Douglas Dc-6 & Dc-6B in Australian Service (Part 2
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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN AVIATION MUSEUM SIGNIFICANT AIRCRAFT PROFILES DOUGLAS DC-6 & DC-6B IN AUSTRALIAN SERVICE (PART 2) Introduction The Douglas DC-6 was introduced to Australian domestic routes in December 1953 in the livery of ANA (Australian National Airways). This brief history outlines the aircraft’s selection, service life and involvement of Sir Ivan Holyman, co-founder and chief executive of ANA. Part 1 of this series tells the story of the DC-6’s introduction to Australian international services with British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines in 1948. Pre-WWII Background In 1854, William Holyman arrived in northern Tasmania where he settled following a voyage from England. There he established a small coastal shipping company that over the following decades expanded considerably. Agreements with shipping companies Union Steamship Company of New Zealand and Huddart Parker & Co of Melbourne in 1902-1904 saw Holyman vessels operating to Adelaide and Melbourne. As the 20th Century dawned, so had a third generation of the Holyman family, most of whom were employed in the family shipping business. The advent of WWI would eventually lead two members of this generation into the realm of aviation. Victor Holyman trained and qualified as a Royal Naval Air Service pilot, serving in France and as a test pilot in England, before returning to Australia and rejoining Holyman as a sea captain. His younger brother Ivan (born in 1896) served throughout the war from Gallipoli to France. Entering as a private, rising to captain, he was wounded four times and awarded the Military Cross. On his return to Tasmania and Holyman, he shared his brother’s interest in aviation though never learnt to fly. Following WWI, several attempts had been made by small companies to operate aviation services across Bass Strait. For various reasons, not the least being the vagaries of weather, most proved to be Sir Ivan Holyman 1896-1957 unreliable or short lived. Into this scene stepped the Holyman brothers who could no doubt see the direction in which aviation was travelling. In 1932, they purchased a single engine de Havilland DH- 83 Fox Moth biplane, initially to operate a twice-weekly Launceston-Flinders Island service. The aircraft could uplift three passengers and baggage or four passengers and no baggage, cruising Page | 1 around 86kt/157km/h. This small airline, Tasmanian Arial Services, slowly expanded its staff, aircraft and routes flown. In 1934, with silent partner backing from Union Steamship Company and Huddart Parker, the Holyman brothers tendered for the carriage of mail between The first venture into aviation by Holyman brothers Ivan and Victor was with Melbourne and Hobart as the purchase of DH-83 Fox Moth named “Miss Currie”. The aircraft was part of the Empire Air Mail initially used on twice weekly services between Launceston and Flinders Island Scheme. Their successful bid saw a name change to Holyman’s Airways Pty Ltd and two de Havilland DH.86 aircraft ordered. The DH-86, a four-engine biplane, could carry up to 10 passengers, cruising at 125kt/230km/h. Less than a month after commencing service, DH-86 VH-URN “Miss Hobart” disappeared without trace near Wilson’s Promontory (Vic) on 19 October 1934. Victor Holyman, co-founder of the airline was one of the two pilots and ten passengers on board not to survive. The cause of the crash could not be determined. Barely a month later, on 15 November 1934, another DH-86 (one of five ordered for Qantas) on ferry to Sydney, crashed shortly after departing Longreach, Queensland, with the loss of all five aboard. Though not proven, doubts arose over a manufacturing fault in the tail assembly and weight and balance problems regarding the aircraft’s centre of gravity. Despite a poor press and a drop in passenger loadings, Holyman’s Airways ordered another two DH-86s and announced in June 1935 that the airline would extend air services from Melbourne to Sydney via Canberra. A large hangar and adjoining passenger facilities would also be built at Essendon Airport. As Holyman’s Airways began to settle into “routine operations”, disaster struck yet again. On 2 October 1935, DH-86 VH-URT “Miss Loina”, on route from Melbourne to Flinders Island, crashed into the sea. Again, there were no survivors among the three crew and two passengers and no specific determination as to the accident’s cause. On 13 December 1935, DH.86A VH-USW “Lepena” made an emergency landing on Hunter Island in Bass Strait, after the crew mistook the movement of a loose fairing on a wing strut flapping in the wind. The aircraft was retrieved and repaired, returning to service three months later. For Ivan Holyman, the events during this period must have been extremely stressful, with the loss of his brother, two fatal aircraft accidents and the forced landing of a third. Any shadow of doubt over his continuance with the airline was cast aside, although he realised changes were necessary, particularly regarding aircraft types. By the mid 1930s, the United States had taken the lead in both design and manufacture of commercial passenger aircraft. Boeing’s 10 seat 247 first flew in February 1933, followed shortly after by the Douglas Aircraft Company DC-1 (Douglas Commercial 1). Both aircraft were twin engine, of all metal construction. From the DC-1 (only one was built), Douglas developed the DC-2 and immediately received orders for the 14 seat aircraft from American and overseas airlines. The type's reputation for reliability was further enhanced when, in October 1934, a KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) DC-2 entered in the MacRobertson Centenary Air Race from England to Australia finished in second position. Page | 2 Until then, Ivan Holyman’s hands were tied by the Australian government policy prohibiting the importation of non-British transport aircraft. Fortunately for Holyman’s Airways and the travelling public, the Australian government rescinded the policy on 30 November 1935. Holyman’s Airways promptly ordered the company’s first DC-2, VH-USY “Bungana”, setting a precedent for all future aircraft to be given a name ending in ANA. Priced at A£30,000/A$60,000, the aircraft was shipped to Melbourne and then transported to Holyman’s Essendon hangar for assembly, making its maiden Australian flight on 29 April 1936. Prior to the arrival of the airline’s first DC-2, Holyman’s Airways employed two young women to commence training as air hostesses, the first airline in Australia to do so. Between May 1936 and March 1937, Holyman’s Airways underwent further expansion and another name change. In May 1936, Ivan Holyman announced the amalgamation of his airline with Adelaide Airways. Similar to Holyman’s Airways, Adelaide Airways two major shareholders were the Adelaide Steamship Company and the Oriental Steam Navigation Company (the latter owned by the British P & O group). Adelaide Airways, through its financially strong shipping base, purchased Western Australian Airways (WAA) in June 1936. The combination of the two airlines led Ivan Holyman to further announce that the new entity would be renamed Australian National Airways (ANA), to better reflect the enhanced route structure of the two airlines. The name had other connotations as famous Australian aviators, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm, had used it previously when they established their original ANA in October 1928. ANA reflected both sentimentality and tribute. Adelaide Airways DH-89 Dragon Rapide. In mid-1936 it had been merged into During the latter half of Holyman’s Airways 1936, Ivan Holyman began negotiating with G.A. Robinson, the managing director of Airlines of Australia (AOA). The Robinson family had, by the early 1920s, established the New England Motor Company dealing in heavy transport vehicles, based in Lismore, NSW. By the late 1920s, the family’s interests had turned to aviation and in January 1931, they established New England Airways (NEA) providing regular services between Lismore and Brisbane. Over the next few years, NEA experienced a number of changes: aircraft types added to the airline fleet included Avro Xs (Fokker F-VIIs built under license in England by Avro) and, in 1936, American Stinsons; route expansion through the acquisition of smaller airlines; and a name change. In order to achieve these goals, Robinson secured financial assistance from a British based firm, British Pacific Trust (BPT), which became a 60 per cent majority shareholder. Its stake was to later have major ramifications. Effective from 1 January 1936, the airline was renamed Airlines of Australia (AOA). Page | 3 Unfortunately for AOA, fate interceded in early 1937 with the loss of two Stinsons with a number of fatalities. AOA suffered a further blow in March 1937, when ANA purchased BPT’s 60 per cent shareholding. ANA had now become Australia’s dominant airline, with a nation-wide route structure. George Robinson, despite the losses suffered, still retained his interest in aviation. To replace the two Stinsons, he placed an order for both a DC-2 and a DC-3, the latter being the first of its type to operate in Australia. AOA continued to operate under its own name until mid 1942, when ANA purchased the remaining shares. From mid 1937 until September 1939 was a golden period for Ivan Holyman and ANA. Apart from the DC-2 fleet of four aircraft, DC-3s were now introduced, the first being VH-UZJ “Kyilla, originally ordered by AOA, which commenced Rita Grueber, one of two air hostesses employed by flying in November 1937. Another three DC-3s ANA in 1936 – the first Australian Airline to do so were soon to follow as these new American aircraft proved popular with the travelling public.