Imperial Airways was created on 1 April 1924 by virtue of the amalgamation of four independent airline operators, thus giving stability to an emerging industry. Throughout the 1920's Imperial was in the vanguard of forging new air routes into inhospitable areas of Africa and the Middle and Far East. At the forefront of these ventures was Alan Cobham, whose survey flights made possible the creation of Imperial's Empire routes. An important aspect of these events was the employment of aircraft of British design and manufacture, a situation that was maintained until Imperial's amalgamation with British Airways in 1940 thus creating BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation.