British Aviation Services
Encyclopedia
British Aviation Services Limited (Britavia) was an early post-World War II
airline
holding company
and air transport operator that could trace its roots back to 1946. Its main activities included trooping, inclusive tour (IT) and worldwide passenger and freight charter services. British Aviation Services' first investment in a British
independentindependent from government-owned corporation
s airline occurred in 1946, when it acquired a minority interest in Silver City Airways. Silver City Airways operated the world's first cross-Channel
air ferry
service on 13 July 1948. It subsequently became British Aviation Services' biggest operating division. In 1954, British Aviation Services took over the independent airline Air Kruise. This resulted in a split of the British Aviation Services group, with British Aviation Services Ltd (BAS Group) becoming the group's holding company and Britavia one of its operating subsidiaries. The same year, BAS Group also took control of Aquila Airways
, the last commercial flying boat
operator in the United Kingdom
. By the late 1950s, BAS Group became Britain
's largest independent airline operator. Its numerous operating divisions included Britavia's Hermes
Division at Blackbushe Airport
and Aquila Airways's Flying Boat Division at Hamble
near Southampton
. The former concentrated on trooping services and inclusive tours while the latter provided scheduled services to Portugal
, the Canary Islands
and Italy
. In 1962, BAS Group merged with British United Airways
(BUA), which by that time had replaced BAS as the UK's largest independent airline operator.
Griffith J. ("Taffy") Powell, its chief technical officer, persuaded that company's shareholders to establish British Aviation Services as a new company to ferry US
-built airliner
s to their Europe
an customers.
Following British Aviation Services' incorporation
in 1946, Powell got in touch with W.S. Robinson, chairman of London
-based mining company The Zinc Corporation
. That meeting resulted in Robinson appointing Powell as the Zinc Corporation's adviser.
One of Powell's first visits in his new capacity as adviser to the Zinc Corporation took him to Broken Hill
, Australia
, also known as Silver City. This visit resulted in the decision to set up a new air transport operator to service the mining industry, to be named Silver City.
Silver City Airways was incorporated on 25 November 1946. British Aviation Services became one of the new airline's shareholders, initially taking a 10% stake. It took full control of Silver City Airways in 1948, as a result of buying out the other shareholders. The decision to become Silver City's sole shareholder coincided with British Aviation Services' strategic
move to become an airline operator in its own right under the Britavia name to operate trooping flights.
Eoin Mekie, a Glaswegian
lawyer
, became the new chairman of the reorganised British Aviation Services (BAS) Group in 1950.
In 1953, BAS Group announced its intention to take over Aquila Airways, Britain's last remaining flying boat operator. According to BAS's official statement regarding the proposed Aquila takeover, this transaction envisaged the acquisition of Aquila's entire share capital "partly on a cash and partly on a share exchange basis". It furthermore entailed the relocation of Aquila's administrative and reservation offices to BAS's central London
premises and the continuation of all flying boat operations as a separate entity under Aquila managing director Barry Aikman. BAS's official statement moreover foresaw an expansion of flying boat activities and an increase in the associated fleet and facilities as well as additional services to and from Portugal, including Madeira
. The Aquila takeover became effective the following year.
In 1954, P&O
subsidiary
General Steam Navigation became BAS Group's controlling shareholder with a 70% stake. Eagle Star Insurance
and Cable & Wireless
were minority shareholders that respectively owned 20% and 10% of BAS's share capital
.
The Air Kruise acquisition on 1 May 1954 resulted in another enlargement of BAS Group. At this point, BAS assumed the role of the enlarged group's parent company
, while Britavia became one of its airline subsidiaries.
Nineteen fifty-four was also the year Britavia purchased four Hermes from British Overseas Airways Corporation
(BOAC). These aircraft were allocated to Britavia's Hermes Division at Blackbushe and formed the core fleet for the airline's trooping flights and IT services.
On 14 November 1955, a Britavia Handley Page Hermes
4 (G-ALDU) operated the type's first flight across the North Atlantic. The aircraft had been chartered to carry 39 members of a ship's relief crew from Blackbushe to New York
and to return the replaced crew to the UK
. The outbound flight routed via Shannon
and Gander
. Flying time was 17 hours and 15 minutes. The return leg included a stop in Gander and took 16 hours 9 minutes.
In 1956, BAS took over the Lancashire Aircraft Corporation (LAC). BAS's acquisition of LAC did not include the assets of Skyways Ltd, at the time the latter's biggest operating subsidiary.
In 1957, Britavia and fellow Hermes operators Airwork and Skyways
lost the bulk of their trooping business to Hunting-Clan
, another contemporary independent rival, as a consequence of the Government's growing dissatisfaction with the operational performance and high costs of the aging Hermes fleet that was contracted from Britavia and its independent rivals to operate most of these flights. Apart from Britavia itself, BAS Group's operating subsidiaries encompassed Silver City Airways, Air Kruise, Aquila Airways, LAC and the original Manx Airlines.
By 1958, the Air Kruise cross-Channel services, as well as all Dragon Airways, LAC and Manx Airlines operations from Newcastle upon Tyne
, Blackpool
and the Isle of Man
respectively had been transferred to Silver City's new Northern Division to streamline BAS Group's fragmented airline operations. It was hoped that these measures would improve the group's financial performance.
Although BAS Group had become the UK's biggest independent airline operator by that time, it began making heavy losses. The loss of Britavia's biggest trooping contract to Hunting-Clan was the main reason for BAS's poor financial performance. The urgent need to replace the aging flying boat fleet made this situation worse. As a result of the rapidly deteriorating financial performance of the group's flying boat activities and the lack of suitable replacements for the obsolete fleet, all flying boat activities ceased by September 1958 Both trooping and flying boat activities had accounted for a major share of the group's business.
In 1959, Britavia transferred its entire five-strong Hermes 4A fleet to sister airline Silver City, as a consequence of the loss of another trooping contract to Eagle
.
Secret merger talks between the BAS Group and the BUA group of companies began during 1961. BUA's takeover of BAS was officially announced in January 1962. Air Holdings, a new holding company set up by BUA's shareholders in November 1961 to facilitate the creation of a large private sector airline through additional acquisitions of rival independent airlines, took full control of BAS and BUA by purchasing both airlines' entire share capital. The acquisition of BAS made BUA almost half the size of British European Airways
(BEA) and created an airline that accounted for more than half the capacity of the UK's entire independent airline sector. It also made BUA the largest unsubsidised, private sector airline outside the United States
, with total assets of about £
20m
and more than 4,000 employees. The BUA-BAS merger furthermore removed BUA's last remaining independent competitor in the car ferry business. The addition of Silver City's 650,000 annual ferry passengers increased the yearly combined total to just under one million. This translated into a two-thirds share of BUA's total passengers compared with just a quarter of BUA's one million passengers per annum prior to BAS's acquisition.
The fatal accident occurred on 5 November 1956. The aircraft, a Handley Page HP.81 Hermes 4A (registration: G-ALDJ), operated an international non-scheduled passenger flight from Blackbushe via Malta
and Cyprus
to Tripoli
and back. The first stop at Malta involved a crew change. Due to the flight arriving at Tripoli's King Idris Airport
five hours late, there was a reduced rest time for the crew that had taken over the aircraft in Malta. However, this was insufficient to prevent a delayed takeoff from Idris Airport. Before the aircraft was due to land at Blackbushe Airport, it was cleared to Blackbushe beacon
at 2000 ft (609.6 m) for a final approach
to runway 08. Two minutes after the flightdeck crew reported passing the beacon at 2000 ft (609.6 m), the procedure turn was completed at 1500 ft (457.2 m). The aircraft was cleared to land after it had passed the Outer Marker
, following which the aircraft descended below the ILS glide slope
. It hit a beech tree 3617 ft (1,102.5 m) short of the runway threshold, swerved to the left and came to a halt in a group of pine trees 3000 ft (914.4 m) further on. The accident destroyed the aircraft and killed seven of the 80 occupants (three out of six crew members and four out of 74 passengers). The subsequent accident investigation established the captain
's fatigue while operating in difficult conditions, as well as his misjudgement of the aircraft's height based on his vision of the airport lights, as the probable cause.
The non-fatal accident occurred on 5 August 1956. The aircraft, a Handley Page HP.81 Hermes 4A (registration: G-ALDK), undershot the runway while attempting to land on runway 08 at the Drigh Road
Pakistan Air Force
(PAF) Base in heavy rain, which the pilot in command
mistook for Karachi International Airport
's runway 07. Although the accident destroyed the aircraft, all 72 occupants (seven crew members and 65 passengers) survived. The subsequent accident investigation established the failure of the aircraft's left windscreen wiper as the primary cause. It furthermore identified the pilot's mistake in confusing runway 08 at Drigh Road PAF Base with runway 07 at Karachi International Airport when landing in meteorological conditions below those recommended as minima by the Pakistan Department of Civil Aviation as a secondary cause.
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...
airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
and air transport operator that could trace its roots back to 1946. Its main activities included trooping, inclusive tour (IT) and worldwide passenger and freight charter services. British Aviation Services' first investment in a British
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...
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 airline occurred in 1946, when it acquired a minority interest in Silver City Airways. Silver City Airways operated the world's first cross-Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
air ferry
Air ferry
An air ferry is a ferry service in which cars and passengers are transported by aircraft.-British services:The air ferry service was inaugurated by retired Royal Air Force officer Air Commodore Griffith J. Powell, who founded an airline company called Silver City in 1948. They used Bristol 170...
service on 13 July 1948. It subsequently became British Aviation Services' biggest operating division. In 1954, British Aviation Services took over the independent airline Air Kruise. This resulted in a split of the British Aviation Services group, with British Aviation Services Ltd (BAS Group) becoming the group's holding company and Britavia one of its operating subsidiaries. The same year, BAS Group also took control of Aquila Airways
Aquila Airways
Aquila Airways was a Southampton, Hampshire based British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline, formed on 18 May 1948.-Early operations:...
, the last commercial flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
operator in the United Kingdom
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...
. By the late 1950s, BAS Group became Britain
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...
's largest independent airline operator. Its numerous operating divisions included Britavia's 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...
Division at 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...
and Aquila Airways's Flying Boat Division at Hamble
River Hamble
The River Hamble is a river in Hampshire, England. It rises near Bishop's Waltham and flows for some 7.5 miles through Botley, Bursledon and Swanwick before entering Southampton Water near Hamble-le-Rice and Warsash....
near Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. The former concentrated on trooping services and inclusive tours while the latter provided scheduled services to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In 1962, BAS Group merged with 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), which by that time had replaced BAS as the UK's largest independent airline operator.
History
In 1945, Capt A.G. Lamplugh, head of the British Aviation Insurance Group, and Air CdreAir Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Griffith J. ("Taffy") Powell, its chief technical officer, persuaded that company's shareholders to establish British Aviation Services as a new company to ferry US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-built 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 to their Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an customers.
Following British Aviation Services' incorporation
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
in 1946, Powell got in touch with W.S. Robinson, chairman of 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...
-based mining company The Zinc Corporation
Consolidated Zinc
Consolidated Zinc was an Australian mining company from 1905 to 1962. The company's initial operations focused on extracting zinc from mine tailings of the Broken Hill Ore Deposit at Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia...
. That meeting resulted in Robinson appointing Powell as the Zinc Corporation's adviser.
One of Powell's first visits in his new capacity as adviser to the Zinc Corporation took him to Broken Hill
Broken Hill, New South Wales
-Geology:Broken Hill's massive orebody, which formed about 1,800 million years ago, has proved to be among the world's largest silver-lead-zinc mineral deposits. The orebody is shaped like a boomerang plunging into the earth at its ends and outcropping in the centre. The protruding tip of the...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, also known as Silver City. This visit resulted in the decision to set up a new air transport operator to service the mining industry, to be named Silver City.
Silver City Airways was incorporated on 25 November 1946. British Aviation Services became one of the new airline's shareholders, initially taking a 10% stake. It took full control of Silver City Airways in 1948, as a result of buying out the other shareholders. The decision to become Silver City's sole shareholder coincided with British Aviation Services' strategic
Strategic management
Strategic management is a field that deals with the major intended and emergent initiatives taken by general managers on behalf of owners, involving utilization of resources, to enhance the performance of firms in their external environments...
move to become an airline operator in its own right under the Britavia name to operate trooping flights.
Eoin Mekie, a Glaswegian
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, became the new chairman of the reorganised British Aviation Services (BAS) Group in 1950.
In 1953, BAS Group announced its intention to take over Aquila Airways, Britain's last remaining flying boat operator. According to BAS's official statement regarding the proposed Aquila takeover, this transaction envisaged the acquisition of Aquila's entire share capital "partly on a cash and partly on a share exchange basis". It furthermore entailed the relocation of Aquila's administrative and reservation offices to BAS's central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
premises and the continuation of all flying boat operations as a separate entity under Aquila managing director Barry Aikman. BAS's official statement moreover foresaw an expansion of flying boat activities and an increase in the associated fleet and facilities as well as additional services to and from Portugal, including Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
. The Aquila takeover became effective the following year.
In 1954, P&O
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...
subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
General Steam Navigation became BAS Group's controlling shareholder with a 70% stake. Eagle Star Insurance
Eagle Star Insurance
The Eagle Star Insurance Company plc was a leading British insurance business. It underwrote the full range of risks, including fire, accident, marine, motor, life, contingency and Pluvius insurance...
and Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
were minority shareholders that respectively owned 20% and 10% of BAS's share capital
Share capital
Share capital or issued capital or capital stock refers to the portion of a company's equity that has been obtained by trading stock to a shareholder for cash or an equivalent item of capital value...
.
The Air Kruise acquisition on 1 May 1954 resulted in another enlargement of BAS Group. At this point, BAS assumed the role of the enlarged group's parent company
Parent company
A parent company is a company that owns enough voting stock in another firm to control management and operations by influencing or electing its board of directors; the second company being deemed as a subsidiary of the parent company...
, while Britavia became one of its airline subsidiaries.
Nineteen fifty-four was also the year Britavia purchased four Hermes from 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). These aircraft were allocated to Britavia's Hermes Division at Blackbushe and formed the core fleet for the airline's trooping flights and IT services.
On 14 November 1955, a Britavia 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 (G-ALDU) operated the type's first flight across the North Atlantic. The aircraft had been chartered to carry 39 members of a ship's relief crew from Blackbushe 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...
and to return the replaced crew to the 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...
. The outbound flight routed via Shannon
Shannon, County Clare
Shannon or Shannon Town , named after the river near which it stands, is a town located in County Clare. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The town is located just off the N19 road, a spur of the N18/M18 road between Limerick city and Ennis....
and Gander
Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador
Gander is a Canadian town located in the northeastern part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, approximately south of Gander Bay, south of Twillingate and east of Grand Falls-Windsor...
. Flying time was 17 hours and 15 minutes. The return leg included a stop in Gander and took 16 hours 9 minutes.
In 1956, BAS took over the Lancashire Aircraft Corporation (LAC). BAS's acquisition of LAC did not include the assets of Skyways Ltd, at the time the latter's biggest operating subsidiary.
In 1957, Britavia and fellow Hermes operators Airwork and Skyways
Skyways (British airline)
Skyways Limited was an early post-World War II British airline formed in 1946 that soon became established as the largest operator of non-scheduled air services in Europe....
lost the bulk of their trooping business to Hunting-Clan
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 contemporary independent rival, as a consequence of the Government's growing dissatisfaction with the operational performance and high costs of the aging Hermes fleet that was contracted from Britavia and its independent rivals to operate most of these flights. Apart from Britavia itself, BAS Group's operating subsidiaries encompassed Silver City Airways, Air Kruise, Aquila Airways, LAC and the original Manx Airlines.
By 1958, the Air Kruise cross-Channel services, as well as all Dragon Airways, LAC and Manx Airlines operations from Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
and the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
respectively had been transferred to Silver City's new Northern Division to streamline BAS Group's fragmented airline operations. It was hoped that these measures would improve the group's financial performance.
Although BAS Group had become the UK's biggest independent airline operator by that time, it began making heavy losses. The loss of Britavia's biggest trooping contract to Hunting-Clan was the main reason for BAS's poor financial performance. The urgent need to replace the aging flying boat fleet made this situation worse. As a result of the rapidly deteriorating financial performance of the group's flying boat activities and the lack of suitable replacements for the obsolete fleet, all flying boat activities ceased by September 1958 Both trooping and flying boat activities had accounted for a major share of the group's business.
In 1959, Britavia transferred its entire five-strong Hermes 4A fleet to sister airline Silver City, as a consequence of the loss of another trooping contract to Eagle
British Eagle
British Eagle International Airlines was a major British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline that operated from 1948 to 1968....
.
Secret merger talks between the BAS Group and the BUA group of companies began during 1961. BUA's takeover of BAS was officially announced in January 1962. Air Holdings, a new holding company set up by BUA's shareholders in November 1961 to facilitate the creation of a large private sector airline through additional acquisitions of rival independent airlines, took full control of BAS and BUA by purchasing both airlines' entire share capital. The acquisition of BAS made BUA almost half the size of British European Airways
British European Airways
British European Airways or British European Airways Corporation was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. The airline operated European and North African routes from airports around the United Kingdom...
(BEA) and created an airline that accounted for more than half the capacity of the UK's entire independent airline sector. It also made BUA the largest unsubsidised, private sector airline outside the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with total assets of about £
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...
20m
Million
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...
and more than 4,000 employees. The BUA-BAS merger furthermore removed BUA's last remaining independent competitor in the car ferry business. The addition of Silver City's 650,000 annual ferry passengers increased the yearly combined total to just under one million. This translated into a two-thirds share of BUA's total passengers compared with just a quarter of BUA's one million passengers per annum prior to BAS's acquisition.
Fleet details
The BAS Group's airline subsidiaries operated the following aircraft types:- Airspeed ConsulAirspeed Consul-See also:-References:...
- Bristol 170 Freighter Mark 31Bristol FreighterThe Bristol Type 170 Freighter was a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner, although its best known use is as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively short distances.-Design and development:The...
- Bristol 170 Superfreighter Mark 32Bristol Superfreighter|-References:NotesBibliography* Green, William. Macdonald Aircraft Handbook. London. Macdonald & Co. Ltd., 1964.- External links :* ] Superfreighter at Lydd Ferryfield]....
- de Havilland DH 89 Dragon RapideDe Havilland Dragon RapideThe de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the...
- de Havilland DH 114 HeronDe Havilland HeronThe de Havilland DH.114 Heron was a small, propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, conventional low-wing monoplane with tricycle...
- Douglas DC-2Douglas DC-2The Douglas DC-2 was a 14-seat, twin-engine airliner produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Corporation starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247...
- Douglas DC-3Douglas DC-3The 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...
- Handley Page HermesHandley Page HermesThe 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...
- Short SolentShort Solent- External links :* * *...
Fleet in 1958
In April 1958, the BAS Group fleet comprised 43 aircraft.| 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... |
5 |
| Bristol 170 Superfreighter Mark 32 Bristol Superfreighter |-References:NotesBibliography* Green, William. Macdonald Aircraft Handbook. London. Macdonald & Co. Ltd., 1964.- External links :* ] Superfreighter at Lydd Ferryfield].... |
14 |
| Bristol 170 Freighter Mark 31 Bristol Freighter The Bristol Type 170 Freighter was a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner, although its best known use is as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively short distances.-Design and development:The... |
7 |
| 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... |
7 |
| Douglas DC-2 Douglas DC-2 The Douglas DC-2 was a 14-seat, twin-engine airliner produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Corporation starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247... |
1 |
| Short Solent Short Solent - External links :* * *... |
3 |
| de Havilland DH 114 Heron De Havilland Heron The de Havilland DH.114 Heron was a small, propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, conventional low-wing monoplane with tricycle... |
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| de Havilland DH 89 Dragon Rapide De Havilland Dragon Rapide The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the... |
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| Airspeed Consul Airspeed Consul -See also:-References:... |
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| Total | 43 |
Accidents and incidents
There are two recorded accidents involving Britavia aircraft. One of these was fatal.The fatal accident occurred on 5 November 1956. The aircraft, a Handley Page HP.81 Hermes 4A (registration: G-ALDJ), operated an international non-scheduled passenger flight from Blackbushe 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...
and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
to Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
and back. The first stop at Malta involved a crew change. Due to the flight arriving at Tripoli's King Idris Airport
RAF Castel Benito
RAF Castel Benito was a Royal Air Force station near Tripoli in Libya between 1943 and 1966.-History:Originally a Regia Aeronautica airfield where later the first units of Italian parachutists were trained and formed shortly before the Second World War. The first Italian Military Parachute...
five hours late, there was a reduced rest time for the crew that had taken over the aircraft in Malta. However, this was insufficient to prevent a delayed takeoff from Idris Airport. Before the aircraft was due to land at Blackbushe Airport, it was cleared to Blackbushe beacon
Aerodrome beacon
An aerodrome beacon or rotating beacon is a beacon installed at an airport or aerodrome to indicate its location to aircraft pilots at night....
at 2000 ft (609.6 m) for a final 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...
to runway 08. Two minutes after the flightdeck crew reported passing the beacon at 2000 ft (609.6 m), the procedure turn was completed at 1500 ft (457.2 m). The aircraft was cleared to land after it had passed the Outer Marker
Locator Outer Marker
A locator outer marker, or LOM, is a navigation aid used as part of an instrument landing system instrument approach for aircraft in the United States and other countries...
, following which the aircraft descended below the ILS glide slope
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...
. It hit a beech tree 3617 ft (1,102.5 m) short of the runway threshold, swerved to the left and came to a halt in a group of pine trees 3000 ft (914.4 m) further on. The accident destroyed the aircraft and killed seven of the 80 occupants (three out of six crew members and four out of 74 passengers). The subsequent accident investigation established 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...
's fatigue while operating in difficult conditions, as well as his misjudgement of the aircraft's height based on his vision of the airport lights, as the probable cause.
The non-fatal accident occurred on 5 August 1956. The aircraft, a Handley Page HP.81 Hermes 4A (registration: G-ALDK), undershot the runway while attempting to land on runway 08 at the Drigh Road
Drigh Colony
Drigh Colony is one of the neighbourhoods of Shah Faisal Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.There are several ethnic groups in Shah Faisal Town including Muhajirs, Punjabis, Sindhis, Kashmiris, Seraikis, Pakhtuns, Balochis, Memons, Bohras Ismailis, etc. Over 99% of the population is Muslim...
Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
(PAF) Base in heavy rain, which the pilot in command
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...
mistook for Karachi International Airport
Jinnah International Airport
Jinnah International Airport is Pakistan's largest international and domestic airport. It is located in Karachi, Pakistan, and its passenger terminal is also commonly known as the جناح ٹرمینل Jinnah Terminal...
's runway 07. Although the accident destroyed the aircraft, all 72 occupants (seven crew members and 65 passengers) survived. The subsequent accident investigation established the failure of the aircraft's left windscreen wiper as the primary cause. It furthermore identified the pilot's mistake in confusing runway 08 at Drigh Road PAF Base with runway 07 at Karachi International Airport when landing in meteorological conditions below those recommended as minima by the Pakistan Department of Civil Aviation as a secondary cause.