British Civil Aviation in 1919 - Part 1

Part 2

10 January
No.2 (Communications) Squadron start regular passenger and mail services between London and Paris, mainly to benefit the peace conference held at Versailles.

13 December - 16 January
Squadron Leader Maclaren, Lieutenant R. Halley and others begin the first flight from England to India, flying in a Handley Page V/1500 heavy bomber. They arrive in Delhi on January 16th having flown via Rome and Baghdad.

February
Aircraft Transport & Travel Ltd (AT&T) start an express parcel air-service between Folkestone and Ghent, to carry food, clothing and military resources to Belgium.

12 February
The Department of Civil Aviation is established.

17 February
Short's airship factory at Cardington is nationalised and renamed the Royal Airship Works.

13 April
The Vickers Vimy Commercial aircraft makes its first flight.

23 April
The North Sea Aerial Navigation Company is formed as a domestic airline, using surplus military Blackburn RT1 Kangaroo Torpedo Bombers. Each aircraft can carry seven passengers, flying between Hounslow and Leeds.

30 April
Civil flying in Britain is formally restored with the issue of Air Navigation Regulations 1919, which authorise civil flying from 1 May.

May
The Duke of York (later King George VI) becomes the first United Kingdom Royal pilot when he begins instruction at Waddon Aerodrome, where his instructor, Lieutenant Coryton, recorded that the Duke showed little aptitude for flying.

May
The de Havilland DH16 four-seater passenger airliner enters service with Aircraft Transport & Travel and flys to Amsterdam in July for a demonstration at the Dutch First Air Traffic Exhibition.

18 May
Harry Hawker and Lieutenant Commander K.F. Mackenzie-Grieve attempt a non-stop transatlantic flight between Newfoundland and the United Kingdom. They land on the sea the following day, approximately 1,000 miles east of Newfoundland and are picked up by a Danish vessel. The Daily Mail Newspaper rewards them £5,000 for their attempt.

24 May
Avro Civil Aviation Service begins the first domestic airline service in Britain, offering daily flights between Manchester, Southport and Blackpool. The service lasts 4 months.

7 June
British Airline Daimler Air Hire is established and later becomes known as Daimler Airway.

14 June
Handley Page Transport establishes its first service, flying between Cricklewood and Bournemouth.

14-15 June
Captain J. Alcock and Lieutenant A. Whitten Brown make the first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic, flying in a Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's in Newfoundland to Clifden in County Galway in Ireland. After a total flying time of 16 hours 27 minutes they crash land in a bog at Clifden Station, mistaking soft ground for hard. Both Alcock and Brown are Knighted for their achievement.

25 June
Gordon Selfridge, founder of the Selfridge's department store in Oxford Street in London, becomes the first businessman to charter an aeroplane exclusively for business use. He hires a de Havilland DH9 from Aircraft Transport & Travel, for an urgent trip to Dublin. Leaving Hendon after lunch, he arrives at RAF Baldonnel 3 hours 15 minutes later.

Part 2