British Civil Aviation in 1951

22 January
Saunders-Roe absorbs the Cierva autogyro company.

2 March
A civil aviation agreement between Britain and Belgium is signed.

3 March
A decision by the Minister of Civil Aviation, Lord Pakenham, not to grant any further carrying certificates of airworthiness to Avro Tudor aircraft is communicated to the Air Registration Board, however, Tudor IIs and Vs are allowed to continue.

3 April
Squadron Leader T.S. Wade, the chief test pilot of Hawker Aircraft, is killed in a Hawker P1081 prototype jet fighter when it crashes near Lewes in Sussex.

13 April
Following the death of Squadron Leader T.S. Wade, Squadron Leader Neville Duke is appointed chief test pilot of Hawker Aircraft.

10 May
The United Kingdom National Airways system comes into full operation with the airways extended to Scotland.

21 May
The British European Airways Corporation ends its London to Prague service.

1 June
British European Airways’ London to Birmingham helicopter service using Westland/Sikorsky S51s is officially opened and the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) reintroduces a New York to Bermuda service with Lockheed Constellations.

7-27 June
The British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) evacuates 900 people from Abadan in Persia. These are mostly the wives and families of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company’s British employees.

19 July
A small airship, named ‘Bournemouth’, the first airship built in Britain since the R101 disaster in 1930, flies at Cardington in Bedfordshire.

15 August
Two of British European Airways’ Douglas DC3s are given Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop power plant for engine development flying. The aircraft are used on cargo services between Northolt in Middlesex and Hanover in Germany. The flight on this date is the first cargo service flown by turbo-powered aircraft.

16 August
The airship ‘Bournemouth’ is damaged in an accident at Cardington in Bedfordshire.