My 1/72 Scale Handley Page Hermes 4 of Air Links. G-ALDA
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Photo taken by Hans Reiner Otto, scan kindly provided by Klaus Held for inclusion on this page.
München-Riem
ca. 1958
G-ALDT
Handley Page HP-81 Hermes 4A
20 (HP.81/20)
Skyways of London
Information from flickr - thanks to Ken Fielding (slightly adapted):
G-ALDT was delivered to BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation in Sep-50 as a Hermes IV and later converted to Hermes IVA standard. It was in service with BOAC for less than 5 years and was sold to Skyways in Feb-55. Leased to Middle East Airlines as OD-ACN in Jul-55 for 3 months and returned to Skyways as G-ALDT in Oct-55. In Oct-60 leased to Bahamas Airways as VP-BBQ for the winter and returned as G-ALDT in Jun-61. Sold to Air Safaris the same month but was repossessed 5 months later in Nov-61 as they didn't keep up the payments! Retired at Stansted in Jan-62 and bought by Air Links in August the same year. The aircraft was ferried the short distance to Southend where it was slowly cannibalized for spare parts. It was broken up in mid 1964.
Article on the Hermes including photos:
www.britairliners.org/airliners-article?title=hermes-is-7...
G-ALDT with BOAC at LHR ca. 1953:
abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1739730
Colour shot of G-ALDT with Skyways of London at LHR in 1958:
www.airteamimages.com/pics/67/67686_big.jpg
G-ALDT with Air Safaris at MAN in August 1961 (Skyways of London colours):
www.airhistory.net/photo/9049/G-ALDT
G-ALDT derelict at SEN in March 1964:
www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding/16252332307
Scan from black-and-white print.
Photo taken by Hans Reiner Otto, scan kindly provided by Klaus Held for inclusion on this page.
München-Riem
ca. early 1960
G-ALDC
Handley Page HP-81 Hermes 4
4 (HP.81/4)
Falcon Airways
The Seaboard & Western DC-3 in the background (N91221) was used on cargo flights for many months after Seaboard & Western C-46 N10427 was damaged in a landing accident at Riem in May 1959 (only returned to service in April 1964). Further in the background, an unidentified aircraft has taken off from runway 07.
Information from airhistory.net - thanks to R.A. Scholefield - with additional informaton from rzjets.net:
First flight 18 November 1949. Delivered new to BOAC in February 1950. Leased to Airwork Ltd. in June 1952 (serial WZ840 used for trooping flights), bought by them in December 1956. Served Falcon Airways from May 1959 until being damaged on landing at Southend on 9 October 1960. Bought Air Safaris in December 1960. B/u Southend, Essex, UK in March 1962.
Article on the Hermes including photos:
www.britairliners.org/airliners-article?title=hermes-is-7...
G-ALDC wearing military serial WZ840 at RAF Fayid, Egypt in 1952:
abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1516673
G-ALDC with Airwork London at BBS ca. 1958:
abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1600279
G-ALDC following the crash on 9 October 1960 at SEN:
www.baaa-acro.com/sites/default/files/styles/crash_detail...
Scan from black-and-white print.
A jumble sale of iconic aircraft at IWM Duxford.
Handley-Page Hermes 4 G-ALDA first flew on 17Aug49 but was retained by HP for development work and not delivered to BOAC until 05May51. It was named 'Hecuba' and had a short service life, being withdrawn at Radlett in Aug51. It was converted to 4A in Jul52 and leased to Airwork in Oct52 and bought by Airwork on 31Dec56. It was employed on Government contract work and used the 'trooping' serial WZ838 for flights into and from the Suez Canal Zone. It was restored to Hermes 4 standard in May57 and bought by C L Air Surveys in Aug59, sold to Falcon Airways in Oct59 and to Air Safaris in Oct60 and repossessed by Mercantile Credit in Nov61. It was then leased to Skyways from late Nov61 to Jan62 and bought by Air Links in Aug62. Air Links bought two other Hermes, but they never entered service, being scrapped for spares. 'LDA was a regular visitor to Southend in the 60s, partly due to Tradair holding the maintenance contract.
1964 was to be its final year of operation and when it flew into Gatwick on 13Dec64 it was not only the last Hermes commercial service but the last Hermes flying anywhere. On 22Dec it positioned to Southend to await the scrapman and my image shows it parked outside the Tradair hangar on 13Jan65. It was broken-up there later that year.
Photo: Richard John Goring (Transportraits)
Handley-Page Hermes 4 G-ALDA first flew on 17Aug49 but was retained by HP for development work and not delivered to BOAC until 05May51. It was named 'Hecuba' and had a short service life, being withdrawn at Radlett in Aug51. It was converted to 4A in Jul52 and leased to Airwork in Oct52 and bought by Airwork on 31Dec56. It was employed on Government contract work and used the 'trooping' serial WZ838 for flights into and from the Suez Canal Zone. It was restored to Hermes 4 standard in May57 and bought by C L Air Surveys in Aug59, sold to Falcon Airways in Oct59 and to Air Safaris in Oct60 and repossessed by Mercantile Credit in Nov61. It was then leased to Skyways from late Nov61 to Jan62 and bought by Air Links in Aug62. Air Links bought two other Hermes, but they never entered service, being scrapped for spares. 'LDA was a regular visitor to Southend in the 60s, partly due to Tradair holding the maintenance contract. My picture shows it being towed past the Aviation Traders Flight Shed at Southend on 28Apr64.
Photo: Richard John Goring (Transportraits)
A company of 34 well-dressed ladies posing in front of a four-engined propliner in BOAC livery. In the background, two members of the ground crew can be seen working on the aircraft's landing gear. Note the enormous amount of detail in this nearly 70-year-old photograph – click to enlarge!
Country of origin: UK
IWM Duxford | Duxford Airfield | Duxford | Cambridgeshire | UK
52°5'47.8163" N 0°8'12.1819" E
IWM Duxford’s historic site includes a vast range of enormous hangars, gigantic aircraft, a live airfield and a wide collection of personal stories of those who have lived, fought and died in conflict from the First World War to present day.
IWM Duxford | Duxford Airfield | Duxford | Cambridgeshire | UK
52°5'47.8163" N 0°8'12.1819" E
IWM Duxford’s historic site includes a vast range of enormous hangars, gigantic aircraft, a live airfield and a wide collection of personal stories of those who have lived, fought and died in conflict from the First World War to present day.
IWM Duxford | Duxford Airfield | Duxford | Cambridgeshire | UK
52°5'47.8163" N 0°8'12.1819" E
IWM Duxford’s historic site includes a vast range of enormous hangars, gigantic aircraft, a live airfield and a wide collection of personal stories of those who have lived, fought and died in conflict from the First World War to present day.
IWM Duxford | Duxford Airfield | Duxford | Cambridgeshire | UK
52°5'47.8163" N 0°8'12.1819" E
IWM Duxford’s historic site includes a vast range of enormous hangars, gigantic aircraft, a live airfield and a wide collection of personal stories of those who have lived, fought and died in conflict from the First World War to present day.
at London Airport in 1959
A film clip of details of a new tribute painting celebrating the Centenary of British Airways painted by expressionist artist Stephen B. Whatley - as shown in full in the previous post; with full story.
The painter researched the history and sought passionately to capture the magnificence, power and speed of air travel.
In his distinctive vibrant colours and with dynamic brushstrokes, the artists captures the powerful essence of a contemporary twin engine jet, the Airbus A320 ; and retracing the history of BA, a BOAC Handley Page Hermes IV airliner from 1949 and a Vickers Vimy passenger craft from 1919 - the year when it was used to make the first direct flight across the North Atlantic.
The artist, whose work has been published in TIME, has a history of painting tributes in significant anniversary years.
Stephen B. Whatley has undertaken major commissions for the BBC, Buckingham Palace for the Royal Collection all painted on location ; and his series of 30 works commissioned in 2000 by the Tower of London are all permanently reproduced throughout Tower Hill Underpass, at Tower Hill Station, London.
In 2004 the artist was presented to HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in recognition of his work.
British Airways : Centenary Tribute. 2019
Oil on canvas,
36 x 48in/91 x 122cm
www.stephenbwhatley.com
More from Alf's camera, a random lot of colour positive slides of aircraft. I don't know much about them and I am grateful for all help identifying them.Thank you, Lynn
(G-ALDG) [Horsa] - unmarked
Handley Page HP.81 Hermes IV (fuselage only)
c/n HP.81/8
@ Duxford ~ 13.11.2016
[Hangar 1 / AirSpace]
[Remembrance Sunday 2016]
As the file name says-and NOT a photo taken by me, but from my collection.
An absolutely classic Heathrow north side shot from June 1952 (someone had very kindly written that date on the back of the photo). We have a BEA Ambassador, G-ALZP; then a BOAC Hermes, G-ALDP; then a Pan American Stratrocruiser, N1027V. And behind that is the tail of an unidentified BOAC Argonaut. Who could ask for anything more? And I so wish I'd been around in that era.
Just two examples of this variant of the Handley Page Mermes family were built, in 1949, being used to develop the Bristol Thesus turboprop engines.
Scanned from Flight magazine, issue dated 5 January 1950.
Noble Collection. First flight 2 December 1945. Introduced into service 6 August 1950. Primary user was BOAC in early 50s and later with several charter airlines. Total of 29 built and developed from the Handley Page Hastings.
