The BA Swallow was a licenced built version of the Klemm Swallow by the British Klemm Aeroplane Company, later to be known as the British Aircraft Manufacturing Company from 1933 to 1938, with a total of 135 being built.
The Klemm Leichtflugzeugbau GmbH ("Klemm Light Aircraft Company"), was founded in 1926 by Dr. Hanns Klemm, who had previously worked for both Zeppelin and the Daimler Aircraft Company.
Klemm created a squared off fuselage of his first design the 1919 Daimler L.15, and produced 100 of these as L.20 aircraft from his own company, and in 1928 Freiherr Friedrich-Karl von Koenig-Warthausen made a solo flight to Moscow in a Klemm L.20, and continued on to circumnavigate the world.
The Klemm L.25 Swallow, first flew in 1927, was developed from the L.20 and over 600 were built with licences issued for manufacture in the USA and Britain, and was later known as the KL.25.
In 1931 Elly Beinhorn became only the second woman to fly from Europe to Australia flying a Klemm Kl 25 equipped with an Argus engine, and winning the Hindenburg Cup.
The Klemm Aircraft Company went on to build cabin monoplanes in the 1930's and wartime trainers during WW2 before being taken over by Bolkow in April 1959.
The British dealer for the L.25 Major Stephen set up the British Klemm Aeroplane Company to produce the L.25 under licence. The prototype of the B.K. Swallow first flew in November 1933, with production aircraft available with the 75 HP Salmson 9 or 85 HP Pobjoy Cataract radial engines. It differed from the German original from its more powerful engines and and some structural improvements required by british authorities, the most notable being the external fuselage stringers. A total of 28 examples being built.
In 1935 a revised version was introduced with the squared off wingtips, rudder and tailplane, and revised flat fuselage top decking, the company changed its name at this time to the British Aircraft Manufacturing Company, and the revised version known BA Swallow II.
BA Swallow II aircraft were powered by thePobjoy Cataract radial or the Cirrus Minor 4 cylinder inline engine, and a total of 107 Swallow II were built with production continuing until 1938.
The Swallow, which proved robust and safe, was popular in service. The majority were sold to private owners or flying schools within the United Kingdom. On the outbreak of the Second World War, many were impressed by the Military, most being issued to the Air Training Corps for use as instructional airframes.
The first of three Klemm L.25 Swallow aircraft arrived in Australia in 1929, while the first British built BK Swallow arrived in 1935, the first of a total 8 to eventually arrive, with the latter 6 being BA Swallow II examples and the last arriving in 1937.
Our BA Swallow II, VH-UUM, was imported into Australia in
1935 by R.H.F. Hickson of Sydney. In 1939 it was sold J. Finch of Wiluna WA, and sold again in 1943 to L.G. Hancock of Mulga Downs, Roebourne WA.
L.G. Hancock, better known as the famous iron ore magnate Lang Hancock, discovered the world's largest deposits of Iron Ore in the Pilbera in WA in 1952, while flying with his wife in his Auster.
Sold by Lang Hancock in 1957, VH-UUM passed through 4 more owners until being donated to the museum by noted vintage aircraft enthusiast Bob Burnett-Reid in 1967.
As one of the earliest aircraft in the collection it has been in undercover storage throughout that time and is now under airworthy restoration under the direction of our Life Member Nelson
Wilson.
Today our BA Swallow is one of two examples surviving in Australia, along with a Klemm L.25 Swallow, while 4 airworthy survivors exist in the UK.
