Bonhams 1793 : A silver model of Short Empire Flying Boat "Cambria", London, 1937,

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15 Sep 2012 13:00 BST Chichester,Goodwood
Collectors' Automobilia
Back to auction 20145

A silver model of Short Empire Flying Boat "Cambria", London, 1937,

silver plaque to mount inscribed 'Presented to Captain G. J. Powell By H. O. Short To Commemorate His First Crossing Of The Atlantic In The Short Empire Flying Boat "Cambria" 29TH July 1937', solid silver the hollow cast fuselage mounted with float bearing wings and four nacelles, one lacking spinner and propeller blades, hallmarked London 1937, made by Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co Ltd Regents Street London, loose on wooden stand, together with a varnished wooden box.

Estimate:

£1,800 - 2,400
€2,100 - 2,800
US$ 2,700 - 3,700

Footnotes

In 1933 Imperial Airways decided that the future of long range air travel lay with flying boats and therefore ordered 16 of Shorts new C class aircraft off the drawing board. The first two off the line, named Caledonia and Cambria, were modified with long range tanks and delivered to the new Atlantic Division in 1937. Caledonia made the first Atlantic crossing on July 5th 1937 whilst under the command of Air Commodore Griffith J. Powell. one of two Imperial Airways flying boat captains, Cambria, made the second trip on July 29th. Bad weather meant that Cambria had to fly 'blind' for 8 hours, navigating by dead reckoning.

After the 1937 proving flights Shorts presented silver models of Caledonia and Cambria to Captains Wilcockson and Powell, this model has been in the Powell family ever since.

More information, including press coverage, photographs and pilots logs are available from the vendor by separate negotiation after the sale.