airfield of the Royal Navy, sited in South West England a few miles north of Yeovil in Somerset...

where it operated as the Air Direction Training Unit (ADTU). Aircraft used here were the Sea Venom, Sea Vampire, Hunter and Sea Vixen.

A further contract was won in 1953 when Airwork was appointed to operate RAF Oxford

Oxford Airport

-Expansion:The airport is currently looking to establish new routes out of the airport to help grow the airport and grow more into the comercial avaition market. The routes they are looking at are Edinburgh, Dublin, Munich, Amsterdam, Paris, Glasgow and Barcelona...

for the benefit of trainee radar operators at the RAF Sopley

RAF Sopley

RAF Sopley was a WWII airbase, codenamed Starlight, near the village of Sopley in Hampshire. It was opened in December 1940. In 1959 it became an air traffic control radar station, and finally closed on 27 September 1974...

radar station situated close to Hurn. The Oxford

Airspeed Oxford

The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery during the Second World War.-Design and development:...

s were replaced in June 1957 by fourteen Boulton Paul Balliol

Boulton Paul Balliol

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X....

s that provided a service to the trainee trackers and plotters of the School of Fighter Control that had relocated to Sopley from RAF Bolt Head

RAF Bolt Head

RAF Bolt Head was a Royal Air Force grass airfield 1 mile south west of Salcombe on the south Devon coast, England from 1941 to 1945. During World War II it was used as a satellite for RAF Exeter.The Ground Control Interceptor Station, RAF Hope Cove...

in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

. The Balliols remained in service with Airwork until 1960.

In January 1957, Airwork Services Ltd was created to separate the defence support activities from the airline business elements, which continued under the original Airwork Ltd name. During summer 1959 Airwork moved its head office from Langley to Hurn. Its overhaul facilities were also centralised there. As a result, the operations at Blackbushe, Langley and Lasham were closed.

In 1960, Airwork acquired the Aeronautical Engineering College in Hamble, and relocated it to its existing training operation at Perth Aerodrome where the revised enterprise became known as Airwork Services Training. In 1971 Airwork added an English Language School to the facilities at Perth in order to service a training contract with the Imperial Iranian Navy. Quickly the School's main business became language training for students due to train at either the Flying School or the Aeronautical Engineering College and it became part of Air Service Training. Pilot training at Perth ceased in 1996 but a successful engineering training college continues to this day under new ownership as Air Service Training (AST).

Throughout the 1960s Airwork continued elementary and University Air Squadron flying training including training pilots of the Army Air Corps at Middle Wallop

Middle Wallop

Middle Wallop is the local name given to an area between the two Parishes of Over Wallop and Nether Wallop in Hampshire, England. As it does not have its own parish technically it does not exist, however road signs and maps make reference to the location and have done so since the 18th century,...

in DHC Chipmunks and Hiller UH-12s. Airwork was also responsible for overhauling these aircraft. It also provided a complete flying grading service for the Royal Navy's Britannia Flight at Roborough

Plymouth City Airport

Plymouth City Airport is an airport located within the City of Plymouth north northeast of the city centre in Devon, England. The airport opened on this site in 1925 and was officially opened by the Edward VIII, as Prince of Wales, in 1931...

, near Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

– something that under its present guise it continues to do today. The 1970s saw the introduction of the Bulldog

Scottish Aviation Bulldog

|-See also:-External links:...

, which gradually replaced the popular Chipmunk. The Baron

Beechcraft Baron

|-See also:- Further reading :*Harding, Stephen. U.S. Army Aircraft Since 1947. Shrewsbury, UK:Airlife Publishing, 1990. ISBN 1-85310-102-8.*Michell, Simon. Jane's Civil and Military Aircraft Upgrades 1994-95. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Information Group, 1994. ISBN 0-7106-1208-7.*Taylor, John W. R....

training aircraft of the College of Air Training arrived at Hurn in February 1971 and Airwork assumed responsibility for their maintenance. At the end of 1978 Scottish Aviation Bulldogs of the Southampton University Air Squadron and DHC Chipmunks of No. 2 AEF relocated to Hurn and Airwork became responsible for their storage and maintenance. The Bulldogs were used for training by potential RAF pilots whilst the Chipmunks were used by local Air Cadet

Air Training Corps

The Air Training Corps , commonly known as the Air Cadets, is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Air Cadet Organisation and the Royal Air Force . It is supported by the Ministry of Defence, with a regular RAF Officer, currently Air...

s.

In November 1972, the Fleet Requirements Unit was relocated from Hurn to RNAS Yeovilton

RNAS Yeovilton

Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, or RNAS Yeovilton, is an airfield of the Royal Navy, sited in South West England a few miles north of Yeovil in Somerset...

and amalgamated with the Air Direction Training Unit to form the Fleet Requirements & Air Direction Training Unit (FRADTU). The word ‘Training’ was later dropped from the Unit’s name to form the more familiar FRADU. The new Unit continued to use the Hunters, Canberras and, in the early days, Sea Vixens that had previously been used by the FRU and ADTU. In 1983, the FRADU contract was put out to competitive tender and was subsequently awarded to FR Aviation.

Airwork quickly put this setback behind it and in 1984 was awarded a contract for the operation of No.1 Flying Training School RAF Linton-on-Ouse

RAF Linton-on-Ouse

RAF Linton-on-Ouse is a Royal Air Force station at Linton-on-Ouse near York in Yorkshire, England. It is currently a major flying training centre, one of the RAF's busiest airfields...

. It was then equipped with the Bulldog and Jet Provost

BAC Jet Provost

The BAC Jet Provost was a British jet-powered trainer aircraft used by the Royal Air Force from 1955 to 1993. The Jet Provost was also successfully exported, serving in many air forces worldwide....

. The Jet Provost was in turn replaced by the Shorts Tucano

Short Tucano

|-See also:-External links:*...

in 1989. The company also managed to regain an element of the FRADU business, when in 1988 it obtained a contract to overhaul FRADU Hunters at Hurn.

Whilst Airwork's airline activities had merged into the B&C-controlled BUA group as long ago as 1960, it was only in January 1980 that the company's remaining operations reverted back to the original name of Airwork Ltd. At this time, Airwork also supplied air traffic control services at Exeter Airport

Exeter International Airport

Exeter International Airport is an airport located at Clyst Honiton in the District of East Devon close to the city of Exeter and within the county of Devon, South West England....

and operated Unst

Unst

Unst is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third largest island in Shetland after the Mainland and Yell. It has an area of .Unst is largely grassland, with coastal cliffs...

and Scatsta

Scatsta Airport

Scatsta Airport , is a commercial airport on Shetland in Scotland located north of Lerwick and southwest of Sullom Voe Terminal.Scatsta Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee...

airfields in the Shetlands. Airwork Services Training also continued to thrive at Perth Airport in Scotland. In 1991, the Britavia (formerly Aviation Traders

Aviation Traders

was a war-surplus aircraft and spares trader formed in 1947. In 1949, it began maintaining aircraft used by some of Britain's contemporary independent airlines on the Berlin Airlift. In the early 1950s, it branched out into aircraft conversions and manufacturing. During that period it also became a...

) design office moved from Southend to the Airwork offices at Hurn once they were rebuilt following a serious fire in August of that year.

Overseas activities

Airwork operated the British Civil Air Training Mission to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

from 1947 to 1949, based in Taif, Saudi Arabia. This was a flying school with 3 Tiger Moth and 1 Anson Aircraft.

Following the creation of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman Air Force

Royal Air Force of Oman

The Royal Air Force of Oman is the air arm of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces-History:...

(SMOAF) in March 1959, Airwork was appointed to provide maintenance and technical support. The new air force initially consisted of Scottish Aviation Pioneer CC1

Scottish Aviation Pioneer

-External links:* *...

, Hunting Provost T.Mk.52

Percival Provost

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Angelucci, Enzo. World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing, 1981. ISBN 0-7106-0148-4....

and DHC-2 Beaver

De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver

The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...

aircraft. Growing problems with civil unrest and insurgency, primarily in the Dhofar

Dhofar

The Dhofar region lies in Southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen. Its mountainous area covers and has a population of 215,960 as of the 2003 census. The largest town in the region is Salalah. Historically, it was the chief source of frankincense in the world. However, its frankincense...

region, during the late 1960s led to the expansion of the SMOAF. Initially this was through the formation of a squadron of BAC 167 Strikemaster T.Mk.82 aircraft and also through acquisitions of the C-47 Dakota, DHC-4 Caribou

De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou

The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou is a Canadian-designed and produced specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability...

, Shorts Skyvan, BN-2A-21 Defender

Britten-Norman Defender

|-External links:*...

, Vickers Viscount

Vickers Viscount

The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...

, BAC One-Eleven

BAC One-Eleven

The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...

and Vickers VC10

Vickers VC10

The Vickers VC10 is a long-range British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, and first flown in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes with a high subsonic speed and also be capable of hot and high operations from African airports...

types of aircraft.

The conditions in which Airwork staff had to work were some of the most challenging in the world with shade temperatures of over 40°C commonplace and cockpit temperatures on the ground often exceeding an unbearable 80°C. Existing working practices had to be radically amended accordingly. Airwork’s support role in Oman

Oman

Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

was further cemented in the late 1970s by the arrival of over thirty Hawker Hunters. Two squadrons of SEPECAT Jaguar

SEPECAT Jaguar

The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet ground attack aircraft, originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Armée de l'Air in the close air support and nuclear strike role, and still in service with several export customers, notably the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force...

s followed further expanding the capability of the Sultanate of Oman Air Force (SOAF), the name of which had been adopted in 1970. During the early 1980s three C-130H Hercules

C-130 Hercules

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...

transport aircraft were ordered. In 1990, the SOAF was renamed to become the Royal Air Force of Oman

Royal Air Force of Oman

The Royal Air Force of Oman is the air arm of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces-History:...

(RAFO). Four new BAE Hawk 103

BAE Hawk

The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, advanced jet trainer aircraft. It first flew in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk. The Hawk is used by the Royal Air Force, and other air forces, as either a trainer or a low-cost combat aircraft...

s and twelve Hawk 203

BAE Hawk

s were delivered in 1993.

In addition to providing aircraft maintenance and airfield communications support services to SOAF\RAFO, Airwork was also involved in providing radio and radar support to the Oman Navy

Royal Navy of Oman

The Royal Navy of Oman was formed in the early 1950s-Ships:* Qahir class corvettes built by Vosper Thornycroft ** Q31 Qahir Al Amwaj** Q32 Al Mua'zzar...

and ground radio for the Oman Army

Royal Army of Oman

The Royal Army of Oman protects the sovereignty of Oman. In terms of matériel, the Army is small but well equipped to the extent that external aggression is now realistically deterred.-Field organization:*One divisional HQ...

. Spares provisioning and personal recruitment were provided from Airwork’s UK headquarters at Hurn and the nearby Supplies Division in Ferndown

Ferndown

Ferndown is a town and civil parish in the East Dorset district of Dorset in southern England, situated immediately to the north of unitary authorities of Poole and Bournemouth. The parish, which until 1972 was called Hampreston, includes the communities of Hampreston, Longham, Stapehill and...

.

The success of the Omani partnership led to Airwork securing similar support contracts in other countries. In Saudi Arabia Airwork was contracted between 1966 and 1973 to provide servicing and training for the Saudi’s English Electric Lightning

English Electric Lightning

The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...

s, Hunters, BAC Strikemasters and Cessna 172

Cessna 172

The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing fixed-wing aircraft. First flown in 1955 and still in production, more Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft.-Design and development:...

s. Airwork also provided a similar service in Aden (later South Yemen) and to the Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

i and Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

ian air forces. In Africa, Airwork developed a support presence in Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, Sudan

Sudan

and Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

with aircraft from these countries also being overhauled at Hurn.

During the 1960s Airwork carried out delivery flights of a number of Fairey Gannet

Fairey Gannet

The Fairey Gannet was a British carrier-borne anti-submarine warfare and airborne early warning aircraft of the post-Second World War era developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm by the Fairey Aviation Company...

s to Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. A large number of aircraft were also handled at Hurn during this time prior to delivery for the Abu Dhabi Air Force

United Arab Emirates Air Force

The United Arab Emirates Air Force is the air force of the United Arab Emirates . Its predecessor was established in 1968, when the Emirates were still under British rule. Since then, it has undergone a continual reorganization and expansion in terms of both capability and numbers of aircraft...

(Caribou and Islander

Britten-Norman Islander

The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, regional airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in...

), Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

(Shorts Skyvan), Qatar

Qatar

Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...

Police (Gazelle

Aérospatiale Gazelle

The Aérospatiale Gazelle is a five-seat light helicopter, powered by a single turbine engine. It was designed and manufactured in France by Sud Aviation . It was also manufactured under licence by Westland Aircraft in the United Kingdom , by SOKO in Yugoslavia and ABHCO in Egypt...

helicopter), the Singapore Air Force

Republic of Singapore Air Force

The Republic of Singapore Air Force is the air arm of the Singapore Armed Forces. It was first established in 1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command...

(BAC Strikemaster), South Arabian Air Force (Bell 47G and Dakotas) and the Sudan Air Force

Sudanese Air Force

The Sudanese Air Force is the air force operated by the Republic of the Sudan. As such it is part of the Sudanese Armed Forces.-History:The Sudanese Air Force was founded immediately after Sudan gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1956. The British assisted in the Air Force's...

(Jet Provost). The supply of spares and equipment from Hurn was central to activities with Britannia

Bristol Britannia

The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...

, CL-44

Canadair CL-44

The Canadair CL-44 was a Canadian turboprop airliner and cargo aircraft based on the Bristol Britannia that was developed and produced by Canadair in the late 1950s and early 1960s...

and Douglas DC-6 freighter aircraft being frequently used.

Takeover and current status

Following a management buyout

Management buyout

A management buyout is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company.- Overview :Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company...

in 1988, Airwork became part of the Bricom Group of companies. Airwork were part of the Nobel Group and administered through a bank. In 1992, a contract with the RAF at St. Athan to modify a number of Tornado F.3

Panavia Tornado ADV

The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant is a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service in 1986. It was retired on 22 March 2011 by the Royal Air Forceand is now only in service with the...

aircraft was to have far reaching consequences for the company. Serious damage was caused to the centre fuselage of 16 aircraft during the removal of rivets. When the extent of the damage became clear, the Ministry of Defence cancelled the contract with Airwork and pursued compensation from Bricom. Questions were asked in the Houses of Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

and the reputation of Airwork — at least in the UK — was dealt a grievous blow. (This was not supported by the facts; the MOD and BAe

BAE Systems

BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...

had produced incorrect engineering drawings.) A multi-million pound

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

compensation settlement was eventually agreed out of court, and the Tornado F.3 aircraft involved were repaired by new contractors, replacing the damaged centre fuselages with those from surplus Tornado F.2 aircraft, which had been earmarked for disposal.

Short Brothers

Short Brothers

Short Brothers plc is a British aerospace company, usually referred to simply as Shorts, that is now based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1908, Shorts was the first company in the world to make production aircraft and was a manufacturer of flying boats during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s...

of Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, which had itself been bought by the Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

company Bombardier in 1989, acquired Airwork as a wholly owned subsidiary in November 1993, and the company became known as Bombardier Defence Services Limited. The VT Group subsequently took over the business — renaming it VT Defence — in a £30m deal in June 2000. Whilst in the UK, the former Airwork element of the business which traded under the name VT Aerospace, the name and brand of Airwork is still used prominently in Oman as Airwork Technical Services and Partners LLC, and a new five-year contract to support the Royal Air Force of Oman commenced in January 2005. Airwork Technical Services LLC (ATS) was acquired in July 2010 by Babcock International Group

Babcock International Group

Babcock International Group plc is a British-based support services company specialising in managing complex assets and infrastructure in safety-critical and mission-critical environments. Although the company has civil contracts, its main business is with public bodies, particularly the UK...

during the acquisition of the VT Group

VT Group

VT Group plc was a British defence and services company, formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft. The Company had diversified from shipbuilding into various engineering and support services, becoming involved in many areas of provision through five main operating groups: VT Communications, VT...

and the operation in Oman continues to this day in support of Aircraft Maintenance and Training for the Royal Air Force of Oman

Royal Air Force of Oman

The Royal Air Force of Oman is the air arm of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces-History:...

(RAFO) across its military aircraft fleets. Current activities include:

Technical Support Services - the provision of manpower for all aspects of aircraft maintenance related activities including: quality assurance, safety at work and on-the-job-training and mentoring of technicians.
Defence Supplies (Logistics) - the provision of equipment and spares, repairs, calibration and other services.
Technical Training - the training of managers, and instructors who carry out course design, accreditation, quality assurance and instruction in the Air Force Training College.

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