Some b&ws of Manchester 50s-80s (images restored)

[viscount]

A few years ago several drawers and an LP box of assorted b&w photos came back into my possession. The collection had been gathered by MAS 'Flypast' editors in the late '70s through to the mid '80s for possible use in the magazine then sale to members. Nothing has been added since 1986. There is an absolute wealth of forgotten photos of interesting aircraft - including many of aircraft at Ringway.

The quality of photos vary, mostly b&ws, a number are clearly home processed and others severely cropped with sissors for use in 'Flypast'. I have digitally straightened, altered the contrast, cropped and removed major blemishes whenever necessary before posting. Very few have the photographer's name on the back, making it impossible to credit these shots, but I will do whenever I can.

Hope you enjoy the variety of types, airlines and occasions represented by these 30 or so prints. Bit of a celebration of the time when there was public rooftop access to the terminal and piers. Beyond any information on the back some prints, I know little, so trust that those in the know, such as mw5, will look up their records and add dates etc.



1. There are no details on the back of this large, but damaged, print of Sabena Boeing 707-329 OO-SJD. The aircraft served with Sabena 2.62 until 11.77. With the terminal still under construction behind, this is certainly an early 60s shot, possibly of a first visit?

2-6 are all by the same unnamed photographer, however with foresight the details of the date and registration are recorded on the reverse on typed labels.



2. G-AVZZ Boeing 707-138B Laker on taxi out for departure 31.8.69. The aircraft served with Laker 2.69 to 12.78.



3. G-AVTW Boeing 707-300c Caledonian/BUA, on landing 27.6.71. This aircraft served with Caledonian 12.67 to 4.73 through several name changes.



4. G-AYSI Boeing 707-373c Britannia Airways, departing in a downpour 27.6.71. Although mainly a Boeing 737 operator at the time, they used G-AYSI 2.71 to 4.73.



5. G-APFM Boeing 707-436 BOAC, on landing 25.7.71. This aircraft served with BOAC/BA 11.60 to 8.76.



6. G-AYVE Boeing 707-321 British Midland Airways, also on 27.6.71. Note the 'borrowed' rudder in a different airline scheme, while the trim tab is in BMA colours.



7. G-BFLD Boeing 707-338c of BMA, operated by them 3.78 to 8.85 although often out on lease to other operators. A better quality original makes a difference to the quality of scan, although I've missed repairing a couple of dust marks. Now known to be an Ian Griffiths photograph.



8. N651TF Boeing 707-351B in 'Jet 24' titles in this Ian Griffiths shot. The aircraft carried the marks N651TF for the period 7.80 to 8.88

[viscount]

Enough Boeings for a second post, but this time more variation in the model, covering 737, 747 & 757.



9. D-ABEM Boeing 737-130 of Lufthansa on 11.3.79. 'HE' on the back presumably is a Hewel Evans photograph. Only the 23rd Boeing 737 built it served with Lufthansa 4.68 - 8.81. The marks D-ABEM were later re-used on a Lufthansa Boeing 737-330.



10. OO-SDK Boeing 737-229C of Sabena at Manchester 27.5.75.



11. C-FFUN Boeing 747-124 of Wardair was a regular for many years. Now identified as an Ian Griffiths photograph.







12 to 14. VH-EBM Boeing 747-238B of Qantas. I make no apologies for posting all three of these Alan Curry prints of the first visit to Manchester by a Qantas Jumbo in 1983.





15 & 16. N905NA Boeing 747-123 of NASA, with Shuttle 'Enterprise' riding piggy-back overflying the length of the runway in 1983. One photo that has lot of white sky, but impossible to crop any further without losing the reason for the photo.



17. G-BIKC Boeing 757-236 of British Airways "Edinburgh Castle" at the time of just 'British' titles, probably not that long after delivery 1.83. Now identified as an Ian Griffiths photograph.



18. G-BPGW Boeing 757-236 of Air Europe in a named Ian Griffiths photograph, seen on 12.5.84 around six weeks after delivery to Gatwick.

[viscount]

This third post covers a variety of manufacturers. In the 70s and 80s there was a far greater variety of types in service than today.



19. While the Boeing 707 dominated there were also numerous DC-8s around too. This aircraft though landed on diversion, a DC-8-51, RP-C830 of Intercontinental, a Nigerian airline. This is a Photogenix photograph. The aircraft landed at Manchester after striking the tail of an aircraft at Stansted while on a go-around in thick fog conditions. There is an Ian531 photo of this aircraft on another thread in this section.



20. N4865T is a Douglas DC-8-73CF of Transamerica on 12.5.84 on a Ian Griffiths print. He notes on the back that the aircraft operated passengers to New York on Saturday and on Sunday as a freighter for Emery.



21. A great 1970 shot of a line of BAC.1-11s on the inside of the International Pier. A BAC Ltd, Weybridge Division print. Recognisable are a BEA BAC-111-510 in their initial colour scheme; BUA's G-AWYS a BAC.111-501 leased out in Swissair titles 4.70 to 10.70 (note no Swiss flag tail colours); a Laker BAC-111-320 possibly G-AVBY; a BUA BAC.111-500 series aircraft; with a Dan Air Comet 4 way out on the pier end.



22. A SE.210 Caravelle 10R EC-CPI on 17.8.83, an Alan Curry photograph.



23. Bavarian Fluggesellschaft BAC.111-528 D-ANUE, likely on a inclusive tour charter sometime between early 1972 and early 1977



24. For a short time British Midland Airways operated the BAC.111-500, this being G-AXLL a BAC.111-523 and was in these marks Feb 1970 to May 1973. Michael Bishop never liked the type, and from the end of the '70s became a Douglas DC-9 operator.





25 & 26. Two Michael Gomez photos, clearly on a fairly basic camera, both of Concorde G-BOAA visit on 15.11.76.



27. Canadair CL-44D-4 N121AE of Air Express International in this cracking Ian Griffiths shot, dated 12.5.84



28. Airbus A.300B4 G-BIMB of Laker in a further Ian Griffiths shot, although this one is undated, it is in the period 2.81 to 2.83.



29. Airbus A.310 5B-DAR of Cyprus Airways on 14.4.84, an Ian Griffiths print.

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30. Soviet built airliners always added interest and variety to a day's viewing. For good measure two together, a regular Aviogenex Tupolev Tu-134A YU-AJD, with a very much rarer Iluyshin Il-62M of East German Interflug, possibly DDR-SEM. Date not recorded on this print which has the look of another Ian Griffiths print. However, 'mw5' supplies the date as 22.3.85.



31. Finally, something a little different, a Sikorsky S-61N G-BEWM of British Airways, 17.8.83 taken by Alan Curry.

[viscount]

A few from RINGWAY in the 1950s:



First shot, is by far the oldest (and likely rarest) Manchester Photo in the MAS Collection. Here a KLM The Flying Dutchman Douglas DC-6 PH-TPT, dated on the back, Ringway 1953. Delivered new to KLM early 1948 as PH-TPI, soon changed to PH-TPT, it was re-registered PH-DPT 2.54. The aircraft finished its day with the Peruvian Air Force, wfu 1977.

These 4 Ringway shots were discovered in a collection of Speke photos! Courtesy of photographer Ian Foster, undated, but certainly mid-late '50s shots. Note the lack of buildings around the airport, although the wartime factory hangars over on the right provide identification that the shots are indeed at Ringway. Taken using a basic Box Brownie Kodak camera, good bright conditions and a very steady hand were required for good photos, it looks to have been a dull and possibly breezy day to make things difficult.



Avro York G-AGNV was operated by Skyways of London 4.55 until 10.64. Looking into the windows, it would appear to have no seats in place, so is likely a positioning freight flight.



A ever so slightly shaky shot of Douglas DC-7c, which looks as though it could be G-AOIB. If so, B.O.A.C. operated this aircraft between 1956 and 1964.



Another not quite sharp photo, this time of a Hunting Clan Viscount, so between 5.55 and 7.60.



Again not absolutely sharp, BEA Viscount 802 G-AOHW at Manchester, all 4 shots presumably on the same day.

Further Ian Foster's Speke photos can be found on: www.derbosoft.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=history&action=display&thread=11783 (note: dead link 2024, but thread is still there)

Subsequent research (2024) shows that all 4 of these images may well be Alan Schoefield originals, either copies sold by him, or swopped. Such exchange of images was common-place in the late '50s/'early 60s long before 'copyright' became an issue!

[mw5]

Brian, many thanks for posting these and many thanks to Ian also.
I had a look at his Liverpool shots via the link and...what a superb collection!

[viscount]

Another 'bump up' to bring this thread back to everyone's attention. After 8 months stripped of images by Photobucket, I've replaced the images and consolidated a few in from another short thread.

For those interested in Manchester during the 50s to early 80s an interesting selection of aircraft from prints, most effectively discarded by photographers into a swop box in the MAS clubroom. Where the original photographer is known, they are credited in the caption.

Just for my interest, since creation of this thread in March 2013 there have been 3,140 visits before Photobucket's action April 2017 and subsequent replacement of the images January 2018.

[kevmul]

Another brilliant thread with fabulous photos.

Many thanks for posting.

Kev

[ilt]

Absolutely brilliant Brian. Thanks for bumping the thread.

[donboy]

Thank you Brian for re-posting the pictures. I usually find that what's in the background as just as interesting as the main subject matter, and spotted what looks like the GCA radar caravan in the background of pictures 2 and 6.

[ilt]

Agree with donboy about backgrounds....which prompts me to ask

Does anyone have any photographs of the airfield battle headquarters at Ringway? It might have been unique. The RSP shows it with a unique drawing ID but that doesn't necessarily mean it was a unique design.

[viscount]

More images found in boxes of mainly Liverpool photos. These are transparencies collected, and mostly taken by John Pope in the mid '60s. Nothing amazing, indeed show Ringway with routine aircraft for the period. On re-posting in July 2021, notice that these images were originally posted uncleaned and uncropped, just straight scans. I've a big programme of reposting images and creating new posts underway, so will leave "as is" as they reasonably routine Manchester scenes and the distraction created by the marks is not too great.



G-ATLE Britannia 314 of Transglobe, clearly at Ringway on a Kodak transparency with a June 1967 processing date stamp

The next 8 images are all dated 10th July 1967:



G-APEM Vanguard 953 of BEA, parked right in the corner, even then this shows it to be operating the Heathrow route



G-ATPH British Eagle BAC.111 on the inside of the International Pier, along with Trident 1 G-ARPL.



G-APWG HPR-7 Dart Herald of British United Airways



G-ARPL Trident 1 of British Airways out towards the inside end of the International Pier





SAS SE.210 Caravelle III LN-KLN, presumably on the Copenhagen-Manchester-Dublin-Manchester-Copenhagen run.



Viscount 806 of BEA, G-APEX



A BEA London flight must have departed and another Vanguard arrived, as G-APEP is now in the corner spot of the inside of the domestic pier.



This Vanguard looks as though it could be G-APES, a rather 'thin' Kodak slide, processed May 1968.



An Aer Lingus BAC-111, also just a tad over-exposed (!) and also a Kodak slide, processed May 1968.



Somewhat denser, the exposure set with greater accuracy, this Kodak transparency is process dated April 1972 and shows BOAC Boeing 707-436 G-APFN.

[Airbus A346]

YU-AJD by MARTIN CHELL, on Flickr

D-ABEB by MARTIN CHELL, on Flickr

G-ATPJ by MARTIN CHELL, on Flickr

PH-DNA by MARTIN CHELL, on Flickr

G-ARRA by MARTIN CHELL, on Flickr

[viscount]

Having found this "zombie" thread with many of the photographs removed by Photobucket or gdurl, I have reinserted the images using a different image host site and am adding a short post of 1960s b&ws discovered amongst Keith Barke's collection of Liverpool and military photos. The first couple are the weakest. To me the background is often as interesting and the aircraft. The open land beyond the Sabena Boeing 707 which is now all terminal and freight aprons, while the 'low level' terminal caught me by surprise. Also note the spectators in some numbers on the terminal terraces, but only a few out on the piers.

I have no certain indication of the dates of any of these prints, although some seem to be 1963, others in 1967.



Quite definitely a print that should have headed directly into the bin 60 years ago, indeed I would have been quite justified in not bothering to scan, clean and upload today, however what strikes me about this blurred, truncated Douglas DC-7 of BOAC is the similarity of subject and shot location to an unconnected image on an earlier post of this thread of Ian Foster's images. Not impossible that this is a 1963 photo, but could be earlier but not a lot later as the BOAC DC-7 left the fleet completely in 1964.



G-ALXL Douglas C-47B Dakota 4 served with Cambrian 2.60 until 7.69. Note the mobile radar in position out towards the runway. Some water staining.



DC-6 F-BGSL Air Afrique titles at Manchester. Was leased to Air Afrique as TU-TCJ 12.63 to 11.65, however research by 'Rob 125' on my behalf shows that this Aeromariime aircraft carried Air Afrique titles with the French registration for quite a while. There were 24 visits in total by F-BGSL to Manchester in 1963 between 31st May and 9th September and another on 2nd June 1966. So almost certainly summer 1963. Seeing a Dan Air Ambassador 'out-parked' on the far edge of the apron was quite typical for the period.





Sabena aircraft were frequent at Manchester in 1963 with a Douglas DC-6 (just possibly OO-CTK or OO-CTN but far from clear) and a Convair Cv.440 on the same image, with on the other OO-SJF Boeing 707-329, just look at that open rolling countryside beyond!









The Convair MC-131A,or alternatively the C-131A(M), were frequent callers at Manchester March to August 1967, after which the flights switched to Liverpool. They served the US Army base at Burtonwood that only opened up in January 1967 following the French withdrawal from NATO and subsequent removal of US servicemen from French soil. 0-25788, has the operating unit, the 439th MAG noted on the undercarriage door. It is known, again through research by 'Rob125' that 0-25788 called at Ringway 8 times in 1967. The visits on 12th April (1337-1429), 19th April (1253-1317), 4th July (1601-1629) and 9th August (1334-1409) certainly all coincided with All-Air Douglas C-54E D-ADAB operating Lufthansa freight service LH942. D-ADAB is identified by the individual aircraft name "Dr B Tilemann". All-Air later became part of Transportflug. In appears that in the movements files that 'rob125' has acquired, a Dan Air Ambassador G-ALZY would have been parked on the International Pier on 9th August 1967 having arrived from Perpignan at 1147 and departed to Ostend at 1514. So against the odds, I reckon we have a date fixed for the Samaritan visit photos.





Two shots of G-APET V.953 Vanguard of BEA arriving on the London/Heathrow schedule. Presumably these are also 1967 photos, although the only evidence is that the ground is slightly wetter than on the British Eagle shots! Mind you just how far into the '60s did the BEA 'red square logo' scheme last? (answer - certainly beyond 1968)





British Eagle G-ATPH BAC-111-304 "Salute", tucked tightly into the corner of the apron, sometime in the period 4/67 to 11/68. Some water stains.

[viscount]

MANCHESTER

To get these Gerry Manning images viewed in the correct section I´m repeating them here as they depict 'classic' '60s Ringway, the main theme of this thread. These images are from an interesting thread depicting aircraft at a wide number of British Airports in the late '60s. derbosoft.proboards.com/thread/17729/memories-british-airfields-images-restored



G-APES Vickers Vanguard 953 of BEA at Ringway 29.5.66. To Hunting Cargo and wfu 1995.



G-ATMA Bristol Britannia 314 of Caledonian at Ringway 29.6.68. wfu at Biggin Hill 6.73 and scrapped 1974.



G-ANBA Bristol 175 Britannia 102 of Britannia Airways at Ringway 29.6.68. The aircraft was wfu Luton 11.69 and bu 6.70.

[griff]

Hi Mr Viscount
I think from memory the Wardair 747, BMA 707 and BA 757 may have been my B&W shots.
Great days
Griff