Thoughts on historical aircraft preservation

Abstract

Aviation Museums worldwide, apart from some that were started by far-sighted individuals such as Richard Shuttleworth in the UK, only became popular in the early 1970s. After all, aviation is only just over a century old, with the first ever powered and controlled flight taking place in December 1903. In Malta, we still have to wait until 2015 to celebrate the centenary of the first recorded flight, which took place in 1915. On 13th February 1915, a Short Admiralty 135 floatplane from HMS Ark Royal, which was berthed in Grand Harbour, flew over the harbour for some minutes. The First World War was raging at the time, and German and Austrian U-Boats were sinking a large number of ships in the vicinity of Malta. It was then decided by the Admiralty that a number of flying boats were to be built at the Malta Dockyard to counter this threat.