Replaced by Ikeja in 1942, Apapa airport in Lagos is almost forgotten. This photo was certainly taken there, presumably in early 1938, when a similar shot of Dione was published with the following caption: 'The Air Mail at Apapa, Lagos. A weekly air mail and passenger service is now in regular operation between Lagos and London. The service is by Kano and Khartoum.' G-ADFF is to DH.86B standard with auxiliary tailfins, which were fitted in April-May 1937. Damaged here at Lagos on 21 March 1939. Transferred to BOAC and to Egypt in 1940. Impressed as AX760 in 1941. Damaged at Lydda in November 1941 and written off in 1942. Photo by: Edward Duckworth / Northwestern University Libraries, Illinois

A nice place to watch the aeroplanes. Detail of the same original picture as photo 419190 which shows sister ship Dryad too. Denebola was delivered a little earlier in February 1936 and both were fitted with endplate fins on the tailplane in the spring of 1937. G-ADUI to BOAC in 1940, impressed into the RAF as HK830 in Africa in 1941 and written off after a taxiing accident at Bilbeis in Egypt in 1942. Photo from: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich

Detail of photo showing the Czech DC-2, OK-AIB. Delivered as a DH.86A in March 1936, Dryad was converted to DH.86B with endplate fins on the tailplane in the spring of 1937. To Aer Lingus as EI-ABT in October 1938. Operated by several users as G-ADUH again from 1947 until accident in Bahrain in May 1951. Photo from: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich

Delivered new to Jersey Airways in 1934 and later flew with Railway Air Services and Silver City Airways. On 21 September 1958 it was wrecked landing at Madrid (LEMD), the last of 62 built.

Ex G-AETM, operated by the Finnish Naval Coastguard Service, serial DH-1 not taken up. Photo: SA-kuva (Finnish Armed Forces photograph, Wartime Photograph Archive). Photographer not known.

Used to connect Sydney with Rabaul in Papua New Guinea. Ditched near Kavieng, PNG, on March 15, 1940. Salvaged a week later but the airframe collapsed as it was lifted on to the deck of the salvage schooner.

Ex VH-UYV. Damaged on takeoff August 15, 1944. Location not given. Scrapped.

1936-built four-engined DH.86B Express ex EI-ABK of Aer Lingus. Served Bond AS from 10.47 until withdrawal in 1951.

1936-built for Blackpool & West Coast Air Services. Served Aer Lingus as EI-ABK late 1936 until 1946. With Bond AS postwar and became derelict at Bahrein in 1952.

LAC's DH Express undergoing winter maintenance in their hangar amidst three of the airline's Rapides. Initially delivered to Jersey Airlines in late 1934, G-ACZP served LAC from April 1951 until sale in May 1957.

Lancashire Aircraft Corporation operated this DH Express between May 1951 and 1957. The 1934-built four-engined biplane carried up to 16 passengers and I flew for 10 minutes this day around the famous Pleasure Beach tower and back again. This was the last extant DH.86 and was lost in an incident at Madrid Barajas on 21 September 1958.

This 1936-built four-engined 14/16-seat DH Express, ex Aer Lingus, served Bond Air Services from late 1946 until January 1951 on charter flights. Seen here at Speke on Grand National Day 1950. No DH.86 survives.