On 30 September 1935,
Allied British Airways Ltd was formed for the purpose of merging the publicly quoted company Hillman's Airways with the private companies of Spartan Air Lines and United Airways Ltd, both controlled by
Whitehall Securities Corporation Ltd (WSC), owned by the Hon.
Bernard Clive Pearson. Its directors were W. D. L. Roberts,
Harold Balfour and John DeC Ballardie from WSC, plus John R. McCrindle, Edgar L. Granville and Gerard L. D'Erlanger from Hillman's. On 29 October 1935, the name was changed to British Airways Ltd, and on 11 December 1935 it converted to a public company. Whitehall Securities was joined as investor in the merged airline by banking house Erlangers Ltd, through its Chairman,
Leo d'Erlanger. The combined assets of 37 operational aircraft included
Armstrong Whitworth Argosy II,
Spartan Three Seater,
DH.60 Moths,
DH.84 Dragons,
DH.89 Dragon Rapides,
DH.86As and
Spartan Cruisers. In early 1936, aircraft and services of Hillman's Airways were transferred from
Stapleford Aerodrome to
Heston Aerodrome, the principal base of Spartan Air Lines and United Airways; the single-engined types and most of the DH.84s were then sold. The London to
Liverpool services of United Airways were discontinued, and the services between Liverpool,
Blackpool,
Isle of Man,
Belfast and
Glasgow were transferred to
Northern & Scottish Airways, a sister company. The ownership of DH.89s and Spartan Cruisers was progressively transferred to Northern & Scottish, and the Argosy was withdrawn from use at
Stanley Park Aerodrome (Blackpool). On 7 February 1937, all services were transferred to
Croydon Airport, after surfaces at Gatwick became water-logged due to heavy traffic on immature turf and drains that collapsed; some training operations remained there. In March 1937, the first four of seven
Lockheed 10 Electras were delivered. On 12 August 1937,
Scottish Airways Ltd was formed to merge the operations of Northern & Scottish Airlines with
Highland Airways Ltd, and British Airways Ltd held a 50% stake. On 29 May 1938, most aircraft and services were transferred from Croydon to Heston, due to congestion and unpredictable fog, but night mail operations continued from Croydon. On 3 September 1938, the first of nine
Lockheed 14s was delivered. During 1939, new services were operated to
Berlin,
Frankfurt,
Budapest,
Warsaw and
Lisbon. ==Second World War==