Sir Alan John Cobham (1894-1973), Pioneer aviator
Sitter in 22 portraits
Cobham joined the Royal Flying Corps aged twenty-three in 1917. After the war he worked for de Havilland as a test pilot, and made his name in long-distance flights to Cape Town, Rangoon and Australia, establishing air routes for Imperial Airways. In the 1930s he pioneered the development of in-flight refuelling, and set up a company to exploit the possibilities. As a taxi-pilot giving commercial 'joyrides', and through the air display company he set up in 1934, he spread interest in aviation and contributed to the popularisation of air travel.
by Francis Owen ('Frank') Salisbury
oil on canvas, 1926
NPG 5018
Sir Alan John Cobham; Michael Cobham; Gladys Lloyd Cobham
by Bassano
whole-plate glass negative, 17 March 1926
NPG x19418
by Bassano
whole-plate glass negative, 17 March 1926
NPG x19419
by Bassano
whole-plate glass negative, 17 March 1926
NPG x19420
by Bassano
whole-plate glass negative, 17 March 1926
NPG x19421
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1927
NPG x3390
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1927
NPG x3392
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1927
NPG x3393
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1927
NPG x3394
by Howard Coster
cream-toned bromide print on textured paper, 1927
NPG Ax2277
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1928
NPG x3391
Gladys Lloyd Cobham; Sir Alan John Cobham and members of Banbury town council
by Unknown photographer
bromide print, 26 April 1932
NPG x3774
by Bassano
vintage print, 30 October 1947
NPG x184119
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, 1952
NPG x166632
by Alick P.F. Ritchie
cigarette card, 1926
NPG D2665
Transport and Communication
Groups
Pioneers
Place
Australia
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Thematic collections
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