the origins of west african airways corporation can be traced back to 1946, when it was established by the british overseas airways corporation (boac), and economically supported by four west african british colonies, nigeria being the major shareholder (68%), followed by the gold coast (29.5%), sierra leone (2%), and the gambia holding the balance. it began operations in october 1947, following the delivery of its first aircraft, an event that took place on . the de havilland dove aircraft inaugurated waac's first scheduled service from lagos to calabar during october 1947.