The story
Origins
The company was founded on October 11, 1928 by Nigel Norman and Alan Muntz, with the opening of the private Heston Aerodrome in Middlesex. In the early days, Airwork's chief pilot was Captain Valentine Baker, who later formed the world-famous Martin-Baker company with Sir James Martin. In December 1936, Airwork Limited was registered at Companies House, and the newly formed company started its long association with RAF flying training.
Airwork moved out of Heston in 1935 due to a lack of adequate space and relocated to Gatwick, where it continued with a contract to maintain Whitley bombers for the RAF. During the 1930s, Airwork also helped to establish the predecessors of the post-World War II national airlines of Egypt, India and Rhodesia. Thus, Misr Airlines, Indian Airlines and Central African Airways were Airwork descendants.
RAF training
In June 1936, Airwork opened No. 11 RAF Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School (ERFTS) at Perth in Scotland, under contract to the Air Ministry. The company developed accommodation and facilities there, and provided aircraft in the form of the de Havilland Tiger Moth. Other Airwork operated ERFTS followed soon afterwards with No. 14 ERFTS at Castle Bromwich in July 1937, No. 17 ERFTS at Barton in October 1937, No. 50 ERFTS at Barton, and Ringway in May 1939 and No. 44 ERFTS at Elmdon in May 1939.
With the outbreak of World War II the word 'Reserve' was dropped, and the 50 ERFTS establishments were consolidated into 20 Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS). No 17 ERFTS was disbanded at that time, and No. 44 ERFTS at Elmdon was merged with No. 14 ERFTS at Castle Bromwich to form No. 14 EFTS. One further Airwork-run unit, No. 21 EFTS, was established at Booker in June 1941, with Miles Magisters supplementing the Tiger Moths then in use there and at all other EFTS. Through its sites at Gatwick and newer aerodromes at Staverton, Renfrew and Loughborough, Airwork also became a vital part of the Air Ministry's maintenance operations. Further aircrew training, for example No. 6 Air Observer navigation School at Staverton using de Havilland Dominies and Avro Ansons, also featured prominently. Airwork's contribution to the war effort was a vital one, and the company was responsible for the initial training of tens of thousands of pilots. There were also engineering contracts that included the manufacture of Avro Lancaster wings and modifications on Douglas Bostons, as well as the preparation, maintenance and repair of Hawker Hurricanes, Whitleys, Vought Corsairs, Grumman Hellcats, Consolidated B-24 Liberators and North American P-51 Mustangs.
Postwar flying training
Following the war, Airwork purchased Perth Aerodrome from the local Council, and developed a highly successful flying school for commercial pilots. In 1947, Airwork relocated its headquarters to Langley in Buckinghamshire and further new sites were established at Blackbushe Airport (overhaul and sales) and at Lasham (engineering). By now Airwork had been acquired by the Cowdray family, and had become part of the British & Commonwealth (B&C) group of companies. Airwork continued its flying training role providing elementary, RN grading, Volunteer Reserve (VR) and University Air Squadron (UAS) flying training across its locations initially using Tiger Moths and, from the 1950s, the Chipmunk.
A new Reserve Flying School (13 RFS) was established at Grangemouth in April 1948, and at RAF Usworth (23 RFS) in February 1949. In April 1951, Airwork also assumed responsibility of No.2 Basic Air Navigation School at Usworth. Approximately 25 Avro Anson T.21's were used and supported during this time. In addition, there were between 15 and 20 Chipmunks, which were used by the Durham University Air Squadron – mostly at weekends. These were also maintained by Airwork. At RAF Digby Airwork was also responsible for running the No 1 Grading Unit during 1952/53.
Air transport
During the post-war period Airwork also further expanded its business into civil aviation. This expansion was financed by its wealthy shareholders, including Lord Cowdray, Whitehall Securities, the Blue Star shipping line, Furness Withy and Thomas Loel Evelyn Bulkeley Guinness.
Airwork's other air transport related activities include contracting, aircraft servicing and maintenance, sale and purchase of aircraft, operation and management of flying schools and clubs, contract charter flying, overhaul and modification of aircraft, specialised aerodrome catering and aviation insurance.
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Airline-type operations
During the early post-World War II years, charter flights using Handley Page Hermes and Vickers Viking airliners, primarily flying out of Blackbushe Airport, constituted the bulk of Airwork's commercial air transport activities. These included a twice weekly series of flights on behalf of the Sudanese government, which carried 10,000 passengers between London, Wadi Halfa and Khartoum between 1947 and 1950, as well as a series of inclusive tour (IT) flights under contract to the UK Civil Service, and flights carrying Muslim pilgrims to and from Jeddah during the annual Hajj season. Airwork was also among the UK independent airlines participating in the Berlin Airlift.
Airwork first proposed transporting troops by air rather than by sea in 1950. The company's contacts with the War Office helped Airwork become the first carrier to be awarded a trooping flight contract. The War Office subsequently made Airwork its main contractor for the UK—Singapore trooping service, as well as its unofficial "chosen instrument" for all trooping flights that were contracted to third parties. However, the Hermes aircraft that operated most of these flights frequently suffered from engine faults. This resulted in crash landings on a number of occasions. These incidents cast doubt on the aircraft's reliability and the airline's safety record, as a result of which the firm lost its monopoly in the trooping business.
In 1952, Airwork applied for UK and US authority to operate scheduled transatlantic all-freight services from London via Manchester to New York City's Idlewild airport (later JFK).
Focus on Africa
The same year, on 14 June, Airwork began operating quasi-scheduled low-fare services from the UK to East, Central, Southern and West Africa using Vikings. These services were part of a joint operation with Hunting Air Transport, another wholly private British independent airline of that era. Flights initially operated on a fortnightly basis. International Air Transport Association (IATA) minimum fare rules did not apply to these services because the governments that owned most of IATA's member airlines had not empowered it to set and control domestic air fares, including dependent overseas territories.
The first joint Airwork-Hunting all-economy Safari/colonial coach class service from London to Nairobi routed via Malta, Benghazi, Wadi Halfa, Khartoum, Juba and Entebbe. It used single-class 27-seat Vikings, which took three days to complete the journey. Although this compared unfavourably with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), whose regular scheduled services took only 24 hours, load factors averaged 93% during the first nine months of operation. Airwork and Hunting-Clan continued to achieve very high average load factors of 85–90% because their £98 single fare was £42 cheaper than the comparable BOAC fare. These load factors were much higher than BOAC's, as a result of which the independents doubled the flight frequency on their London-Nairobi Safari/colonial coach route to once-a-week. This service proved to be so popular that a second weekly frequency was eventually added, which was operated alternately by each airline.
In June 1953, Airwork and Hunting jointly launched a fortnightly Safari/colonial coach service between London and Salisbury, entailing one round trip per month by each company. In June 1954, Airwork and Hunting launched a joint Safari/colonial coach service to West Africa linking London with Accra via Lisbon, Las Palmas, Bathurst and Freetown.
Following long-delayed approval of Airwork's application for a scheduled transatlantic London-Manchester-New York all-cargo service, flights eventually commenced in early 1955, using aircraft and crews chartered from US supplemental air carrier Transocean Air Lines and US cargo airline Slick Airways. However, the operation ceased by year-end. In September 1956 Airwork acquired control of Transair, a fellow independent airline.
Preparations for the merger
By 1957, Airwork and Hunting-Clan had converted their successful East, West and Southern African Safari/colonial coach flights into regular "third-class" scheduled services. However, the Government forced the independents to maintain additional stops that were no longer needed, as a result of replacing Vikings with technologically advanced Douglas DC-6s and Vickers Viscounts. It also required them to share all traffic with BOAC on a 30:70 basis. Despite these restrictions, the independents' services were fully booked five months ahead within a fortnight of their launch. When Britain's African colonies became independent, Safari/colonial coach was converted into a fully fledged scheduled service. To secure their traffic rights between the UK and the newly independent African nations, Airwork and Hunting-Clan began participating in revenue-sharing agreements with BOAC and the destination countries' flag carriers.
In 1958 Morton Air Services became a subsidiary. In that same year the process of merging the Airwork-controlled airlines with Hunting-Clan to form British United Airways (BUA) started. In early 1959, Airwork took over Air Charter, Freddie Laker's first airline venture. In that same month it took control of Olley Air Service. In February of that year, Airwork transferred the operation of its Safari flights to its subsidiary Transair, together with two Viscount aircraft. This resulted in the service's London terminal moving from Blackbushe to Gatwick. On 19 May 1960, Airwork merged its operations into British United Airways but legal integration was postponed to 1 July. The origins of British United Airways name went back to United Airways, one of the three predecessors of the pre-World War II British Airways. The [re-]use of the United Airways name together with the prefix British had been agreed with shareholder Whitehall Securities, the controlling shareholder of both United Airways and Spartan Airways before these airlines' merger with Hillman's Airways to form the pre-war British Airways. By the time Airwork merged with Hunting-Clan to form BUA, the former's air transport subsidiaries already included Airwork Helicopters, Air Charter, Bristow Helicopters, Channel Air Bridge, Transair and Morton Air Services. By that time, Airwork had also negotiated a long-term charter contract with the Gold Coast Chamber of Mines. This entailed regular Hermes services between the UK and West Africa.
In addition to Airwork's airline operations, the company serviced numerous airliners in the civil maintenance hangar at Hurn Airport. These included Sudan Airways Doves and Dakotas, Skymasters, and Vikings of various operators.
From Wikipedia’s article on Airwork Services, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3