Details of Air Union's F-GEAB are given on Photo 651334. Also depicted is Imperial Airways' Vickers Type 170 Vanguard G-EBCP c/n.1, the only one of its type. Registered 19 April 1922, first flew 18 July 1923 as Type 62 for the Air Ministry, later Type 103 before being re-engined as Type 170, to Imperial Airways 1925. Withdrawn from airline service 1928 for a new tail unit to eliminate control problems. On 16 May 1929 while on a test-flight from Brooklands, it crashed and burned at Shepperton, killing the two occupants. The tail unit had failed, attributed to excessive rudder force.

Scan taken from undated slide.

Registered initially July 1926 to the Air Council for evaluation as a troop carrier. To Imperial Airways 23 April 1927. Later renamed 'City of Arundel' and in 1931 was fitted with Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVA engines to bring it up to Argosy II standard. It is known to have been involved in two accidents. On 30 Nov.1929 it was badly damaged in a forced landing in bad weather near Frankfurt. The five occupants were uninjured and it was repaired and re-entered service but had another accident, at Sarzane, Italy on 13 Feb.1933. It was again repaired but final fate not known. Cancelled Dec.1934.

Registered -7 April 1927. Later converted to F.VIIb-3m. Cancelled 1928.

Date on original slide states 'About 1934'. Registered 16 August 1933, first flight 26 March 1934, piloted by J.Lankaster Parker. Made its inaugural flight from Croydon to Le Bourget 16 May 1934. It was wrecked by gales while parked at RAF Drem, Scotland 14 September 1940. (Parked in the background in this picture is the prototype DH.86, G-ACPL, operated by Imperial Airways, named 'Delphinus'.)

'Opening of the new Croydon airport [terminal].' The new buildings began operations on 20 January 1928 but were only officially opened on 2 May 1928. The old buildings on Plough Lane had not yet been fully demolished by then. The photo was most probably taken on 21 March when King Amaunalla of Afghanistan made a flight in G-EBOZ and inspected 'two lines of light aeroplanes, including privately owned DH Moths, which had been flown to Croydon.' G-EBOZ was still named City of Wellington on that occasion. It was renamed City of Arundel later on. Photo from: The Henry Ford

Described on the original slide as 'Probably G-ABFN', this would appear to be correct and details of that aircraft are given accordingly. Ex NC806W. Registered G-ABFN 13 October 1930. It was the only British-registered S-39A and was imported by W.Sherwin Cottingham for operation by Personal Flying Services, based at Croydon. It returned to the USA in July 1935, where it was restored as NC806W and converted to S-39B and reportedly later to S-39C, although the USCAR records it as a S-39B, owned by a resident of Anchorage, Alaska and cancelled 20 June 1950.

Depicted are two Farman F.60 Goliaths, F-AEFC of Messageries Aériennes in the foreground and F-ADDT of Grands Expresses Aériennes in the background. Both companies were merged into Air Union on -1 Jan.1923. F-ADDT f/f 1920 and registered 28 Sept.1921. Named Languedoc with Air Union, on -6 Aug.1924 the port engine failed while en route from Paris to Croydon and it forced landed near Tonbridge, Kent. The aircraft was dismantled, repaired and re-entered service. On 23 Apr.1931 it crashed at Widehurst Farm, Marden, on take off from Marden with a cargo of mail. It was DBR and cancelled -7 Dec.1932

Registered June 1921. Later converted to F.63bis standard. Fate not known.

Registered -6 March 1922 to Instone Air Line. To Imperial Airways April 1924. Converted to DH.34B in 1925 Withdrawn from use and dismantled March 1926. Cancelled 20 January 1927.

Registered -6 March 1922. First flight at Stag Lane -2 April 1922 and flew to Croydon to enter service with Instone to Le Bourget the same morning. To Imperial Airways April 1924. It crashed on take-off from Ostend, Belgium 27th May 1924. Although the aircraft was destroyed, all occupants escaped unhurt.

Previously operated by G.E.A. It crashed while attempting to land at Lympne -8 Feb.1925 after an engine failed over the English Channel while operating a cargo flight from Paris to Croydon. Later repaired and returned to service. On 24 Nov.1927 it was badly damaged in a forced landing at Yaldham Manor, Wrotham, Kent but was again repaired and returned to service. On 31 July 1929 it made a forced landing near Smarden, Kent while flying gold bullion from Croydon to Paris. It may have been yet again repaired and returned to service, as the registration was not cancelled until -1 June 1932.

Scanned from a glass slide dated just 'circa 1926'. Registered to Imperial Airways 15 September 1926. Shortly after take-off from Croydon on a local test flight on 13 July 1928, the aircraft crashed and was burnt out in a field at Purley, Surrey. The pilot and one passenger survived but the other four occupants died in the accident.

There are apparent inconsistencies in this information. The information on the slide states, 'D.L.H.'s Fokker FIII Freight Plane at Croydon, August 1925', but D.L.H. was not founded until -6 January 1926. It was registered to the joint Russian-German airline, DeruLuft in June 1926 and for a while carried the Russian registration RR-6 before being restored to German marks D-906 (so was June 1926 the date of initial registration or the date restored as D-906?). DeruLuft operated mainly between Germany and Russia, although D.L.H. took a stake in DeruLuft in 1926. Sold abroad Dec.1928.

The first Argosy I, registered 16 May 1925. Made its initial appearance at the Hendon RAF Display on -3 July 1926. Later named 'City of Glasgow' and on 15 June 1928 it took part in a race from Croydon to Turnhouse via the East Coast against the 'Flying Scotsman' express locomotive and won by 15 minutes. It was converted to Argosy II standard in 1931 by the fitting of Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVA engines. It was withdrawn from use at Croydon in September 1934 and cancelled December 1934.

Registered 22 July 1930. Cancelled on transfer to Belgian military aviation 18 November 1938.

The third DH.86 Express. Early single-pilot model with short nose. Fitted with auxiliary fins probably in 1937. Postcard.

Twelve-passenger conversion of Handley Page O/400 bomber s/n F307 at the 'London Terminal Aerodrome, Croydon'. Photo from: Handley Page Transport

Built by Bell in 1956, and became the first Italian registered Bell 47J, before Agusta went on to build the type under license. To F-OBPQ with Cie. Gyrasahara in September 1960 and F-BNPQ in December 1965.

Ex Oxford PK265. Ended up as a film prop. Photo by: Philip Moyes