My my , how times have changed.....when travel was exclusive and elegant.....and.....when the world was a much more civilised and safe place and the globe had lots of pink on it. My first flight was on a Britannia , out of Nairobi in 1958....have loved aeroplanes and flying , ever since. Fabulous old footage.
Are you for real or a bot? Life for colonial people in the 1950s was deeply rough and dangerous at the hands of the retreating Brits. In Kenya where you were thousands were killed as a result of British atrocities at the time this film was made. Shame on you for forgetting and misremembering.
Back then, air travel was mostly for the wealthy. And the world was NOT 'much more civilized'. There was far more poverty and misery in the world. Just one example was the Chinese 'Great Leap Forward', which began in 1958. Resulting in the starvation deaths of tens of millions of people over the next 4 years. Even in the West, things were hardly 'much more civilized'. Women still were treated as second-class citizens. And racism/prejudice of visible minorities was far, FAR worse than it is today. Your chances of economic prosperity if you were a single female or a visible minority were slim. And this is besides the gigantic increases in technology since then - in the medical field alone. Yes, if you were a 'white', middle-class-and-up dude? Things were probably better in terms of relative power and safety. But for the vast majority of humanity? Both inside and outside of the West? The world was a much worse place back then as compared to today. ☮
I blame low cost travel. I was born mid-80s and had my first flight mid-90s. Back then we could only afford to fly once every couple of years. But it was such a pleasure. People dressed up. Food was good. Legroom was good. The plane was always 50% full, but people were respectful. Now all the riffraff can fly and it's like a nasty bus service. Also staff were better. Years ago flight attendants were university educated. Now it's anyone who can introduce themselves in English and swim 20 metres.
Fab film! I first flew to West Africa in 1959 on a Whispering Giant. Took 9 hours. Just loved it when the incomparable VC10 came along and only took 6! Yes it was a different world.
My father was a BOAC executive between 1960 and 1969 who later rose to the top of the airline profession. He became the financial director of BUA / British Caledonian at the age of 32 and later the financial director of Horizon Holidays and Orion Airways throughout the eighties.
Strats and Brits. Not a jet in sight. The simulator is marvellously analogue. The food looks amazing. And the cocktail shaker is wonderful. Wine in a basket. ❤
Brilliant Video. A fascinating view of when everything was done in-house. Loved the ops room. A business model that would not be sustainable today. Nice to see reservations getting a mention too. That would have probably been in the Buckingham Palace Road office at Victoria. When this film was made, BOAC would be able to select the creme de la creme from the many applicants they would have. Hence a top class service from staff who actually enjoyed what they did. I joined BA in 1978 and stayed for 30 years, so some of the trainees shown in this video would only have been in their 40s and possibly still working for the airline when I started. Thanks for sharing this, Thumbs up.
Rubbish - flying was relatively dangerous compared to today, hugely expensive and very uncomfortable as prop planes couldn't climb above the weather as today's jets do. Take your rose tinted specs off Richy!
in May 1959 when I was nine years flew on this plane from Colombo to London. The flight path was Colombo/ Bombay/ Bharain / Beruit (where all passport checks were made) Frankfurt / London. That was my first flight still flying as a passenger.
Stratocruisers were a very dangerous aircraft by modern standards suffering 13 hull losses out of 59 built costing 139 lives! But them's were the days eh!
I remember what it was like to fly in connies,dc3s/6s/7s 404s,377s and the early 707s and dc8s. people dressed up and had manners. you could look in the cockpit,they gave you carry on bags with the airline logo,kiddie wings,food on real plates. it was a great time. not like now.
so is traveling in a car as today as opposed to about the same time period. while no doubt it is safer today with all the hi tech...since I did work for a major airline...I know this....the quality of people has fallen to bus class,something I am sure you fit into with no problem. as for dressing decently to travel via airliner...you will not find me in your favorite baggy wrinkled shorts,flip flops and stinking backpack. by the way did you enjoy the dc7-c back when it was fun to fly?? I really liked it a lot better than the starliner,did you???
You get a huge middle finger. In fact, I'm using both hands. I worked for the Boeing Co. as an engineer for many years. I'd put my knowledge up against yours anytime.
Wonderful. My father worked for BOAC and then British Airways from the mid 1960's through to his retirement many years later. My first over seas flight was on a BOAC 707 to London from NY. Great Airline and Great People. I was born in 1952 and have flown most of my life. Dad was with American Airlines for years prior to BOAC. Thank You for this fine historic video.
So you got free air travel as a family perk? My family could never afford to fly in the 1960s! I could only afford it once charter airlines - you know the crap stuff - came along and then wide bodies. Then us oiks could get a look in!
@@peterm7548 Not as much as you might think and not as much as I wanted. My mom hated flying, so we didn't fly very much. But, it was Wonderful when we did. I'm former USAF and a pilot myself. Yes I loved it as a kid, but not much these "mentally sick people" days... Best Regards
@@peterm7548 I have to agree with you. Commercial aviation up to the mid 1970's was a mixture of state subsidised extravagance catering for the elite customers and the posh boys who got jobs flying and ATC and the posh girls who got jobs as hosts. In 1996 a British Airways senior stewardess,I met, was making £100,000 pa - then - !and dished out endless free flights
@@toonmag50 My Dad was a BOAC exec from 1960 onwards and we flew everywhere in the 60's. he stayed in the airline industry and rose to the top. He was a chartered accountant and nearly transferred to becoming a pilot.
It still is, as British Airways. BA is a conglomerate created by uniting BOAC with BEA, British United, and British Caledonian. This did not happen overnight but over decades.
Lost its way long ago. Now an IAG company and was always never a supporter of UK or European aircraft. Favoured London above all other airports and still does.
super! thanks for the great history. BTW for the younger ones, that music was the high tech/ufo/space music of the day. Including the modern am radio jazz!
Depends from how you view it. Back then long range would have taken ages with several refueling stops - Cruising altitudes were way lower than today with more turbulence flying through weather and air sickness was a result of that. The equipment back then was loud as hell with alot of mechanical vibration going on, so it`s all with an up- and downside.
Watched the "Whispering giant" land and take off at Ringway (Manchester) many times. Although the Comet had great lines and design plus the 707 was favoured by BOAC it's interesting the successor engines are now increasingly those of the jet prop design.
@@geoffreycodnett6570 employees of BOAC loved the Comet and especially the VC10, although I can't say much about the first Comets but I heard the engines use to put people to tears including the stewardesses with engine noise at the rear, this wasn't so much the truth until some of the semi-retired started handling BAC-111s and and the very old Viscounts which could deafen a whole national park. The VC10 with every mention has never had a bad thing said against it.
AIR TRANSPORT OF RADIOActive ISOTOPES* T RAVELLERS leaving Britain by air in the last two or three years may have seen large packages mysteriously labelled "to be kept 3 feet (0'914 metres) from persons and livestock, and 9 feet (2·743 metres) from undeveloped photographic film." To the initiated this cryptic message conveyed the information that the package contained radioactive isotopes from Britain's Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, Berkshire, and the warning was necessary because of weak rays emitted by the material, despite a heavy protective coating of sheet lead. Those who have never noticed such packages have lost their chance to do so, at least on the South African air route, for a new method of transport has now been worked out which will make such radioactive materials far more freely available.l The transport of these radio-isotopes has two major difficulties. In the first place their radiation must at all times be carefully shielded, as above a certain level it is dangerous to man and all living animals. Secondly, the majority have a comparatively short life; their radioactivity often disappears quickly so that if they are to be used at any great distance from the atomic pile in which they are made, rapid transport-which in effect means' transport by air if any great distance is to be covered-is essential. As Britain is now supplying these radio-isotopes throughout Europe and in many other parts of the world this vital problem of transport has received great attention. In the case of some isotopes the question of a container presents no difficulty. Radiophosphorus emits only a weak radiation, which is absorbed by less than half an inch of wood. This isotope is, therefore, easily transported in light wooden boxes. In the case of radio-iodine, however, the matter is absolutely different. The radiation from this is powerful and dangerous and to make it harmless to the passengers and crew of an aircraft, when carried in the ordinary • Abridged from a.n article by Trevor WUllams, Deputy Editor of the quarterly scientific magazine EruJ.eavou'l (London). 1. HaJUday, E. 0., and Alper, T. "Low-cost air trans· port of radio-active substances to South Africa." Nature, Vol. 166, pp. 110-111, July 15, 1950. South African Journal of Science 263 luggage compartment., a lead-shielded container weighing no less than 25 pounds (11'340 kilograms) is needed for a small consignment. Radio-sodium, too, is equally difficult. Transport of even a small quantity of this from London to Cape Town demanded such a weighty container that the freight rate was about £70. This impasse suggested attempting to safeguard passengers not by lead-shielding the material in the body of the plane but by keeping it at a distance. The wing span of the D.C.4 aircraft which South African Airways use for this service is more than 100 feet (30·479 metres) and tests showed that if it was put in the wing-tips even a substantial quantity of radio·sodium could be carried without danger to the passengers or crew. The great danger of the s~bstances if not carefully handled, however, made much further research necessary before a technique was developed which provided for safety in all the hazards to which aircraft may be subject. This technique is now perfected, however, and already substantial quantities of urgently needed radioisotopes are being carried to South Africa in wing-tip containers. The containers are provided with a warning red lid. Shortly before the aircraft leaves, the radioactive material is carried out to it, packed in a brass tube enclosed in a heavy lead pot. Quickly the brass tube is lifted out with a long hooked stick and lowered into the compartment in the wingtip which is lined with sponge.rubber. At the other end this routine is reversed. Special precautions have been devised to protect passengers and crew in the event of any deviation from the normal routine of flight. If a man climbs on the wing to superintend refuelling he runs no risk unless he stays an inordinately long time. If the aircraft is delayed no action is taken for the first 24 hours. If the delay is longer, or repair work has to be done on the wing itself, the container is carefully hooked out and transferred to a relief plane or carried to an unfrequented part of the airfield. In the event of a serious crash, salvage parties are instructed to hook out the brass container and bury it not less than 2 feet (0·610 metres) deep. This will give adequate permanent shielding to consignments of low activities; consignments of high activity will automatically lose their activity within a short time. April 1951
I was in the restored forward cockpit of a DC7 yesterday that carried the British queen and marlin Monroe at the cavan and Leitrim railway museum Ireland
If you listen closely, you could hear the sound of the de Havilland Comet approaching the runway. One year after this film, a BOAC Comet 4 flew the first jet-powered trans-Atlantic flight.
@@adhoc9647 yes. That’s why I wrote it. I think it’s beautiful. Some beg to differ. It would be boring if everyone thought the same things were beautiful.
I remember being given a tour of Heathrow in June 1956 and was surprised to see the place absolutely littered with Britannias. Presumably waiting to enter service a year hence. I had heard of the whispering giant but they were the first examples I saw. A month later I flew out of London to Singapore but not in a brand new Britannia. For me, the tried and tested Canadair 4.
"Infamous" G-ANBG in the hangar undergoing maintenance. Because of pilots complaining about the registration's meaning ("NBG" means No Bloody Good) it was redesignated G-APLL for the rest of its life at the BOAC, which later merged with BEA to become today's British Airways
My first trip abroad was on a Britannia to Barcelona, by then it had been relegated to charter airlines. Not quite BOAC but exciting never the less and yes it was a " Whispering Giant.
Flying back then wasnt as good as it looked Jet engines made it smoother and faster The propeller engines vibrating the plane for 13 hours over the Atlantic? Or a smooth 8 hours? I know what my choice would be
@@Keithbarber yeah I know that. I'd rprobably take modern air travel over the one in the olden days but there was just this aesthetic and glamor that's just not there today
Wonderful speedbird,quiet,elegant and comfortable. I had an anecdote about the South Africa route from a BOAC aircrew family member: On the leg south to the former Salisbury,now Harare, an incorrect local air pressure was given and set,leading to a nighttime temporary brush with trees in the bush on the approach, and sufficient damage to the undercarriage for the aircraft to be taken out of service for the onward leg. Naturally ,not much was made of this. Anyone heard more of this?
Yes, the story is true, I was an air-steward with BOAC and remember this incident. I could tell you many weird and wonderful stories of those days, I was sometimes called as steward on a freighter where I only looked after, fed and watered the flight deck crew, there was a tiny cabin behind the flight deck for me to work, and on one occasion share with a dead body in a coffin that had arrived too late to be stowed in the main hold, it came in handy to 'lay out' the meal trays on for the flight deck as table space was extremely short. Tales of some of the antics the crews sometimes got up to overseas would make your hair stand on end.
@@stu3245 Great to hear this corroborated thanks,it was a Britannia,and love the coffin anecdote, very handy that must have been. Maybe not on a Brit, but I heard of a head of cabin crew who was narrowly saved during a safety drill when a door liferaft was accidentally actuated into the cabin, pressing him to the ceiling, and the cockpit axe was used to save him from choking.
Yes. I recall the incident. My father was with BOAC from 1946 until retirement in 1980. In London, Karachi, Lagos, Bahrain, Baghdad, Rangoon, Perth & Sydney.
@@stu3245 Also,on the Africa run: Tense encounter with Nigerian govt troops at Kano trying to get hold of Biafran steward during the civil war, and aborted landing at Khartoum to avoid camel caravan crossing rhe runway.
Outstanding video, thank you for sharing. In 2024 they want janitors to pilot the jet aircraft. It's not going well for United Airlines. God bless our European brothers and sisters 🙏
Look up Frank Cordell, the composer of this soundtrack. An interesting life. The style of music was pretty groovy for its time, but admittedly pretty weird-sounding now.
Accounting: all women in company uniforms (gray dresses) Shipping: all men in company uniforms (white lab coats) And of course everything from plane instruments to accounting machines is mechanical. Notice the open overhead luggage racks? Those lasted for a long time after this.
BOAC's demands on the British aviation industry for customization for its routes (backed by the government) rendered some very promising aircraft unfit for world wide distribution. The UK could have been the giants of commercial aviation production.
Today Britain would buy all this from overseas principally China , in fact its amazing and unbelievable that Britain as a nation was once capable of such manufacturing they are now such a wreck of a nation .
Last time I flew was 1978 on a beautiful VC10, until this year on a local easyJet, god it was awful, packed like sardines from Edinburgh to Bristol, it felt like on an old bus. £44 return, not special but robbery cheap.
Наука
Oh, that we could return to those days of courtesy and pride of service.
Watching the passenger getting tucked in his seat, that's so golden!
My my , how times have changed.....when travel was exclusive and elegant.....and.....when the world was a much more civilised and safe place and the globe had lots of pink on it. My first flight was on a Britannia , out of Nairobi in 1958....have loved aeroplanes and flying , ever since. Fabulous old footage.
Are you for real or a bot? Life for colonial people in the 1950s was deeply rough and dangerous at the hands of the retreating Brits. In Kenya where you were thousands were killed as a result of British atrocities at the time this film was made. Shame on you for forgetting and misremembering.
Back then, air travel was mostly for the wealthy.
And the world was NOT 'much more civilized'. There was far more poverty and misery in the world.
Just one example was the Chinese 'Great Leap Forward', which began in 1958. Resulting in the starvation deaths of tens of millions of people over the next 4 years.
Even in the West, things were hardly 'much more civilized'.
Women still were treated as second-class citizens.
And racism/prejudice of visible minorities was far, FAR worse than it is today.
Your chances of economic prosperity if you were a single female or a visible minority were slim.
And this is besides the gigantic increases in technology since then - in the medical field alone.
Yes, if you were a 'white', middle-class-and-up dude?
Things were probably better in terms of relative power and safety.
But for the vast majority of humanity? Both inside and outside of the West?
The world was a much worse place back then as compared to today.
☮
I blame low cost travel. I was born mid-80s and had my first flight mid-90s. Back then we could only afford to fly once every couple of years. But it was such a pleasure. People dressed up. Food was good. Legroom was good. The plane was always 50% full, but people were respectful. Now all the riffraff can fly and it's like a nasty bus service. Also staff were better. Years ago flight attendants were university educated. Now it's anyone who can introduce themselves in English and swim 20 metres.
Lovely bit of film. from days now long gone sadly. Thanks for posting.
My 1st flight in1961 was in a BOAC Britannia from London to Montreal
Another planet! All in all a half hour advert for BOAC.
Love watching these films before the beginning of the jet age.
Fab film! I first flew to West Africa in 1959 on a Whispering Giant. Took 9 hours. Just loved it when the incomparable VC10 came along and only took 6! Yes it was a different world.
LOVE the music ❤️ Both the jazz and orchestral.
My father was a BOAC executive between 1960 and 1969 who later rose to the top of the airline profession. He became the financial director of BUA / British Caledonian at the age of 32 and later the financial director of Horizon Holidays and Orion Airways throughout the eighties.
Strats and Brits. Not a jet in sight. The simulator is marvellously analogue. The food looks amazing. And the cocktail shaker is wonderful. Wine in a basket. ❤
Turbo prop is a jet!
One line keeps going through my head: 🎶Flew in from Miami Beach BOAC🎶
Flew on one of these to Malawi via Cyprus and Kenya in the early 70's courtesy of the RAF. My first ever flight.
Brilliant Video. A fascinating view of when everything was done in-house. Loved the ops room.
A business model that would not be sustainable today. Nice to see reservations getting a mention too. That would have probably been in the Buckingham Palace Road office at Victoria.
When this film was made, BOAC would be able to select the creme de la creme from the many applicants they would have. Hence a top class service from staff who actually enjoyed what they did.
I joined BA in 1978 and stayed for 30 years, so some of the trainees shown in this video would only have been in their 40s and possibly still working for the airline when I started. Thanks for sharing this, Thumbs up.
What a golden age! Shame it's no longer like that now.
Flying is a lot safer these days than it was when this film was made. Personally I rate safety over glamour.
@@jekanyika dont forget the noise and air pollutants.
@@martinxavier4631 Indeed.
It's better nowadays in first class
Rubbish - flying was relatively dangerous compared to today, hugely expensive and very uncomfortable as prop planes couldn't climb above the weather as today's jets do. Take your rose tinted specs off Richy!
Brilliant - BOAC Britannias & Stratocruisers in that beautiful, elegant all-white livery :-) Thanks for posting this gem! Excellent!
They looked like something out of the Soviet Union! I much prefer today's BA livery, and for that matter every BA livery!
in May 1959 when I was nine years flew on this plane from Colombo to London. The flight path was Colombo/ Bombay/ Bharain / Beruit (where all passport checks were made) Frankfurt / London. That was my first flight still flying as a passenger.
just loving the stratocruisers and noticed their P&W r4360 engine modules in the workshop.
Stratocruisers were a very dangerous aircraft by modern standards suffering 13 hull losses out of 59 built costing 139 lives! But them's were the days eh!
I remember what it was like to fly in connies,dc3s/6s/7s 404s,377s and the early 707s and dc8s. people dressed up and had manners. you could look in the cockpit,they gave you carry on bags with the airline logo,kiddie wings,food on real plates. it was a great time. not like now.
Air travel then was much more expensive and less safe than the present day. You can get dressed up if you like, but I doubt that you will.
so is traveling in a car as today as opposed to about the same time period. while no doubt it is safer today with all the hi tech...since I did work for a major airline...I know this....the quality of people has fallen to bus class,something I am sure you fit into with no problem. as for dressing decently to travel via airliner...you will not find me in your favorite baggy wrinkled shorts,flip flops and stinking backpack. by the way did you enjoy the dc7-c back when it was fun to fly?? I really liked it a lot better than the starliner,did you???
I would bet you don't don't know shit about one propliner from the other...
You get a huge middle finger. In fact, I'm using both hands. I worked for the Boeing Co. as an engineer for many years. I'd put my knowledge up against yours anytime.
have you been brain dead very long?
What great historic stuff is released here, simply wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!
This should be a public broadcast in England now.
great t see a documentary of this vintage well put together and very interesting.
Ruined by cheesy "music".
Great to see state of the art 1957 technologies....
Fascinating, and great music too!
Wonderful. My father worked for BOAC and then British Airways from the mid 1960's through to his retirement many years later. My first over seas flight was on a BOAC 707 to London from NY. Great Airline and Great People. I was born in 1952 and have flown most of my life. Dad was with American Airlines for years prior to BOAC. Thank You for this fine historic video.
So you got free air travel as a family perk? My family could never afford to fly in the 1960s! I could only afford it once charter airlines - you know the crap stuff - came along and then wide bodies. Then us oiks could get a look in!
@@peterm7548 Not as much as you might think and not as much as I wanted. My mom hated flying, so we didn't fly very much. But, it was Wonderful when we did. I'm former USAF and a pilot myself. Yes I loved it as a kid, but not much these "mentally sick people" days... Best Regards
@@peterm7548 I have to agree with you. Commercial aviation up to the mid 1970's was a mixture of state subsidised extravagance catering for the elite customers and the posh boys who got jobs flying and ATC and the posh girls who got jobs as hosts.
In 1996 a British Airways senior stewardess,I met, was making £100,000 pa - then - !and dished out endless free flights
@@toonmag50 My Dad was a BOAC exec from 1960 onwards and we flew everywhere in the 60's. he stayed in the airline industry and rose to the top. He was a chartered accountant and nearly transferred to becoming a pilot.
My first airliner was the Britannia....from the Caribbean to the New York, been in love with flying ever since
BOAC was a great airline!
It still is, as British Airways. BA is a conglomerate created by uniting BOAC with BEA, British United, and British Caledonian. This did not happen overnight but over decades.
gunsaway1 brilliant footage and one he'll of an airline
gunsaway1
Lost its way long ago. Now an IAG company and was always never a supporter of UK or European aircraft. Favoured London above all other airports and still does.
super! thanks for the great history. BTW for the younger ones, that music was the high tech/ufo/space music of the day. Including the modern am radio jazz!
Thxs
the golden age of air travel , when it was a pleasure to fly .
Still is a pleasure to fly, but it's so routine now, it doesn't have the "glamour"of the 1950s/1960s,
But few could afford to do it.
Maybe but horrendously expensive.
Depends from how you view it.
Back then long range would have taken ages with several refueling stops - Cruising altitudes were way lower than today with more turbulence flying through weather and air sickness was a result of that. The equipment back then was loud as hell with alot of mechanical vibration going on, so it`s all with an up- and downside.
No it wasn't! these old aircraft flew in the weather, not above like now, and lots of people were air sick! Yuk!
My father had worked for Air India for many years. I remember he telling me that the Bristol Britannia was called 'The Whispering Giant'.
Mani Menon my father worked on ground staff Parkside brings back great memories many thanks
My father used to tow these aircraft when working on ground crew we lived in Houndslow West then. Great stuff thank you. What memories
Watched the "Whispering giant" land and take off at Ringway (Manchester) many times. Although the Comet had great lines and design plus the 707 was favoured by BOAC it's interesting the successor engines are now increasingly those of the jet prop design.
@@geoffreycodnett6570 employees of BOAC loved the Comet and especially the VC10, although I can't say much about the first Comets but I heard the engines use to put people to tears including the stewardesses with engine noise at the rear, this wasn't so much the truth until some of the semi-retired started handling BAC-111s and and the very old Viscounts which could deafen a whole national park. The VC10 with every mention has never had a bad thing said against it.
"...isotopes in the Speedbird's wing..." That's comforting to know....
AIR TRANSPORT OF RADIOActive
ISOTOPES*
T RAVELLERS leaving Britain by air in the
last two or three years may have seen
large packages mysteriously labelled "to
be kept 3 feet (0'914 metres) from persons
and livestock, and 9 feet (2·743 metres)
from undeveloped photographic film." To
the initiated this cryptic message conveyed
the information that the package contained
radioactive isotopes from Britain's Atomic
Energy Research Establishment at Harwell,
Berkshire, and the warning was necessary
because of weak rays emitted by the
material, despite a heavy protective coating
of sheet lead. Those who have never
noticed such packages have lost their
chance to do so, at least on the South
African air route, for a new method of
transport has now been worked out which
will make such radioactive materials far
more freely available.l
The transport of these radio-isotopes
has two major difficulties. In the first
place their radiation must at all times be
carefully shielded, as above a certain level
it is dangerous to man and all living
animals. Secondly, the majority have a
comparatively short life; their radioactivity often disappears quickly so that if
they are to be used at any great distance
from the atomic pile in which they are made,
rapid transport-which in effect means'
transport by air if any great distance is to
be covered-is essential. As Britain is now
supplying these radio-isotopes throughout
Europe and in many other parts of the world
this vital problem of transport has received
great attention.
In the case of some isotopes the question
of a container presents no difficulty. Radiophosphorus emits only a weak radiation,
which is absorbed by less than half an inch
of wood. This isotope is, therefore, easily
transported in light wooden boxes. In the
case of radio-iodine, however, the matter
is absolutely different. The radiation from
this is powerful and dangerous and to make
it harmless to the passengers and crew of an
aircraft, when carried in the ordinary
• Abridged from a.n article by Trevor WUllams, Deputy Editor of the quarterly scientific magazine EruJ.eavou'l
(London).
1. HaJUday, E. 0., and Alper, T. "Low-cost air trans· port of radio-active substances to South Africa." Nature, Vol. 166, pp. 110-111, July 15, 1950.
South African Journal of Science 263
luggage compartment., a lead-shielded container weighing no less than 25 pounds
(11'340 kilograms) is needed for a small
consignment. Radio-sodium, too, is equally
difficult. Transport of even a small quantity
of this from London to Cape Town demanded
such a weighty container that the freight
rate was about £70.
This impasse suggested attempting to
safeguard passengers not by lead-shielding
the material in the body of the plane but by
keeping it at a distance. The wing span of
the D.C.4 aircraft which South African
Airways use for this service is more than
100 feet (30·479 metres) and tests showed
that if it was put in the wing-tips even a
substantial quantity of radio·sodium could
be carried without danger to the passengers
or crew. The great danger of the s~bstances
if not carefully handled, however, made
much further research necessary before a
technique was developed which provided
for safety in all the hazards to which aircraft
may be subject. This technique is now
perfected, however, and already substantial
quantities of urgently needed radioisotopes are being carried to South Africa
in wing-tip containers.
The containers are provided with a
warning red lid. Shortly before the aircraft
leaves, the radioactive material is carried
out to it, packed in a brass tube enclosed
in a heavy lead pot. Quickly the brass tube
is lifted out with a long hooked stick and
lowered into the compartment in the wingtip which is lined with sponge.rubber. At
the other end this routine is reversed.
Special precautions have been devised to
protect passengers and crew in the event of
any deviation from the normal routine of
flight. If a man climbs on the wing to
superintend refuelling he runs no risk unless
he stays an inordinately long time.
If the aircraft is delayed no action is
taken for the first 24 hours. If the delay
is longer, or repair work has to be done on the
wing itself, the container is carefully hooked
out and transferred to a relief plane or
carried to an unfrequented part of the airfield. In the event of a serious crash, salvage
parties are instructed to hook out the brass
container and bury it not less than 2 feet
(0·610 metres) deep. This will give adequate
permanent shielding to consignments of
low activities; consignments of high
activity will automatically lose their
activity within a short time.
April 1951
Analog you gotta love it. Hundreds of moving parts working together as a whole
I love these cheesey old doccies.
Crisply ironed uniforms and clothes, perfectly combed hair, impeccable behavior... welcome to the world of the 50s.
I prefer comfy and laid back but to each his own.
Great old school technology. Messages through a window.
brilliant job! thanks so much for your hard work!
"Flying staff are picked for INTELLIGENCE and PERSONALITY". Could you imagine that on a job qualification form today?
I was in the restored forward cockpit of a DC7 yesterday that carried the British queen and marlin Monroe at the cavan and Leitrim railway museum Ireland
In 1957 I flew in a BOAC DC7C from LAP North to New York via Prestwick and Gander.
Interesting to note the absence of Winnebago-sized carryon bags as the passengers deplaned...
Or Winnebago sized passengers….
If you listen closely, you could hear the sound of the de Havilland Comet approaching the runway. One year after this film, a BOAC Comet 4 flew the first jet-powered trans-Atlantic flight.
I think the Comet was one of the most beautiful man made objects ever created, a rival for Concorde.
@@AL_THOMAS ". . . ever created. ." Really? ?
@@AL_THOMAS I beg to differ..
@@ChrisCokeRobinson fair enough. Why? What brought you to a video of the Comet?
@@adhoc9647 yes. That’s why I wrote it. I think it’s beautiful. Some beg to differ. It would be boring if everyone thought the same things were beautiful.
I remember being given a tour of Heathrow in June 1956 and was surprised to see the place absolutely littered with Britannias. Presumably waiting to enter service a year hence. I had heard of the whispering giant but they were the first examples I saw. A month later I flew out of London to Singapore but not in a brand new Britannia. For me, the tried and tested Canadair 4.
Quality. Before I was born. :( I did not know the flight training simulator has such a long history.
A flight in a Britannia followed by a transfer in a Duple Vega(?)!! Perfect 👌
I travelled on G-ANBE in 1959. Sister aircraft shown in this clip.
Great to hear the mighty Bristol Proteous again, shame they didn't record they bang as the superfine stops engaged on start up.
"Infamous" G-ANBG in the hangar undergoing maintenance. Because of pilots complaining about the registration's meaning ("NBG" means No Bloody Good) it was redesignated G-APLL for the rest of its life at the BOAC, which later merged with BEA to become today's British Airways
Apparently then known as 'Leaky Linda' or something, then scrapped by 1968 with relatively low hours. Interesting history!
Isotopes in the wings. Wow!
17:05 Looks like they're serving bottlecaps for dinner, and everyone's jumping up ready to get them too 😆
My first trip abroad was on a Britannia to Barcelona, by then it had been relegated to charter airlines. Not quite BOAC but exciting never the less and yes it was a " Whispering Giant.
Was taken through a Britannia when one flew to Sydney back (I think) in the 60's. Very beautiful aeroplane!
Dang now I wish I got to fly in the 50s. It is so much different than now
Very different! Today it's like everyone flies Conair. Sad very sad
tricky dick still cool though
Flying back then wasnt as good as it looked
Jet engines made it smoother and faster
The propeller engines vibrating the plane for 13 hours over the Atlantic?
Or a smooth 8 hours?
I know what my choice would be
@@Keithbarber yeah I know that. I'd rprobably take modern air travel over the one in the olden days but there was just this aesthetic and glamor that's just not there today
Thankyou for sharing.
Wonderful channel, thank you very much
A Bedford Duple Vega - sweet!
Wonderful speedbird,quiet,elegant and comfortable.
I had an anecdote about the South Africa route from a BOAC aircrew family member: On the leg south to the former Salisbury,now Harare, an incorrect local air pressure was given and set,leading to a nighttime temporary brush with trees in the bush on the approach, and sufficient damage to the undercarriage for the aircraft to be taken out of service for the onward leg. Naturally ,not much was made of this. Anyone heard more of this?
Yes, the story is true, I was an air-steward with BOAC and remember this incident.
I could tell you many weird and wonderful stories of those days, I was sometimes called as steward on a freighter where I only looked after, fed and watered the flight deck crew, there was a tiny cabin behind the flight deck for me to work, and on one occasion share with a dead body in a coffin that had arrived too late to be stowed in the main hold, it came in handy to 'lay out' the meal trays on for the flight deck as table space was extremely short.
Tales of some of the antics the crews sometimes got up to overseas would make your hair stand on end.
@@stu3245 Great to hear this corroborated thanks,it was a Britannia,and love the coffin anecdote, very handy that must have been. Maybe not on a Brit, but I heard of a head of cabin crew who was narrowly saved during a safety drill when a door liferaft was accidentally actuated into the cabin, pressing him to the ceiling, and the cockpit axe was used to save him from choking.
Yes. I recall the incident. My father was with BOAC from 1946 until retirement in 1980. In London, Karachi, Lagos, Bahrain, Baghdad, Rangoon, Perth & Sydney.
@@stu3245 Also,on the Africa run: Tense encounter with Nigerian govt troops at Kano trying to get hold of Biafran steward during the civil war, and aborted landing at Khartoum to avoid camel caravan crossing rhe runway.
Outstanding video, thank you for sharing. In 2024 they want janitors to pilot the jet aircraft. It's not going well for United Airlines.
God bless our European brothers and sisters 🙏
You get the great food and service only in First Class!!! Wish I was born then!!
I walked underneath one of these at Duxford. It's a massive airliner, even by today's standards.
Opening music had me jiihiiving lol
Wow, I don’t think they do that anymore, check a plane like that. Our planes nowadays land and go right back out again!!
10:40 Pilot is loading his secret Uranium PQ-36 Explosive Space Modulator!!!!
Or the engines were low budget versions off the Air Terranean's Fireflash and ran on nuclear fuel too :D
ahahaha the music is so intense and serious! sounds like a horror film!
Kind of does, though to me, it gives off more the impression of being in a rush.. panicking, late.... (Going to the airport)
Look up Frank Cordell, the composer of this soundtrack. An interesting life. The style of music was pretty groovy for its time, but admittedly pretty weird-sounding now.
Nahh Tom and jerry
@@aka-invisible5666 🤣
@@aka-invisible5666 hehe that's quite true!!
Accounting: all women in company uniforms (gray dresses)
Shipping: all men in company uniforms (white lab coats)
And of course everything from plane instruments to accounting machines is mechanical.
Notice the open overhead luggage racks? Those lasted for a long time after this.
My Mum worked for BOAC at Hatton Cross when we lived at Staines. Thank you for sharing all these wonderful videos.
#aviation #avgeek
15:40 Cool!
Those were the days......a year before my birth, but my what a look into the future.... just got off a 787, some similar, a lot different
Before the animals were let out of their cages.
this how food looks in aeroflot flights even today, and the service is the very same. is this made 2018 in moscow?
I wonder if those old Bristol Britannias had better fuel economy than today’s jets?
No
Yo lo vivi! 1957 Sabanalarga Atlantico Cine Principal este Magistral video mejor recordatorio IMPOSIBLCONGRATULATIONS
This plane sounds more piston than Turboprop to me when you take into consideration vickers viscount / vanguard. Still not a bad looking job though.
You're not wrong, but... remember the Vickers Viscount / Vanguard flew for BEA, not for BOAC... (afaik)
BOAC's demands on the British aviation industry for customization for its routes (backed by the government) rendered some very promising aircraft unfit for world wide distribution. The UK could have been the giants of commercial aviation production.
Today Britain would buy all this from overseas principally China , in fact its amazing and unbelievable that Britain as a nation was once capable of such manufacturing they are now such a wreck of a nation .
The young Brian Murphy @15:28. Well spotted me :)
George!
Actually that is my late father F/E James Palmer. Sadly he passed away on 1st December 1996.
@@Man_from_UNCLE fair enough - he looks like Brian Murphy though
Good luck to the isotopes when the plane is turning at high speeds and the hatch opens
How I long for those days.
now it's eat your peanuts and just be lucky your flight didn't get cancelled
I fucking love stratocruisers so much!
Unnecessary obscene language.
22:20 Love all the musical motifs! Australia's probably the best ;)
I don't get it. All that attention to service but wouldn't the open overhead storage bins be a major health and safety issue?
They were stowages for coats, hats and soft items only, putting bags there was not allowed.
Of course it would but these were the aviation equivalents of sailing ships. Very primitive aircraft compared to today.
What was that at 10:35?! And should he have been carrying it that close to his.....you know what I'm getting at.
Re-upped with better colour.
10:45 wtf!!!🤯
muy beno
Jolly good show , what what ! But surely a slight misunderstanding ! Is one not referring here to Ryanair ?
Ah, the days before it all changed for the worse
I'm pretty sure air control doesn't employ little plastic plane models on a big map these days.
Bristol Proteus
Real silverware n' China.. cigarettes "very pretty women stewardesses" Class Act! 🖒
Yeah...but then they serve you bottle caps
Dependendo do mês nesta década, eu tinha nascido ou iria nascer, rsrs
The Brave New World/////
Surprising to not see any DH Comets.
They only lasted from 1952 to 1954 (I think) due to reliability issues.
@@louiejonesponation They were withdrawn in 1954 and returned in 1958, but by then the 707 had gained the lead.
Not sure ba would store your nuclear isotopes in the wing even if you paid excess bagage!
Será que sou eu este baby?
But what about the blood plasma!!
Pipe smoking chap running the simulator.
Does anyone know if this is the iconic Richard Burton narrating?
According the credits at the end it's William Franklyn whose name rings a bell but perhaps others out there can tell me who he was................
@@Man_from_UNCLE He did the Schweppes ads voiceovers form 1965-73! "Schhh.. .you know who"!
People actually rode bicycles to work?
Last time I flew was 1978 on a beautiful VC10, until this year on a local easyJet, god it was awful, packed like sardines from Edinburgh to Bristol, it felt like on an old bus. £44 return, not special but robbery cheap.