CIVIL AVIATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26045, 8 January 1946, Page 7

CIVIL AVIATION

THE 8.0.A.C. SERVICES ACHIEVEMENTS IN 1945 During 1945 the British Oveiseas Aviation Corporation, in conjunction with Qantas Empire Airways, its Australian associate, established the longest and fastest air route in the world, the famous 12,000-mile, 63-hour, thiiceweekly Lancastrian service from Hurn (Hants) to Sydney, Australia. It reopened the direct United KingdomSouth Africa service, jointly with South African Airways—the 6800-mule “Springbok” service between Hum and Johannesburg with the new Avro Yorks. A further step in the re-open-ing of the pre-war trunk line to Australia via India, which was cut by the Japanese entry into the war, was taken by the extension in October of the Poole (Dorset)-Calcutta flying boat service on to Rangoon. The next step—extension to Singapore —was also surveyed during the year and may come into operation shortly. For the fifth year an unbroken daily special service in each direction was maintained across the North Atlantic by the return ferry service between Prestwick and Montreal, which has now made more than 1900 crossings of the Atlantic in all weathers. European routes were opened during the year to Madrid and. to Gibraltar (via Lisbon), and a regular service was instituted between Croydon and Stockholm in succession to the famous “ Stockholm sprint” by Mosquitoes during the war. All existing Middle East. trans-Afri-can and West African services were maintained, and the service to Turkey was extended during the year to Istanbul. Internal feeder services, in East Africa were instituted by six ‘ Dominies ” based on Nairobi. By the end of the vear 8.0.A.C. route mileage exceeded v 70,000, in the operation of some 90 services a week on 30 routes, handling about 10,000 passengers a week Those are the “ high spots ” of the 8.0.A.C. activities during 1945. The main story, however, is the maintenance of the corporation’s war-time services under Government direction, coupled with full-scale preparations for a vast programme of new operations as soon as war-time exigencies permit the lifting of controls. At the beginning of the year preparations were made for a great increase in the corporation's transport services to the Far East in support of operations against Japan. For example, both the Sunderland flying-boat services to Karachi and Calcutta .and the Dakota services to Cairo and Karachi were increased. The surrender of Italy to some degree eased the situation in the Mediterranean, but until Germany was beaten the whole of Europe had to be regarded as a wtir zone, and it was not until after the liberation of France that direct flights from Britain across the Continent to the Mediterranean could gradually take the place of the long circumnavigation over the Bay of Biscay. After the defeat of Germany, Malta came back into the picture as an important civil air station. In the autumn it was possible to resume operations to the Continent from Croydon, and a number of services using B O.A.C. facilities began operations, such as those of Air France, the Belgian Sabena Line. Swiss air services to Zurich, Danish D.M.L. from Blackbushe, near Camberley, Norwegian and Swedish services to Scandinavia as well as the Irish Aer Lingus and the Railway Air Services from the United Kingdom to Eire. The volume of work in the hangars and workshops at Croydon rapidly became so great' as to necessitate the introduction of a shift system, using all available personnel to the maximum. The famous Boeing flying boats, Bristol, Berwick and Bangor continued to operate their winter and summer services across the Atlantic between Poole and Baltimore. Their 1945 summer schedules showed a higher intensity of operation than any other existing or pre-war trans-Atlantic line.