[Albion] Going to France. On the plane. WITH YOUR CAR.

[AZ Gull]

Are you Prince Andrew?

 

[GT49er]

Seems my mum did this with her family in the early 1960s. I thought she was making it up. Then I saw this photo.

View attachment 181023

I then looked up Silver City, and it really was a thing!

Silver City Airways: The Airline That Flew A Million Cars

Taking a closer look at the airline that flew cars across the English Channel.

simpleflying.com

Who knew?

I think I had an Airfix kit of one of those (or something similar anyway).

 

[RandyWanger]

I know you can fly cars today as cargo, but it's not a drive on/off service but I never knew this was a thing in the 60s. Very cool.

 

[BLOCK F]

I can remember my parents using this service back in the day. Don’t think they did it very often and tended to use the ferries for their European holidays.
I think we had an ancient piece of cine film somewhere featuring the Silver City ‘flying machines.’

 

[NS Herald]

I have said on another thread that when I was a youngster My dad took us to France using the Bristol freighters. We flew from Lydd to Le Touquet and I mostly remember the way the aircraft shook as it revved up for take off. Also, my dad was usually quite frugal so I don't think it can have been that expensive, but have no idea on the actual cost.

My Uncle was a Bristol Freighter pilot based at Lydd for several years doing these flights. As a small kid I would spend time there in the summer holidays watching these aircraft 'consume' their load of cars and passengers.
In later years I worked for BIA whose Dart Heralds operated the Silver Arrow service from Gatwick to Le Touquet - passengers getting the train from Victoria to Gatwick and then from Le Touquet to Gare du Nord. The Chunnel put an end to that in 1980.

 

[lost in london]

This is incredible, what a crazy service. Turns out it was popular though, by 1960 they were By doing 40,000 annual cross-Channel flights transporting 220,000 passengers and 90,000 vehicles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_City_Airways)

In 1950 it was £19 for a small car and four passengers, £541 in today's money. Not too bad at all.

 

[RandyWanger]

In 1950 it was £19 for a small car and four passengers, £541 in today's money. Not too bad at all.

Bargain!