Aeroplane Archive
The Key.Aero team have delved for treasure in the archive of Aeroplane Magazine dating back to 1911. Aviation history brought to life by the editors of the period.
Handley Page Hampden night-fighters
A desperate measure to combat the German night raiders of late 1940 saw Handley Page Hampdens being pressed into use as improvised fighters
Farman Goliath - bomber turned airliner
Farman’s Goliath started out as a design for a bomber, was turned into an airliner — and then became a bomber again
Bomber Command raid on Renault plant
Bomber Command’s raid against the Renault works at Billancourt on 3 March 1942 was a pivotal one for several reasons. Not only did it see the first application of new operational techniques under Arthur Harris, but post-strike reconnaissance brought to the fore the outstanding qualities of the new de Havilland Mosquito
Was the Vickers Vanguard terribly timed?
The February 24, 1961 issue of ‘The Aeroplane and Astronautics’ published a fascinating article on the Vanguard amid its entry into service with BEA. Even then, just three months after it began flying for the airline, it was clear that the type’s longevity was in doubt
Lufthansa’s early Boeing 727 operations
Lufthansa was the first airline in Europe to fly the Boeing 727 and ‘The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News’ December 31, 1964 issue looked at the type’s first seven months of operations with the German carrier
New Zealand Bristol 170 Freighters Excel
An article in the January 12, 1967 issue of ‘Aeroplane’ looked at the expanding workload of New Zealand’s Straits Air Freight Express (SAFE) and its growing fleet of Bristol 170 freighters
The wartime trainer nobody wanted
Not only did Heston’s T1/37 trainer look faintly outsized for its role, but the requirement to which it was built seems to have been taken less than seriously by the Air Ministry
Aeroplane Meets...Stewart Dawson
One of the USA’s most experienced warbird pilots has been the ‘go-to guy’ for all kinds of historic aeroplanes, and a Reno racer to boot
BOAC Chairman’s Comet insights
The Chairman of BOAC gave his view from the top on the first jetliner as the Comet entered commercial service in this article he penned for ‘The Aeroplane’s’ May 2, 1952 issue
Nordair L-188 Electras – Hunting icebergs
A good view of the initial ice patrol modifications made by Nordair to its L-188C Electras: an under-fuselage radome taken from a CP-107 Argus, an astrodome that used to be a Sabre canopy, and bulging observation windows. Observers would take hour-long turns in the upper ‘bubble’.