Global InformationSilver City Airways information
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| Founded | 1946 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 1962 (member of British Aviation Services group; taken over by British United Airways) | ||||||
| Operating bases | Langley Aerodrome Blackbushe Airport Lympne Airport Southampton Airport Southend Airport RAF West Malling Lydd Ferryfield Bournemouth Airport Jersey Airport Guernsey Airport Manchester Airport Newcastle Airport Blackpool Airport Isle of Man Airport Manston Airport London Gatwick Le Touquet Airport Tripoli Airport Benghazi Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 31 aircraft (4 Handley Page Hermes, 10 Bristol Superfreighter, 5 Bristol Freighter, 11 Douglas Dakota 1 de Havilland Dove (as of 1962)) | ||||||
| Destinations | scheduled: Europe non-scheduled: worldwide | ||||||
| Headquarters | Central London | ||||||
| Key people | Hugh Kennard, Eoin C. Mekie, Air Cdre Griffith J. Powell | ||||||
Silver City Airways was an airline based in the United Kingdom that operated mainly in Europe between 1946 and 1962. Unlike many airlines at the time, it was independent of government-owned corporations; its parent company was Zinc Corporation, an Australian company involved mainly in mining and mineral processing. The name "Silver City" originated as a nickname of Broken Hill, Australia – an area famed for silver mines, including some owned by the airline's parent company.
The first commercial flight by Silver City departed London Heathrow for Sydney via Johannesburg in late 1946. The following year, Silver City leased its first Bristol Freighter, moved its base to Blackbushe and participated in the airlift of Hindu and Muslim refugees between Pakistan and India.[1][2][3] In 1948, control of Silver City passed from the Zinc Corporation to British Aviation Services.[1][4] In July of that year, the airline inaugurated the world's first air ferry service across the English Channel between Lympne Airport and Le Touquet Airport.[5] In 1948–49, Silver City participated in the Berlin Airlift.[6] In 1949, it established a French sister airline.[7]
In 1953, Silver City took delivery of its first Bristol Superfreighter.[8][9] The following year, the company moved to a new permanent home at Lydd Ferryfield, Britain's first newly constructed post-war airport.[10][11][12][13][14] The same year, Silver City Airways came under the control of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O).[15][16][17][18][19] By the mid-1950s, Silver City had become the biggest air cargo carrier in the United Kingdom while annual passenger numbers at its "Ferryfield" base had reached ¼ of a million. During that time, the airline also inaugurated air ferry services between Scotland and Ireland and from/to the Midlands.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21] This period also saw the launch of Silver Arrow, a London—Paris coach-air-coach/rail service, with the cross-Channel air portion operating between Lydd and Le Touquet.[15] In 1957, Silver City accomplished its one-millionth Channel crossing.[20] In summer 1958, Silver City's "Ferryfield" base recorded more aircraft movements than any other UK airport.[22] That year, also marked the conclusion of Silver City's first decade of air ferry operations during which the airline operated more than 100,000 flights carrying over 200,000 vehicles and ¾ of a million passengers, with peak-day frequency exceeding 200.[20][23] In 1959, Silver City took over sister airline Britavia's Handley Page Hermes fleet and Manston base. That year, the airline also began oil industry support flights in Libya.[20][24][25][26]
By 1960, Silver City's 40,000 annual cross-Channel flights transported 220,000 passengers and 90,000 vehicles while network-wide freight haulage reached 135,000 tons a year.[7] The following summer, the airline reached agreement with a French rival to co-finance construction of a branch line linking Le Touquet Airport with the nearby main railway line to reduce surface travelling time from/to Paris.[7][27] Unsustainable losses as a result of the loss of the Libyan oil industry support flight contract, increasing competition from roll-on/roll-off ferries and the lack of suitable replacements for the ageing Bristol Freighters resulted in growing financial difficulties, culminating in Silver City's takeover by British United Airways (BUA) holding company Air Holdings in 1962.[20][28][29][30]
- ^ a b Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... SILVER CITY), Vol 43, No 3, p. 41, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, January 2010
- ^ English-Australian charter, Civil Aviation News, Flight International, 19 December 1946, p. 683
- ^ Silver City Airways — The Company: Why 'Silver City'?
- ^ From all quarters, Another air-sea merger, From all quarters, Flight International, 19 February 1954, p. 158
- ^ Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... SILVER CITY), Vol 43, No 3, p. 42, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, January 2010
- ^ Silver City Airways — The Company: Aid to Berlin
- ^ a b c Silver City Airways — The Company: The End of the Adventure
- ^ Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... SILVER CITY), Vol 43, No 3, pp. 43/4, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, January 2010
- ^ Silver City Airways — The Company: The Superfreighter Arrives
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Ferryfield_reductionswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Duke of Edinburgh with Silver City — First Visit to a British Private Airline, Flight International, 13 April 1956, p. 409
- ^ High Risk: The Politics of the Air, Thomson, A., Sidgwick and Jackson, London, 1990, p. 74
- ^ Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... SILVER CITY), Vol 43, No 3, pp. 40, 42/3, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, January 2010
- ^ Silver City Airways — The Company: A New Home
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
SilverCity_creation_43was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
All_Changewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Fly me, I'm Freddie!, Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, p. 75
- ^ a b A Bigger British United, Air Commerce, Flight International, 1 February 1962, p. 158
- ^ a b A Bigger British United, Air Commerce ..., Flight International, 1 February 1962, p. 159
- ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference
Going_Placeswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ News Report — Government blocks plans, South East Business, May 2010, p. 13 Archived 1 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... SILVER CITY), Vol 43, No 3, pp. 40, 42 Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, January 2010
- ^ Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... SILVER CITY), Vol 43, No 3, p. 40, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, January 2010
- ^ Aeroplane — Matters of moment: B.U.A. Link with Silver City, Vol. 102, No. 2623, p. 8, Temple Press, London, 25 January 1962
- ^ Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... SILVER CITY), Vol 43, No 3, pp. 42/3, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, January 2010
- ^ Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... SILVER CITY), Vol 43, No 3, p. 44, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, January 2010
- ^ Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... SILVER CITY), Vol 43, No 3, pp. 40/1, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, January 2010
- ^ The ATL-98 Carvair: A Comprehensive History of the Aircraft and All 21 Airframes — 1: Corporate History - Channel Air Bridge, Dean, W.P. and O'Callaghan, M., McFarland & Co., Jefferson, N.C., USA, 2008, pp. 19, 35
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Freighter_Successorwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... SILVER CITY), Vol 43, No 3, pp. 40, 44, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, January 2010