Transmeridian Air Cargo was a British cargo airline that operated from 1962 until 1979 when it merged with

IAS Cargo Airlines International Aviation Services Limited, trading as IAS Cargo Airlines from 1975, is a defunct wholly privately owned, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline that was based at London Gatwick Airport in the Un ...

to form British Cargo Airlines.

History

Transmeridian began operations under the name Trans Meridian Flying Service on 5 October 1962 and began operations on 1 November 1962 using a

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s ...

. The airline was then based at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and used the DC-4 for freight and passenger charters. A second DC-4 (both were ex-military

Douglas C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian a ...

) was bought and freight services to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and

Paris–Le Bourget Airport Paris–Le Bourget Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport de Paris-Le Bourget) is an airport located within portions of the communes of Le Bourget, Bonneuil-en-France, Dugny and Gonesse, north-northeast of Paris, France. Once Paris's principal ...

were begun. At the beginning of 1965 the DC-4s were replaced by

Douglas DC-7C The Douglas DC-7 is an American transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. A derivative of the DC-6, it was the last major piston engine-powered transport made by Douglas, being developed shortly after the earl ...

and a year later two more DC-7s were acquired. With the expansion in the fleet freight services to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

were started. By the end of 1967 the company was taken over by Trans World Leasing and converted into a pure freight operation, with that the name was changed to Transmeridian Air Cargo. Canadair CL-44D-4 G-AXUL Tr Meridian STA 16

Canadair CL-44D-4 G-AXUL Tr Meridian STA 16

In 1968 the

Canadair CL-44 The Canadair CL-44 was a Canadian turboprop airliner and cargo aircraft based on the Bristol Britannia that was developed and produced by Canadair in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although innovative, only a small number of the aircraft were ...

was introduced and eventually eight examples were incorporated the fleet, all being fitted with swinging rear fuselages to facilitate the loading of large items of cargo. It was during this period that the base of operations was moved to

London Stansted Airport London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...

. Operations continued throughout the 1970s with 1975 being the year when a base was set up in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

for freight flights to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In 1977 the Trafalgar House Group bought 90% of Transmeridian and on 15 August 1979 merged it with IAS Cargo Airlines to form British Cargo Airlines, which later became HeavyLift Cargo.

Fleet

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 ...

ex Douglas C-54 Skymaster * Douglas DC-7C Seven Seas *

Short Belfast The Short Belfast (or Shorts Belfast)Mondey 1981, p. 228. is a heavy lift turboprop freighter that was built by British manufacturer Short Brothers at Belfast. Only 10 aircraft were constructed, all of which entered service with the Royal Air ...

* Canadair CL-44D4-2 * Canadair CL-44-O Guppy * Douglas DC-8-54F * Boeing 737-2B1(C)

Accidents and incidents

*On 2 September 1977 G-ATZH a CL-44 on a non-scheduled cargo flight from Hong Kong to the United Kingdom crashed on departure from Hong Kong Airport. All four crew were killed. The cause was due to loss of control after the right out wing and Number 4 engine had separated from the aircraft following an engine fire.Civil Aviation Authority Accident Investigation Division report on the accident to Canadair CL44 G-ATZH
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Airlines of the United Kingdom Airlines established in 1962 Airlines disestablished in 1979 Defunct cargo airlines Defunct charter airlines of the United Kingdom Defunct companies based in Liverpool Defunct companies based in London 1962 establishments in England 1979 disestablishments in England

History

Fleet

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

External links