Faster Than a Speeding Ocean Liner

 

On this date in 1932, Imperial Airways’ Handley Page HP.42, G-AAXF, named Helena, departed Croydon Aerodrome, South London, England, on the first leg of the airline’s new intercontinental mail service to South Africa. The flights would leave Croydon Wednesday and arrive at Cape Town on Friday, ten days later. The route was London, Cairo, Khartoum, Juba, Nairobi, Mbeya, Salisbury, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The initial flights carried mail only, but scheduled passenger service was soon added.  The HP.42 could carry 20 passengers and a large amount of baggage. The cost of the flight from London to Cape Town was $178.00 (£130). The HP.42 had a cruise speed of 96 miles per hour and a maximum speed of 120 miles per hour and a range of 500 miles. 

Questioning Your Identity

On this date in 1945, My Name is Julia Ross premiered in New York City. The sixty-four-minute suspense drama from Columbia Pictures was directed by Joseph H. Lewis and starred Nina Foch, Dame May Whitty, and George Macready. Set in London, Ross takes a position with an employment agency but soon discovers someone(s) are attempting to convince her to question her own identity. Based upon the 1941 novel, The Woman in Red by Anthony Gilbert, the psychological twists and fast-paced, tense action has been played out in many films before and since, but it is worth watching for the convincing cast.

A Royal Wedding and Then Some

 

On this date in 1951, Royal Wedding premiered. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical comedy is set in 1947 London and starred Fred Astaire and Jane Powell with direction by Stanley Donen. Astaire and Powell play siblings, echoing the real-life theatrical relationship of Fred and Adele Astaire, who are persuaded to take their Broadway success to London to coincide with the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten. The highly influential event leads to two additional marriages with fellow cast members, Sarah Churchill, and Peter Lawford, respectively. 

The film features Astaire's innovative set design idea from the 1920s which has him "dancing" on the walls and ceiling singing, "You're All the World to Me." Other signature dance routines by Astaire, along with a competent performance by Powell helped make the film one of the top box office hits of the year with an MGM profit of $584,000.

The Jumbo Era Begins

On this day in 1970, Captain Robert Weeks, Captain John Noland and Flight Engineer August McKinney flew the Pan American World Airways Boeing 747-121, N736PA, Clipper Young America, arrived in London from New York for its six-hour, fourteen-minute maiden transatlantic flight of the new jumbo jet. Aboard was a cabin crew of 17 and 332 passengers. London Airport services were geared to deal as quickly as possible with the passengers and 30,000 pounds of baggage and cargo aboard. Loading delays dealing with the large aircraft, coming and going, did not concern most passengers but a few selected other options for their return to New York.

Earlier this year, Boeing announced that the final 747s, four 747-8F freighters, had been ordered by Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. When they have been built, the production of the “jumbo jet” will come to a close.