#77 tubby Govt. funded Interim Civil Lincoln/Civil Halifax on 4th and 5th April, 1944. On 15/12/44 UK Govt ordered 79 Avro Tudor II for the Kangaroo Route Team. HP persevered with various iterations of (to be Hermes IV) and received RAF order for 100 Hastings, 9/45. By 4/46 both Canada and Australia had taken Tudor II production licences. All lapsed with BOAC's 11/4/47 rejection of any Tudor (BSAAC did take Mk.IV...and was destroyed by them). In a flurry, Govt. ordered 25 Hermes IV for BOAC, 19/3/47, then 25 C-4M 21/7/48...and there's the rub. DC-4. Pratt R2000. Dependable Engines (it took awhile for RR to match Merlin to civil operation).
In 1949 BOAC tried very hard to refuse delivery of Hermes IV: heavy, uneconomic: “this tough attitude (surprised &) disappointed” Sir Fred. HP C.H.Barnes, HP A/c, Putnam, 1976, P466. They were very briefly operated, brought back in a flurry after grounding of Comet 1, then unloaded onto troopers and tramps. Even in 1945 Peter Masefield, working for Beaverbrook, demonstrated on his slide rule that no Tudor or Hermes could breakeven in airline operation.
When Ministers funded these Interims they did not expect to sell many - virtues of Constellation and DC-4 were becoming evident. They were funded: a) to give (whatever British Civil Air Transport industry might emerge) something, $-sparing;
and b) to occupy our Heavy firms until they could produce turbine-powered "supremes".
Last edited by tornadoken; 6th Oct 2016 at 08:59.