British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passing of the Civil Aviation Act 1946, European and South American services passed to two further state-owned airlines, British European Airways (BEA) and

British South American Airways British South American Airways (BSAA) was a state-run airline of the United Kingdom in the mid-late 1940s responsible for services to the Caribbean and South America. Originally named British Latin American Air Lines it was renamed before serv ...

(BSAA). BOAC absorbed BSAA in 1949, but BEA continued to operate British domestic and European routes for the next quarter century. A 1971 Act of Parliament merged BOAC and BEA, effective 31 March 1974, forming today's British Airways. For most of its history its main rival was Pan Am.

History

War years

On 24 November 1939, BOAC was created by Act of Parliament to become the British state airline, formed from the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. The companies had been operating together since war was declared on 3 September 1939, when their operations were evacuated from the London area to Bristol. On 1 April 1940, BOAC started operations as a single company. Following the

Fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

(22 June 1940), BOAC aircraft kept wartime Britain connected with its colonies and the allied world, often under enemy fire, and initially with desperate shortages of long-range aircraft. During the war, the airline was sometimes loosely referred to as 'British Airways', and aircraft and equipment were marked with combinations of that title and/or the Speedbird symbol and/or the Union Flag. BOAC Boeing Model 314A Clipper on Lagos Lagoon

BOAC Boeing Model 314A Clipper on Lagos Lagoon

BOAC inherited Imperial Airways'

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

services to British colonies in Africa and Asia, but with the wartime loss of the route over Italy and France to Cairo these were replaced by the expatriate ' Horseshoe Route', with Cairo as a hub, and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and Durban as end destinations. Linking Britain to the Horseshoe Route taxed the resources of BOAC. Although Spain denied access, Portugal welcomed BOAC's civilian aircraft at

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. However, the Mediterranean route from Lisbon or

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

to Egypt via Malta risked enemy attack, so the long West Africa route had to be employed (over-water via Lisbon, Bathurst, Freetown, Lagos), then by landplane to Khartoum on the Horseshoe Route. The Empire routes had contained landplane sectors, but the Armstrong Whitworth Ensign and

de Havilland Albatross The de Havilland DH.91 Albatross was a four-engined British transport aircraft of the 1930s. A total of seven aircraft were built between 1938–39. Development The DH.91 was designed in 1936 by A. E. Hagg to Air Ministry specification 36/35 ...

ordered to replace the Handley Page HP.42 'Heracles' biplanes had proved disappointing, leaving the Short Empire flying boats as the backbone of the wartime fleet. (Only a handful of these had long range tanks but many were eventually upgraded with larger tankage and operated at overload weights.) The Empire flying-boats were at their limit on the 1,900-mile Lisbon-Bathurst sector. Refuelling at Las Palmas in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

was permitted by Spain for some Empire flying-boat flights in 1940 and 1941. In 1941 longer range Consolidated Catalinas, Boeing 314As (and later converted Short Sunderlands) were introduced to guarantee non-stop Lisbon to Bathurst sectors (thus eliminating the need to refuel at Las Palmas). BOAC's flying-boat base for Britain was shifted from Southampton to

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

, Dorset, but many flights used Foynes in Éire (Ireland), reached by shuttle flight from Whitchurch. Use of Foynes reduced the chance of enemy interception or friendly fire incidents over the English Channel. BOAC had large bases at Durban,

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...

, Alexandria and a pilots' school at Soroti, Uganda. Experimental flights had been made across the North Atlantic pre-war by Imperial Airways Empire flying-boats with improved fuel capacity, some using in flight refuelling, culminating in a series of mail/courier flights made by BOAC's ''Clare'' and ''Clyde'' to La Guardia in camouflage during the Battle of Britain. These were BOAC's first New York services. In 1941, BOAC was tasked with operating a 'Return Ferry Service' from Prestwick to Montreal to reposition ferry pilots who had flown American-built bombers from Canada, and they were provided with RAF Consolidated Liberators with a very basic passenger conversion. This was the first sustained North Atlantic landplane service. By September 1944 BOAC had made 1,000 transatlantic crossings. In late 1942, the new hard-surface airport at Lisbon permitted the use of civil registered Liberators to North and West Africa and Egypt. Arguably, BOAC's most famous wartime route was the ' Ball-bearing Run' from Leuchars to Stockholm (

Bromma Bromma () is a borough (''stadsdelsområde'') in the western part of Stockholm, Sweden, forming part of the Stockholm Municipality. Bromma is primarily made up of Bromma Parish and Västerled Parish. The fourth largest airport in Sweden and the th ...

) in neutral

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Initially flown with Lockheed 14s and Lockheed Hudson transports, the unsuitable Armstrong Whitworth Whitley "civilianised" bombers were also used between 9 August and 24 October 1942 ("Civilianised" meant that all the armaments and unnecessary guns and turrets had been removed, a legal requirement for operating a commercial civilian service to a neutral country). The much faster civilian registered

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...

es were introduced by BOAC in 1943. The significance of the ball-bearings is debatable, but these night flights were an important diplomatic gesture of support for neutral Sweden which had two DC-3s shot down on its own service to Britain. Other types used to Sweden included Lockheed Lodestars, Consolidated Liberators, and the sole Curtiss CW-20 (C-46 prototype) which BOAC had purchased; these types had more payload, and some had the range to avoid the German-controlled Skagerrak direct route. Between 1939 and 1945 6,000 passengers were transported by BOAC between Stockholm and Great Britain.

Early post-war operations

At the end of the war, BOAC's fleet consisted of Lockheed Lodestars, lend-lease

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

s, Liberators, converted Sunderlands, and the first Avro Lancastrians,

Avro York The Avro York was a British transport aircraft developed by Avro during the Second World War. The design was derived from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber, several sections of the York and Lancaster being identical. Due to the importance of L ...

s, and Handley Page Haltons. The Short Empire,

Short S.26 The Short S.26 G-class was a large transport flying boat designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Short Brothers. It was designed to achieve a non-stop transatlantic capability, increasing the viability of long distant service ...

and Boeing 314A flying boats, plus the AW Ensigns, were due to be withdrawn. The corporation's aircraft, bases and personnel were scattered around the world, and it took a decade to reorganise it into an efficient unit at Heathrow. In 1943, the

Brabazon Committee The Brabazon Committee was a committee set up by the British government in 1942 to investigate the future needs of the British Empire's civilian airliner market following World War II.Phipp, 2007, pp.15-16 The study was an attempt at defining, in ...

had laid down a set of civil aircraft transport types for the British aircraft industry to produce, but these were to be several years in coming, and particularly in the case of the tailwheel

Avro Tudor The Avro Type 688 Tudor was a British piston-engined airliner based on Avro's four-engine Lincoln bomber, itself a descendant of the famous Lancaster heavy bomber, and was Britain's first pressurised airliner. Customers saw the aircraft as ...

, not what BOAC wanted. Since 1941, the advanced pressurised Lockheed Constellation had been under development, and in 1946 BOAC was permitted to use dollars to purchase an initial fleet of five for the prestigious North Atlantic route (there were no equivalent British types available). Throughout the whole of BOAC's existence, the argument over buying American or (often delayed) British products continued, and Parliament, the press, British manufacturers and the unions accused BOAC management of only wanting American aircraft. Whilst the major world airlines abandoned flying-boats at the end of WWII, BOAC continued with theirs until 1950, and even introduced the new Short Solent on the leisurely Nile route to South Africa. In 1948, the unpressurised Yorks were still operating passenger services as far afield as Nairobi (Kenya),

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

(Gold Coast, later Ghana), Delhi and Calcutta (India), and the type continued to operate freight schedules until late 1957. After its first six Lockheed 049 Constellations, BOAC had to use some ingenuity to increase its Constellation fleet. In 1947,

Aerlínte Éireann Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...

in Ireland bought five new Lockheed 749 Constellations, and prepared to launch a transatlantic service with assistance and crew-training from Captains O. P. Jones and J. C. Kelly-Rogers of BOAC. The project was abandoned in February 1948, and BOAC were able to buy the almost new 749s without dollar expenditure four months later. This enabled BOAC to serve Australia with Constellations from 1949. A total of 25 Constellations passed through the BOAC fleet, including 12 749As obtained from Capital Airlines in the mid-1950s, with BOAC's older 049s in part exchange. BOAC was also permitted to spend dollars on six new

Boeing 377 Stratocruiser The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a large long-range airliner developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter military transport, itself a derivative of the B-29 Superfortress. The Stratocruiser's first flight was on July 8, 1947. Its design was advanced ...

s for its key transatlantic routes from October 1949, offering a double-deck non-stop eastbound service from New York City to London Airport (later Heathrow). However, because of the prevailing westerly winds, the westbound flights needed re-fuelling at Shannon and Gander before reaching New York. Another four Stratocruisers were taken over from a frustrated SAS order and seven were bought secondhand in the mid-1950s. The Handley Page Hermes and Canadair DC-4M ''Argonaut'' joined the BOAC fleet between 1949 and 1950, replacing the last of the non-pressurised types on passenger services. When service entry of the

Bristol Britannia The Bristol Type 175 Britannia is a retired British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the Commonwealth. During development two prototypes were lost and the turboprop engines proved sus ...

was delayed in late 1956, BOAC was permitted to purchase ten new Douglas DC-7Cs. These long-range aircraft enabled BOAC to operate non-stop westbound flights from London and Manchester to New York and other US East Coast destinations, in competition with DC-7Cs of Pan Am and Lockheed Super Constellations of

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

(TWA). This was the first purchase of aircraft direct from the Douglas Aircraft Company in BOAC's history.

Introduction of jets

In May 1952 BOAC was the first airline to introduce a passenger jet into airline service. This was the de Havilland Comet which flew via Nairobi to Johannesburg and via the Far East to Tokyo. All Comet 1 aircraft were grounded in April 1954 after four Comets crashed, the second last being a BOAC aircraft at altitude. Examination of the wreckage recovered from the Mediterranean sea-bed and observation of a sample fuselage in a pressurisation test-tank at Farnborough revealed that the repeated pressurisation / depressurisation cycles of airline operation could cause fatigue cracks in the thin aluminium alloy skin of the Comet leading to the skins ripping away explosively at altitude and disintegration of the aircraft. Later jet airliners including the revised Comet 4 were designed to be fail-safe: in the event of, for example, a skin-failure due to cracking the damage would be localised and not catastrophic. In October 1958 BOAC operated the first transatlantic jet service with the larger and longer-range Comet 4. In the 1950s turbine powered airliners were developing rapidly, and the Comet and the seriously delayed

were soon rendered obsolescent by the flight of the

swept-wing A swept wing is a wing that angles either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than in a straight sideways direction. Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigat ...

Boeing 367–80 (707 prototype) in 1954. In 1953 Vickers had started building the swept wing VC-7/V-1000 with Rolls-Royce Conway turbofan engines, but BOAC short-sightedly decided the Britannia and Comet 4 would be adequate for its purposes, and when the military version of the V-1000 was cancelled in 1955 the 75% complete prototype was scrapped. In October 1956 BOAC ordered 15

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

s with Conway engines (briefly the most economical commercial engine option). They entered service in 1960. (The British airworthiness authorities insisted on tail-fin modifications which Boeing made available to all 707 users.) Sir Giles Guthrie, who took charge of BOAC in 1964, preferred Boeing aircraft for economic reasons, and indeed BOAC began turning a profit in the late 1960s. After a row in Parliament the government instructed BOAC to purchase 17 Vickers VC10 aircraft from a 30-aircraft order which Guthrie had cancelled. The Standard VC10 had higher operating costs than the 707, largely due to BOAC's requirement at the design stage for the aircraft to have excellent hot and high performance for Commonwealth (African/Asian) routes, but the larger Super VC10 was a success with American passengers on the North Atlantic and was profitable. BOAC Boeing 747-136 landing at Heathrow

The next major order of Boeing aircraft was for 11 Boeing 747-100s. On 22 April 1970 BOAC received its first 747, but the aircraft did not enter commercial service until 14 April 1971 due to BOAC's inability to settle crewing and pay rates with the British Air Line Pilots' Association. BOAC's successor British Airways later became the largest Boeing customer outside North America.

Merger with BEA

The first attempt at a merger of BOAC with BEA arose in 1953 out of inconclusive attempts between the two airlines to negotiate air rights through the British colony of Cyprus. The chairman of BOAC, Miles Thomas, was in favour of the idea as a potential solution to a disagreement between the two airlines as to which should serve the increasingly important oil regions of the Middle East, and he had backing for his proposal from the

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

at the time, Rab Butler. However, opposition from the Treasury blocked the idea, and an agreement was reached instead to allow BEA to serve Ankara in Turkey, and in return to leave all routes east and south of Cyprus to BOAC. Paradoxically, through its effective control of Cyprus Airways, BEA was able to continue to serve destinations ceded to BOAC, including Beirut and Cairo by using Cyprus Airways as its proxy. However, it was only following the recommendations of the 1969 Edwards Report that a new British Airways Board, combining BEA and BOAC, was constituted on 1 April 1972. This event coincided with the establishment of the

Civil Aviation Authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

, the UK's new, unified regulator for the air transport industry. BOAC would have become one of the first operators of the Concorde, had it not merged to become British Airways. BA's Concordes carried registrations of G-BOAA to G-BOAG. The first Concorde delivered to British Airways was registered G-BOAC.

Other BOAC companies

BOAC Associated Companies

BOAC held shareholdings in a number of other airlines operating in several parts of the British Commonwealth through a subsidiary, BOAC Associated Companies. These included Aden Airways, Bahamas Airways,

Fiji Airways Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, K ...

, Ghana Airways, Gulf Aviation and Nigeria Airways. In the late 1950s BOAC Associated Companies was declared to have holdings in eighteen companies.

BOAC-Cunard Ltd

In 1962, BOAC and Cunard formed BOAC-Cunard Ltd to operate scheduled services to North America, the Caribbean and South America. BOAC provided 70% of the new company's capital and eight Boeing 707s. The independent

Cunard Eagle Airways British Eagle International Airlines was a major British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline that operated from 1948 until it went into liquidation in 1968. It operated scheduled and charter services on a domesti ...

, of which Cunard held a 60% shareholding, provided two more 707s. BOAC-Cunard

leased A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

any spare capacity to BOAC which could use it to supplement the main BOAC fleet at peak demand, and in a reciprocal arrangement BOAC would provide capacity to BOAC-Cunard on some operations when it had a shortfall. The effect of this arrangement was to remove competition on western routes. The operation was dissolved in 1966.

Destinations

The following is an incomplete list of destinations historically served by BOAC: *

Abadan Abadan ( fa, آبادان ''Ābādān'', ) is a city and capital of Abadan County, Khuzestan Province, which is located in the southwest of Iran. It lies on Abadan Island ( long, 3–19 km or 2–12 miles wide). The island is bounded ...

– Abadan International Airport * Aberdeen – Aberdeen Airport *

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

– Al Bateen Executive Airport *

– Kotoka International Airport * Adelaide – Adelaide Airport *

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

– Aden International Airport * Alexandria – Alexandria International Airport *

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

– Amman Civil Airport * Amsterdam – Schiphol Airport *

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

– Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport *

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

–

Coolidge International Airport V. C. Bird International Airport is an international airport located on the island of Antigua, northeast of St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, St. John's, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda. History The airport originally was operated by th ...

* Arak –

Arak Airport Arak Airport is an international airport in Arak, the capital of Markazi Province in Iran. The airport, one of the oldest in Iran, was opened in 1938. History The airport was established by the Britain in 1938 and named Sultanabad (the former ...

– Yohannes IV International Airport * Auckland – Auckland Airport * Baghdad – Baghdad International Airport * Bahrain – Bahrain International Airport * Bandar Lengeh –

Bandar Lengeh Airport Bandar Lengeh Airport is an airport in Bandar Lengeh, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaija ...

* Bangkok – Don Mueang International Airport *

Banjul Banjul (,"Banjul"
(US) and ), officially the City of Ba ...

–

Banjul International Airport Banjul International Airport, also known as Yundum International , is the international airport of Banjul, capital of the Gambia, built during World War II. History The only airport in Gambia is at Yundum. After World War II, Yundum airport ...

* Barcelona – Barcelona–El Prat Airport * Basra –

Basra International Airport Basrah International Airport ( ar, مطار البصرة الدولي, Maṭār al-Baṣrah ad-Duwaliyy) is the second largest international airport in Iraq, and is located in the southern city of Basra. History Construction The airport was bu ...

* Beirut –

Beirut International Airport Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of ...

* Belfast –

Belfast International Airport Belfast International Airport is an airport northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland, is the main airport for the city of Belfast. Until 1983, it was known as ''Aldergrove Airport'', after the nearby village of Aldergrove. In 2018, over 6.2 ...

* Bermuda – Bermuda International Airport * Birmingham – Birmingham Airport * Blantyre –

Chileka International Airport Chileka International Airport is an international airport in Malawi. It is located approximately , by road, northwest of Blantyre, the second largest city in the Republic of Malawi and the country's commercial and financial capital. Chileka ...

* Bogota – El Dorado International Airport * Bombay –

Sahar International Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in the country in terms of total and international passenger traffic aft ...

* Bordeaux – Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport * Boston – Logan International Airport *

Bowen Bowen may refer to: Places Australia * Bowen, Queensland, a town * Bowen Hills, Queensland, a suburb ** Bowen Hills railway station, a railway station in Bowen Hills ** Bowen Park, Brisbane, a park in Bowen Hills * Bowen Bridge, crossing the Derw ...

–

Bowen Airport Bowen Airport is located at Bowen, Queensland, Australia. See also * List of airports in Queensland This is a list of airports in the Australian state of Queensland. __TOC__ List of airports The list is sorted by the name of the communit ...

* Bridgetown –

Seawell Airport Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) is the international airport of Barbados, located in Seawell, Christ Church. It is the only designated port of entry for persons arriving and departing by air in Barbados and operates as one of t ...

* Brisbane –

Brisbane Airport Brisbane Airport is the primary international airport serving Brisbane and South East Queensland. The airport services 31 airlines flying to 50 domestic and 29 international destinations, in total amounting to more than 22.7 million passeng ...

* Buenos Aires – Ezeiza International Airport * Bushehr – Bushehr Airport * Cairo – Payne Airfield * Calcutta – Dum Dum Airport *

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

– Simón Bolívar International Airport *

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

– Mohammed V International Airport * Chicago – Chicago O'Hare International Airport *

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

- Chittagong Airport * Colombo – Ratmalana Airport * Colombo – Bandaranaike International Airport * Dacca – Tejgaon Airport * Dakar – Dakar-Yoff International Airport *

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

– Damascus International Airport *

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

–

Dar es Salaam International Airport Julius Nyerere International Airport is the international airport of Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania. It is located approximately southwest of the city centre. The airport has flights to destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and ...

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

– Darwin International Airport * Delhi – Safdarjung Airport * Denver –

Stapleton International Airport Stapleton International Airport was a major airport in the western United States, and the primary airport of Denver, Colorado, from 1929 to 1995. It was a hub for Continental Airlines, the original Frontier Airlines, People Express, United Ai ...

* Detroit – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport * Dhahran –

Dhahran International Airport Dhahran ( ar, الظهران, ''Al-Dhahran'') is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 240,742 as of 2021, it is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Together with the nearby cit ...

* Doha – Doha International Airport * Dubai – Dubai International Airport * Dublin – Dublin Airport * Durban –

Louis Botha Airport Durban International Airport (formerly Louis Botha Airport) was the international airport of Durban from 1951 until 2010, when it was replaced by King Shaka International Airport, to the north. The airport is co-located with AFB Durban. Hist ...

* Düsseldorf – Düsseldorf Airport * Edinburgh – Edinburgh Airport * Entebbe – Entebbe International Airport * Frankfurt – Frankfurt am Main Airport *

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Places United States *Freeport, California *Freeport, Florida *Freeport, Illinois *Freeport, Indiana *Freeport, Iowa *Freeport, Kansas *Freeport, Maine, a New England town **Freeport (CDP), Maine, the ...

– Grand Bahama International Airport * Freetown – Freetown-Lungi International Airport * Gander – Gander International Airport * Georgetown – Timehri International Airport * Glasgow – Glasgow Prestwick Airport * Hong Kong – Kai Tak Airport * Honolulu – John Rodgers Airport * Istanbul – Istanbul Atatürk Airport *

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

– Halim Perdanakusuma Airport *

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

–

Kandara Airport Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

* Johannesburg –

Jan Smuts International Airport O. R. Tambo International Airport is an international airport situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to/from South Africa and since 2020, it is Africa's second ...

* Kallang – Kallang Airport * Kampala – Entebbe International Airport * Kano –

Aminu Kano International Airport Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport is an international airport serving Kano, the capital city of Kano State of Nigeria. It was a Royal Air Force station before the country became independent. It is the main airport serving northern Nige ...

* Karachi – Jinnah International Airport * Khartoum –

Khartoum International Airport Khartoum International Airport (Arabic:مطار الخرطوم الدولي) is the principal airport in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. The current airport will be replaced by the New Khartoum International Airport in Omdourman 40 kilom ...

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

– Palisadoes Airport * Kuala Lumpur – Subang Airport * Kuwait – Kuwait International Airport * Lagos – Lagos International Airport * Las Palmas –

Gando Airport Gran Canaria Airport , sometimes also known as Gando Airport ( es, Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria), is a passenger and freight airport on the island of Gran Canaria. It is an important airport within the Spanish air-transport network (owned and mana ...

* Lima – Jorge Chávez International Airport *

–

Portela International Airport Humberto Delgado Airport , informally Lisbon Airport and formally Portela Airport, is an international airport located northeast of the city centre of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. The airport is the main international gateway to Portuga ...

Livingstone Livingstone may refer to: * Livingstone (name), a Scottish surname and a given name. **David Livingstone (1813–1873), Scottish physician, missionary and explorer, after whom many other Livingstones are named Places *Livingstone Falls, on the Con ...

– Livingstone Airport * London –

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

* Los Angeles –

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

– Lusaka International Airport * Luxor –

Luxor International Airport Luxor International Airport is the main airport serving the city of Luxor, Egypt. It is located 6 km (4 miles) east of the city. Many charter airlines use the airport, as it is a popular tourist destination for those visiting the River ...

* Madrid – Madrid–Barajas Airport * Malta – Malta International Airport * Manchester – Manchester Ringway International Airport * Manila - Manila International Airport * Marseille – Marseille Provence Airport * Mauritius –

Plaisance Airport Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport is the main international airport in Mauritius. It is located southeast of the capital city of Port Louis. The airport was previously known as the ''Plaisance Airport'' and has direct flights to ...

* Melbourne – Essendon Airport * Mexico City –

Benito Juárez International Airport Mexico City International Airport ( es, link=yes, Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México, AICM); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez'' (Benito Juárez International Airport) is the main international airport serving ...

* Miami – Miami International Airport *

Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Por ...

– Montego Bay International Airport *

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

– Carrasco International Airport * Montreal – Montréal–Dorval International Airport * Moscow –

Moscow Vnukovo Airport Vnukovo, formally Vnukovo Andrei Tupolev International Airport (named after Andrei Tupolev) ( rus, links=no, Внуково, p=ˈvnukəvə) , is a dual-runway international airport located in Vnukovo District, southwest of the centre of Moscow ...

* Nadi –

Nadi International Airport Nadi International Airport is the main international airport of Fiji as well as an important regional hub for the South Pacific islands, located by the coast on the western side of the main island Viti Levu. Owned and operated by Fiji Airports ...

* Nairobi –

Nairobi International Airport Jomo Kenyatta International Airport , is an international airport in Nairobi, the capital of and largest city in Kenya. The other three important international airports in Kenya include the Kisumu International Airport, Moi International A ...

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

–

Nassau International Airport Lynden Pindling International Airport , formerly known as Nassau International Airport, is the largest airport in the Bahamas and the largest international gateway into the country. It is a major hub for Bahamasair, Western Air, and Pineapple ...

* New York City – Idlewild International Airport * Ndola – Ndola Airport *

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

– Nicosia International Airport * Nouadhibou – Nouadhibou International Airport * Osaka –

Osaka International Airport , often referred to as is the primary regional airport for the Kansai region of Japan, including the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe. Classified as a first class airport, it is the airport closest to Kyoto, southwest of Kyoto Station. ...

* Perth – Perth Airport * Philadelphia –

Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The airport served 19.6 million passengers annually in 2021, making it the 21st busiest airport in the United States. The airport is located from t ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

- Portland International Airport *

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

– Piarco International Airport * Prague – Prague Ruzyne Airport *

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

– Rangoon International Airport * Recife – Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport *

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former ...

- Renfrew Airport * Rio de Janeiro – Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport * Rome – Rome Ciampino Airport *

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

– Hewanorra International Airport * Salisbury – Salisbury Airport * San Francisco –

San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport is an international airport in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County, south of Downtown San Francisco. It has flights to points throughout North America and is a major gateway to Europe, the Middle E ...

* Santiago –

Los Cerrillos Airport Los Cerrillos Airport was the main aviation facility of Santiago, Chile until 1967, when Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport was opened. The airport was closed in 2006.São Paulo – Congonhas-São Paulo Airport * Seattle – Seattle–Tacoma International Airport * Seoul – Gimpo International Airport * Seychelles – Seychelles International Airport * Shanghai – Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport * Shannon – Shannon Airport * Singapore –

Singapore International Airport Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borderin ...

* Southampton – Southampton Airport *

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

– Stockholm Bromma Airport *

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...

– Juanda International Airport *

–

Sydney Airport Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the ...

* Tehran –

Tehran Mehrabad International Airport Mehrabad International Airport ( fa, فرودگاه بین المللی مهرآباد, ''Foroudgâh-e Beyn Almelali-ye Mehrâbâd'') , is an international airport serving Tehran, the capital city of Iran. Prior to the construction of the larger ...

* Tel Aviv –

Ben Gurion Airport Ben Gurion International Airport, ; ar, مطار بن غوريون الدولي , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, it is the ...

* Tokyo –

Haneda International Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

* Toronto –

Toronto International Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its Greater Toronto Area, metropolit ...

* Trinidad – Piarco International Airport * Tripoli – Tripoli Idris International Airport * Vancouver – Vancouver International Airport * Victoria Falls – Victoria Falls Airport * Vienna – Vienna International Airport * Washington – Dulles International Airport * Zurich –

Zurich-Kloten Airport Zürich Airport (), french: Aéroport de Zurich, it, Aeroporto di Zurigo, rm, Eroport da Turitg is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zürich, Switzerland's la ...

Fleet

During the time of the airline's existence, BOAC operated these aircraft: BOAC Boeing Stratocruiser G-AKGJ "RMA Cambria" at Manchester in June 1954 en route to New York BOAC Britannia 312 landing at Manchester on a transatlantic flight in 1959 file:london heathrow airport in 1965 arp.jpg, London Heathrow Airport in 1965. Nearest the camera are two BOAC aircraft – a Vickers VC10 (with the high tail) and a Boeing 707. * Concorde, Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde (test flown by BOAC, then to British Airways for passenger service) * Airspeed Consul (1949–54) * Airspeed Oxford (1948–53) * Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta, Armstrong Whitworth A.W.15 Atalanta (1933–41) * Armstrong Whitworth Ensign, Armstrong Whitworth A.W.27 Ensign (1939–46) * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley V (1942–43) *

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

(1944–49) * Avro Lancastrian (1945–51) *

(1946–51) *

(1944–57) * Boeing 314A Clipper (1941–48) *

(1949–60) * Boeing 707-300 & -400 (1960–74) *

Boeing 747-100 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, to ...

(1969–74) *

(1955–66) *

Canadair C-4 Argonaut The Canadair North Star is a 1940s Canadian development, for Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA), of the Douglas DC-4. Instead of radial piston engines used by the Douglas design, Canadair used Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 engines to achieve a higher cruisin ...

(1949–60) * PBY Catalina, Consolidated Model 28 Catalina (1940–45) * Consolidated B-24 Liberator, Consolidated Model 32 Liberator (1941–51) * Curtiss C-46 Commando, Curtis Wright CW-20 - one aircraft (1941–43) * de Havilland Express, de Havilland DH.86 Express (1934–41) * de Havilland Albatross, de Havilland DH.91 Albatross (1938–43) * de Havilland Flamingo, de Havilland DH.95 Flamingo (1940–44) * de Havilland Mosquito, de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito (1943–45) * de Havilland Dove, de Havilland DH.104 Dove (1946–60) * de Havilland Comet, de Havilland DH.106 Comet (1952-54 & 1958–69) * Douglas DC-3, Douglas DC-3/C-47 Dakota (1943–50) * Douglas DC-7, Douglas DC-7C (1956–65) * Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor- one Danish Airlines aircraft interned (1940–42) * Handley Page Halifax, Handley Page H.P.70 Halifax/Halton (1946–48) * Handley Page Hermes, Handley Page H.P.81 Hermes (1949–57) * Lockheed 10 Electra (1937–44) * Lockheed 14 Super Electra (1938–44) * Lockheed Lodestar, Lockheed 18 Lodestar (1941–48) * Lockheed Hudson, Lockheed 414 Hudson (1941–45) * Lockheed Constellation, Lockheed L-049 & L-749 Constellation (1946–59) * Short Empire, Short S.23, S.30 & S.33 Empire (1937–47) * Short Sunderland, Short S.25 Sunderland/Hythe (1942–49) * Short Sandringham, Short S.25 Sandringham (1947–60) *

(1939–47) * Short Solent, Short S.45 Solent (1946–50) * Vickers VC10, Vickers VC10 & Super VC10 (1964-1974) * Vickers VC.1 Viking, Vickers Viking (1946–47) * Vickers Warwick - one aircraft (1944–45) * Vickers Wellington (1942–43) Dates above are for service with BOAC or its forerunners; those still in service in 1974 subsequently passed to British Airways.

Incidents and accidents

1940s

* On 22 April 1940, Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra G-AKFD ''Loch Invar'' crashed 10 miles off course at Beinn Uird, near Loch Lomond, Scotland, killing the three crew. * On 23 May 1940, Armstrong Whitworth Ensign G-ADSZ ''Elysean'' stalled and crashed at Merville Airport after the crew diverted to avoid an attack by a German fighter. *On 23 May 1940, Armstrong Whitworth Ensign G-ADTA ''Euryalus'' was damaged during a crash at RAF Lympne. It had been one of six that escaped a Luftwaffe raid on Merville–Calonne Airport, Merville Airfield, France. The intended destination was Croydon. Approaching the English coast, first she lost her port inner engine and the pilot diverted to RAF Hawkinge. Her starboard inner engine also had to be shut down shortly afterwards. The pilot changed course for Lympne. On landing, the starboard undercarriage failed to lock down, causing the wing to drag on the ground and the aircraft to go through a fence. ''Euryalus'' was flown to RAF Hamble in June, but it was decided to cannibalise her to repair G-ADSU ''Euterpe'' which had been damaged in an accident at Bonnington Aerodrome, Bonnington on 15 December 1939. ''Euryalus'' was scrapped in September 1942.
p203

). * On 1 September 1941, Consolidated Liberator C I ''AM915'' crashed into a hill outside Campbeltown, Argyll, after a flight from Montreal, killing all four crew and six passengers. * On 29 December 1941, Short Empire G-ADUX ''Cassiopeia'' crashed after striking debris on takeoff from Sabang, Indonesia, killing four. * On 30 January 1942, Short Empire G-AEUH ''Corio'' was shot down by seven Japanese fighter aircraft and 1942 Qantas Short Empire shootdown, crashed off West Timor, killing 13 of 18 on board. The aircraft was owned by BOAC, but was operated by Qantas. * On 15 February 1942, Consolidated Liberator C I G-AGDR was shot down by a Royal Air Force Supermarine Spitfire in error over the English Channel near Plymouth, England. All five crew and four passengers (including Townsend Griffiss) were killed. The RAF increased aircraft reconnaissance training in response to this incident. * On 28 February 1942, Short Empire G-AETZ ''Circe'' was shot down over the Pacific between Cilacap and Broome by a Japanese fighter, killing all 22 on board. This crash is the worst ever accident involving the Short Empire. The aircraft was operating for Qantas. * On 22 March 1942, Short Empire G-AEUF struck debris while landing and crashed at Port Darwin, Australia, killing two of 11 passengers on board; all four crew survived. * On 24 September 1942, Short Empire G-AFCZ ''Clare'' broke up and sank following a forced landing in the Atlantic off Senegal due to engine failure; all 19 on board died. * On 9 January 1943,

G-AFCK ''Golden Horn'' crashed in the Tagus River near Lisbon while attempting an emergency landing due to an in-flight fire, killing 13 of 15 on board. The aircraft was on a test flight following replacement of an engine. * On 15 February 1943, de Havilland Flamingo G-AFYE crashed at Asmara, Eritrea after going into a vertical dive from during a test flight, killing both pilots. * On 23 March 1943, Consolidated PBY Catalina G-AGDA ''Dog-Able'' crashed on landing at Poole Harbor during a training flight, killing three of six on board. * On 4 April 1943, Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar (C-56B) G-AGEJ was possibly shot down by a Junkers Ju 88 of Luftwaffe 10/NJG 3 and crashed 31 mi off Skagen, Denmark, killing all seven on board. * On 1 June 1943, BOAC Flight 777, Flight 777, a Douglas DC-3 G-AGBB was shot down over the Bay of Biscay by eight Nazi Germany, German Junkers Ju 88s of KG 40. All seventeen crew and passengers were killed, including actor Leslie Howard (actor), Leslie Howard. There has been widespread speculation that the downing was an attempt to kill British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The aircraft was owned and operated by KLM, flying for BOAC. * On 16 June 1943, Lockheed Hudson IV ''FK459'' stalled and crashed while turning for approach to Khartoum Civil Airport due to fuel starvation and engine failure, killing all 17 on board. The aircraft was an RAF military transport operating for BOAC. * On 30 June 1943, Lockheed Hudson IV ''FK618'' spiraled down and crashed near Khartoum, Sudan killing all 16 on board. The aircraft, an RAF military transport operating for BOAC, was probably overloaded. * On 28 July 1943, Short Sunderland 3 G-AGES, crashed into a hill in Dingle Peninsula near the village of Brandon, County Kerry, Brandon in Ireland on a flight from

to Foynes. The crash killed 10 passengers and crew out of 25 on board. * On 17 August 1943,

G-AGGF crashed near Glenshee, Perthshire. * On 25 October 1943, de Havilland Mosquito G-AGGG crashed near RAF Leuchars. * On 5 November 1943, Short Sunderland 3 G-AGIB crashed in the desert 75 miles south-southwest of Sollum, Libya after a portion of the right wing and float separated following an in-flight fire probably caused by an electrical problem; all 19 on board died. * On 17 December 1943, Lockheed Lodestar G-AGDE crashed into the sea off Leuchars, Scotland on a flight from RAF Leuchars to Stockholm-Bromma Airport. The accident killed all 10 passengers and crew on board the flight. * On 3 January 1944, de Havilland Mosquito G-AGGD stalled on landing at Lidköping-Hovby Airport, Såtenäs, Sweden and was written off. * On 19 August 1944, de Havilland Mosquito G-AGKP crashed into the North Sea off Leuchars, Fife. All three people on board were killed. * On 29 August 1944, Lockheed C-60A G-AGIH crashed after striking the top of Kinnekulle, Mount Kinnekulle near Lidköping,

, killing 11 of 15 on board. * On 29 August 1944, de Havilland Mosquito G-AGKR disappeared on a flight from Gothenburg, Sweden to RAF Leuchars with the loss of both crew. * On 29 November 1944, Lockheed Lodestar G-AGBW struck the side of Kinangop Peak, Kenya while descending for Nairobi in bad weather, killing all 11 on board; the wreckage was found on 1 January 1945. * On 21 February 1946, Consolidated Liberator II G-AGEM crashed on landing at Charlottetown, Canada due to icing, killing one of 14 on board. * On 23 March 1946, Avro Lancastrian I G-AGLX disappeared between Sri Lanka and the Cocos Islands with ten on board. The aircraft was owned by BOAC, but was operated by Qantas. * On 14 August 1946, Douglas C-47 Skytrain, Douglas Dakota III G-AGHT crashed at Luqa Airport due to fuel starvation after the auxiliary fuel tanks were selected by mistake, killing one of five on board. * On 20 August 1946, Avro Lancastrian 1 G-AGMF crashed at Rouen, France when the crew failed to correctly establish the aircraft's position during descent, killing eight of nine on board. * On 11 January 1947, Douglas Dakota III G-AGJX 1947 BOAC Douglas C-47 crash, crashed at Stowting, Kent whilst on an international scheduled flight from Heathrow to West Africa via Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport, Bordeaux. A number of attempts were made to divert in poor weather. The aircraft crashed whilst attempting to land at Lympne Airport, Lympne. Eight people were killed and eight injured of the five crew and 11 passengers. * On 16 July 1947,

C.1 G-AGNR crashed at Az-Zubair, Iran due to pilot and ATC errors, killing all six crew; all 12 passengers survived. * On 23 August 1947, Short Sandringham 5 G-AHZB crashed on landing at Bahrain Marine Air Base due to the pilot using an incorrect procedure for landing and takeoff, killing ten of 26 on board. * On 19 November 1947, Short Sunderland 3 G-AGHW struck high ground at Brightstone Down in poor visibility due to navigation errors by the pilot, killing one of four on board. * On 14 July 1948, Douglas Dakota IV G-AGKN crashed into cloud-covered cliffs near Toulon, France, killing all six on board. * September 5, 1948 - The Short S.25 Sunderland 3 with registration G-AGEW crashed on takeoff at

. The port float assembly collapsed on takeoff. The aircraft was turned over.

1950s

* On 26 May 1952, Flight 251, operated by Handley Page Hermes IV G-ALDN, force-landed 71 mi from Atar, Mauritania, due to fuel starvation after the aircraft had flown off course for several hours as a result of navigation and pilot errors. The aircraft had taken off from Tripoli, Libya, with the intended destination of Kano, Nigeria. All on board survived, but the first officer died of heat stroke five days later while awaiting rescue. * On 26 October 1952, DH Comet 1 G-ALYZ, the first Comet taken into service only the month before, crashed on takeoff at Ciampino Airport, Rome.There were no casualties and Italian investigators concluded pilot error as cause of this crash. The investigators found scrapes on the runway for over 650 yards, combined with the pilot report of not getting speed up after rotation and referencing the BOAC Comet manual which stated : "at 80 knots the nose should be raised until the rumble of the nose-wheel ceases. Care should be taken not to over do this and adopt an exaggerated tail down attitude with consequent poor acceleration". The conclusion was made: "An error of judgement by the captain in not appreciating the excessive nose up attitude of the Aircraft during take off". * On 2 May 1953, BOAC Flight 783, Flight 783/057, a de Havilland Comet I G-ALYV crashed 25 miles north-west of Calcutta, India, after suffering structural failure while climbing through 7,500 ft in a severe storm. The crash occurred shortly after take-off from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (then known as Dum Dum Airport) on a flight to Delhi, and killed all 43 passengers and crew on board. * On 10 January 1954, BOAC Flight 781, Flight 781, a de Havilland Comet I, G-ALYP, took off from Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy, en route to Heathrow Airport in London, England; as it was reaching cruising altitude it suffered an explosive decompression and crashed into the Tyrrhenian Sea near Elba, killing all 35 on board. * On 13 March 1954, a Lockheed L-749A Constellation, G-ALAM, 1954 BOAC Lockheed Constellation crash, crashed at Kallang Airport, Singapore, when it landed short and struck a sea wall after a flight from

, killing 33 people out of 40 passengers and crew on board. Pilot fatigue was cited as a contributing cause, and inadequate rescue services were implicitly blamed for some of the fatalities. * On 8 April 1954, de Havilland Comet I G-ALYY was operating South African Airways Flight 201 at night when it suffered what was almost certainly an explosive decompression at altitude and crashed into the sea near the island of Stromboli, off the Italian coast near Naples. The wreckage was never recovered, but all known evidence pointed to a repeat of the recent accident to G-ALYP. The aircraft was operating for South African Airways on charter from BOAC, with an SAA crew. * Early on Christmas Day 25 December 1954, at 0330 hours, a BOAC Boeing 377 Stratocruiser G-ALSA 1954 Prestwick air disaster, crashed on landing at Prestwick, killing 28 of the 36 passengers and crew on board. The aircraft was en route from London to New York when, on approach to an intermediate stop at Prestwick, it entered a steep descent before levelling out too late and too severely, hitting the ground short of the runway. The crash was attributed to a number of factors, including pilot fatigue (the captain was well over his duty limit due to the flight being delayed), the landing lights at Prestwick being out of action due to repair and the First Officer either not hearing a command from the Captain for landing lights (which may have helped judge the low cloud base) or mistakenly hitting the flaps, causing the aircraft to stall. * On 21 September 1955, Canadair North Star, Canadair Argonaut G-ALHL crashed during a storm at Tripoli International Airport after a flight from London and Rome. The aircraft, which was making its fourth attempt to land in the severe weather conditions, struck trees short of the runway. The accident and ensuing fire killed 15 passengers and crew out of 47 people on board. * On 24 June 1956, Canadair Argonaut G-ALHE 1956 Kano Airport BOAC Argonaut crash, crashed after taking off from Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport on a flight to Tripoli International Airport. The aircraft had reached 200 ft when it encountered a microburst, causing an abrupt loss of speed and altitude. With the Argonaut barely 20 ft above the ground the captain regained control, but too late to avoid colliding with a large baobab tree. The crash killed 32 passengers and crew out of 45 people on board. * On 24 December 1958, a Bristol Britannia 312 G-AOVD 1958 BOAC Bristol Britannia crash, crashed during a test flight near Winkton, England, killing nine of 12 on board.

1960s

* On 5 March 1966, BOAC Flight 911, Flight 911, a

G-APFE, crashed on Mount Fuji after experiencing clear air turbulence. All 124 on board died. * On 9 April 1968, BOAC Flight 712, Flight 712 a Rolls-Royce Conway engine exploded and broke off from the wing of a Boeing 707 G-ARWE ("Whisky-Echo") following take-off from London Heathrow Airport causing an uncontained wing fire. A successful emergency landing at Heathrow was carried out, but a stewardess and four passengers were killed and 38 other passengers were injured as the fire spread during evacuation. The stewardess, Barbara Jane Harrison, was awarded a posthumous George Cross for her part in helping passengers escape.

1970s

* On 9 September 1970, BOAC Flight 775, Flight 775, operated by Vickers VC10 G-ASGN, became the first British plane to be hijacked as part of the Dawson's Field hijackings. * In the early hours of 22 July 1971, BOAC Flight 045 from London to Khartoum was ordered by air control in Malta (and allegedly forced to obey the order by Libyan military jets) to land at Benghazi at 3.30 am. Sudanese rebel leader Babiker El Nur, announced as president a week before in 1971 Sudanese coup d'état, a political coup, and his companion Major Farouk Hamadallah, were instructed to leave the aircraft, or the fighter planes would bomb it. El Nur quickly agreed to leave, in order to save the lives of the other passengers. He and Hamadallah were quickly taken off the aircraft to be held at gunpoint. Despite strong British government protests to the Sudan about the outrage, and an appeal to Jaafar Nimeiry, President Nimeiry for clemency, the men were both executed within a week. * On 3 August 1971, BOAC Flight 600, operated by a Boeing 747 from Montreal to London, was diverted to Denver, Colorado due to a bomb hoax inspired by a TV film ''Doomsday Flight''. The aircraft travelled 3,200 miles out of its way to land in Denver. The supposed bomb was thought to be triggered by flying below 5,000 feet. Denver's airport was above 5,000 feet.

Non-fatal accidents

1940s

* On 14 September 1940, Short Scylla G-ACJJ ''Scylla'' was destroyed in a windstorm while parked at RAF Drem, Scotland. * On 6 October 1940, de Havilland Albatross G-AFDL ''Fingal'' crashed at Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire during a ferry flight; all three on board survived. * On 24 November 1940, Douglas DC-3 G-AGBI and Armstrong Whitworth Ensign II G-ADTC were destroyed on the ground at Whitchurch Airfield during a German daylight bombing raid. * On 20 December 1940, de Havilland Albatross G-AFDI ''Frobisher'' was destroyed on the ground by a German air raid while parked at Whitchurch Airfield. * On 15 February 1941, Short Empire G-AFCX ''Clyde'' was wrecked in a gale at

, Portugal. * On 23 June 1942, Lockheed Hudson III G-AGDF ditched in the Gullmarsfjorden off Skredewick, Sweden after one engine failed and the other caught fire; all 10 on board survived. * On 16 July 1943, de Havilland Albatross G-AFDK ''Fortuna'' crashed while on approach to Shannon Airport due to wing failure; all 14 on board survived. * On 21 April 1944, Douglas C-47 G-AGFZ was written off following a landing accident at Bromma Airport; the aircraft was sold to AB Aerotransport for spare parts. * On 2 May 1945, Lockheed C-60A G-AGLI ditched in the Baltic Sea in Sikeåfjärden off Västerbotten, Sweden after the crew became disorientated; all nine on board survived and were rescued by locals.

1950s

* On 26 October 1952, de Havilland Comet 1A G-ALYZ failed to gain altitude and crashed on takeoff from Ciampino Airport due to pilot error; all 43 on board survived, but the aircraft was written off, resulting in the first hull-loss of the Comet. * On 25 July 1953, de Havilland Comet 1 G-ALYR experienced a runway excursion while taxiing at Dum Dum Airport. While taxiing, the crew used the landing lights because the taxi lights were too dim. In a left turn while alternating between the left and right lights, the pilot took his hand off the steering wheel, causing the steering to center. The right side main landing gear left the runway; right side engine power was increased and this caused the landing gear to be forced up into the wing, causing severe damage. All 42 on board survived; the aircraft was written off.

1960s

* On 14 March 1960, de Havilland Comet 4 G-APDS struck a ridge while on approach to Barajas Airport, tearing off the landing gear wheels and port side wing fuel tank and damaging the port wing flaps. The pilot abandoned the approach and performed an emergency landing with the damaged gear down. All 32 on board survived and the aircraft was repaired and returned to service. The aircraft was flying too low during the approach. * On 22 August 1960, de Havilland Comet 4 G-APDB took off from a runway at Cairo International Airport that was under construction. The port side main landing gear fell into a hole, breaking off the axles and wheels; all 60 on board survived and the aircraft was repaired and returned to service. * On 24 December 1960, Boeing 707-436 G-APFN overran the runway on landing at Heathrow Airport; all 106 on board survived and the aircraft was repaired and returned to service. The aircraft had come in too fast and landed too far down the runway as a result. * On 9 March 1964, de Havilland Comet 4 G-APDN suffered a tailstrike while landing at Mehrabad Airport, damaging the underside of the fuselage and control of the elevators was lost, but the aircraft continued the landing without further incident. All 57 on board survived.

In popular culture

The Beatles song "Back in the U.S.S.R." references a flight from Miami Beach aboard a BOAC aircraft. In the song Montego Bay by Bobby Bloom, the first line is Vernon will meet me when the BOAC lands. It is referenced in the James Tiptree Jr. story "The Last Flight of Dr. Ain." Multiple references throughout the Netflix TV Series The Crown (TV series), The Crown. In The Sopranos, Season 6 Episode 19 “The Second Coming," Paulie Walnuts reminisces that he was dosed with Lsd, LSD when a BOAC stewardess put it in his drink, during a 1968 visit to the Copacabana (nightclub), Copacabana nightclub. In Ian Fleming's Goldfinger, a BOAC aircraft is hijacked by the villain, Auric Goldfinger, and James Bond held captive upon it until he is able to retrieve the situation. One of the Concorde aircraft operated by British Airways was tail-named G-BOAC. Because of this coincidental reference to BOAC, it was designated the flagship of the Fleet. It is currently on permanent display at Manchester Airport.

Notes

Bibliography

*Cooper, Barbara, ed. ''B.O.A.C Book of Flight.'' London: Max Parrish, 1959. *Higham, Robin. ''Speedbird: The Complete History of BOAC.'' London: I.B. Tauris, distributed by Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. 491-page scholarly history. . *Jackson, A.J. ''Avro Aircraft since 1908.'' London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1990. . *Munson, Kenneth. ''Pictorial History of BOAC and Imperial Airways.'' London: Ian Allan, 1970. . *Penrose, Harald. ''Wings Across the World: An Illustrated History of British Airways.'' London: Cassell, 1980 . * John Pudney, Pudney, John. ''The Seven Skies: A Study of B.O.A.C. and its Forerunners Since 1919.'' Putnam, 1959. * * * Turner-Hughes, Charles. "Armstrong Whitworth's Willing Whitley". ''Air Enthusiast'', No. 9, February–May 1979, pp. 10–25. . *Woodley, Charles. ''BOAC: An Illustrated History.'' Stroud, England: Tempus, 2004. .

External links

British Airways Archive and Museum Collection

BOAC Junior Jet Club Information

BOAC Junior Jet Club Facebook Group

Catalogue of the BOAC Operational Research Branch archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
BOAC's first New York service August 1940, CLARE at La Guardia Marine terminal, colour photos, LIFE magazine
* {{Authority control British Overseas Airways Corporation, Airlines established in 1939 Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom Former nationalised industries of the United Kingdom Defunct seaplane operators Airlines disestablished in 1974 1974 mergers and acquisitions British companies established in 1939 British companies disestablished in 1974