Late News
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Late News
Sixty years ago tonight (23 October) a Douglas DC4 of American Export Airlines ( a subsidiary of American Airlines), left New York's LaGuardia for London (Hurn) Airport via Boston, Gander and Shannon.
The flight weathered 80 knot headwinds as passengers enjoyed caviar and lobster and other fine cuisine. Total journey time to London was 23 hours.
In addition to the crew and various dignitaries and journalists, there was one fare-paying passenger who had paid nearly £600 for a one-way ticket.
This was the first scheduled transatlantic service by a landplane. Three days later Pan American Airways began scheduled transatlantic services also with DC4s. However, Pan Am flying boats had been operating scheduled services since 1939.
A few weeks later AEA, officially changed its name to American Overseas Airlines. For five years, until American Airlines sold its international subsidiary to Pan Am, the airline operated scheduled services between the USA and Shannon, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Berlin and Stockholm, initially with the un-pressurised DC4s and then with Lockheed Constellations and Boeing Stratocruisers.
Tonight I'm sitting in the Great Southern Hotel, Shannon Airport. The airport's green and white beacon is blinking through the windswept rain on a night not dissimilar to that of 23 October 1945. American tourists, who may well have paid less than £600 for their air tickets, are celebrating the end of their vacations.
I raise a glass of Guiness to all those aviators past, present and future, who have made flying the North Atlantic and other great oceans a dream that can come true for millions of ordinary people.
Happy landings!
The flight weathered 80 knot headwinds as passengers enjoyed caviar and lobster and other fine cuisine. Total journey time to London was 23 hours.
In addition to the crew and various dignitaries and journalists, there was one fare-paying passenger who had paid nearly £600 for a one-way ticket.
This was the first scheduled transatlantic service by a landplane. Three days later Pan American Airways began scheduled transatlantic services also with DC4s. However, Pan Am flying boats had been operating scheduled services since 1939.
A few weeks later AEA, officially changed its name to American Overseas Airlines. For five years, until American Airlines sold its international subsidiary to Pan Am, the airline operated scheduled services between the USA and Shannon, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Berlin and Stockholm, initially with the un-pressurised DC4s and then with Lockheed Constellations and Boeing Stratocruisers.
Tonight I'm sitting in the Great Southern Hotel, Shannon Airport. The airport's green and white beacon is blinking through the windswept rain on a night not dissimilar to that of 23 October 1945. American tourists, who may well have paid less than £600 for their air tickets, are celebrating the end of their vacations.
I raise a glass of Guiness to all those aviators past, present and future, who have made flying the North Atlantic and other great oceans a dream that can come true for millions of ordinary people.
Happy landings!
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Yeah...they were the days, I have the DC-4 in my licence as I flew the aircraft as a First Officer almost 30 years ago, she took almost 3,000 Imp gallons and burnt 180 gallons/hour for 185kts TAS on cruise. She would run out of oil before fuel, so taking plenty of oil in the aux tanks was critical, as the engines had to be topped up during cruise via an electric transfer pump that also had a limitation on how long you could operate it followed by a mandatory cooling period. I recall the DC-4 fondly as she was a lovely aeroplane to fly.
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Fond hangar memories of the DC 4, a good airframe to work with. The success of ATL98 Carvair conversion resulted one of the worlds busiest air routes being established.
As for Transatlantic travel, it is easy to forget that about 80 years ago transatlantic air travel, in unsurpassed comfort, ran for 10 years on the airships. The one way fare on the Hindenburg was $400
As for Transatlantic travel, it is easy to forget that about 80 years ago transatlantic air travel, in unsurpassed comfort, ran for 10 years on the airships. The one way fare on the Hindenburg was $400
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London (Hurn) Airport
Only Hurn airport I know is Bournemouth which I have never heard refered to as a London Airfield, Search comes up with nothing so is this a typo or somewhere I have not heard of?
Combine Operations
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From some website or other:
It seems the original post spelt Bournemouth wrong.
American Export became the world's first airline to offer regularly scheduled landplane (as opposed to seaplane) commercial flights across the North Atlantic. Using the reliable DC-4 aircraft, it began passenger services from New York to Hurn Airport near Bournemouth in England (with stops at Gander, Newfoundland, and Shannon, Ireland) in October 1945. Each one-way flight lasted about 14 hours. Pan American debuted its own flights a few days later also using the DC-4. Eventually, the company began using the new Lockheed Constellation and Super Constellation aircraft, both of which had pressurized cabins that allowed them to fly as high as 20,000 feet (6,096 meters). In August 1947, Pan American opened a new era by beginning regularly scheduled non-stop flights between New York and London using these aircraft.
Hurn was the UK's intercontinental airport before Heathrow opened. BOAC had a large maintenance base there for quite some time afterwards.
Was probably referred to as "London" by the airlines using it as highly unlikely anyone from overseas would have a clue where Hurn or Bournemouth were!
Was probably referred to as "London" by the airlines using it as highly unlikely anyone from overseas would have a clue where Hurn or Bournemouth were!
So it would seem that there's a historical precedent for the LOCOs to describe their service as going to an airport many miles away from the town after which the destination is named.
Hurn Airport (Now Bournemouth International) is 4 miles from Bournemouth railway station and then its 108 miles to waterloo station in London. Is this a record for the longest distence from airport to city?
I've known Hurn since about 1961 and worked there on and off since 1969. The BOAC hangars, 106 &107, still have tracks in the floor where Connies were put in sideways on trolleys.
Lots of history at Hurn.
I've known Hurn since about 1961 and worked there on and off since 1969. The BOAC hangars, 106 &107, still have tracks in the floor where Connies were put in sideways on trolleys.
Lots of history at Hurn.
