To Flesh Out Post 43...
Phase 2 - 1924-37 - Imperial Airways - Aircraft
The source of both lists is Robin Higham's book and the Imperial Airways list does not include aircraft lent to the firm by the Air Ministry.
IOTL Imperial Airways inherited 15 aircraft as follows:
Although I have quadrupled Government spending on civil aviation to 31st March 1924 ITTL I think that Imperial Airways would have inherited 6 to 8 times more aircraft from its predecessors.
I think that Imperial Airways would have inherited 60 aircraft from the two companies that were operating the European routes and that they would be a straight quadrupling of the types listed above. Or it would have inherited a smaller number of higher capacity aircraft. So instead of 44 single-engine De Havilland and Supermarine aircraft it might have a smaller number of twin-engine or tri-motor aircraft. Instead of 4 Handley Page O/10 and 12 W.8 which had 2 engines it might have a smaller number of Handley Page V/40 and Y.32 which would be four-engine machines descended from the V/1500.
The 2 airlines that operated the imperial routes would have only used multi-engine types and bequeathed 30-60 of them to Imperial Airways. They would probably be a mix of H.P. Page Types O, H.P. Type W, Vickers Vimy Commercials and twin engine flying boats based on the Felixstowe F.5. Or there might be a smaller number of larger airliners derived from the Handley Page V/1500 and the Felixstowe Fury.
Then between 1924 and the end of 1936 it acquired 77 aircraft as follows:
According to A History of the World's Airlines by R.E.G. Davies there were 31 airlines in Europe in 1931 operating 762 aircraft between them. Only one of them, Imperial Airways, was British and it operated only 22 aircraft. This compared very badly to France, Germany and Italy:
IOTL Europe had 839 airliners belonging to 30 airlines in 1939 including 220 (over 25%) belonging to Lufthansa. The British airline fleet had grown to 155 aircraft including 88 operated by the overseas airlines (Imperial Airways and British Airways Mk 1) and 67 operated by Railway Air Services and the independents.
At the start of this I was going to have Imperial Airways with 88 aircraft in 1931 and have a national fleet of 310 aircraft in 1939 including 176 belonging to the overseas airlines. However, as I now have 176 aircraft in 1931 a total of 310 in 1939 including 176 operated by the overseas airliners seems to be too small, but 620 including 352 operated by the overseas air lines would give the UK nearly 50% of the 1,294 aircraft in the European fleet.
In terms of the number of individual aircraft instead of 7 A.W. Argosies, 9 D.H.66s and 4 H.P. W.10s delivered from 1926 it would have been 56, 72 and 32 respectively. Then it would have been: 40 Short Calcuttas from 1925; 24 Westland Wessexes from 1929; 16 Avro Tens, 64 H.P.42s and 24 Short Kents from 1931; 64 A.W. Atlantas from 1932. But from about 1934 when there was less difference between the OTL and TTL Imperial Airways networks it would go back to 4 times OTL so: 52 D.H.86 from 1934; 8 Avro 652, 8 Boulton Paul P.71A and 4 Vickers Vellox from 1935. The exception would be 16 Short L.17 Scylla from 1934 instead of 8.
However, I also want some qualitative improvements.
Instead of the OTL H.P.42 and 43 I want monoplanes with fixed undercarriages. Handley Page did eventually do this by converting the H.P.43 prototype into the H.P.51 which was effectively the prototype of the H.P.54 Harrow which was used as a transport aircraft by the RAF after it was withdrawn from the bomber squadrons. ITTL I want Handley Page to build 450 Harrows made up of 124 bombers in place of the Heyford (which entered RAF service in 1933), 76 bombers in place of the 76 Fairey Hendons ordered (only 14 built), 100 Harrow bombers of OTL and 150 bomber transports in place of the 80 Bristol Bombays ordered (50 built) and 72 Vickers Valentias (28 new aircraft and 54 conversions).
Meanwhile instead of the 8 H.P.42 and 2 Short Scylla of OTL Imperial Airways buys 80 monoplane versions of the H.P.42 or looking it another way an enlarged 4-engine version of the H.P.51.
I also want some jggery pokery to have the Short Knuckleduster built instead of the Short Singapore Mk 1, with 64 enlarged versions with 4 engines unimaginatively named the Super Knuckleduster built for Imperial Airways instead of the Calcutta and Kent.
Phase 2 - 1924-37 - Imperial Airways - Aircraft
The source of both lists is Robin Higham's book and the Imperial Airways list does not include aircraft lent to the firm by the Air Ministry.
IOTL Imperial Airways inherited 15 aircraft as follows:
1 De Havilland D.H.4A
7 De Havilland D.H.34
1 Handley Page O/10
3 Handley Page W.8
2 Supermarine Sea Eagle
1 Vickers Vimy Commercial
7 De Havilland D.H.34
1 Handley Page O/10
3 Handley Page W.8
2 Supermarine Sea Eagle
1 Vickers Vimy Commercial
Although I have quadrupled Government spending on civil aviation to 31st March 1924 ITTL I think that Imperial Airways would have inherited 6 to 8 times more aircraft from its predecessors.
I think that Imperial Airways would have inherited 60 aircraft from the two companies that were operating the European routes and that they would be a straight quadrupling of the types listed above. Or it would have inherited a smaller number of higher capacity aircraft. So instead of 44 single-engine De Havilland and Supermarine aircraft it might have a smaller number of twin-engine or tri-motor aircraft. Instead of 4 Handley Page O/10 and 12 W.8 which had 2 engines it might have a smaller number of Handley Page V/40 and Y.32 which would be four-engine machines descended from the V/1500.
The 2 airlines that operated the imperial routes would have only used multi-engine types and bequeathed 30-60 of them to Imperial Airways. They would probably be a mix of H.P. Page Types O, H.P. Type W, Vickers Vimy Commercials and twin engine flying boats based on the Felixstowe F.5. Or there might be a smaller number of larger airliners derived from the Handley Page V/1500 and the Felixstowe Fury.
Then between 1924 and the end of 1936 it acquired 77 aircraft as follows:
3 De Havilland D.H.50 from 1924
1 Handley Page W.08f Hamilton from 1924
3 Vickers Type 074 Vulcan from 1924
1 Handley Page W.09 Hampstead from 1925
7 Armstrong Whitworth Argosy from 1926
9 De Havilland D.H.66 Hercules from 1926
4 Handley Page W.10 from 1926
5 Short S.08 Calcutta from 1928
3 Westland Wessex from 1929
2 Avro618 Ten from1931
8 Handley Page H.P.42 from 1931
3 Short S.17 Kent/Scipio from 1931
8 Armstrong Whitworth Atlanta from 1932
13 De Havilland D.H.86 from 1934
2 Short L.17 Scylla from 1934
2 Avro652 from 1935
2 Boulton Paul P.71A from 1935
1 Vickers Type 212 Vellox from 1935
1 Handley Page W.08f Hamilton from 1924
3 Vickers Type 074 Vulcan from 1924
1 Handley Page W.09 Hampstead from 1925
7 Armstrong Whitworth Argosy from 1926
9 De Havilland D.H.66 Hercules from 1926
4 Handley Page W.10 from 1926
5 Short S.08 Calcutta from 1928
3 Westland Wessex from 1929
2 Avro618 Ten from1931
8 Handley Page H.P.42 from 1931
3 Short S.17 Kent/Scipio from 1931
8 Armstrong Whitworth Atlanta from 1932
13 De Havilland D.H.86 from 1934
2 Short L.17 Scylla from 1934
2 Avro652 from 1935
2 Boulton Paul P.71A from 1935
1 Vickers Type 212 Vellox from 1935
According to A History of the World's Airlines by R.E.G. Davies there were 31 airlines in Europe in 1931 operating 762 aircraft between them. Only one of them, Imperial Airways, was British and it operated only 22 aircraft. This compared very badly to France, Germany and Italy:
- The 3 German airlines operated 177 aircraft between them, including the 145 belonging to Lufthansa.
- The 6 Italian airlines operated 90 aircraft between them.
- The 5 French airlines operated 295 aircraft between them. The largest was Aeroposal with 172 aircraft and only Air Orient with 16 aircraft had fewer than Imperial Airways.
- Belgium's SABENA had 43 aircraft, including its network in the Belgian Congo.
- Czechoslovakia's CSA had 22 aircraft.
- Netherlands KLM had 23 aircraft.
- Poland's LOT had 23 aircraft.
- Operating more routes more intensively 1924-37. IOTL Imperial Airways was only operating as far as Delhi and Tanganyika in 1931. ITTL it was flying to Hong, Kong, New Zealand, South Africa and South America, plus a more extensive and intensive European services.
- IOTL £2 million was spent on the Imperial Airship Scheme, but the £8 million available for the scheme ITTL was spent on Imperial Airways.
- Aircraft would be cheaper allowing more than 4 times as many to be built with 4 times the money. The small production runs of OTL resulted in high unit costs. ITTL the fixed costs were spread over a larger number of aircraft and the larger number of aircraft allowed larger scale construction methods to be used, whereas most of the aircraft Imperial Airways purchased before the Ensign and Empire Flying Boat were virtually hand built.
IOTL Europe had 839 airliners belonging to 30 airlines in 1939 including 220 (over 25%) belonging to Lufthansa. The British airline fleet had grown to 155 aircraft including 88 operated by the overseas airlines (Imperial Airways and British Airways Mk 1) and 67 operated by Railway Air Services and the independents.
At the start of this I was going to have Imperial Airways with 88 aircraft in 1931 and have a national fleet of 310 aircraft in 1939 including 176 belonging to the overseas airlines. However, as I now have 176 aircraft in 1931 a total of 310 in 1939 including 176 operated by the overseas airliners seems to be too small, but 620 including 352 operated by the overseas air lines would give the UK nearly 50% of the 1,294 aircraft in the European fleet.
In terms of the number of individual aircraft instead of 7 A.W. Argosies, 9 D.H.66s and 4 H.P. W.10s delivered from 1926 it would have been 56, 72 and 32 respectively. Then it would have been: 40 Short Calcuttas from 1925; 24 Westland Wessexes from 1929; 16 Avro Tens, 64 H.P.42s and 24 Short Kents from 1931; 64 A.W. Atlantas from 1932. But from about 1934 when there was less difference between the OTL and TTL Imperial Airways networks it would go back to 4 times OTL so: 52 D.H.86 from 1934; 8 Avro 652, 8 Boulton Paul P.71A and 4 Vickers Vellox from 1935. The exception would be 16 Short L.17 Scylla from 1934 instead of 8.
However, I also want some qualitative improvements.
Instead of the OTL H.P.42 and 43 I want monoplanes with fixed undercarriages. Handley Page did eventually do this by converting the H.P.43 prototype into the H.P.51 which was effectively the prototype of the H.P.54 Harrow which was used as a transport aircraft by the RAF after it was withdrawn from the bomber squadrons. ITTL I want Handley Page to build 450 Harrows made up of 124 bombers in place of the Heyford (which entered RAF service in 1933), 76 bombers in place of the 76 Fairey Hendons ordered (only 14 built), 100 Harrow bombers of OTL and 150 bomber transports in place of the 80 Bristol Bombays ordered (50 built) and 72 Vickers Valentias (28 new aircraft and 54 conversions).
Meanwhile instead of the 8 H.P.42 and 2 Short Scylla of OTL Imperial Airways buys 80 monoplane versions of the H.P.42 or looking it another way an enlarged 4-engine version of the H.P.51.
I also want some jggery pokery to have the Short Knuckleduster built instead of the Short Singapore Mk 1, with 64 enlarged versions with 4 engines unimaginatively named the Super Knuckleduster built for Imperial Airways instead of the Calcutta and Kent.