Historic airport opening celebrated with spectacular air display

Please fasten your safety belts!

Now called the George Best Belfast City Airport, Belfast Harbour Airport was opened by Mrs Anne Chamberlain, wife of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, on Wednesday March 16, 1938.

Just over a decade later, in a single-seater plane above the runway, 23-year-old American aerobatic pilot Betty Skelton performed a ‘hammerhead’ (vertically up, vertically down, vertically up again at the last moment), a ‘triple snap roll’ (three horizontal, full 360-degree rotations) and an ‘outside loop’ (flying in a tight circle with the cockpit facing outward).

Thrice international aerobatic women’s flying champion dubbed ‘First Lady of Firsts’ by the press, Skelton starred in an Air Pageant at the airport on Saturday, July 30. 1949, but the printed programme for its 1938 opening outlined the Harbour Airport’s very first air show, which was similarly sensational!

Loaned to Robin Masefield by Chris McFerran and shared here last week, the original printed programme for the 1938 opening of the Harbour Airport proudly boasted “the airport will be one of the finest in the United Kingdom.”

Established by the Belfast Harbour Commissioners on their reclaimed land on the eastern (County Down) side of Belfast Harbour, the News Letter commended the Commissioners for their magnificent contribution to “the commercial, industrial and social progress of Northern Ireland.”

The opening ceremonials started and ended with the National Anthem - with further musical contributions from Miss Macie McCrea and her orchestra, including ‘Silver Wings’ and ‘The Londonderry Air’.

Mrs Chamberlain declared the airport open, was presented with “a gift of Ulster linen” on behalf of the Harbour Commissioners and then the invited guests, VIPs and Harbour Commissioners (and probably most of East Belfast! ) watched the air show.

The RAF participants and their significant aerial displays are described on pages four and five of the 12-page programme:

“Squadrons of the Royal Air Force will take off from the Airport and fly past in squadron formations as follows:

A Flight of six Bristol Blenheims from No. 139 Squadron, commanded by Squadron-Leader Dickens.

A Flight of six Fairey Battles from No 52 Squadron, commanded by Squadron-Leader Bennett.

No. 502 (Ulster) (Bomber) Squadron, commanded by Squadron-Leader L.R. Briggs.”

The afternoon’s airborne activities included inaugural flights of the first passenger services from Belfast to Glasgow and the Isle of Man.

A De Haviland 4-engined, 10-seater aircraft (DH.86 type) took off bound for Glasgow, courtesy of Railway Air Services, Ltd., and the programme included details of the service to the Isle-of-Man “operated by Isle-of-Man Air Services, Ltd., with either a DH.86 (4-engined 10-seater) or a DH.89 (2-engined 8-seater) machine.”

The printed programme explained how important the Harbour Airport was to Belfast and Northern Ireland, and outlined plans for the future.

“Extension of the landing surface is rapidly proceeding and runways 1,000 yards in length will be available in every direction, together with one of 1,500 yards in the direction of the prevailing wind (South West - North West).

“In order to meet the requirements of the larger aeroplanes of the future, an additional tract of foreshore containing 450 acres has been acquired by the Harbour Commissioners for reclamation and this will enable the runways to be widened and extended considerably.

“The Airport is particularly easy to find from the air as it is situated at the head of Belfast Lough, adjacent to the deep water channel and is within boundaries of the City. One of its outstanding features is that it can be reached in six or seven minutes by motor car from the centre of the City.

“At an early date seaplane facilities in the Lough will be available and Belfast will then have a joint Aerodrome and Seadrome capable of receiving aircraft of all descriptions and sizes.”

The programme also specified the dimensions of the main aircraft hangar “which measures 215 feet by 100 feet - erected by Messrs. Harland and Wolff Ltd., Belfast.”

It explained that “suitable accommodation has already been provided at the airport for the reception of passengers and goods, and a Customs Office has been established.

“The Air Ministry licence at present extends only to day flying, but the extensive equipment for night flying is now practically complete and it is anticipated that approval will be granted for night flying at an early date.

“Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland will then enjoy aviation facilities of a standard which it will be difficult to equal at any city in the British Isles.”

There’s a pertinent post script to today’s page of aviation history - later this month between August 20 and 22, the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane of the Polish Heritage Flight based at Duxford will visit Northern Ireland, flying over various sites related to the Polish Air Force Squadrons 303 and 315 that were based in here during WWII.

The visit is being organised by the ‘For Your Freedom and Ours’ Polish community group to commemorate the Poles who served and lost their lives in Northern Ireland during the war, and there’s a special flight, with other events, at the Ulster Flying Club at Newtownards on Saturday, August 21 from 5pm to 7pm. Tickets at £15 are limited. Full information is on https://www.facebook.com/WWIIPolesNI