To the Gold Coast in 1950

[Harry Basset]

I am proof reading the memoirs of a local gentleman, my wife is type setting this volume. There is a chapter on a visit to the Gold Coast in 1950 which I have some doubts about. The outward flight is described as being in a BOAC York Speedbird. The gentleman is a little unclear, after so many years, about aircraft as he tells us that the York Speedbird was a converted Halifax bomber. The return flight was in a BOAC Hermes Speedbird , described as "another converted bomber, was it a Wellington, or could it have been a Dakota?" I am suggesting corrections to his aircraft descriptions but I am unclear about his inclusion of "Speedbird" into the aircraft titles. Did BOAC use Speedbird as a marketing description as well as a callsign?

[DaveB]

Hi Harry

The converted Halifax you mention was a Halton.. effectively a Halifax CmkVIII modified for BOAC. The aircraft were brand new so never saw military service as such (even though many had military registrations initially). They were used on long range routes and the Gold Coast was one such route Airline service with BOAC was short.. their roles being taken by the York when the York came into service
All BOAC aircraft of the day wore the 'Speedbird' logo prominantly though I've not come across any aircraft of the fleet being preceded with the title 'Speedbird' in common use

Edit..
Go to the VA forum (Aircraft and Routes/Avro York Repaints) and New Releases & Support forum/CBFSVA Halifax Cmk8/Halton Package for representations of both types. Note.. the Halton is clearly recognisable by having square windows, the Cmk8's used by the other airlines retained the standard RAF windows

ATB

DaveB

[cstorey]

The Handley Page Hermes certainly was coming into service with BOAC by 1950 and was employed on West African Routes. It was, of course, not a derivative of a wartime bomber but was conceived as a British answer to the DC4, but sadly rapidly developed a bad accident record and was a failure. Whether a Halton was in service as late as 1950 is doubtful . It is much more likely to have been a York which was indeed an indirect derivative of the Lancaster, employing the same wing, engines and tailplane . A colleague in the 1970s had flown Yorks for Danair and said that they were a delight to fly

[Garry Russell]

The Hermes uses the basic Halifax wing so was a deriative in the same way the Viking Tudor and Argosy were

That made it un econimcal so was retired after two years only getting a reprieve when they needed them back in service to replace the Comet 1's

The Canadair Fours were flying those routes then too

[DaveB]

Indeed..

Given the proliferation of aircraft of that period using either converted/modified bombers or parts originally designed for bombers, it is very easy without either documented or photographic evidence to confuse what he might have flown on. What is certain is Chris Storeys comment that the BOAC Haltons may not have been in BOAC service in 1950 and that is correct. BOAC had sold all its Haltons by 1949.

Of all the aircraft operated by BOAC, I can only think of 2 that were actual bomber conversions in the true sense of the word.. the Avro Lancastrian (a Lancaster conversion which also never made it to 1950 in BOAC service) and the HP Halton.. a more civilianized version of the RAF Halifax CMk8 Transport aircraft which itself was a derivative of the later Halifax bombers. Both the York and Hermes were in BOAC service in 1950 though none of these were really converted bombers

ATB

DaveB

[Garry Russell]

The Lancastrians and Haltons were intened only as stop gaps and were replaced as soon and the new types were brought in

The C-4 was 1949 and that with the Hermes soon saw off the converted bombers.

[Harry Basset]

Thanks guys, a little unobtrusive editing will take place.

[DaveB]

For sure mate. You know what my memory is like now so if it had to go back as far as 1950.. who knows how confused I'd be

I mentioned above I'd not seen the word Speedbird prefixing any aircraft in use but having read the question again, I see it's suffixed. Again.. I can't find anything to suggest for example, a BOAC York was known as a BOAC York Speedbird I'll dig around a bit but this is a new one on me.

ATB

DaveB

[Jon.M]

I've found a couple of BOAC posters in books I have which refer to a 'Stratocruiser Speedbird' and a 'Solent Speedbird' and another poster referring to 'Speedbird Routes'. Here's an online example:

http://b377.ovi.ch/cutaway/boac.html

It seems possible that advertising at the time also referred to York or Hermes Speedbirds and an ordinary passenger could well take that for the aircraft's proper name.

The Yorks served until 1957 whilst the first BOAC Hermes was named 'Hannibal' on 11th July 1950. Several of the Hermes had names previously carried by HP42s. 'Hengist' was another.

Jon

[TobyV]

I think that immediately postwar, BOAC were using the word "Speedbird", in addition to the stylised 1930s bird-like emblem of the same name in their advertising. See this poster as an example:

http://img2.photographersdirect.com/img ... 388913.jpg