L.A.M. Registration sequence

I’ve not seen photos of L.A.M aircraft marked in the style C-AXM or F-CAXM but they did start carrying just the last three letters, I think after a Free French administration was installed in Algiers after the American led invasion of North Africa in late 1942 (which the Free French were not aware of in advance) . ‘Vichy’ aircraft ‘captured’ on the retaking of North Africa however,continued with their former French registrations e.g Lodestar F-ARTF and Farman 2200 F-AOXF.
The Free French operated some Lodestars in the series FC-BAA…FC-BAJ and also F-EFAA and F-EFAB which I think later flew with the last three letters only marked.This clip shows de Gaulle arriving Algiers in Lodestar ‘Paris’ ‘BAF’ (with wrong aircraft ID and the wrong date…should be 1943)http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675066946_Charles-De-Gaulle_Lockheed-B-34-Ventura-aircraft_aircraft-taxis_people-crowd-around-aircraft
De Gaulles personal Lodestar ‘France’ around the time of D-Day carried the Lockheed c/n 2609 on the rear fuselage as a ‘registration’ (2609 was also allocated FC-BAI)
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/eisenhower-de-gaulle-eisenhower-eden/query/01474000

Towards the end of the war the three letter codes were replaced with ‘correct’ registrations in the F-BAxx series, I think.
Magazines ‘ICARE’#102 and Les Ailes Francaises 1939-1945 #12 have pics and info but the distinction between FL- and FC- is often unreliable

Glad the sun came out for the event and thanks for the excellent and rapid uploads (click on images for Flickr’s Cinemascope size :))!

Recovery of L-113

These pics were in the Ali Antiche Italian GAVS magazine…L-113 is now in the Caproni Museum in Trento, I believe.

Those classic cars behind the Miles!A-40 Pininfarina (x2?), Humber Hawk, White Facel Vega??, [Vauxhall Viva,pass!!], Jaguar, MGB, Rover…..

[QUOTE=Lazy8;1895817]….the late 1930s, we have:
Imperial Airways ruling the skies……

I would have said by (edit)1939 KLM ruled the skies from Europe down to Australia and Pan Am the Transatlantic skies

The title ‘British Airways’ was applied to quite a few ‘BOAC’ aircraft and on equipment after the merger in WWII and even lingered into 1946….I think there was an element of British Airways having triumphed in the merger, but also it saved paint ,labour and space on signs :)….the correct title appeared on the headed notepaper, though
…when BEA and BSAA were established in 1946 the correct title ‘British Overseas Airways Corporation’ and BOAC became standard titles in the Corporation
http://www.amhult-lyse.se/torslandaflygplats/hemsida_ESGB/esgb_start.asp?xKat=flygpl39 (check the Lib G-AGFS page 2)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/76971536@N08/7162354982/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74784995@N00/6402210447/in/set-72157604727564944 (1946 check the bell)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7691137@N06/4631870299/in/photostream (1946ish, BSAA Langley)
http://s809.photobucket.com/albums/zz20/A30yoyo/?action=view&current=BOAC-letter.jpg
http://s809.photobucket.com/albums/zz20/A30yoyo/?action=view&current=BACreBOAC.jpg

#45 at Kisumi has a bus with the BOAC speedbird and the title ‘BRITISH AIRWAYS’. I know there was a prewar BA but I believe that was confined to European routes before it got merged with Imperial to create BOAC. So whats the story with BA in Africa in 1942?

Mystery Farman Wadi Halfa

I think a likely candidate is FC-ARM(exFL-ARM) of Lignes Aerienne Militaires (L.A.M) , De Gaulles Free French transport outfit (photo from the LAM edition of ICARE) and I think it was captured from the Vichy French by the Empire/Australian/Indian/British/FreeFrench force in Syria in 1941… LAM gave it a nose job and fitted ca. 20 seats (lower photo from 3sqdn archives RAAF)
The Martlets were heading south for Operation Ironclad, the Invasion of Madagascar in May 1942, possibly?

There’s one shot
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=lebanese+savoia&hl=en&rlz=1W1IRFC_enGB355&biw=1440&bih=663&tbm=isch&tbnid=2Uw78V0wnfQjeM:&imgrefurl=http://www.ww2incolor.com/modern/WSsm79iraq.html&docid=qdiK_Xn9FqhNcM&imgurl=http://www.ww2incolor.com/d/625199-2/WSsm79iraq&w=500&h=327&ei=-kGsT52TBMm90QWIptS0Cw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1025&vpy=320&dur=344&hovh=181&hovw=278&tx=150&ty=76&sig=112349241831838103321&page=1&tbnh=147&tbnw=196&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0,i:91

and there’s another shot in
http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?t=87571&page=10