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54-526: Star Tiger ( registration G-AHNP ) was an Avro Tudor IV passenger aircraft owned and operated by British South American Airways (BSAA) which disappeared without a trace over the Atlantic Ocean while on a flight between Santa Maria in the Azores and Bermuda in the early morning of 30 January 1948. The loss of the aircraft, along with that of BSAA Avro Tudor Star Ariel in 1949, remains unsolved, with

108-675: A radio bearing from Bermuda, but the signal was not strong enough to obtain an accurate reading. Tuck repeated the request 11 minutes later, and this time the Bermuda radio operator was able to obtain a bearing of 72 degrees , accurate to within 2 degrees. The Bermuda operator transmitted this information, and Tuck acknowledged receipt at 03:17. This was the last communication with the aircraft. The Bermuda operator tried to contact Star Tiger at 03:50 and, receiving no reply, thought that it had gone over to direct radio contact with Bermuda Approach Control. However, Approach Control reported that this

162-542: A Royal Navy frigate , a sloop-of-war and a Loyalist privateer . The strategic importance of the bay was noticed by the Marquis de Lafayette during the American Revolutionary War , who proposed the use of Pea Patch Island at the head of the bay for a defensive fortification to protect the important ports Philadelphia and New Castle, Delaware . Fort Delaware was later constructed on Pea Patch Island. During

216-593: A BSAA Avro Lancastrian making the first operational flight from London's Heathrow Airport . The airline operated mostly Avro aircraft: Yorks , Lancastrians and Tudors , and flew to Bermuda , the West Indies and the western coast of South America. Star Tiger was one of three enlarged and improved versions of the Avro Tudor, designated Tudor IV; it had made 11 transatlantic flights, a total of 575 hours flying time, since its initial test flight on 4 November 1947. On

270-725: A draft Air Navigation Order had been prepared in 1911, but was not put into force before the First World War . With the end of the First World War the Air Navigation Regulations came into force on 20 April 1919, allowing civil flying to commence on 1 May 1919. The regulation stated that all aircraft must carry registration marks and any passenger-carrying aircraft must have a certificate of airworthiness . The International Air Navigation Conference in Paris had not concluded, so

324-595: A grant for the land explored in 1521 by Francisco Gordillo and slave trader Captain Pedro de Quejo (de Quexo). Ayllón sent Quejo northward in 1525 and received reports of the coastline from as far north as Delaware Bay. That same year, De Ayllon and Captain Quejo called Delaware Bay by the name "Saint Christopher's Bay". In the 1600s, the bay was known as "Niew Port May" after Captain Cornelius May . Another recorded European visit to

378-455: A temporary system was started; former military aircraft would retain military registration , and any new or re-built aircraft would be registered in a sequence starting with K-100. The first civil flight under the new regulations took place on 1 May 1919 when a de Havilland DH.9 of Aircraft Transport and Travel flew from Hounslow to Bournemouth using former military serial C6054 as an identity. The "K series" registrations allocated were in

432-506: A trigraph) in sequence with the BGA number and this started with the lowest numbered glider still extant, BGA231 an Abbott-Baynes Scud II , being "AAA". When the majority of British gliders were registered in 2008, the G- registration often was derived from the trigraph letters preceded by G-C- or G-D-, though there were many personalised registrations issued which did not follow this pattern. In addition to

486-612: Is unknown if this flotsam was connected to the missing plane or not. As soon as it was learned that the Star Tiger had been lost, BSAA's remaining Avro Tudors were grounded by Britain's Minister of Civil Aviation. They were permitted to carry cargo rather than passengers a few weeks later, but had to fly from Santa Maria to Bermuda via Newfoundland, a diversion that reduced the longest overwater leg by 250 mi (400 km). Although Avro's managing director, Sir Roy Dobson, and Don Bennett of BSAA both publicly rejected any implication that

540-577: The American Civil War it was used as a Union prison camp. In 1855, the United States government systematically undertook the formation of a 26 ft (7.9 m) channel 600 ft (180 m) wide from Philadelphia to deep water in Delaware Bay. The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 provided for a 30-foot (9.1 m) channel 600 feet (180 m) wide from Philadelphia to the deep water of

594-484: The Delaware River and Bay Authority . The shores of the bay are largely composed of salt marshes and mudflats , with only small communities inhabiting the shore of the lower bay. Several of the rivers hold protected status for their salt marsh wetlands bordering the bay, which serves as a breeding ground for many aquatic species, including horseshoe crabs . The bay is also a prime oystering ground. Delaware Bay

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648-413: The Star Tiger had been forced to divert to Gander, Newfoundland , and just two months previously another Tudor IV had found itself landing with less than 100 imp gal (450 L; 120 US gal) of fuel left; less than the amount by which the Star Tiger was overloaded. During the inquiry, Bennett suggested both the Star Tiger and Star Ariel had been sabotaged . He also claimed that

702-483: The Star Tiger was David Colby DFC , like McMillan a highly experienced pilot and ex- RAF Pathfinder Force squadron leader. By 01:26 on 30 January, after 10 hours in the air, Star Tiger was only 150 mi (240 km) behind the Lancastrian. The navigator of the Lancastrian managed to fix their position using celestial navigation and found that the winds had blown the aircraft 60 mi (97 km) off track in

756-724: The University of London and the chief pilot of British European Airways . Professor Arnold Hall of the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was appointed as an assessor. Other persons at the inquiry included Quentin Hogg QC , John Donaldson QC , and Joseph Orrell. The investigation, which was held in public at Church House , Westminster , opened on 12 April 1948 and lasted 11 days. On 21 August it presented its report to Lord Pakenham , who had succeeded Lord Nathan of Churt as Minister of Civil Aviation. The report emphasised that

810-714: The British Empire that had used the G- prefix were allocated new two-letter allocations. The oldest flyable aircraft in the world as of 2011, a Humber-built Bleriot XI from 1909 owned by the Shuttleworth Collection in the UK, still uses the very early form registration G-AANG . From 1981 until 1998 most microlights were registered in the G-MBAA/MZZZ sequence but that system was officially discontinued and microlights have since been registered with any unused suffix. In 1937

864-530: The Calvert family to secure it. During the French and Indian War the dissemination of Joshua Fisher's original publication of the "Chart of Delaware Bay" was restricted by the authorities as its accuracy might advantage an enemy approach. In 1782 during the American Revolutionary War , Continental Navy Lieutenant Joshua Barney fought with a British squadron within the bay. Barney's force of three sloops defeated

918-814: The Convention on International Civil Aviation all aircraft must be registered with a national aviation authority and they must carry proof of this registration in the form of a legal document called a Certificate of Registration at all times when in operation. The register is maintained by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority . Although aircraft had been flown in the United Kingdom since 1908 they were not registered and were not required to carry any external markings. The principle of registering and externally marking aircraft had been agreed upon in 1910 at an international convention in Paris and

972-574: The Delaware side, and the Salem River , Cohansey River , and Maurice Rivers on the New Jersey side. Delaware Bay ecosystem is a key stopover site for over 30 species of migrating shorebirds that migrate north come May. Many birds like red knots use this Bay area to fuel up their energy reserves on horseshoe crab eggs after the long journey. Delaware Bay hosts the largest population of horseshoe crabs in

1026-483: The G- sequence but were recorded on a separate register held by the British Gliding Association . (Newly built gliders from 2003 were G- registered immediately.) The BGA register started in numerical sequence with BGA.101. Although gliders were always marked externally by the BGA numbers, these registrations were usually displayed in very small characters. Later the BGA also issued a three-letter code (called

1080-454: The K-100 sequence were all re-registered sequentially from G-EAAA. At the 1927 International Radio-Telegraph Conference the United Kingdom was allocated radio callsign prefixes B, G, M, VP, VQ and VR. Within this new allocation the United Kingdom continued to use the prefix G- for all aircraft but the sequence was restarted at G-AAAA, which continued into the 21st century. The first registration in

1134-457: The Lancastrian amended his ETA from 03:56 to 05:00, and called Star Tiger to say that he was switching to voice telephony to contact Bermuda Approach Control. Griffin later testified that he heard nothing from Star Tiger to indicate that it was in trouble and that from then until he touched down at 04:11 his own aircraft encountered no turbulence, icing, fog or electrical storms. At 03:04 Radio Officer Robert Tuck aboard Star Tiger requested

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1188-492: The Prime Minister, Clement Attlee , had ordered all inquiries into the incidents to be abandoned. A more recent theory (2009) is that the loss of fuel could have contributed to the plane's disappearance. Also, the fuel cocks for the reserve tanks were in the passenger compartment and, if they were not already on, to switch to reserve one of the crew would have to go aft. There might have been insufficient time to do so, given

1242-427: The aircraft could easily have reached Bermuda on two engines. Its lack of altitude, however, would have made any handling problem more dangerous. The altitude chosen by the Star Tiger and the Lancastrian was much lower than usual, and no previous BSAA flight had flown so low for so long. Wind forecasts were unreliable throughout the journey, especially lower; consequently, a sudden strong gust could have abruptly plunged

1296-565: The aircraft directly into a gale . However, McMillan still expected to reach Bermuda with at least an hour's worth of fuel remaining upon landing. A merchant ship, SS Troubadour , had reported seeing a low flying aircraft with lights blinking about halfway between Bermuda and the entrance to Delaware Bay , which meant that if the aircraft was Star Tiger , then it had gone well off-course from Bermuda. This alleged sighting occurred about 02:00 [Eastern Standard Time]. At 03:00, Captain Griffin aboard

1350-402: The aircraft had been faulty, the minister decided that a judicial investigation ("Court of Investigation") into the cause of the incident was necessary, the first such since the loss of the airship R101 in 1930. Bennett objected so strongly to this that BSAA fired him. Lord Macmillan was appointed to head the investigation, assisted by two assessors in the form of a professor of aviation from

1404-418: The aircraft into the sea, or inattention on the part of the crew coupled with a faulty altimeter could have allowed it to dive gently into the sea, giving the radio operator no chance to transmit a distress signal. One notable discrepancy was that although the planned cruising altitude was 2,000 feet, every position report transmitted by Star Tiger gave the height as 20,000 feet (6,100 m). Since 20,000 feet

1458-400: The aircraft's assumed altitude. It was at that time about 340 mi (550 km) from the islands with enough fuel for 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours' flying time. However, as they were flying in a gale storm, they could have encountered headwinds that could have caused a faster consumption of fuel than the crew realised. Having received an accurate bearing, McMillan's task of making landfall

1512-405: The airfield immediately organised a rescue effort that lasted for five days despite worsening weather. Twenty-six aircraft flew 882 hours in total and surface craft also conducted a search, but no signs of Star Tiger or her 31 passengers and crew were ever found. On 1 February 1948, a B-17 search plane reported sighting several boxes and an oil drum 325 miles (523 km) northwest of Bermuda; it

1566-677: The area in 1655. After the English took title to the New Netherland colony in 1667 at the Treaty of Breda the bay came into their possession and was renamed Delaware Bay, the name given it in 1610 by Samuel Argall , after the then new Governor of Virginia, Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr . The Native American tribe living along the bay and river were later called the Delaware by the Europeans due to their location. The U.S. state also takes its name from

1620-542: The bay and the river. Conflicting crown grants were made to the James, Duke of York and William Penn on the west bank of the bay and river. Settlement grew rapidly, leading Philadelphia , upriver on the Delaware, to become the largest city in North America in the 18th century. Penn viewed access to Delaware Bay as being so critical to Pennsylvania's survival that he engaged in an eighty-year long legal boundary dispute with

1674-572: The bay was by Henry Hudson , who claimed it for the Dutch East India Company in 1609. The Dutch called the estuary "Godyns Bay", or "Godins Bay" after a director of the company, Samuel Godijn . As part of the New Netherland colony, the Dutch established several settlements (the most famous being Zwaanendael ) on the shores of the bay and explored its coast extensively. The thin nature of

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1728-650: The bay. Other names for the bay have been "South Bay" and "Zuyt Baye". The bay is one of the most important navigational channels in the United States; it is the second busiest waterway after the Mississippi River . Its lower course forms part of the Intracoastal Waterway . The need for direct navigation around the two capes into the ocean is circumvented by the Cape May Canal and the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal at

1782-581: The corporate colony's presence in the bay and along what was called the South River (now the Delaware) made it possible for Peter Minuit , the former director of New Netherland, to establish a competing Swedish sponsored settlement, New Sweden in 1638. The resulting dispute with the Dutch colonial authorities in New Amsterdam (New York City) was settled when Petrus Stuyvesant led a Dutch military force into

1836-472: The crew of the Star Tiger were highly experienced, and found "want of care and attention to detail" in the flight plan, but nothing serious enough to explain the accident. The inquiry reported in conclusion: "...In the complete absence of any reliable evidence as to either the nature or the cause of the accident of Star Tiger the Court has not been able to do more than suggest possibilities, none of which reaches

1890-417: The former US-based airline, Braniff International Airways . For example, the former G-BOAC was re-registered as G-N81AC so on arrival at Washington-Dulles , the 'G' could be covered up and the United States registration N-81AC could be used for internal flights. Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between

1944-510: The height at which they were flying. United Kingdom aircraft registration An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a number plate on a vehicle. The letter Q has not been used since the issue of G-EBTQ in 1927 (although a few historic aircraft still maintain registrations with this letter), and the CAA also disallows combinations that may be offensive. In accordance with

1998-477: The level even of probability. .... What happened in this case will never be known and the fate of Star Tiger must remain an unsolved mystery." Among the passengers was Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham , a hero of World War II, formerly Air Officer Commander-in-Chief , 2nd Tactical Air Force during the Battle of Normandy . Coningham's death appeared on the front page of The New York Times on 31 January along with

2052-455: The morning of 28 January 1948, the crew and passengers boarded Star Tiger at Lisbon only to be forced to return to the airport waiting room when the pilot, Captain Brian W. McMillan, told them that the port inner engine needed some attention. The aircraft took off 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours later, and made what was intended to be a 75-minute refuelling stop at Santa Maria in the Azores . However,

2106-456: The news of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and the death of Orville Wright . If the Star Tiger's radio had failed shortly after 03:15, her captain and navigator would have been faced with the task of locating a small group of islands, measuring 22 mi (35 km) from northeast to southwest covering a total area of 20 sq mi (52 km), and equipped with powerful lights that were visible from about 30 mi (48 km) at

2160-574: The prefix 'GH-', e.g., GH-2012, the BHC SR.N6 that carried out the first hovercraft expedition up the Amazon, and the Mountbatten-class SR.N4 's GH-2006 Princess Margaret and GH-2004 Swift . From 1982 the sequence G-FYAA to G-FYNA was used for unmanned toy balloons. A special sequence was allocated for Concorde aircraft to allow the use of the aircraft on internal services in the United States by

2214-414: The previous hour. By this time, Star Tiger had passed its Point of No Alternative , at which it could have diverted to Newfoundland , and was committed to remaining on course for Bermuda. At about 02:00, Cyril Ellison, Star Tiger's navigator, fixed the aircraft's position and learned that they too had been blown off course and were crabbing away from Bermuda. He gave McMillan a new course which turned

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2268-581: The range K-100 to K-175, with K-169 being the highest known to have been used. The Paris International Conference had allocated the British Empire the prefix G followed by four other letters. The United Kingdom decided to use the G-Exxx sequence for heavier-than-air aircraft (for example G-EAAA) and "G-Fxxx" for lighter-than-air aircraft. The new register came into force on 22 July 1919; aircraft flying on temporary former military serials and those allotted in

2322-418: The registration many gliders still show a large trigraph or competition number on the fin and on the underside of a wing. The 'comp' numbers are also issued by the BGA. These consisted of three-digit numbers at first but later could be any three alpha-numeric characters. The comp number or the trigraph is usually the most visible marking on a British glider. Air cushion vehicles were allocated registrations with

2376-594: The reported weather was so poor that Captain McMillan decided they should stop over until the next day. Of the passengers 16 were British, two were Mexican, two were Czech, one was Swiss, and four were stateless. Of the passengers, seven were bound for Bermuda, 12 were bound for Kingston, Jamaica, and six were bound for Havana, Cuba. The following day, 29 January, Star Tiger took off for the next leg of its flight to Bermuda despite strong winds. McMillan had decided to fly at no more than 2,000 ft (610 m) so as to avoid

2430-736: The resulting speculation helping to develop the Bermuda Triangle legend. British South American Airways (BSAA) was an airline created by former World War II pilots in an effort to provide service on the previously untapped South American trade and passenger routes. Originally named British Latin American Air Lines (BLAIR) it was split off from the British Overseas Airways Corporation to operate its South Atlantic routes. It commenced transatlantic services in March 1946, with

2484-675: The sequence G-GAAA to G-GAAE was used for five gliders to operate in an international competition in Germany. To comply with the regulations of the European Aviation Safety Agency , all gliders have had to be registered and marked externally in the G-xxxx sequence since 2008, except for a small group of specified vintage types known by the name of the EASA document, Annex 2. From 1930 to 2008, existing gliders did not need to be registered in

2538-425: The sequence, G-AAAA, was allocated to a de Havilland Gipsy Moth , registered on 30 July 1928 to Geoffrey de Havilland . At first nearly all registrations were issued in sequential alphabetical order but since the 1970s personalised ("out of sequence") registrations are available using any four-letter combination. Except in very rare circumstances, no registration is ever re-issued to a different aircraft. Countries in

2592-747: The states of Delaware and New Jersey . It is approximately 782 square miles (2,030 km ) in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean . The bay is bordered inland by the states of Delaware and New Jersey , and its mouth is framed by Cape Henlopen in Delaware and Cape May in New Jersey, on the Atlantic. Delaware Bay is bordered by six counties: Sussex, Kent, and New Castle in Delaware, and Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem in New Jersey. The Cape May–Lewes Ferry crosses Delaware Bay from North Cape May, New Jersey , to Lewes, Delaware . The bay's ports are managed by

2646-641: The world. At the time of the arrival of the Europeans in the early 17th century, the area around the bay was inhabited by the Native American Lenape people. They called the Delaware River "Lenape Wihittuck", which means "the rapid stream of the Lenape". Delaware Bay was called "Poutaxat", which means "near the falls". In 1523, Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón had received from Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

2700-500: The worst winds. An Avro Lancastrian belonging to BSAA piloted by Frank Griffin took off an hour ahead of the Star Tiger , and Griffin had agreed to radio weather information back to Star Tiger . Star Tiger took off at 15:34 and soon after takeoff was lashed by heavy rain and strong winds. At first some 200 miles (320 km) behind the Lancastrian, McMillan slowly closed the distance between them and both aircraft remained in radio contact with each other and Bermuda. Second pilot aboard

2754-427: Was a more typical cruising altitude for this route, it is possible the crew forgot they were flying at only 2,000 feet and simply flew the aircraft into the sea during the descent phase . The crew may have been fatigued after the long flight, and contemporary altimeters were prone to misreading of the thousand-foot level. The aircraft was, however, also fitted with a radio altimeter . Twice before on similar flights,

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2808-606: Was designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance on May 20, 1992. It was the first site classified in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network . While the Delaware River is by far the largest tributary of Delaware Bay, numerous smaller rivers and streams also drain to the bay. These include the Appoquinimink River , Leipsic River , Smyrna River , St. Jones River , Mispillion River , Broadkill River and Murderkill Rivers on

2862-451: Was not in itself difficult, except that he was acutely aware of the fact that there was no alternative airport: the nearest point on the American mainland was Cape Hatteras , 580 mi (930 km) to the west, and well beyond the Star Tiger's range. However, there was no evidence to suggest that radio failure or navigational error were responsible for the disaster. As for engine failure,

2916-477: Was not the case. The Bermuda radio operator tried at 04:05 to contact Star Tiger , again without success, and after trying again at 04:40 he declared a state of emergency. He had heard no distress message, and neither had anyone else, even though many receiving stations were listening on Star Tiger's frequency. On 30 January 1948, a press dispatch reported the plane's loss at 440 miles (710 km) northeast of Bermuda. The U.S. Air Force personnel operating

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