Handley Page Transport Ltd was an

airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...

company founded in 1919, soon after the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, by

Frederick Handley Page Sir Frederick Handley Page, CBE, FRAeS (15 November 1885 – 21 April 1962) was an English industrialist who was a pioneer in the aircraft industry and became known as the father of the heavy bomber. His company Handley Page Limited was ...

. The company's first planes were

Handley Page Type O The Handley Page Type O was a biplane bomber used by Britain during the First World War. When built, the Type O was the largest aircraft that had been built in the UK and one of the largest in the world. There were two main variants, the Handl ...

/400 bombers modified for passenger use. They flew a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

route. Per a request from the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of Stat ...

, the Handley Page Type W8 was later used for flights to both Paris and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. On 31 March 1924 the assets and operations of Handley were merged with three other British airlines to found

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers ...

. That company remained dormant until reconstituted to take over operations for

Miles Aircraft Miles was the name used between 1943 and 1947 to market the aircraft of British engineer Frederick George Miles, who, with his wife – aviator and draughtswoman Maxine "Blossom" Miles (née Forbes-Robertson) – and his brother George Herber ...

in 1947 as ''Handley Page (Reading) Ltd.'' The world's first in-flight meal was offered by Handley Page Transport.

Cricklewood Aerodrome

Cricklewood Aerodrome was adjacent to the

Handley Page Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick) in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidatio ...

factory in

Cricklewood Cricklewood is an area of London, England, which spans the boundaries of three London boroughs: Barnet to the east, Brent to the west and Camden to the south-east. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north ...

, which had been established in 1912. The airfield was used by the factory and the transport company. Until 17 February 1920 Handley Page Transport used Hounslow Heath Aerodrome to embark and disembark passengers for

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

clearance, as customs facilities were not provided at Cricklewood initially. A London-Paris air service from Cricklewood Aerodrome was inaugurated in 1920. The aerodrome closed in 1929 due to suburban development, and the

Golders Green Estate The Golders Green Estate is a private housing development in the London Borough of Barnet situated within the London NW2 postcode area. It is bounded by (and includes) Cotswold Gardens and Cheviot Gardens and was built by John Laing & Co on th ...

was built on the site. A new aerodrome was built at

Radlett Radlett is a village in Hertfordshire, England, between Elstree and St Albans on Watling Street, with a population of 8,042. It is in the council district of Hertsmere in the south of the county, and is covered by two wards; Aldenham East an ...

, where most aircraft were then constructed. At Cricklewood construction of aircraft continued until 1964, when the premises were sold to become the Cricklewood trading estate.

Accidents and incidents

On 14 December 1920 a Handley Page O/400 used by the airline crashed on take-off from Cricklewood Aerodrome, hitting a tree; both crew and two of the six passengers died. On 14 January 1922, the Handley Page Transport

Handley Page O/10 The Handley Page Type O was a biplane bomber used by Britain during the First World War. When built, the Type O was the largest aircraft that had been built in the UK and one of the largest in the world. There were two main variants, the Handle ...

''G-EATN'', operating on a scheduled passenger flight from

Croydon Airport Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main airp ...

in London to Paris–Le Bourget Airport outside Paris, crashed while on approach to Le Bourget; all five people on board died.Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description
/ref>

References

External links

Photos of inaugural London-Paris service, 1920

{{Airlines of the United Kingdom Airlines established in 1919 1919 establishments in England Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom Handley Page

Cricklewood Aerodrome

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

External links