London Airport
London Heathrow Airport began in 1929 as a small airfield on land near the hamlet of Heathrow.
Development of the whole Heathrow area as a very big airfield started in 1944, to cater for long-distance military aircraft.
But by the time the airfield was nearing completion, World War 2 had ended.
The government continued to develop the airfield, as a civil airport, known as London Airport and later Heathrow.
The aerial photo below shows the stage of development reached by mid-1952.
The photo, and those of the types of planes using the airport in 1952, are from a souvenir booklet purchased on Saturday 28 June 1952 during an hour-long bus tour of the airport.
London Heathrow Airport began in 1929 as a small airfield on land near the hamlet of Heathrow.
Development of the whole Heathrow area as a very big airfield started in 1944, to cater for long-distance military aircraft.
But by the time the airfield was nearing completion, World War 2 had ended.
The government continued to develop the airfield, as a civil airport, known as London Airport and later Heathrow.
The aerial photo below shows the stage of development reached by mid-1952.
The photo, and those of the types of planes using the airport in 1952, are from a souvenir booklet purchased on Saturday 28 June 1952 during an hour-long bus tour of the airport.
Not listed in the souvenir booklet, but seen at the airport that day were two special aircraft:
Atlanta
BOAC C-4 Argonaut G-ALHK 'Atalanta' which carried Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh on their honeymoon flight to Nairobi, Kenya, on 1 February 1952.
It returned to London Airport on 7 February with the Princess now Queen Elizabeth II, after the death of her father, King George VI, in the night between 5 February and 6 February.
The 22 C-4 Argonaut aircraft operated by BOAC were a version of the Douglas DC-4 that was built under licence in Canada by Canadair. It differed from the DC-4 in being powered by Rolls-Royce Merlin in-line piston engines in place of the Pratt & Whitney radial piston engines, and in having a pressurized fuselage.
Atlanta
BOAC C-4 Argonaut G-ALHK 'Atalanta' which carried Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh on their honeymoon flight to Nairobi, Kenya, on 1 February 1952.
It returned to London Airport on 7 February with the Princess now Queen Elizabeth II, after the death of her father, King George VI, in the night between 5 February and 6 February.
The 22 C-4 Argonaut aircraft operated by BOAC were a version of the Douglas DC-4 that was built under licence in Canada by Canadair. It differed from the DC-4 in being powered by Rolls-Royce Merlin in-line piston engines in place of the Pratt & Whitney radial piston engines, and in having a pressurized fuselage.
The Atlanta taxis away from the terminal, carrying Princess Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh on the first leg of what was to have been an extended tour of Commonwealth countries, including Australia and New Zealand.
The Argonaught Atlanta takes to the air carrying the Royal couple.
Queen Elizabeth II emerging from the Atlanta just a few days later.
Comet
The other special aircraft seen at London Airport on 28 June 1952 was a BOAC De Havilland Comet. The DH 106 Comet was the first production commercial jetliner. It had made it’s first commercial flight from London to Johannesburg ,South Africa, only a few weeks before, on 2 May 1952..