HISTORY OF AVIATION 50 of the Greatest Aircraft in the History of Flight. Issued by Brook Bond Extracts from the album

IMPERIAL AIRWAYS Imperial Airways was formed in 1924 and, in the same year, made a survey flight to India. As a result Britain's first long-range route, London to Karachi, was established in 1929. The fare for the seven-day journey was £130. The route was extended southward to Africa in 1932 (the time to Cape Town was nine days) and eastward to Australia, in conjunction with the Australian airline, Qantas, in 1934. The flight from London to Darwin took 12½ days. These routes linked together the British Empire. But it was the decision in 1933 to allow the airline to carry the Empire mail which raised Imperial Airways to the status of a front-rank international airline. Lack of suitable aircraft long held up the establishment of a link with North America, and the airline did not operate this route until August 1939. A few months later Imperial Airways was re-organised, emerging as British Overseas Airways Corporation. Today a BOAC VC.10 can travel from London to Karachi in 9 hours.

1929 Air Route London to Karachi, with rail connections at Basle and Alexandria. Also typical BOAC route 1972, marked with straight dotted line.

HANDLEY PAGE H.P.42 The advent of the Handley Page H.P.42 signalled the beginnings of luxurious air travel. Imperial Airways, to whose order the H.P.42s were built, introduced the type on both its European and Far East routes, commencing in June 1931. During a decade of operation, the world's first real airliner (as it was described by its makers) set a standard of service, comfort and safety hardly to be equalled, though its speed was considerably less than that of the more modern American types. Only eight were built, and most were transferred to the RAF in 1939. Flagship of the fleet was Hannibal, which survived until March 1940.