Imperial Airways: The Birth of the British Airline Industry 1914-1940 [Hardcover]

Robert Bluffield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2009

Imperial Airways is a name redolent of the excitement and glamor of the pioneering years of flight. Founded in the 1920s, Imperial Airways flew to destinations all over the world. This beautiful and evocative book on the 'golden age' of passenger flight is the result of years of research, and the text is complemented by a wealth of stunning photographs and ephemera. It will be the most definitive book published on the history of Imperial Airways and the formative years of British commercial aviation. The book begins immediately following World War I with the pioneering companies - Air Transport & Travel Ltd (AT&T), Instone, Handley Page, Daimler Airways and others - and shows how, after AT&T's demise, the remaining three companies were brought together in 1924 to form Imperial Airways. The company continued through difficult times, political uncertainties and fierce competition to open routes to India, South Africa and beyond. This was achieved through the untiring efforts of colorful characters such as Sir Sefton Brancker, Herbert Brackley, George Woods Humphery, Sir Eric Geddes and an array of often eccentric pilots such as one-eyed Ray Hinchliffe and 'All-Weather Mac' Robert McIntosh. The book covers all the various different types of aircraft flying at the time. Often out-of-date and, on occasions, considered to be dangerous, the companies maintained a level of safety and reliability that was sometimes against all the odds. This is especially true considering the lack of navigational aids and other equipment that was available. The story continues with the arrival of the legendary HP 42 airliner, the era of the great flying boats and the experimental 'Mercury-Maia' project when routes across the continents were opened to link the British Empire to the motherland during the period between the two wars. The work will also cover the important role that Croydon Airport played in the history of commercial aviation. The story concludes in 1940 with the formation of BOAC. This is an intriguing story and will represent a journey through time when it could take more than a week to travel by flying boat between Australia and the UK and when passengers flying the near East routes would stay the night at remote desert forts en-route for India.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Bluffield has been a full time professional photographer and writer since 1976. He has published three books on photography and is a regular contributor to Inside Living and Inside Business. He is director of photography and marketing manager with a multi-role professional photographic studio. He has studied the history of Imperial Airways for many years.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Classic Publications; First Edition edition (December 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1906537070
• ISBN-13: 978-1906537074
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 8.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #877,006 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful history of an important era, April 10, 2010

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Chris Sterling "Castle maven" (Annandale, VA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Imperial Airways: The Birth of the British Airline Industry 1914-1940 (Hardcover)

This is a glorious book--a record of Britain's Imperial Airways (1924-1940), predecessor of British Overseas Airways and today's British Airways. An era of biplanes and flying boats, luxurious space and service but very slow flying speeds, and a feeling of adventure as one flew over vast stretches of Africa and Asia (Imperial's chief service areas linking British colonies), this inter-war period can be a hard one to capture. Bluffield accomplishes the task brilliantly with extensive text, evocative illustrations (including many color pictures of aircraft, airline publications and memorabilia), useful maps, and bits of timetables. There are several books about Imperial's history but this is by far one of the best available. Two chapters cover the work of pre-Imperial pioneer air services, and other chapters discuss the role of pilots, the survey flights over potential new routes, the role of specific almost iconic aircraft (the lumbering HP 42, the handsome Empire flying boats and others), the struggle to open trans-Atlantic service, and boardroom tensions and policy debates. You can easily get lost in another time in this volume. Recommended!