Very informative story, but B.O.A.C stood for Better On A Camel.
Mind you, the Belgian airlines stood for Such A Bloody Experience; Never Again.
;)
Didn't the Speedbird (watch/logo) have something to do with British Airways...?
"Owning one is almost as satisfying as making one." ~ Rolex 1973
Very informative story, but B.O.A.C stood for Better On A Camel.
Mind you, the Belgian airlines stood for Such A Bloody Experience; Never Again.
;)
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Good old SABENA, they definately did things differently but their catering was fantastic.
Alternatively,
B.O.A.C. = Back (H)Ome After Christmas.
Which was true as they sent me to the Middle East for a month and three months later I got home using another airline manageing to have a row both with my boss and my girlfriend within two hours of arrival.
And
British European Airways B.E.A = Back Early Afternoon.
TWA was Travel With Amal
PIA was Please Inform Allah and AI was Allah Informed
SAS was Same As Sabena
Quick And Nasty, Terrible Aussie Service...
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Coincidentally the Dieppe Raid was codenamed Operation Jubilee.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieppe_Raid
Last edited by fm.tz; 1st October 2020 at 22:56.
Speedbird was the international aircraft radio call sign followed by the flight number of all B.O.A.C. aircraft in flight and continues to be so for all BA aircraft on international routes. The Speedbird logo was created for Imperial Airways a forerunner of B.O.A.C. in 1932 and has appeared on all subsequent B.O.A.C./BA aircraft ever since in one form or another although today you might be hard put to recognise it if you didn't know what you were looking for being described in its its modified form by one senior manager in the 1990's when the BA World Image was introduced as looking more akin to the Signal tooth paste or Germaloid Cream logo, passions run high along with heart attacks in the aviation industry and many found a love they never knew they had for Mrs.Thatcher when she placed a handkerchief over an offending model BA aircraft bearing the World Image which was quickly dropped along with the the CEO.
Eddie's original 'Speedbird' watch celebrated the Mk XI which as a navigational instrument was issued along with a whole load of kit to B.O.A.C. Aircraft Navigators and at some point Pilots for use in Astral Navigation, what happened to these watches after they were no longer used by what was by then BA and why some bear the Pheon or Broad Arrow of British government property is another long and complex story which wouldn't make a half bad thriller film considering the value of these watches today.
Last edited by Misbourne; 1st October 2020 at 23:13.
TWA, leading the way to the USA.
Those were the days.....
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!