Group Captain P. H. Maxwell founds this ad hoc charter company at Woodley aerodrome on May 15, 1946. Holding a freight contract with the Miles Aircraft Company, Maxwell is provided with the prototype Miles M.57 Aerovan 1 with which to launch his business. Five M.57 Aerovan 2s are acquired throughout the remainder of the year and one is lost in a crash at Copenhagen on October 29. Meanwhile, cargo charters are flown to various destinations in the U. K. and Europe.
A second Aerovan 2 is lost in a crash at Cherbourg on January 12, 1947; however, it is replaced during the month by the company’s first Douglas DC-3, actually an ex-military C-47A. The airline now moves to larger Blackbushe aerodrome. Aircraft additions through the year include two Aerovan 4s, a Bristol 170 Mk. 31 freighter, two more C-47As, and a Miles M.65 Gemini 1A.
Operations include livestock flights to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, the transfer of 150 British tourists from Paris to Blackbushe (June 14-15) during a French rail strike, and participation in the India-Pakistan refugee exchange. During the latter duty, the company’s three Dakotas are all engaged, flying 6,000 people over 105,000 miles.
Early in 1948, the base of operations is transferred again, this time to Bovingdon. Livestock and produce charters are undertaken. The company is one of the first British independents to participate, beginning on August 4, in the Berlin airlift. All three C-47s are committed, flying 1,376 tons in 386 sorties, before their withdrawal on November 10.
The end of the German flights sees hard times befall the company and by December, the remaining fleet has been sold off, with most of the heavy units going to Skyways, Ltd. The few remaining Aerovan 2s are unable to generate sufficient business and the carrier is forced to cease trading in January 1949.
World History
