Despite facing daunting obstacles throughout its 20 years, one of Britain’s first post-war air carriers also became one of its best loved. Barry Lloyd examines the rise and fall of British Eagle.
At the end of World War Two there were a significant number of military aircraft surplus to requirements, machines with only a few flying hours ‘on the clock’ that were heading to the melting pot. Was there potential for the bomber types to be adapted for passenger or freight duties? Several entrepreneurs thought so and started buying up some of the redundant war horses to begin independent airline/air transport operations.
