An obscure Bell H-12 helicopter in the Boston Common park in Boston. An 8 is just visible and this should thus be 46-108. The ten YH-12Bs were not delivered until 1950 it seems. They probably didn't last until 1956, when Leslie Jones retired as a newspaper photographer. Photo by: Leslie Jones / Boston Public Library

Lovely slide of an HH-52 taking off from the Coast Guard boat station at the North End in Boston. There doesn't appear to be a designated helipad here. Photo by: Edmund Mitchell / Boston Public Library

'Seaplane from SS Île de France lands mail in Boston Harbor after leaving the liner 300 miles off Nova Scotia and landing 10 hours later, saving 30 hours [for the mail]. Deer Island light in background.' The light is close to Logan airport. On the ship's return trip from New York to Le Havre, the aircraft, operated by Air Union, was launched again on 13 September, but a magneto failure caused an emergency landing off the Scilly Islands. It was repaired and interestingly we have another photo of F-AIQP in China. Photo by: Leslie Jones / Boston Public Library

Northeast Airlines CV-240 at HYA, near Cape Cod. N91241 was worn earlier by c/n 161, which crashed at Portland, Maine on 11 August 1949, just four months old. It was replaced that September by this machine (c/n 162). Apparently its first registration was N90838. Perhaps it was intended for another customer? Photo from: The Barnstaple Patriot / Cape Cod Community College

Flying near the Isle of Wight. The Hermes 4 looked good but it was tail-heavy and the rear end of the cabin could barely be loaded. Photo from: BOAC / Northwestern University Libraries, Illinois

The first prototype Miles Marathon, first flown on 19 May 1946 wearing Miles test registration U-10. The aircraft was already registered as G-AGPD almost a year earlier on 5 June 1945; a peculiar British habit. This registration was not applied until July or August 1946. Photo from: Imperial War Museums

The Mk.31 was Australian built version of the Lincoln modified for reconnaissance and later maritime patrol by fitting a longer nose. There were 20 aircraft so configured, half of which were used in the maritime role with 10 Sqn from 1953. These were contemporaries of 11 Sqn's Lockheed P-2Es. Airframe problems forced the retirement of the Lincolns ahead of 10 Sqn receiving P-2H Neptunes. A73-62 was sold for scrap in 1962. Photo from: Library and Archives NT

'Heliopolis. A general view showing the aerodrome of the Imperial Airways, Ltd.' This was principally RAF Heliopolis. A Vickers Victoria with its biplane tail is parked near one of the hangars. The grand building with the circular portico is the Heliopolis Palace Hotel, today the Egyptian presidential palace. The airfield is now a military area used by the Republican Guard, including a heliport. It is not the same as Almaza (HEAZ), which was built around this time, in 1932, a few kilometres away near the top right corner of this picture. The two locations are often confused. Photo from: Library of Congress

The fifth L-14. Happy with the L-10, Northwest Airlines was the launch customer for the L-14, which it called the Sky Zephyr. Four Sky Zephyrs crashed, however, between January 1938 and January 1939, and the type was phased out in the summer of 1939. Normally Northwest didn't fly farther east than Chicago back then, but here NC17386 is seen in Boston for reasons unknown. NC17386 to TACA of Honduras as XH-TEG. To PP-AVA of Aerovias Brasil. Crashed on 13 February 1943. Photo by: Leslie Jones / Boston Public Library

The CA-3, CA-6 and CA-8 variants of the Airsedan looked much more elegant than the CA-5, having a small tapered lower wing. This aircraft advertises Signal Oil's Purr Pull Gasoline, a high-grade purple-coloured fuel. One of NC9629's owners was Bankline Oil, but it doesn't seem that this company owned Signal Oil. The last listed owner is Los Angeles Aircraft at then LA Municipal Airport, now LAX. The plane was seized by customs in 1933. Photo from: University of Southern California

East African Airways meets West African Airways in Maiduguri. This was certainly not a regular destination for EAA. Ex 43-48345, KJ822 and G-AKDT, the Dakota only served EAA from June 1950 until late 1952. Later registrations F-BGOU, ET-ACZ, F-OCRR, 6V-ACZ and CR-GBL. The Bristol Freighter is VR-NAD. Photo by: Edward Duckworth / Northwestern University Libraries, Illinois

Like VR-NAA, this aircraft had a brief history with Central African Airways of Rhodesia before going to West African Airways Corporation in 1949. A 1000 m airstrip opened at Maiduguri in 1950. The photographer was on a trip to Khartoum. See photo 635076 for a clear view of the tailfin. WAAC offered cheap passenger flights with its Freighter fleet. VR-NAD crashed on a flight between Enugu and Calabar on 5 February 1955 due to structural failure of the left wing. All 13 on board lost their lives. Photo by: Edward Duckworth / Northwestern University Libraries, Illinois

Delivered to Central African Airways of Rhodesia in October 1948 as VP-YHZ. To West African Airways Corporation in 1949 as VR-NAA, supposedly named Niger. Arrived at Southend on 31 March 1957 to become G-AIFO of Channel Airways, who adopted WAAC's green and gold livery without the elephant logo. Photo by: Edward Duckworth / Northwestern University Libraries, Illinois

Possibly photographed at Kano. Aircraft sold to Lancashire Aircraft Corporation in 1951. Withdrawn at Stansted in 1960. Photo by: Edward Duckworth / Northwestern University Libraries, Illinois

This photo appears to show A73-57 after a mishap in July 1956. Other photos of the mishap show it in a ditch from which had to be dug out. The RAAF card is missing and there is no record of the accident or its fate. A73-57 shows no obvious damage save for a possible bent undercarriage. Maybe the airframe was overstressed towing it out of the ditch with that large truck. Photo from: Library and Archives NT

Another rare photograph of a BOAC Hermes in Lagos. In the background is a Bristol Freighter of West African Airways Corporation. Photo by: Edward Duckworth / Northwestern University Libraries, Illinois

Ex 42-23546, FD862. To BOAC as G-AGHP in August 1943. Reported ferried to Tripoli, Libya on 11 October 1943. Listed as based at Bristol - Whitchurch at the end of 1945. The logo with the word Speedbird is thought to be postwar. Dakotas carried out the UK - Lagos route, via Lisbon and Bathurst, until July 1947. G-AGHP was seriously damaged at Croydon in August 1947, which thwarted a transfer to Hong Kong Airways - VR-HDO not taken up. To BEA in December 1948. Converted to Leopard class freighter in 1953. Crashed in France in 1958 carrying a Formula 1 car engine for the Vanwall team to Nice for the Monaco Grand Prix. Photo by: Edward Duckworth / Northwestern University Libraries, Illinois

The Hermes 4 entered BOAC service in 1950 and proving flights on the West Africa route to Kano, Lagos and Accra began in June. The type was already replaced two years later by the Canadair C-4 Argonaut, although it made a brief comeback with BOAC in 1954 after the grounding of the DH Comet. We made a different crop of the same original photo for the West African Airways Corporation Dove, VR-NIB. Photo by: Edward Duckworth / Northwestern University Libraries, Illinois

Sir Hubert crashed on landing at Port Harcourt on 26 September 1958. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off. Photo by: Edward Duckworth / Northwestern University Libraries, Illinois

We made another crop of the same original photo for the BOAC Hermes 4, G-ALDE, which dates the picture between 1950 and probably 1952, or 1954 at the latest. Dove VR-NIB was delivered in early 1948. To Channel Airways as G-APAG in 1957. Photo by: Edward Duckworth / Northwestern University Libraries, Illinois