British Amphibious Airlines

Last updated

British Amphibious Airlines was a British airline that operated a seaplane service between Blackpool and the Isle of Man in 1932 and 1933.

Contents

History

The airline was formed on 4 February 1932 in Blackpool to exploit an agreement to use the sea and foreshore at Blackpool for conducting flight in amphibious flying boats. [1]

During the summer of 1932 the airline operated a service between Blackpool and the Isle of Man using a Saro Cutty Sark named Progress which could carry four passengers. The aircraft was based at Squires Gate Airport but picked up passengers on the foreshore and alighted in Douglas harbour on the Isle of Man, if the sea conditions were bad they used Ronaldsway Airport. Although the first to operate a service to the Isle of Man they were in competition with the Isle of Man Air Services who operated from Liverpool. [2]

The first year they carried 348 passengers on the service, during 1933 the service was only operated on three days a week and carried only 130 passengers. The airline tried to acquire a larger Saro Cloud aircraft but were thwarted by the owners of Saunders-Roe who wanted to run their own service to the Isle of Man so British Amphibious stopped operating the service. [3]

See also

Ronald Monk bought a seaplane and went from London to Blackpool to give rides to people on the beach at one of the first British holiday place Someone approached him about taking people to the TT races in the Isle of Man, which he did then someone asked him to take a group to Liverpool. This became the first internal airline in the UK. Ronald Monk did not have the money to cope with the

demand so Saunders came and took over.  Ronald Monk then went to Egypy with Misr Airlines until the war broke out, when he returned to the UK and rejoined the RAF.  Ronald Monk was then 36 and was sent to South Africa to train pilots.  I believe his licence to do this was no 8.

After the war he started up Gibraltar Airways for BEA, and then became controller of Aviation for the Iraq Petroleum Company.

Related Research Articles

Flying boat Aircraft equipped with a boat hull for operation from water

A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water, that usually has no type of landing gear to allow operation on land. It differs from a floatplane 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.

Seaplane Aircraft with an undercarriage capable of operating from water surfaces

A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteristics: floatplanes and flying boats; the latter are generally far larger and can carry far more. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are in a subclass called amphibious aircraft, or amphibians. Seaplanes were sometimes called hydroplanes, but currently this term applies instead to motor-powered watercraft that use the technique of hydrodynamic lift to skim the surface of water when running at speed.

Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight.

Blackpool Airport is an airport on the Fylde coast of Lancashire, England, in the Borough of Fylde, just outside the Borough of Blackpool. It was formerly known as Squires Gate Airport and Blackpool International Airport.

Isle of Man Airport Airport on the Isle of Man

Isle of Man Airport is the main civilian airport on the Isle of Man. It is located in the south of the island at Ronaldsway near Castletown, 6 nautical miles southwest of Douglas, the island's capital. Along with the Isle of Man Sea Terminal, it is one of the two main gateways to the island. The airport has scheduled services to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

Saro Cutty Sark British amphibious aircraft

The Saro A17 Cutty Sark was a British amphibious aircraft from the period between World War I and World War II, built by the British firm Saunders-Roe. The aircraft was named after the ship Cutty Sark, rather than the garment.

British NorthWest Airlines was an airline based at Blackpool International Airport.

Railway Air Services (RAS) was a British airline formed in March 1934 by four railway companies and Imperial Airways. The airline was a domestic airline operating routes within the United Kingdom linking up with Imperial's services.

Manx2 Defunct virtual airline from the Isle of Mann

Manx2 was a virtual commuter airline with its head office in Hangar 9, Isle of Man Airport in Ballasalla, Malew, Isle of Man. It sold flights and services from several airports in the UK with bases in Belfast City, Blackpool, Cardiff and Isle of Man. The flights were operated for Manx2 by a number of airlines, including Van Air Europe, FLM Aviation and Links Air. In December 2012 the assets of Manx2 were sold to Citywing and Manx2's last flight took place on 31 December 2012.

Starways was a British airline which operated from 1948 until 1963. The company offered freight transport, passenger charter services and serviced internal and international scheduled routes.

Spartan Cruiser Type of aircraft

The Spartan Cruiser was a 1930s British three-engined transport monoplane for 6 to 10 passengers built by Spartan Aircraft Limited at East Cowes, Isle of Wight. It was a development of the Saro-Percival Mailplane for passenger use.

Hall Caine Airport Airport in Ramsey, Isle of Man

Hall Caine Airport, also referred to as Close Lake Airfield, was an airfield on the Isle of Man located near the town of Ramsey. It was named after the author Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE by his sons Gordon Hall Caine and Derwent Hall Caine, who initiated the project, and was the first airport in the British Isles to be named after a person.

Saro Windhover

The Saro A.21 Windhover was a British amphibious aircraft from the period between World War I and World War II, constructed by Saunders-Roe, or Saro. It was originally advertised as the A.19 Thermopylae after the famous clipper ship, being an enlarged version of the Saro Cutty Sark.

Saro Cloud

The Saro Cloud was a British passenger amphibian flying boat designed and built by Saunders-Roe as the A.19. It was later produced as the A.29 for the Royal Air Force for pilot and navigator training.

Stanley Park Aerodrome Airfield in Lancashire, England

Stanley Park Aerodrome was an airfield located in the Stanley Park area of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It was also known as Blackpool Municipal Airport, and was in use for civil and military flying from 1929 until closure of the airfield in 1947. The site is now used by Blackpool Zoo.

Isle of Man Air Services Defunct domestic airline from the Isle of Man, 1937–1947

Isle of Man Air Services Ltd (IoMAS) was a small airline, based at Ronaldsway Airport Isle of Man, which operated scheduled flights to the English and Scottish mainland between formation in September 1937 and nationalisation in January 1947.

United Airways Ltd was a British airline operating in 1935, ending as part of British Airways Ltd.

Midland & Scottish Air Ferries was Scotland's first airline, operating from 1933 to 1934. It is particularly noted for pioneering flights to the Inner Hebrides

Lancashire Aircraft Corporation Defunct British charter and scheduled airline and engineering company

Lancashire Aircraft Corporation was a major British charter airline after World War II. Its founding father was Eric Rylands. It played an important role in the Berlin Airlift. It also flew scheduled routes and was important in the development of Coach-air services, leading to the founding of Skyways Coach Air and the start of the Inclusive Tour (IT) industry. Its major subsidiary, Samlesbury Engineering, supported its operations and converted many military aircraft for commercial use, also founding Lancashire Aircraft Company.

References

  1. ↑ "New Companies Registered". Flight . 11 March 1932. p. 228. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  2. ↑ "The Isle of Man Services". Flight . 3 November 1932. p. 1028. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  3. ↑ "British Amphibious Air Lines Ltd". Isle of Man Government. 1932. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.