Editing Aviation Traders

{{Short description|1947–1959 British aviation company}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2017}}
'''Aviation Traders Limited''' (ATL) was a [[World War II|war]]-surplus aircraft and spares trader formed in 1947. In 1949, it began maintaining aircraft used by some of Britain's contemporary independent [[airline]]s on the [[Berlin Blockade|Berlin Airlift]]. In the early 1950s, it branched out into aircraft conversions and manufacturing. During that period it also became a subcontractor for other aircraft manufacturers. By the end of the decade, it was taken over by the [[Airwork Services|Airwork]] group.<ref name="Mondey">Mondey 2000, p.116</ref><ref name="valuation">''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', p. 54</ref><ref name="carferries">''Airliner World – Britain's Carferry Airlines'', Key Publishing, Avenel, NJ, USA, July 2005, p. 34</ref>

==History==
Aviation Traders Ltd. (ATL) was established by [[Freddie Laker]] at [[RAF Bovingdon|Bovingdon]] in [[Hertfordshire]], England, in 1947 to trade in war-surplus aircraft and spares. Two years later, Laker shifted his fledgling business to new premises at [[Rochford]] aerodrome (later [[London Southend Airport|Southend Municipal Airport]]) near [[Southend-on-Sea]], Essex, England.<ref name="Mondey"/><ref>''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, pp. 12, 17</ref>

ATL initially specialised in converting numerous war-surplus bombers and transporters into freighters. This included the conversion of [[Handley Page Halifax]] bombers into freighters, six of which were sold to Bond Air Services, an early post-war independent British airline. Bond Air Services based these planes at [[Wunstorf]] aerodrome in [[West Germany]] to carry essential supplies into [[West Berlin]] during the [[Berlin Blockade]] of 1948–49. Bond Air Services furthermore contracted Aviation Traders to service these planes. In return, Aviation Traders got half of Bond Air Services' freight charges.<ref>''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, p. 16</ref> Following the end of the Berlin Airlift in 1949, Laker had most of the Halifaxes he had supplied to various independent airlines during the Airlift scrapped at its [[London Southend Airport|Southend]] facilities.

Aviation Traders (Engineering) Ltd – (ATEL), ATL's engineering division, was formally established in 1949. Laker put Jack Wiseman, a fully qualified aircraft maintenance engineer with whom he had worked for a brief period at London Aero Motor Services (LASM), in charge of his new engineering business.<ref>''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, pp. 12/3, 24</ref>

Three former [[British European Airways]] (BEA) [[Vickers VC.1 Viking|Vickers Viking]]s, which Laker had acquired in 1949 as well, were overhauled at ATL's Southend maintenance base and sold on to [[British Overseas Airways Corporation]] (BOAC) at a profit.<ref name="rebuilt">''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, p. 24</ref>

The following year, ATL's engineering arm cannibalised a number of unairworthy [[Avro York|York]]s and [[Avro Lancaster|Lancaster]]s Laker had purchased to rebuild the salvaged parts into three airworthy Yorks.<ref name="rebuilt"/>

ATL also became one of many post-war aircraft manufacturers which attempted to develop a successor to the ubiquitous [[Douglas DC-3]] piston-engine [[airliner]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.airliners.net/aircraft-data/stats.main?id=188| title = The Douglas DC-3}}</ref>

ATL's answer was the 28 passenger [[Aviation Traders Accountant|ATL-90 Accountant]] powered by two [[Rolls-Royce Dart]] [[turboprop]] engines, which first flew on 9 July 1957, however ATL's design was competing against a large number of designs from well-established aircraft manufacturers with much deeper pockets and could not match the scale of their investments, either in the design and development or in marketing it. Competing designs including the [[Convair CV-240]] series, [[Fokker F-27 Friendship]] and [[Vickers VC.1 Viking]] also saturated the market. As a consequence, the Accountant failed to attract orders, which led to the programme's termination and in the [[prototype]]'s destruction.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/3650/1/Flight%20%20Accountant%202005.pdf |title=Armstrong, P. (2005). ''The Flight of the Accountant: a Romance of Air and Credit'', ''Flight to insolvency'' |access-date=4 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719204055/https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/3650/1/Flight%20%20Accountant%202005.pdf |archive-date=19 July 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, pp. 48–54</ref>

Subsequent conversion work was more successful. [[Avro Tudor]] airliners were fitted with large side freight doors for [[Air Charter Limited|Air Charter Ltd]] (one of ATL's sister companies) as ''Supertraders''.<ref>''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, pp. 36/7, 39, 40</ref>

Twenty-one [[Douglas DC-4]] airliners were converted into car ferries as the [[Aviation Traders Carvair|ATL-98 Carvair]],<ref name="Mondey"/> a major rebuild that replaced the aircraft's original nose with an enlarged version that raised the cockpit above the cargo hold and added a hinged nose through which five cars could be loaded with a mobile scissor lift.<ref>''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, p. 89</ref> Twenty-five passengers could be carried in the unaltered rear [[fuselage]] while the fin was enlarged to offset the increased side area of the new forward fuselage. Carvairs were operated from [[London Southend Airport|Southend Airport]] on short [[air ferry]] routes across the [[English Channel]] or [[North Sea]] where they supplemented [[Bristol Freighter]]s already being used in the same role. High speed car ferry service by large [[hovercraft]] such as the [[SR.N4]] meant an end to the service.<ref name="carferries"/><ref>''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, pp. 77/8</ref>

ATL installed unused [[Rolls-Royce Merlin]]s in ex-BOAC ''[[Canadair North Star|Canadair Argonaut (North Star)]]'' airliners. The engines were acquired earlier along with ex-BOAC Halifaxes and several Avro Tudors purchased from the [[Her Majesty's Government|British Government]].<ref>''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, pp. 38, 49</ref>

In 1951, ATL won a contract from [[Bristol Aeroplane Company|Bristol Aircraft]] to manufacture wing centre sections for Bristol Freighters. Between the beginning of 1952 and the end of 1955, ATL built 50 wing sections for Bristol Aircraft. During that period ATL had grown into a large engineering and manufacturing organisation.<ref>''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, p. 29</ref>

In 1956, ATL purchased over 250 surplus ex-[[Royal Air Force]] [[Percival Prentice]] [[Trainer (aircraft)|trainers]], about 20 of which were converted for civilian customers.<ref name="Mondey"/><ref>''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, pp. 46/7</ref>

In 1958, Laker announced his decision to sell both ATL and Air Charter to Airwork for [[pound sterling|£]]600,000 cash plus a further £200,000, subject to the valuation of stock.<ref name="valuation"/> The deal became effective in January 1959, when both companies joined the Airwork group.<ref name="carferries"/>

In 1996, Britavia, which was part of Airwork and was the design arm of Shorts Support Services ceased trading as Britavia and was subject to a Management Buy-Out, and started trading again as Aviation Traders Limited (ATL) based at [[Bournemouth Airport]] until 2016. In 2016 ATL moved to their current offices in Wimborne. ATL provided approved design services under the CAA reference of DAI/9525/96. With the introduction of EASA, ATL moved under the control of EASA and transferred to a Design Organisation Approval (DOA) under Part 21J and now certifies and designs fixed and rotary wing modifications under approval reference EASA.21J.016. ATL are currently opening a European company and office to continue following [[BREXIT]].

==Aircraft==
*[[Aviation Traders Accountant|ATL.90 Accountant]] – Prototype medium-range airliner
*ATL.92 – Proposed military variant of the Accountant
*ATL.93 – Proposed military variant of the Accountant
*[[Aviation Traders Carvair|ATL.98 Carvair]] – Modified Douglas DC-4 for use as a car transport

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|author1=Eglin, Roger |author2=Ritchie, Berry  |name-list-style=amp | title=Fly me, I'm Freddie | publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson | place=London, UK | year=1980 | isbn=0-297-77746-7}}
* {{cite book| last=Mondey |first=David |title=The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft |publisher=Quantum |location=London |year=2000 }}
* {{cite book| title=Airliner World – Britain's Carferry Airlines, January 2004 | publisher=Key Publishing | place=Avenel, NJ, USA}} ([http://www.airlinerworld.com ''Airliner World'' online])

==External links==
*[http://www.atl.aero www.atl.aero] – ATL (Aviation Traders Ltd)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20180719204055/https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/3650/1/Flight%20%20Accountant%202005.pdf Armstrong, P. (2005). ''The Flight of the Accountant: a Romance of Air and Credit'', ''Flight to insolvency'']

{{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom}}

[[Category:Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1947]]
[[Category:1947 establishments in England]]
[[Category:British companies established in 1947]]