British South American Airways (BSAA) was a state-run airline of the United Kingdom in the mid-late 1940s responsible for services to the Caribbean and South America. Originally named British Latin American Air Lines it was renamed before services started in 1946. BSAA operated mostly Avro aircraft: Yorks, Lancastrians and Tudors and flew to Bermuda, the West Indies, Mexico and the western coast of South America. After two high-profile aircraft disappearances it was merged into the British Overseas Airways Corporation at the end of 1949.
Most of BSAA's aircraft were given individual aircraft names beginning with "Star", which have long been used in long-range celestial navigation.
History
British Latin American Air Lines (BLAIR) was formed on 25 January 1944 by shipping interests (Royal Mail Lines, Pacific Steam Navigation Company, Lamport & Holt Line, Booth Steamship Company and Blue Star Line) to complement the shipping services to South America, at the end of 1945 the company was renamed British South American Airways.[1] Chairman of the new company was J W Booth. The initial aircraft – until the Avro Tudor II was available – would be Avro Lancasters converted by Avro into the same configuration as Lancastrians and the crews were being sought from former Pathfinder Force members: the general manager Don Bennett had been the force commander during the war. The single route to be flown was Hurn- Lisbon-Bathurst-Natal-Rio de Janeiro-Montevideo-Buenos Aires.[2]
On 1 January 1946, the airline's first Avro LancastrianStar Light flown by Don Bennett and R. Clifford Alabaster undertook the first flight from the newly opened Heathrow Airport, it was on a proving flight to South America.[3] The first commercial flight followed ten weeks later. With the approaching nationalisation of British airlines, the airline came under the control of the British Overseas Airways Corporation and with the passing of the Civil Aviation Act 1946 – which set up three nationally owned corporations – BSAA became a government-owned corporation on 1 August 1946 charged with developing services from the UK to South America. This responsibility was then expanded later in 1946 to routes to the West Indies, Central America and the west coast of South America.[4]
In January 1947 the airline reached an agreement with British West Indian Airways which would become an associate. BSAA would buy the majority of shares in BWIA and provide technical advice and general supervision.[5] In May 1947 the airline started a series of test flights to Bermuda using a converted Avro Lancaster which was refuelled in mid-air over the Azores to complete the flight in 20 hours.[6] On 2 August 1947 Avro LancastrianStar Dustcrashed in Argentina with the loss of all on board. In the first financial year (August 1946 – March 1947) under government control the airline made a surplus of £20,507. The two other airline corporations BOAC and BEA made a combined loss of £10,234,781.[7] On 31 March 1947 the corporation had a staff of 1,031 and had carried 5,397 passengers since August 1946.[7] For navigation purposes, the Lancastrians and Yorks were using military Gee radar over Europe, and Rebecca on the other side of the Atlantic.[8]
On 30 January 1948 Avro Tudor Star Tiger with a crew of six and 25 passengers bound for Bermuda disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean.[9] The remaining Tudors were grounded while an investigation was undertaken.[10] In February the chief executive, Don Bennett was dismissed by the board.[11] In March the Tudor aircraft were allowed to fly initially as freighters but not to carry passengers.[12] In the financial year April 1947 to March 1948 the Corporation made a loss of £421,481.[13] On 18 August the Tudor returned to passenger service with a new service to Kingston, Jamaica.[14] In December the Tudors replaced the Avro Lancastrian on routes to Havana, Cuba and the west coast of South America.[15] From September 1948 the airline based Avro Tudors at Wunstorf to support the Berlin Airlift mainly by each carrying 2,300 gallons of petrol or 2,100 gallons of fuel oil, by April 1949 the airline had five aircraft operating the Air Lift.[16] By December 1948 the airline had transported over 1,000,000 gallons of petrol into Berlin from Wunstorf in over 700 flights using mostly Tudor V tankers each fitted with five tanks.[16]
In January 1949 the airline acquired Bahamas Airways. With British West Indian Airways it would be used as a feeder airline for BSAA services in the Caribbean.[17] On 17 January in a repeat of Star Tiger incident the Tudor Star Arieldisappeared over the Atlantic on a flight from Bermuda. It had seven crew and 13 passengers.[18] The Tudors were withdrawn from service by the airline pending investigation.[19] By March 1949 with the loss of the Star Ariel unexplained, the permanent grounding of the Tudor IVs for passenger flying, and the lack of other long-range aircraft, the government proposed amalgamating the airline with BOAC. BSAA passengers to Bermuda were already being carried by BOAC aircraft via New York.[20] The airline did have Saunders-Roe Princess flying-boats on order but they would not be delivered until 1951 and the transfer of Canadair North Star which were on order for BOAC was considered.[20] On 15 March the Minister of Civil Aviation announced that BSAA and BOAC would be amalgamated.[21]
On the passing of the Air Corporations Act 1949, British South American Airways Corporation became the South American Division of BOAC, the change became effective from 1 January 1950.
BSAAC's Avro Anson executive transport Star Visitant, wearing full titles, at Manchester Airport in March 1949Avro 688 Tudor 4B G-AHNI BSAA "Star Olivia" 1949Avro 688 Tudor 4B Super Trader freighter similar to "Star Tiger" and "Star Ariel"Avro Avro 691 Lancastrian 3 G-AGWH cn 1280 'Stardust' BSAAA former BSAA Tudor V in storage in 1953
Airspeed Consul – two used as a navigation and radio trainer
Airspeed Oxford – one used as a navigation and radio trainer
On 2 August 1947 the Avro Lancastrian "Star Dust" disappeared on a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile; fifty years later remains of the aircraft were found to have crashed into an Argentine mountain.
Star Tiger and Star Ariel
The Star Tiger and Star Ariel were Avro Tudor IV aircraft lost over the Atlantic. The loss of each without a trace, plus the unexplained disappearance of an Airport Transport DC-3 south of Miami on 27 December 1948, and the loss of United States Navy Flight 19 on 5 December 1945, led to the creation of the Bermuda Triangle myth.[22]
On 30 January 1948, Star Tiger was flying from England to Bermuda. It stopped for fuel in the Azores. Early on 31 January the captain asked for a bearing for Bermuda. The request was routine, and there was no cause for alarm. He then gave an estimated arrival at 05:00. That was the last contact. Azores to Bermuda is 2,230 miles (3,588km). At 05:00 a search was launched from Bermuda but the aircraft was not found.
Star Ariel G-AGRE left Bermuda for Kingston, Jamaica on 17 January 1949. Soon after take-off captain John McPhee radioed a standard departure message including an estimate at Kingston of 14:10. This was followed by a position report "I was over 30° N at 9:37 I am changing frequency to MRX." Star Ariel was never heard from again. Over 70 aircraft and many ships, including the aircraft carriersUSS Kearsarge and USS Leyte, and the battleship USSMissouri, searched as far as 500 miles south of Bermuda. No debris, oil slicks, or wreckage were found. The Tudor IV was later discontinued.
Aviation Traders Limited (ATL) was a war-surplus aircraft and spares trader formed in 1947. In 1949, it began maintaining aircraft used by some of Britain's contemporary independent airlines on the Berlin Airlift. In the early 1950s, it branched out into aircraft conversions and manufacturing. During that period it also became a subcontractor for other aircraft manufacturers. By the end of the decade, it was taken over by the Airwork group.
British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974.
On 2 August 1947, Star Dust, a British South American Airways (BSAA) Avro Lancastrian airliner on a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Santiago, Chile, crashed into Mount Tupungato in the Argentine Andes. An extensive search operation failed to locate the wreckage, despite covering the area of the crash site. The fate of the aircraft and its occupants remained unknown for over fifty years, giving rise to various conspiracy theories about its disappearance.
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The Avro 691 Lancastrian was a Canadian and British passenger and mail transport aircraft of the 1940s and 1950s developed from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber. The Lancaster was named after Lancaster, Lancashire.
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Star Tiger was an Avro Tudor IV passenger aircraft owned and operated by British South American Airways (BSAA) which disappeared without a trace over the Atlantic Ocean while on a flight between Santa Maria in the Azores and Bermuda in the early morning of 30 January 1948. The loss of the aircraft along with that of BSAA Avro Tudor Star Ariel in 1949 remains unsolved, with the resulting speculation helping to develop the Bermuda Triangle legend.
Star Ariel was an Avro Tudor Mark IVB passenger aircraft owned and operated by British South American Airways (BSAA) which disappeared without a trace over the Atlantic Ocean while on a flight between Bermuda and Kingston, Jamaica, on 17 January 1949. The loss of the aircraft along with that of BSAA Avro Tudor Star Tiger in January 1948 remain unsolved to this day, with the resulting speculation helping to develop the Bermuda Triangle legend.
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British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passing of the Civil Aviation Act 1946, European and South American services passed to two further state-owned airlines, British European Airways (BEA) and British South American Airways (BSAA). BOAC absorbed BSAA in 1949, but BEA continued to operate British domestic and European routes for the next quarter century. The Civil Aviation Act 1971 merged BOAC and BEA, effective 31 March 1974, forming today's British Airways. For most of its history its main rival was Pan Am.
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