National Air Communications was a British government organisation that directed civilian flying operations from the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

until April 1940. Ensign G-ADTC 1940

Pre-war preparations

During the 1930s, and up to 1938, the British government progressively implemented the recommendations of the Maybury Committee Report and related later reports, by organising and installing

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

, weather reporting, navigation and radio systems for civilian aviation. In 1938, the

Air Transport Licensing Authority The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

(ATLA) was set up by the ''Air Navigation (Licensing of Public Transport) Order 1938'', under the ''Air Navigation Act 1936'' (s.5). Chaired by Trustam Eve, the ATLA issued provisional licences to airports and to air transport companies operating regular services, throughout 1938 and 1939. Licensing, and some subsidising of services, was conditional on agreements that commercial aircraft fleets would be made available to the government in a national emergency. In parallel, the

Civil Air Guard The Civil Air Guard (C.A.G.) was established by the UK Government in July 1938 to encourage and subsidise pilot training as the prospect of another war loomed. Subsidised tuition for members of participating civilian flying clubs was offered in ex ...

scheme of 1938 provided subsidised pilot training in return for future military call-up commitments. At that time, 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 State ...

, headed by

Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state position in the British government, which existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretar ...

, Sir

Kingsley Wood Sir Howard Kingsley Wood (19 August 1881 – 21 September 1943) was a British Conservative politician. The son of a Wesleyan Methodist minister, he qualified as a solicitor, and successfully specialised in industrial insurance. He became a membe ...

, was responsible for both military and civil aviation, and the Director-General of Civil Aviation was Sir

Francis Shelmerdine Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Claude Shelmerdine (25 October 1881 – July 1945) was a senior officer in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War and a civil servant working in connection with civil aviation in the post-war years. Most ...

Activation and dispersal

On 29 August 1939, prior to the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939, the British government started to implement the ''Air Navigation (Restriction in Time of War) Order 1939''. That ordered military takeover of most civilian airfields in the UK, cessation of all private flying without individual flight permits, and other emergency measures. It was administered by a statutory department of the Air Ministry titled National Air Communications (NAC). On 31 August 1939, all flights to mainland Europe were briefly suspended, later reinstated under the organisation of NAC. By 1 September 1939, most of the aircraft and facilities of

British Airways Ltd British Airways Ltd was a British airline company operating in Europe in the period 1935–1939. It was formed in 1935 by the merger of Spartan Air Lines Ltd, United Airways Ltd (no relation to the US carrier United Airlines), and Hillman's A ...

(BAL) were transferred from

Heston Airport Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, Ne ...

Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport, also known as Whitchurch Airport, was a municipal airport in Bristol, England, three miles (5 km) south of the city centre, from 1930 to 1957. It was the main airport for Bristol and the surrounding area. Durin ...

, and to

Exeter Airport Exeter Airport , formerly ''Exeter International Airport'', is an international airport located at Clyst Honiton in East Devon, close to the city of Exeter and within the county of Devon, South West England. Exeter has a CAA Public Use Ae ...

. Similarly, landplanes of

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. Passenger ...

were transferred 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 air ...

to Whitchurch, while others were temporarily dispersed to Coventry (Baginton) Airport and Exeter Airport. Imperial Airways' flying boats were transferred from Southampton marine aerodrome to

Poole Harbour Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley (ria) formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being th ...

, Dorset. All the usable fleets of private air transport companies were dispersed: *Air Commerce Ltd, from Croydon Airport to

Ronaldsway Airport Ronaldsway () is a place in the parish of Malew in the south of the Isle of Man, between the village of Ballasalla and the town of Castletown. Features It is notable as the location of Isle of Man Airport and historically of RNAS Ronaldsway, to ...

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. *Air Dispatch Ltd, from Croydon Airport to

RAF Pengam Moors Royal Air Force Pengam Moors (or more simply RAF Pengam Moors, or also known as RAF Cardiff) is a former Royal Air Force station and maintenance unit (MU), located on the Pengam Moors area of Tremorfa, 2 miles south east of Cardiff city centre i ...

Aerodrome, Cardiff. *Air Taxis Ltd, from Croydon Airport to

Barton Aerodrome City Airport is an airport in Barton-upon-Irwell, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester. Formerly known as Barton Aerodrome and City Airport Manchester, It is known by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as Manchester/Barton. The U ...

, Manchester * Allied Airways (Gandar Dower) Ltd, at Aberdeen (Dyce) Airport. *Birkett Air Service Ltd, from Heston Airport to Liverpool (Speke) Airport. *British-American Air Services Ltd, from Heston Airport to Liverpool (Speke) Airport. *Great Western & Southern Air Lines Ltd, from

Land's End Airport Land's End Airport , situated near St Just in Penwith, west of Penzance, in Cornwall, is the most south westerly airport of mainland Britain. The airport is owned by the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company (ISSC). ISSC's subsidiary Land's End ...

to Liverpool (Speke) Airport. *

Isle of Man Air Services Isle of Man Air Services Ltd (IoMAS) was a small airline, based at Ronaldsway Airport Isle of Man, which operated scheduled flights to the English and Scottish mainland between formation in September 1937 and nationalisation in January 1947. H ...

Ltd, at Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man. *

Jersey Airways Jersey Airways was an airline that operated air services to and from the Channel Islands from 1933 until 1947, when it became part of British European Airways. History Jersey Airways Limited was formed by Walter Thurgood on 9 December 1933. ...

Ltd, at

Jersey Airport Jersey Airport is an international airport located in the parish of Saint Peter, west northwest of Saint Helier in Jersey, in the Channel Islands. History Air service to Jersey before 1937 consisted of biplane airliners and some seaplanes la ...

. *

North Eastern Airways North Eastern Airways (NEA) was a British airline which operated from 1935 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Based initially in Newcastle upon Tyne, it operated routes from Scotland to London in competition with the railways, retaining ...

Ltd, from Croydon Airport to Liverpool (Speke) Airport. *

Olley Air Service Morton Air Services was one of the earliest post-World War II private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airlines formed in 1945. It mainly operated regional short-haul scheduled services within the British Isles and ...

Ltd, from Croydon Airport to Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man. *Personal Airways Ltd, from Croydon Airport to Manchester (Barton) Aerodrome. *Portsmouth, Southsea & Isle of Wight Aviation Ltd, from Portsmouth Airport to Cardiff (Pengam Moors) Aerodrome. *

Railway Air Services Railway Air Services (RAS) was a British airline formed in March 1934 by the Big Four railway companies (the GWR, LMS, LNER and SR) and Imperial Airways. The airline was a domestic airline operating routes within the United Kingdom linking up ...

Ltd, from

Glasgow (Renfrew) Airport Renfrew Airport was the domestic airport serving the city of Glasgow until it was decommissioned in 1966. It was located in the Newmains area of Renfrew, approximately 2 kilometres east of Abbotsinch Airfield which would eventually replace it. I ...

to Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport. *

Scottish Airways Scottish Airways was an airline serving most of Scotland, especially the Highlands and Islands. It was active from 1937 until 1947, when it was merged into British European Airways. History Foundation The company was established on 12 August 1 ...

Ltd, at Glasgow (Renfrew) Airport. *Surrey Flying Services Ltd, from Croydon Airport to Weston-super-Mare Airport. *

Western Airways Western Airways was an airline based in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England between 1932 and 1978. Before World War II, for a short period, it was the world's busiest airline. It survived WWII by using its aircraft engineering expertise. Hist ...

Ltd, at Weston-super-Mare Airport. *Wrightways Ltd, from Croydon Airport to Manchester (Barton) Aerodrome. Other aircraft were incorporated into the above fleets from Anglo-European Airways Ltd, Commercial Air Hire Ltd, Guernsey Airways Ltd, International Air Freight Ltd, Mutual Finance Ltd, Southern Airways Ltd, West Coast Air Services Ltd, plus several from the Air Ministry, flying clubs and private owners. Camouflage was applied to some aircraft immediately, others later or not at all. Most NAC aircraft progressively carried civilian registrations underlined in red, white and blue, plus RAF-style marks on fins and elsewhere, particularly for overseas flights.

Operations

From its headquarters at Whitchurch, NAC directed operations of the fleets of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd, to support the transportation of military personnel and supplies to France, and to continue basic overseas civilian services. The fleets operated by the smaller private companies were also directed by NAC, and variously used to maintain essential civilian services within the UK, but also for army co-operation duties and transportation of blood supplies, particularly to France. On 1 April 1940, British Airways Ltd and Imperial Airways Ltd were officially combined into a new company,

BOAC 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 passi ...

(British Overseas Airways Corporation), that had already been formed on 24 November 1939 with retrospective financial arrangements. On 27 March, it was announced that many of the non-scheduled functions of NAC would be taken over by the RAF.

Associated Airways Joint Committee

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), on 27 June 1940, NAC was replaced by a new organisation, the Associated Airways Joint Committee (AAJC), chaired by Sir Harold Hartley. By then, BOAC separately administered overseas flights, such as to non-aligned and neutral nations. The AAJC, from its base at Liverpool (Speke) Airport, took direct control of most of the private air transport operators. From early 1940, about 950 private aircraft, including most of the former NAC fleet, were eventually impressed into RAF service, and suitably militarised as required.

No. 24 Squadron RAF No. 24 Squadron (also known as No. XXIV Squadron) of the Royal Air Force is the Air Mobility Operational Conversion Unit (AMOCU). Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 24 Squadron is responsible for aircrew training on C-130J Hercules, A400 ...

was a major recipient and operator of miscellaneous impressed aircraft.

Notes

References

* * * * * * *{{cite journal , last=Yea , first=Hugh J. , date=1989 , title=September 1939: Westwards to Whitchurch , journal=Putnam Aeronautical Review , issue=3 September 1989 , ISBN=0-85177-526-8 Aviation organisations based in the United Kingdom 1939 establishments in the United Kingdom 1945 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Air Ministry during World War II