1939-05-06 — Page 2

Saturday,

HONGKONG TELEGRAPH

Imperial Airways Celebrates

15th Birthday

Britain Takes Lead In Aviation

(By Our Aviation Correspondent)

I AM ABLE to reveal a fascinating story of Britain's lead in commercial aviation, in the fact that the Hongkong public get their letters from the Homeland in six days. It is the fifteen years history of the Imperial Airways Company, largest air-line in the world. Daily giant flying-boats of latest design and pattern carry the air banner of Imperial Airways over desert and ocean, over high mountains and deep valleys, over monsoon-swept coasts and storm-ridden landing-fields.

Recently without any show of ostentation, without the full-blast publicity methods of other air com- panies, the British national airway celebrated its fifteenth birthday.

Few of us in Hongkong were pri vileged to witness those early days of the ploneer work, and it is mainly for this reason that the history of this company makes such interesting reading."

Formed in 1924

in

Imperial Airways was formed 1024 in pursuance of an agreement with Government, and acquired the nir transport businesses previously carried on by four existing com- nanies, with the object of developing the cross-Channel air services pre- lously operated by those companies Ind at extending the company's retivities to all parts of the British Empire,

The following figures give an over- all view of the development of air 'ransport by Imperial Airways since. its inception:-

Route Miles

Year

Mileage Flown

1025

1,700

853,042

1920

2,330

807,075

1031

9,374

1,205,948

1934

14,150

2,354,176

1030

10,192

4,560,718

1930

21,403

0,223,986

Subsidies Pald

The above development has been Echloved, it is confidently claimed, at In lower cost to the State than for any comparable development anywhere elso in the world. The subsidy 10-

colved by Imperial Airways during the first 14 years of existence s follows:-

1025

1933

1033

1037

1038

Foreign Subaidies

Will

лу

£137,000

£407,513

£661,556

£381,707 £635,160

em-

These three little girls entered the Potato Hace at the recent German National Day sports-Ming Yuen.

Empire Progress

The main stages of Imperial Air- wayn' progress are marked by the Only Inauguration of new services, the more important events are in- eluded in the following list:-

1024 Imperial Airways formed, Services to Paris, Brussels, Cologne, Boele and Zurich.

1025 Egypt-India route surveyed. 1020 Egypt-Iraq service establish- cd.

1920 Egypt-Iraq service extend- ed to India. Trans-Mediterranean service established.

1930 Cairo Capetown route surveyed.

1931 London - Central Africa service subsidised

catablished. Experimental Dir mail to Australia.

The total subsidies from 1024 to 1937-prior to the introduction of the Empire Air Mail Scheme-amounted to a total of £4,500,000, The Cadman Committee report issued in Marchi 1930 contained the words. "We phasise that British Civil Aviatio cannot compele foreign aviation unless it is parably subsidised." The civil avia- tion vote at that time had already been increased from just over half a million in 1924 to £1,500,000 in 1937.

a result of the

recommendations of the Cadman Committee the sum was increased In 1938 to £3,000,000, Compare this with the millions

41/42

COIN-

the

of subsidy received over 13 years, an average of about £348,000, or Just over one-tenth of the amount now lo bu provided.

the eight years 1926-34, In United States subsidised American aviation to the extent of £25,000,000. Compare the subsidy paid to Im- perial Airways also with that pald to the aircraft operating companies of other nations.

1030

1037 U.S.A.

£4,392,520 £4,000,301 France Germany Italy

£1,105,532

£1,505,017

£1,030,300

£771,140

£1,202,047 £873,802

1933 London-India service rx- tended to Singapore,

1034 London-Singapore service extended to Australia. London- Capetown service became twice weekly.

1035 London-Singapore service weekly. London- sue Vienna-Budapest service

began.

twice

1930 Khartoum-West Africa ser- vice established. Penang-Hongkong service established. London-Aus- tralia service became twice weekly.

1937 Bermuda-New York ser- vice. Empire Alr Mail to Africa. Survey fight from Australia to New Zealand.

1938 Empire Air Mail to tralia.

Biaff Increased Almost every year the Company's history has, therefore, seen some new and Important development in

Aus-

the

routes operated or services establish-

ed.

The establishment of these services has necessitated many Increases in statt. In 1924, the staff numbered only 200, while now there are 3,086 persons on the payroll. They are employed in 30 countries, spread over five continents,

Because

of the specialised nature

of the Company's work, staft cannot normally be obtained fully qualified to undertake the diverse respon- sibilities required of them, and the Company has hnd lo establish its own school for post-graduate training

air navigation, radio

work, engineering etc. In addition, it has established a pupillage scheme for traffic staf. Among its employees are to be found citizens of all the Dominions and many of the Colonies.

in

Fleet Larger

Imperial Airways bas always given close attention to other de- velopments besides the mere exten- Blon of miles flown, and can claim to have established

new standards in air travel, In 1924, the Company took over 18 aircraft of 7 different types. After

fter digesting the experl- ence that had accumulated up to that time, the Company

Lo come

the conclusion that to achieve ananciai

autonomy, large aircraft eniployed intensively would be necessary. Im- perial Airways, therefore, concen- trated on eliminating their single- engined aircraft and replacing them by large multi-engined planes,

With each new type, higher speed as well as other Improvements were called for, a compromise being made to secure the best balance of speed,

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range, paying load capacity, comfort | w and operating cost.

1028 Imperial Airways put Into. service in Europe the 3-engined Ar.. gosy type alrereft and the 3-engined high performance the Near East Hercules type in

1028 The 3-engined; Calculta Eying-boats were put into service on the Mediterranean.

1020 Imperial Airways decided to standardise 4-engined aireraft for its major aircraft.

1031 The Sciple type 4-engined nying-boats were put into service on the Mediterranean and the Hannibal and Heracies 4-engined landplanes were commissioned for Europe and the Near East.

1932

The

from

Atalanta 4-engined designed for operation attitude aerodromes were put into service on the Africa route. 1033 The 4-engined Diana class aircraft were specially designed and bullt to

lo suit the requirements of the Singapore Australia route. The type was also used for certain ser vices in Europe, West Atrien and the Far East.

1035 The Company placed orders for 28 four-engined flying-boats and 12 four-engined landplanes-the largest order for civil aircraft ever placed-amounting to approximately £2,000,000.

1035 Imperial Airways took an interest in the development of flight refuelling and in the Mayo composite aircraft.

1036 Canopus class of Imperial flying-boats put into service.

1937 Caledonia made a non-stop flight Southampton - Alexandria, 2,222 miles. Caledonia and the Cam- bria made five return experimental Alights across the Atlantic The Centaurus made a goodwill fight lo New Zealand and back, 30,000 miles.

1030 Flight refuelling

experi ments. The Mercury, upper com- ponent of the Mayo composite aircraft flew the Atlantic, making the fastest east to west crossing then made, and carrying a payload of 1,000 lbs.

Latest Plane

At the time of writing, the Com- pany is conducting ncceptance trials of the Ensign class aircraft, and the Frobisher class, which have cruising speeds of approximately 170 and 200 m.p.li. respectively.

5

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Apart from the leadership in the use of multi-engined aircraft and be Ing the first air transport company in the world to use two-engined, then three and, in 1931, four-engined air- craft, with spacious cabins and a standard of comfort and quietness of a new order for air transport, Im- perial

Airways was also the first company

in the world to carry stewards, and to supply, first simple refreshments, and later full meals C8127/0120-Beethoven Plano Concerto. No. 5. "The Emperor"

Glescking (Piano) & Vierina Phil. Orch. C0145/Haydo. Symphony. No. 09.

London Phil. Orch.. C3141/8144-Mozart Symphony. "Jupiter"..........London Phil. Orch. C8114/8118-Beethoven Concerto for Violin and Orchestra

Huberman (Violin) & Vienna Phil. Orch... C8119/8121-Lato, Symphonie Espagnole

Huberman (Violin) & Vienna Phil, Orch.. CB018/8019-Beethoven Symphony. No. .... .London Phil, Orch.. C8020/8024-Tschalkowsky Symphony. No. 4

Concertgebow Orch, of Amsterdam. C8050/0002 Tschaikowsky Piano Concerto. No. 1

Salomon (Piano) & Halle Orch. 4.10.0 C8040/8044-Dvorak Symphony. No. 5. "The New World"

Harty & Halle Orch.. 130. 0.0 C8137/8140-Mendelsohn Concerto in E

Sziget (Violin) & London Phil. Orch.. THE ANDERSON MUSIC CO., LTD.

course lunches, and 7 course dinners.

Passenger fores have been reduced na the following examples show. For simplicity, the slagie ordinary fares that were in force in 1924 or at the | opening of each service are shown side by side with the present fare:

Fares Lowered Original Fare

London-Paris

1924 London-Singh-

pore 1933 London-Bris-

£ 0.0.0

180.0.0

1938

bane 1935

195.0.0 100. 0.0 Appreciation of the Company's pos senger services is best judged by the fact that whereas in 1925 It carried Passengers a distance of 2,682,000 passenger miles, the volume of traffic. had grown till for the year ending March 1930, passengers were carried a distance for 40 million passenger miles.

Postage rates for air mails have also been reduced, and muils have also

been carried foster. Imperial Airways has, therefore, Arst and foremost, built up a sound commercial organisation, and has taken advantage of all aeronautical advances while at the same time managing its affairs with prudence, and providing reserves for develop ments and contingencies.

Largest in World

It has led the way in setting for its services a standard of comfort and re- lability comparable with

the that

of. older forms of surface transport. It has been all along a pioneer in the Lise of and standardised the use of 4-engined of large multi-engined aircraft aircraft ahead of any other nir trans- port company. Ils fleet now numbers 67 aircraft developing more 200,000 h.p.

Finally, by attention to cost, com- bined with foresight and enterprise, it has been able to give to the British Empire the benefit of air transport without extra cost, for all letters carried on the England-Australia and England-South Africa routes.

It is claimed that no other country in the world, regardless of the amount of money lavished on its air services, can show as steady, consistent and beneficent achievements on the part of its national air transport organisa- tion,

Dogs Kill $1,500 Fox

WILLOWS, Cal. Dogs here killed a fox which to them looked just like an ordinary fox. But to Herman Storz, who is establishing a fox farm here, from which the animal escaped, it looked like $1,500. It was a block allver tall fox which he had purchased at that price for breeding purposes.

Nurse loses 40-lbs. of fat in 6 weeks

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BECAUSE OF THEIR CIRCULATIONS: