Cobham Air Routes

A Cobham Air Routes Westland Wessex with a previous owner SABENA

Cobham Air Routes was a 1930s British airline formed in 1935 to operate a service between Croydon and the Channel Islands. Following the loss of an aircraft in a fatal accident the airline was sold to Olley Air Services.

History

Cobham Air Routes Limited was formed on 3 May 1935 by Sir Alan Cobham to operate services between Croydon and Guernsey. The twice daily service started on 6 May 1935, the first sector from Croydon to Bournemouth via Portsmouth was flown by an Airspeed Courier with the Bournemouth to Guernsey sector flown by a six-passenger Westland Wessex.^[1] Following the loss of the Wessex aircraft on 3 July 1935 Cobham decided to withdraw from the airline business and sell the company to Olley Air Services.

Accidents and incidents

On the 3 July 1935 the three-engined Westland Wessex G-ADEW ditched in the English channel close to The Needles with the loss of the pilot, the passenger managed to escape.^[2][3] The aircraft was carrying one passenger from Guernsey to Bournemouth, it had a failure of the starboard engine 25 to 30 minutes into the flight and carried on with two-engines, after half an hour one or more of the remaining engines failed and the aircraft crashed into the sea.^[2] The passenger was picked up after two hours by the Stanmore but the pilot was never found.^[3] An inquiry concluded that the pilot had taken an unnecessary but not wholly unjustifiable risk continuing with two-engines and he should have considered turning for the French coast.^[2]

Fleet

• Airspeed Courier
• Westland Wessex (3)

Guernsey Post Office

In 1973 the Guernsey Post Office issued a 3d stamp depicting the Wessex G-ADEW to represent the three aircraft used by Cobham on services to the island, to commemorate 50 years of commercial flying to the island.^[4]

References

Notes

1. Cleutt/Nash/Learmonth 1980, p. 89
2. "Channel Flight On Two Engines." Times [London, England] 16 Oct. 1935: 8. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.
3. "The Channel Tragedy". Flight. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
4. "Stamps give air history of islands." Times [London, England] 22 May 1973: 18. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

Bibliography

• Cluett, Douglas; Nash, Joanna; Learmonth, Bob (1980). Croydon Airport 1928-1939. Sutton, Surrey, England: London Borough of Sutton Libraries and Art Services. ISBN 0-9503224 8 2.

Photo of Cobham Air Routes Envoy at Croydon in Swissair Archives http://ba.e-pics.ethz.ch/#1459860524225_68