On the 2nd of July 1925 the
Air Express Company, Limited – AEC was formed with a stock-capital
of £ 100,-,-. Prof Dr Hugo Junkers possessed 42 %, while
Messr A H Trost and Henry R Trost owned the remainder 58 %. The
reconstruction of the company after two disastrous years (1925
and 1926) started in the spring of 1927 with the signing of the
new agreement. The freight traffic was not too impressive: In
the period January – November 1927 the AEC imported 2,441
consignments with a total weight of 12,089 kg and exported 317
consignments with a total weight of 2,525 kgs. This barely kept
the company going. AEC worked on the London – Paris route
with the French counterpart Air Express (This company in Paris
was not affiliated with Junkers or Air Express Co Ltd, but was
a department of the French airline company Compagnie Aérienne
Française – CAF). The company was at the end of 1927
barely alive. Two of its most lucrative clients had cancelled
the co-operation with AEC and this resulted in a further decline
of the results in 1928. The French competitor Air Express managed
to increase its business between Paris and London at the cost
of AEC. In 1927 the Board of Directors of Jfa had already decided
that the AEC should be closed down, but not dissolved. In February
1928 the AEC moved to a new office building at Croydon and despite
the higher rent, other costs could be reduced. Indeed new possibilities
gloomed at the horizon: The formation of associated companies
on the European Continent; Restoration of contacts with other
organisations on behalf of the Junkers Werke AG;
Establish a closer co-operation between AEC and Air Express/CAF
in France. In 1929 the CAF inaugurated the short passengers and
freight service between the Channel cities Calais (France) and
Dover (UK) using flying boats of the type Loiré et Olivier
LeO 198. The service was offered on demand. AEC expected to be
the general agent for this new air route, but they were not awarded
the agency. This meant a further loss of income and a further
blow for AEC. It even got worst, when Air Express (France) opened
its own office at a prime location in the centre of London and
started its own delivery service. On January 7, 1930 it was therefore
decided to cancel the contract with the Trost Brothers. The Trost
Brother had for some months been engaged upon negotiations with
a view of disposing of AEC as a going concern on the basis of
selling the aeroplane G-AAGU with the company to Walcot Air Lines
Ltd, but the serious financial troubles in New York and London
(the October Crash at the stock exchange of 1929) caused a general
withdrawal from business of a speculative character. In the spring
of 1930, whilst the negotiations for the sale of two Junkers
F 13 aircraft were in progress, Jfa decided that their shares
in AEC were worthless to them and definitely wrote that they
would hand them over without charge to the aircraft purchasers.
In the autumn, when clearing up the affairs of AEC, there arose
the question of the debt (at the end of the year £ 500.-.-),
which was entirely from one creditor (Air Express, Paris). They
pressed for payment and indicated that they would probably decide
to make AEC bankrupt. Air Express (Paris) was first interested
in a take-over, but withdrew its interest later. In April two
representatives of the British Air Ministry visited the Junkers
Flugzeugwerk AG – Jfa in Dessau in connection with the flying
permit in the UK and Ireland. It was of interest to notice that
the Vice Air Marshal Serton Branker in connection with the first
sales of a German aircraft to a UK-customer decided that for
private aircraft the German Certificate of Airworthiness was
sufficient for the registration in the UK-register! The first
permit was issued after the visit and this enabled the Trost
Brothers to import more Junkers-aircraft. The Trost Brothers
took delivery of the first aircraft in July 1928. It had the
constructor’s number 2024 and was registered as G-EBZV on
July 12, 1928 (CofR No 1694) to the Rt Hon Frederick (Freddie)
Edward Guest. The Certificate of Airworthiness was issued the
following day. The Rt Hon Guest used it as a private aircraft.
In April 1929 it was decided to change the engine of the aircraft
into a 450 hp Bristol Jupiter VI air-cooled 9-cylinder radial
engine that was installed in June 1929. The engine change was
made, because in the climate it flew the aircraft needed more
power at take-off. The next aircraft imported to the UK was the
Junkers F 13, WNr 2047 (WNr stands for Werknummer and equals
constructor’s number) that in April 1929 was registered
as G-AAGU (CofR No 1962). It was flown on May 26 from Berlin
to London/Croydon and its Certificate of Validation (CofV) No
12 was issued on May 30, 1929. The Trost Brothers used the aircraft
for joy ride flights and managed to sell the aircraft in 1930
to the small Croydon based airline company Walcot Air Line Ltd
that took delivery of the aircraft on May 31. At the same time
a second Junkers F 13 for Walcot Air Line Ltd was imported: the
WNr 2052. It was registered on May 26, 1930 as G-AAZK (CofR No
2609). Latter aircraft saw a tragic end. Col. Henderson had departed
for a flight from the French village of Le Touquet to London/Croydon.
On board were beside Col. G L P Henderson as pilot, second pilot
Mr Charles D’Urban Shearing, the Marques of Dufferin and
Ava, Viscountess Ednam, Sir Edward Ward and Mrs Henrik Loeffler
(1). After three hours flight the aircraft crashed near the small
village of Meopham, Kent (some five miles south of Gravesend).
In the press it was said that the aircraft exploded in the air
because of the lightning of gas in the empty petrol tank and
there was also a theory of a mid-air explosion, but these theories
were generally not accepted in England. It is for a fact that
the aircraft certainly did not explode in the air. The Head of
the Aeronautical Research Commission –ACR (responsible for
the investigation of the accident) Major Cooper was told that
the lost of the cover of the engine might well be the reason
for the accident. It had happened once before with the German
pilot Bapekul and another Junkers F 13 and Jfa had instructed
the users of the Junkers F 13 to use extra straps around the
hood of the engine. Air Marshal Sir Sefton Brancker was informed
about this as well during a visit to Jfa on August 26, 1930.
In September the German DVL e.V. desired to be represented at
the ACR investigating Junkers’ accident if possible by an
observer and nominated Mr Trost. But this never happened. Later
that month it was clear that the English press was not too nice
about the use of foreign aircraft in England. By mid-September
it was however clear that the Air Ministry officially declared
that the accident could not be blamed on structural failure.
Without doubt the accident made a tremendous impact on the public
opinion about air traffic. The final conclusion of the commission
was that the tail plane “buffing” (shaking strongly).
The company finaly ceased trading in 1931. |
