Imperial Airways was an early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers were typically businessmen or colonial administrators, and most flights carried about 20 passengers or fewer. Accidents were frequent: in the first six years, 32 people died in seven incidents. Imperial Airways never achieved the levels of technological innovation of its competitors and was merged into the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in 1939. BOAC in turn merged with the British European Airways (BEA) in 1974 to form British Airways.
Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidation and ceased to exist in 1970. The company, based at Radlett Aerodrome in Hertfordshire, was noted for its pioneering role in aviation history and for producing heavy bombers and large airliners.
The Handley Page Type O was a biplane bomber used by Britain during the First World War. When built, the Type O was the largest aircraft that had been built in the UK and one of the largest in the world. There were two main variants, the Handley Page O/100 (H.P.11) and the Handley Page O/400 (H.P.12).
The Handley Page HP.81 Hermes was a civilian airliner designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page.
The Handley Page V/1500 was a British night-flying heavy bomber built by Handley Page towards the end of the First World War. It was a large four-engined biplane, which resembled a larger version of Handley Page's earlier O/100 and O/400 bombers, intended to bomb Berlin from East Anglian airfields. The end of the war stopped the V/1500 being used against Germany, but a single aircraft was used to carry out the first flight from England to India, and later carried out a bombing raid on Kabul during the Third Anglo-Afghan War. It was colloquially known within the fledgling Royal Air Force as the "Super Handley". The V/1500 which was shipped to Canada to attempt a transatlantic flight was flown in the US, and in 1919 crash-landed in a field at Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania. Photos appeared in the 20 February 1969 issue of the Bradford Journal newspaper.
The Handley Page W.8, W.9 and W.10 were British two- and three-engine medium-range biplane airliners designed and built by Handley Page.
The Blackburn R.T.1 Kangaroo was a British twin-engine reconnaissance torpedo biplane of the First World War, built by Blackburn Aircraft.
Alexandra Park Aerodrome was the second purpose-built aerodrome in the Manchester area in England. The site was chosen by the War Department in 1917 because of its open agricultural nature, and lay between the neighbouring districts of Fallowfield, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Whalley Range, Withington and West Didsbury, at the junction of Princess Road and Mauldeth Road West, three miles south of Manchester's city centre: the land was owned by the Egerton Estate. The aerodrome's brief existence is commemorated on a plaque in the sports pavilion at Hough End Playing Fields, which now occupy part of the site. A commemorative plaque was unveiled on 7 July 2007 to mark the 90th anniversary of the aerodrome and is located in the grounds of No. 184 Squadron, Air Cadets, in Hough End Crescent.
Handley Page Transport Ltd was an airline company founded in 1919, soon after the end of the First World War, by Frederick Handley Page.
The Airco DH.16 was an early British airliner designed by Geoffrey de Havilland, the chief designer at Airco. It accommodated a pilot plus four passengers, and was operated from 1919 to 1923.
On 6 January 1954 WJ474 a twin-engined Vickers Valetta training aircraft of No. 2 Air Navigation School Royal Air Force crashed near RAF Bovingdon just after takeoff in bad weather.
The Little Baldon air crash occurred on 6 July 1965 when a Handley Page Hastings C1A transport aircraft operated by No. 36 Squadron Royal Air Force, registration TG577, crashed into a field in Little Baldon, near Chiselhampton, Oxfordshire, shortly after taking off from RAF Abingdon. The flight was captained by Flt Lt John Akin. All 41 people aboard, including six crew, perished in the crash, making it the third worst air crash in the United Kingdom at the time.
The October 1926 Air Union Blériot 155 crash happened on 2 October 1926 at Leigh, Kent when Blériot 155 F-AICQ caught fire in mid-air and crashed while the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing at Penshurst Airfield. Both crew members and all five passengers were killed. This was the first in-flight fire occurring on an airliner.
The 1930 Air Union Farman Goliath crash occurred on 10 February 1930 when a Farman F.63 Goliath of Air Union crashed whilst attempting an emergency landing at Marden Airfield, Kent following the failure of the starboard tailplane. Two of the six people on board were killed.
Hounslow Heath Aerodrome was a grass airfield, operational 1914–1920. It was in the London borough of Hounslow, and hosted the British Empire's first scheduled daily international commercial flights, in 1919. The site today includes the main remaining part of Hounslow Heath.
The 1929 Imperial Airways Handley Page W.10 crash happened on 17 June 1929 when Handley Page W.10 G-EBMT suffered an engine failure and subsequently ditched in the English Channel off Dungeness with the loss of seven lives. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled flight from Croydon to Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France.
The 1928 Imperial Airways Vickers Vulcan crash occurred on 13 July 1928 when a Vickers Vulcan on a test flight from Croydon Airport with a pilot and five passengers crashed near Purley, Surrey three miles from the airport, with the loss of four passengers. As a result of the crash Imperial Airways stopped the flying of staff on test flights.
The August 1923 Air Union Farman Goliath crash occurred on 27 August 1923 when a Farman F.60 Goliath of Air Union crashed at East Malling, Kent, United Kingdom following an engine failure and reported panic amongst the passengers. One person was killed and nine were injured, including celebrated French actor Jean Murat.
The 1923 Daimler Airway de Havilland DH.34 crash occurred on 14 September 1923 when a de Havilland DH.34 of Daimler Airway operating a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Croydon to Manchester crashed at Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire, England, killing all five people on board.
