Avro 688 Tudor Mk.1

Avro 688 Tudor Mk.1

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08/12/2006. Remarks by Jack McKillop: "This aircraft was ordered by the Ministry of Supply and Aircraft Production for the RAF which assigned it RAF s/n TS868 however, the order was cancelled and the Ministry took delivery on September 5, 1945 and registered it G-AGRE. British Overseas Airways (BOAC) were interested in the Tudor but BOAC's requirements had changed since the original order was placed and the shorter than planned range meant that the Tudor was no longer suitable for BOAC service.

The aircraft was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation in November 1946 and was converted to a Model 688 Tudor Mk.4B by stretching the fuselage 6 ft (1.83 m), providing accommodations for 28-passengers and retaining the flight engineer's position of the Mk.1. The Model 4B now met the requirements of the British South American Airways Corp. (BSAAC) and they took delivery on November 14, 1948. The aircraft, still registered G-AGRE, was named "Star Ariel".

This aircraft disappeared over the western Atlantic Ocean on January 17, 1949. G-AGRE departed Kindley Field, Bermuda, at 08:41 hours local for the first leg to Kingston Airport, Jamaica, of a flight to Santiago, Chile. The last radio contact was at 09:42 hours local when the flight informed Bermuda that they had passed though 30 degrees North latitude and that they were changing to the Kingston frequency. Nothing more was heard from the flight and no wreckage was found. Weather at the time of the disappearance was good; wind was north at 36 kt (41 mph, 67 kmh), no clouds over 10,000 ft (3,048 m) while the aircraft was cruising at 18,000 ft (5,486 m). All seven crew and 13 passengers were lost. The probable cause of the loss is unknown."


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08/12/2006. Remarks by Jack McKillop: "This aircraft was ordered by the Ministry of Supply and Aircraft Production for the RAF which assigned it RAF s/n TS868 however, the order was cancelled and the Ministry took delivery on September 5, 1945 and registered it G-AGRE. British Overseas Airways (BOAC) were interested in the Tudor but BOAC's requirements had changed since the original order was placed and the shorter than planned range meant that the Tudor was no longer suitable for BOAC service. The aircraft was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation in November 1946 and was converted to a Model 688 Tudor Mk.4B by stretching the fuselage 6 ft (1.83 m), providing accommodations for 28-passengers and retaining the flight engineer's position of the Mk.1. The Model 4B now met the requirements of the British South American Airways Corp. (BSAAC) and they took delivery on November 14, 1948. The aircraft, still registered G-AGRE, was named "Star Ariel". This aircraft disappeared over the western Atlantic Ocean on January 17, 1949. G-AGRE departed Kindley Field, Bermuda, at 08:41 hours local for the first leg to Kingston Airport, Jamaica, of a flight to Santiago, Chile. The last radio contact was at 09:42 hours local when the flight informed Bermuda that they had passed though 30 degrees North latitude and that they were changing to the Kingston frequency. Nothing more was heard from the flight and no wreckage was found. Weather at the time of the disappearance was good; wind was north at 36 kt (41 mph, 67 kmh), no clouds over 10,000 ft (3,048 m) while the aircraft was cruising at 18,000 ft (5,486 m). All seven crew and 13 passengers were lost. The probable cause of the loss is unknown."