Aviation In Colour

The following photographs have been colourised from black and white originals

Passengers board a BEA Dragon Rapide at Lands End Airport for the short flight to The Isles Of Scilly. 
The aeroplane was first built in 1934 for short haul routes. It seated 6 to 8 passengers. It was a highly successful aircraft, over 700 having been built. Several of these plywood aircraft are still flying.
BEA was formed in 1946 and a fleet of DH-89 Dragon Rapides was among its first aircraft. The route to the Scilly Isles was inaugurated in 1947 and three of these aircraft continued to operate this route until replaced with helicopters in 1964.

 Swissair operated 3 DH-89 Dragon Rapides. One of the aeroplanes is seen here at Zurich Airport where they operated flights across the border to destinations in Austria, They had been supplied in the 1930s to Swiss airlines Alpar and Aero St. Gallen before being transferred to the postwar fleet of Swissair who operated them until 1954 when they were sold out of service.

A stewardess is photgraphed with a Pan Am, Boeing Stratocruiser in 1953.  This aeroplane, the Boeing 377 first flew in 1947 and Pan Am, who ordered 20 were the largest operator.  It was a large, 2 decked aeroplane with a capacity of up to 114 passengers. It was rather expensive to buy and to operate and not very reliable. Only 55 Stratocruisers were built. This was however, a luxurious airliner with spacious cabins and in some formations, berths as well as seating.  The Stratocruiser was a long range aircraft, popular on the North Atlantic routes where it was also flown by BOAC.  The last passenger flight was in 1963.

 A stewardess of the 1940s checks that all is in order. 

 TWA stewardesses in 1952.  The airline, one of America’s largest began operations in 1926.  After 75 years, it was declared bankrupt. It was acquired in 2001 by American Airlines who took over 190 aircraft and a network of 130 routes

 The United States Air Force.

Airmen at RAF Wick in 1941.
The airport at Wick opened in 1933 with civilian flights by Highland Airways to Inverness.
In 1939, this became an R.A.F. station. It had been a grass field so concrete runways were laid and hangars constructed. It was administered by Coastal Command and the first aircraft based there wer Avro Ansons of 269 Squadron. These aircraft were replaced by Lockheed Hudsons in 1940.
In this colourised photograph we see Flight Lieutenant H.M.Ferriss(standing) with a Hurricane Mk 1 of 111 Squadron.
The airport at Wick currently has flights to Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

A Handley Paige HP42 at Croydon Airport.
Opened in 1920, Croydon was London’s principal airport prior to World War II.
This was the base for Imperial Airways which quickly developed a route network which by 1934 offered flights to most parts of the British Empire including the World’s longest route to Brisbane. Croydon was the first airport to introduce air traffic control.
At the outbreak of war, Croydon became a fighter station, returning to civil use in 1946 at which time there were 218 departures each week. Destinations were mostly domestic with some flights to the continent. Northolt was now designated as London’s main airport and airlines quickly transferred there. The last scheduled flight from Croydon was in 1959 after which the airport closed.

A DeHavilland Moth at Wythenshaw Airport in 1929.
This aeroplane, a DH 60x model, registered G-EBZU was built in 1928. It was operated by Northern Air Lines until crashing at Irlam in October  1932. Northern Air Lines operated a number of aircraft from this field. These 2 seater Moths could be chartered for a shilling per mile.
This photograph appears to be an advertising opportunity for both BP and Northern Air Lines.
 The Moth and its many vairiants were built in the 1920s and 30s.  They were operated mostly by flying clubs although many were sold as military trainers and large numbers were exported.  The Moth was the most popular aircraft of its day and was produced in large numbers. The Gipsy Moth sold almost 9000 aircraft.  When introduced in 1925, the Moth sold for a price of £650.
Wythenshawe was Manchester’s first municipal airport which opened in April 1929. It was also known as Rackheath Aerodrome for it occupied the site of Rackheath Farm. A barn became an aircraft hangar and the farmhouse served as the administrative building.  This was only a temporary arrangement until Barton Airport opened in January 1930. Wythenshawe saw its last flight in June of that year and eventually the site was absorbed into the new housing estate.

A British European Airways Viscount taxies on the runway. In the background are a number of large marquees suggesting that this is at an air show, perhaps Farnborough.
The Vickers Viscount was the World’s first turboprop airliner introduced in 1948. A highly successful aeroplane, production continued until 1963 by which time 448 had been built.  The final version carried 75 passengers with a range of 2280km and a maximum speed of 566 km/h.
BEA  had a large fleet of Viscounts which they first flew in 1953. The airline did not withdraw the last of these airliners until 1982.
Viscounts had been sold to many operators both at home and abroad and continued to give long service. The last commercial flight was as recent as 2008. Many aircraft still exist, displayed at museums around the World.

 

 A desert stop-over at Port Sharjah in Oman.  The Handley Page HP42E was a four engined biplane designed for services to India and South Africa. G-AAUD “Hanno” first flew in July 1931. The HP42 carried 24 passengers in two cabins. This aircraft was later transferred to the RAF’s 271 Squadron but was lost on the ground at Whitchurch, Bristol when it was blown into another ex-Imperial aircraft during a gale.

 

 A DeHavilland DH66 Hercules of Imperial Airways refuels in the desert en route to India. Nine of these aeroplanes were operated between 1926 and 1935. G-EBMY was named “City of Baghdad”. The aeroplane was a three engined biplane with seating for seven passengers. It was designed for long distance services and the inaugural flight was to Delhi in January 1927.

The Airport buses were once a familiar sight in Manchester. These are photographed in the 1950s outside the airline terminal at the Royal Exchange. Here passengers could check in for their flights before being transported to the airport. The buses were operated by Manchester Corporation on behalf of the airline BEA.

Air Mail at Croydon.
The aeroplane is G-AAXD a Handley Page HP42 of Imperial Airways, named “Horatius”.  It was first registered in April 1930 and continued in service until being destroyed in a forced landing at Tiverton in November 1939 when in RAF service. .  Eight of these aircraft were built, this version being designed for the routes to Europe. There were two passenger cabins with seating for 24.
The air mail service started in July 1937 and letters would be carried at a rate of 1 ½ pence per ounce to any Imperial Airways destination..

 452 Squadron at Kirton in Lindsay 18th June 1941. This was a Royal Australian Air Force squadron formed in Lincolnshire with RAF ground crew.  They were equipped with Spitfires and were among the most successful in Fighter. Command. The following year, the squadron transferred to  Australia to help the defence of Darwin then under attack from the Japanese forces..

 

An Aer Lingus Viking at Dublin Airport. This is type 634 Viking 1B with seating for 24 passengers. Seven of these aircraft were ordered in 1946 although they were not economically successful and were soon disposed of.
Dublin Airport at Collinstown, in the north of the city opened in 1940. The terminal building completed the following year was designed in the style of the bridge of an ocean liner. The architect was Desmond FitzGerald, whose brother Garret, a Fine Gael politician, served twice as Taoiseach (Prime Minister) in the 1980s.
Dublin now handles 25 million passengers annually making it one of the busiest airports in Europe.

Passengers board a Vickers Viking at Northolt Airport. 
Located to the west of London, this has been an RAF station since 1915 and is still operational. Commercial flights started in 1946 and by 1952 this was the busiest airport in Europe.
British European Airways was formed in January 1946 and established Northolt as its main operating base. Its last flight from there was in late 1954 by which time all operations were transferred to newly opened Heathrow.
The Viking first flew in  June 1945 and entered airline service the following year. Originally developed from the Wellington bomber, 163 aircraft were built, BEA being the largest operator.  The first version carried just 21 passengers although later models were modified to seat 36.  Almost one third of all Viking built were lost in accidents through various causes, a number resulting in loss of life. By the end of 1954 BEA had retired their fleet having sold most of the aeroplanes to other operators at home and abroad.