A 1929 Jowett being loaded on the mighty Channel Air Bridge

The Bristol Freighters did not require a lift.Silver city had special ramps that allowed you to drive the car straight on to the aircraft. My father was skipper on one of these in the 1950's after he transferred from Aquila where he had been flying Short Solent flying boats to Madeira Lisbon & Genoa from Southampton water.

They had strong leather straps which they attached to cars with roof racks full of luggage securing it to the front bumper.. The acceleration of the aircraft was such that the roof rack full of luggage on your family Morris Minor meant that there was a high probability of the luggage & roof rack flying off the car & through the windscreen of the car behind; not a likely occurrence for a Minor when being given conventionally on the road, if not so restrained. Interestingly enough if you read the first Morris Minor brochure it describes it as having "Limpet like roadholding & gone with the wind acceleration." Car salesman...........I ask you!!!!

I stand corrected Stephen, you are quite right, age has dimmed the memory. I thought that there were only two engines shown in the photographs; but the Bristol Freighter served a similar purpose.
The Carvair was a converted DC4.

My first ever flight and second trip to France was from Lydd to Le Touquet in a Bristol Freighter. The noise and vibration was terrible , not knowing any better I was the only passenger who wasn,t scared. I took a Renault 750 which I had bought for £10 and the air fare was about the same . To qualify for their lowest price I removed the bumpers. The brakes were terrible going forward but practically non-existent going backwards. The crew insisted on driving the car off and I can still remember the man,s white face as he screamed at me "Pas de freins" I pretended not to understand. The car got us down to St. Tropez where we did get a glimpse of Brigitte in a bar. Only problem was a fuel pump failing , cured with a kit from a filling station. £ weeks after my return the engine literally fell out - real Keystone Cops stuff ! Repaired with a piece of timber and rope. Later traded against a Beetle at £20 -got allowance of £2.50 for trade in.

The aircraft is interesting. It’s a Type 170 Bristol Freighter. Built by the Bristol Aircraft Company for short haul ferry and passenger flights.
Typically, depending on the type, it could carry three cars and 20 passengers. With a range of 800 plus miles it could reach many European racing venues.

There was a film with Rock Hudson and Gina Lollobrigida called "Come September" from 1961 where Rock drives a Rolls-Royce convertible off of one of these aircraft.

What fantastic photos; and a demonstration of how a few short years have changed our way of crossing the Channel!