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{{Short description|1954–1962 British independent airline}}
{{use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox airline
|airline = Channel Air Bridge
|image =
|image_size =
|IATA = –
|ICAO = –
|callsign = –
|founded = 1954
|ceased = 1962
|hubs = [[London Southend Airport|Southend Airport]]
|alliance = [[Air Charter Limited|Air Charter]] [[Aviation Traders]], [[Aviation Traders|Aviation Traders (Engineering)]]
|fleet_size = 11 aircraft<ref>As of April 1962, two [[Aviation Traders Carvair|Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair]], eight [[Bristol Superfreighter|Bristol 170 Superfreighter Mark 32]] and one [[Bristol Freighter|Bristol 170 Freighter Mark 31]].</ref>
|destinations = United Kingdom [[Continental Europe]]
|parent = [[Airwork Services|Airwork]] (1958–1960) {{nowrap|Air Holdings (1961–1962)}}
|headquarters = [[Central London]]
|key_people = D.A. Whybrow, H.E. Cross, G.P. Parselle, A.T. Pugh
}}

'''Channel Air Bridge''' was a private British independent<ref group=nb>independent from [[government-owned corporation]]s</ref> airline specialising in cross-[[English Channel|Channel]] vehicle-cum-passenger ferry services. [[Freddie Laker]] started Channel Air Bridge as a sister airline of [[Air Charter Limited|Air Charter]] on a provisional basis in 1954. Operations commenced in 1955. In 1958, Channel Air Bridge took over Air Charter's vehicle ferry services.<ref name="AC_1958">[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1958/1958%20-%200509.html ''Flight International'', 18 April 1958, ''World Airline Directory ...'', p. 525]</ref><ref name="CAB_inception">''Airliner World – Britain's Carferry Airlines'', Key Publishing, Avenel, NJ, USA, July 2005, p. 34</ref><ref name="BIA">Merton-Jones 1972, p. 10</ref> In 1959, both Channel Air Bridge and its sister airline Air Charter became part of the [[Airwork Services|Airwork]] group.<ref name="CAB_inception"/><ref name="BIA"/> In 1960, Airwork joined with [[Hunting-Clan Air Transport|Hunting-Clan]] to form [[British United Airways]] (BUA).<ref name="BIA"/> In 1962, BUA reorganised its vehicle ferry operations by merging Channel Air Bridge with [[Silver City Airways]]. This resulted in the creation of [[British United Air Ferries]] in 1963.<ref name="BUAF_creation">''Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... SILVER CITY)'', Vol 43, No 3, p. 44, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, January 2010</ref>

==History==
Following [[Freddie Laker]]'s creation of Channel Air Bridge on an experimental basis in 1954, the newly formed airline commenced regular scheduled vehicle and passenger ferry services in April 1955 with four [[Bristol Freighter]]s shuttling seven times a day between [[London Southend Airport|Southend]] and [[Calais]].<ref name="BIA"/><ref name="CAB_beginning">''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, pp. 41/2</ref> The aircraft sported a red-and-white [[aircraft livery|colour scheme]].<ref name="livery">[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1959/1959%20-%203334.html ''Flight International'', 11 December 1959, ''Bridging that gap — What prospects for the vehicle air ferry?'' (by D.A. Whybrow), p. 711]</ref> In 1955, Channel Air Bridge also took delivery of the first two of nine larger, "long-nosed" Bristol 170 Mark 32 ''[[Bristol Superfreighter|Superfreighter]]s''. Eventually, Channel Air Bridge operated 24 daily round-trips between Southend and Calais and inaugurated additional vehicle/passenger ferry services from Southend to [[Ostend]] and [[Rotterdam]]. Southend—Ostend services were operated in partnership with [[Sabena]].<ref name="CAB_beginning"/><ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1959/1959%20-%203332.html?search=Channel%20Air%20Bridge ''Flight International'', 11 December 1959, ''Bridging that gap — What prospects for the vehicle air ferry?'' (by D.A. Whybrow), p. 709]</ref><ref>''Airliner Classics (SABENA – Belgium's Flag Carrier: Post-War Years)'', p. 63, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, July 2013</ref>

By 1958, Channel Air Bridge was carrying almost 15,000 cars a year. A considerable proportion of this was traffic diverted from the [[English Midlands|Midlands]], which would otherwise have used Silver City Airways, the original [[air ferry]] airline that had held a monopoly in this market prior to the arrival of Channel Air Bridge.<ref name="CAB_beginning"/> 1958 was also the year Laker decided to transfer Air Charter's vehicle ferry services and [[Bristol Freighter|Bristol 170]] fleet to Channel Air Bridge, thus putting the latter solely in charge of this type of operation.<ref name="BIA"/> During that year, Laker furthermore announced his decision to sell Air Charter, Channel Air Bridge and [[Aviation Traders]] to Airwork for [[pound sterling|£]]600,000 cash plus a further £200,000, subject to the valuation of stock.<ref>''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, pp. 54, 56/7</ref> The deal became effective in January 1959, when all three companies joined the Airwork group.<ref name="CAB_inception"/>

Following a rationalisation of Air Charter's flight crew and ground staff in February 1959, Channel Air Bridge assumed Air Charter's vehicle ferry services while Air Charter's remaining operations were subsequently absorbed into the newly formed BUA, as a result of the Airwork – Hunting-Clan merger in June 1960.<ref name="CAB_inception"/><ref name="BIA"/><ref>''Airliner World – The Laker Airways Skytrain'', Key Publishing, Avenel, NJ, USA, July 2005, p. 72</ref>

By 1962, Channel Air Bridge operated scheduled vehicle, passenger and freight ferry services from Southend to Calais, Ostend, Rotterdam, [[Basel]], Geneva and [[Strasbourg]]. The longer routes to [[Switzerland]] and Strasbourg in France, as well as all Dutch routes, were operated with [[Aviation Traders Carvair|ATL-98 Carvair]]s while Bristol Freighters continued to ply the shorter routes to Calais and Ostend. Combined rail-air-rail services were provided between London and [[Brussels]] in conjunction with [[British Rail]] and [[National Railway Company of Belgium|Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Belges/Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen]] (SNCB/NMBS), the respective contemporary national railway companies of the UK and [[Belgium]]. In addition, Channel Air Bridge held British licences to operate scheduled air ferry services from Southend to [[Bremen]], Düsseldorf and [[Lyon]]. These licences remained unused as a result of foreign government approval being withheld.<ref name="CAB_1962">[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%200549.html ''Flight International'', 12 April 1962, ''World Airline Survey — The UK Carriers ...'', p. 547]</ref>

Channel Air Bridge continued to operate under its own name until it merged with Silver City Airways to form British United Air Ferries on 1 January 1963.<ref name="BUAF_creation"/><ref name="BIA2">Merton Jones 1972, page 32</ref>

==Fleet ==
*[[Aviation Traders Carvair|Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair]]
*[[Bristol Freighter|Bristol 170 Freighter Mark 31]]
*[[Bristol Superfreighter|Bristol Superfreighter 170 Mark 32]]

===Fleet in 1962===
In April 1962, the Channel Air Bridge fleet comprised 11 aircraft.<ref name="CAB_1962"/>

{| class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse"
|+ '''Channel Air Bridge fleet in April 1962'''
|- bgcolor=lightblue
!Aircraft

!Number
|-
|[[Aviation Traders Carvair|Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair]]
|2
|-
|[[Bristol Superfreighter|Bristol 170 Superfreighter Mark 32]]
|8
|-
|[[Bristol Freighter|Bristol 170 Freighter Mark 31]]
|1
|-
|Total
|11
|}

A further 8 [[Aviation Traders Carvair|Carvair]]s were on order.<ref name="CAB_1962"/>

Channel Air Bridge employed 201 people at this time.<ref name="CAB_1962"/>

==Accidents and incidents==
There is one recorded fatal accident involving a Channel Air Bridge aircraft.<ref>[https://asn.flightsafety.org/database/operators/6943 Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety Database > Operator index > United Kingdom > Channel Air Bridge]</ref>

The accident occurred on 28 December 1962. It involved an Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair (registration: G-ARSF) operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Southend to Rotterdam. While the Carvair was making a visual approach to [[Rotterdam Airport]] in conditions of snow with 1,460m visibility, the [[landing gear]] struck a 6 feet high [[Levee|dyke]], 800 ft short of the runway threshold. When the plane hit the ground 200 ft further on, it bounced heavily. This resulted in the right wing becoming partially detached from the [[fuselage]] and the aircraft rolling rapidly to the right. After sliding inverted for about 700 ft, the Carvair came to a halt. This accident resulted in the death of one of the four crew members. All 14 passengers survived. Accident investigators established the fact that the [[pilot in command|commander]] carried out the final stage of approach below the normal [[final approach (aviation)|glide path]] with insufficient engine power as the primary cause. This resulted in the speed of descent being too high in relation to the horizontal distance still to be covered to the beginning of the runway. As a result, the aircraft hit a dyke at a high vertical speed after facing the direction of the approach. The board of investigators furthermore concluded that the aircraft would still have hit the ground a considerable distance short of the runway threshold, possibly with less fatal consequences, even if there had been no dyke, which in this instance was not an obstruction of any significant height.<ref>[https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/333174 ASN Aircraft accident description Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair G-ARSF — Rotterdam Airport (RTM)]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Freddie Laker]]
* [[List of defunct airlines of the United Kingdom]]

==Notes==
;Notes
{{Reflist|group=nb}}
;Citations
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
* {{cite book| author=Merton Jones, T. | title=British Independent Airline & Operators Since 1947| publisher=LAAS International | place=UK | year=1972 | id=NONE}}
* {{cite book|author1=Eglin, Roger |author2=Ritchie, Berry | title=Fly me, I'm Freddie | publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson | place=London, UK | year=1980 | isbn=0-297-77746-7}}
* {{cite book|author1=Dean, W.P. |author2=O'Callaghan, M. | title=The ATL-98 Carvair: A Comprehensive History of the Aircraft and All 21 Airframes | chapter=1: Corporate History – Channel Air Bridge | pages = 17–20 | publisher=McFarland & Co. | place=Jefferson, N.C., USA | year=2008 | isbn=978-0-7864-3670-5}}
* {{cite book| title=Airliner World – Britain's Carferry Airlines, January 2004 | publisher=Key Publishing | place=Avenel, NJ, USA}} ([http://www.airlinerworld.com ''Airliner World'' online])
* {{cite journal| title=Airliner Classics (Sir Freddie Laker – The Man Who Gave Us Skytrain, p. 81)| date=November 2009| publisher=Key Publishing| place=Stamford, Lincs, UK| url=http://shop.keypublishing.com/acatalog/Airliner_Classics.html| access-date=27 November 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106074531/http://shop.keypublishing.com/acatalog/Airliner_Classics.html| archive-date=6 January 2010| url-status=dead}}
* {{Cite journal| title=Airliner Classics (SABENA – Belgium's Flag Carrier: Post-war years, p. 63)| date=July 2013| publisher=Key Publishing| place=Stamford, Lincs, UK| url=https://shop.keypublishing.com/product/View/productCode/ALCLASS5| access-date=2 September 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706111536/http://shop.keypublishing.com/product/View/productCode/ALCLASS5| archive-date=6 July 2013| url-status=dead}}

==External links==
*[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%200010.html ''Airline Profile: Number One in a new "Flight" series — Channel Air Bridge: Background to the opening of Car Ferry Era 2'', Flight International, 4 January 1962, p. 10]
*[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%200011.html ''Airline Profile: Number One ... — Channel Air Bridge ...'', Flight International, 4 January 1962, p. 11]
*[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%200012.html ''Airline Profile: Number One ... — Channel Air Bridge ...'', Flight International, 4 January 1962, p. 12]
*[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%200013.html ''Airline Profile: Number One ... — Channel Air Bridge ...'', Flight International, 4 January 1962, p. 13]
*[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%200017.html ''Airline Profile: Number One ... — Channel Air Bridge ...'', Flight International, 4 January 1962, p. 17]
*[https://asn.flightsafety.org/database/operators/6943 Channel Air Bridge at the Aviation Safety Network Database]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20180719204055/https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/3650/1/Flight%20%20Accountant%202005.pdf Armstrong, P. (2005). ''The Flight of the Accountant: a Romance of Air and Credit'', ''Flight to insolvency'']

{{Portal bar|United Kingdom|Companies|Aviation}}
{{Airlines of the United Kingdom}}
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[[Category:Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Airlines established in 1954]]
[[Category:Airlines disestablished in 1963]]

Channel Air Bridge - Revision history

imported>Puppies937: EngvarB