Airlines - Great Britain: books - history and aircraft (1/2)

Gone but Not Forgotten : Defunct British Airlines Since 1945

In post-war Britain, several small airlines were founded and equipped with surplus military aircraft, the most popular being the Douglas Dakota. The British airliners we see today in our airports are the result of numerous takeovers and mergers, involving large and small companies.
This book covers some of these airlines that have ceased operating since 1946: some collapsed because of financial difficulties, some were taken over by larger airlines, and some ceased operating altogether.

The book is a guide to each airline, accompanied by a brief historical account, and interesting images of the aircraft in their distinctive colour schemes.
The airlines covered are a selection of large and small aircraft, who flew international and regional routes, as well as airlines involved in inclusive tours business.

Britain's Imperial Air Routes 1918-1939

Pictures the growth of British civil air transport from its inception in 1910 through to the formation of Imperial Airways in 1934 and the beginnings of British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).

Robin Higham shows the impetus given to aircraft production by the First World War, and presents a careful account of the operational and financial fortunes of each of the four principal British airlines, which began operations shortly thereafter.
The fight against official apathy and lack of foresight on the part of the government, the campaign for subsidies and the struggle with foreign competition are interestingly presented.

The development of the chosen-instrument concept in Great Britain is interestingly covered and the use of subsidies in this connection justified in order to place civil aviation on a firm financial base for the establishment of a great British airline to serve the Empire.
The result was Imperial Airways, which soon found itself in the awkward position of being expected to be both a successful commercial company and the chosen instrument of imperial policy.

The final emergence of British Overseas Airways was the result, and its organisation marks the close of the period covered in this volume. Included in the book are comprehensive statistical appendices and a complete bibliography.

Born of Adversity - Britains Airlines 1919-1963

An intriguing blend of heroic endeavour and epic mismanagement, the history of British civil aviation reflects our nation's strengths and weaknesses and, above all, the muddle in the politics and policies.

This book helps steer you through them, as it tells of Imperial Airways, the wartime experiences of BOAC and the small internal airlines, the creation of BEA after the war, and the short-lived British South American Airways, the importance of aircraft manufacturers like Avro and de Havilland, the Berlin Airlift, and the indomitable rise of the private airlines, and their champions like Freddie Laker and Harold Bamberg, as they forced their way centre stage to share the limelight with the government owned corporations.

British Post-War Airliners - An A to Z of UK Aircraft 1945-2000

This was originally intended to be one volume but became so vast that instead it compliments "British Post-War Airliners - A History of Commercial Aircraft 1945-2000".

This volume has two chapters, chapter one comprising essays on 67 discrete types of British commercial aircraft, each one covered in depth and with a drawing, the specifications, the essay and some photographs.
Chapter two deals with projects, designs unfulfilled and the like.
A typical Ord-Hume book, it is exhaustive on the subject and written with wit and eloquence.

Commercial Aviation in Britain in the 1970s

In the decades leading up to 1970s, passenger air transport was the preserve of the well-to-do who flew on airliners driven by propellers. Over the next few years all this was about to change. The passenger air transport industry underwent a great transformation with the introduction of many innovations that established the foundations for today.
The state airlines, BEA and BOAC, were merged to form British Airways in 1972. Throughout the decade they were far and away the most important operator of scheduled services in the country. To provide competition, however, the independent carrier British Caledonian was created.

The first Boeing 747 jumbo jet was delivered to BOAC in 1970. This widebody airliner enabled fares to be reduced and opened up air travel to many people who could not previously afford it.
Laker Airways pioneered the concept of the low cost airline. It was the only British independent airline to operate a wide-bodied jet in the form of the DC-10 until British Caledonian received two examples in 1977.
Most of the other British independent airlines had to make do with a motley collection of old airliners, many of them turboprops.
The charter and holiday market was the main market for a large number of these carriers. They were regular visitors to the main airports throughout Britain, particularly at weekends.

In this book, Malcolm Fife uses his excellent collection of colour photographs to illustrate the airliners in commercial use that could be seen at airports during the 1970s.