British European Airways

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For other uses of BEA, see Bea.
British European Airways
Fate Merged with British Overseas Airways Corporation to form British Airways
Founded 1946
Defunct March 31, 1974
Headquarters  United Kingdom
Industry Airline

British European Airways (BEA) or British European Airways Corporation was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. The airline operated European and North African routes from airports around the United Kingdom. BEA was the largest domestic airline within the United Kingdom, operating flights to major British cities, including London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast and Glasgow.

Contents

[edit] History

British European Airways Douglas DC-3 Dakota freighter in 1951
BEA Vickers Viking 1B G-AHPO "Venturer" at Manchester in August 1952 wearing the "Speedkey" colour scheme

On 1 January 1946 the British European Airways division of the British Overseas Airways Corporation was formed to take over the services from the United Kingdom to continental Europe that had been operated by the Royal Air Force.[1] On the 1 August 1946 the 1946 Civil Aviation Act was given royal assent and the independent British scheduled airlines were nationalised and BEA became the British European Airways Corporation to operate all Domestic and European flights. [1][2]

On 1 February 1947 a number of former independents were merged into BEA; Railway Air Services which had been an independent airline since 1937[3], Isle of Man Air Services that had been formed in 1937[4], Scottish Airways had been formed in 1937 from the merger of Northern and Scottish Airways and Highland Airways.[5]

BEA was the first customer for British-built short- and medium-haul airliners of the 1950s and 1960s, including the Vickers Viking, Vickers Viscount, Vickers Vanguard, BAC One-Eleven 500 and Hawker Siddeley Trident.

The airline carried out trials with a Helicopter Experiment Unit, operating mail services in East Anglia during 1948 and a passenger service from Cardiff via Wrexham to Liverpool (Speke) Airport in 1950. Subsequently the airline formed a separate helicopter airline, BEA Helicopters, to operate services between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly.

In 1969 BEA formed a charter subsidiary BEA Airtours to provide inclusive tour holiday charters. BEA ceased operations in 1974 when it was merged with the British Overseas Airways Corporation to form British Airways. The airline IATA code was BE with the callsign Bealine.

[edit] Aircraft operated

BEA Airspeed Ambassador ("Elizabethan Class") at Manchester in July 1953
Three BEA aircraft at Heathrow in 1964. In the foreground a Vickers Viscount, right background a Vickers Vanguard, left background a Hawker Siddeley Trident.
BEA Vickers 953 Vanguard at Manchester in 1965

[edit] Incidents and accidents

Viscount 701 G-ALWE "RMA Discovery" at Manchester in 1953. This aircraft crashed on approach to the airport on 14 March 1957
  • On 5 January 1953, Vickers Viking G-AJDL crashed on approach to Belfast-Nutts Corner Airport due to an error of judgement by the pilot. All 27 on board died.
  • On 14 March 1957, Flight "Bealine 411" operated by Vickers Viscount G-ALWE crashed on approach to Manchester Airport due to a flap failure caused by metal fatigue. All 20 occupants on board died, and two on the ground.
  • On 28 September 1957, de Havilland Heron G-AOFY, on an air ambulance flight, crashed on approach to Glenegedale Airport, Islay, in bad weather. The three occupants, two crew and one nurse, were killed.
  • On 23 October 1957, Vickers Viscount G-AOJA crashed after overshooting on approach to Belfast-Nutts Corner Airport. The cause was not determined. All seven occupants died.
  • Munich air disaster – on 6 February 1958, British European Airways Flight "Bealine 609" crashed in a blizzard on its third attempt to take off from an icy runway at the Munich-Riem airport in Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, along with supporters and journalists. Twenty-three of the 43 passengers on board the aircraft died. The charter flight was operated by British European Airways with an Airspeed Ambassador G-ALZU 'Lord Burghley'.
  • On 22 October 1958, Flight "Bealine 142" operated by Vickers Viscount G-ANHC was hit by an Italian Air Force F-86 Sabre and crashed with the loss of all 31 on board.
  • On 21 December 1961, De Havilland Comet 4B G-ARJM stalled on take-off from Esenboga Airport, Ankara, Turkey. The aircraft was being operated for Cyprus Airways. The aircraft was destroyed, with the loss of six crew and 20 passengers.
  • On 27 October 1965, Vickers Vanguard G-APEE on a flight from Edinburgh crashed on to the runway during an approach in bad weather at London Heathrow Airport. All 36 on board died.
  • On 12 October 1967, Flight "Bealine 284" operated by De Havilland Comet 4 G-ARCO on behalf of Cyprus Airways exploded in mid-air over the Mediterranean and crashed into the sea with the loss of all 66 on board. The explosion was caused by a device under a passenger seat.
ex-British European Airways Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B (G-AWZK) preserved at Manchester Airport, England. Delivered new in 1971, she flew for BEA and British Airways, retiring in 1985.
BEA Trident 1C G-ARPC built 1962 and destroyed in a fire at Heathrow in 1975.
  • On 2 October 1971, British European Airways Flight "Bealine 706", operated by Vickers Vanguard G-APEC, crashed near Aarsele, Belgium following a mid-air explosive decompression caused by a fatigue failure. All 63 on board died.
  • On 18 June 1972, British European Airways Flight "Bealine 548", operated by a British European Airways (BEA) Hawker Siddeley Trident 1C G-ARPI, crashed two minutes after takeoff from Heathrow Airport, killing all 118 passengers and crew. The crash occurred close to the town of Staines, Middlesex.

[edit] Other facts of interest

  • On 10 June 1965 a BEA Trident 1 (G-ARPR) operating Flight "Bealine 343" from Paris to London Heathrow Airport, made the world's first fully-automatic landing of a commercial airliner with fare-paying passengers.

[edit] In popular culture

  • The Beatles occasionally flew BEA. On one flight, Ringo Starr held a “TLES” sign next to the BEA logo on the airplane door, spelling out BEATLES. A similar change to the logo was made at the end of A Hard Day's Night.
  • The BEA is mentioned in Bill Wyman's 1981 song 'Je suis un rock star'.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Halford 2006, page 35
  2. ^ Halford 2006, page 34
  3. ^ Merton Jones 1972, page 64
  4. ^ Merton Jones 1972, page 48
  5. ^ Merton Jones 1972, page 67
  6. ^ Image of a BEA Routemaster bus

[edit] References

  • Phil Lo Bao (1989). "An Illustrated History of British European Airways. Browcom. ISBN 0946141398. 
  • Merton Jones, A. (1972). British Independent Airlines since 1946, Volume One. UK: LAAS International. 
  • Halford-MacLeod, Guy. (2006). British Airlines Volume 1: 1946-1951. UK: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0 7524 3696 1. 

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