IIIilit III 11 ill snip' 11 III ill II ill iilli Iilli ill Hi > iilli ■III \ i .ll! ■ III __ ^______iilli ■llll I iiiI IIIiiii um ■1 III l■II«iil« II llll 11 liUHiiiiiliilill ill ill ill 111 ■ ■I 11 iiii ■ ■I iii llll ill!■iilli III llll II mmmmBmill ■ li llll ■I i■III iilli iiiiiiis llll III .iliillliiii mmmmrn..... III 11 l■liiii llll ■II ■«l« III ill' llll iiiiilKiilitiil IIII The Journal of the Aviation Historical Society of Inc. III ill A0O33653P , ARBN 092-671^-773 ii III isiiii-lisiIII 11 iiiiiiii Volume 31 Number 3 September 2000 ■ HI iiiiPiiiiiiiiiiiiiil iiliilllMiB*.. siSSl'iliWiEiKi ill il iHialgilBgllit s? ■ II III ■ III ■iiii ill III =.... iillillMilil?*

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sBswia aasifii ill .Iiiiii ■ii Hi 1 ■ ■Iii illiii The Journal of the AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY of AUSTRALIA Inc. A00336533P, ARBN 092-671-773 Volume 31 - Number 3 - September 2000

EDITORIAL EDITORS, DESIGN & PRODUCTION It is good to see a positive reaction to my requests for Bill and Judith Baker articles suitable for publication. My hope is to increase the number of pages per issue. This can only happen by your Address all correspondence to; efforts. I have made a start with this issue having 48 pages. The Editor, AHSA, P.O. Box 2007, Some people are of the opinion that "Aviation Heritage" is a product of a Victorian Group or Branch, this far from the South Melbourne 3205 Victoria, Australia. truth, in fact "Aviation Heritage" is produced on behalf of the 03 9583 4072 Phone & Fax Federal body - the Aviation Historical Society of Australia E.mail: [email protected] Inc. I happen to be a member of the Victorian Branch, which is self-funded for its expenses, by a very modest entrance Subscription Rates; fee to the Melbourne meetings, but has an affiliation with the Australia A$40. AHSA Inc. Rest of World A$60. The idea that the branch that produces the Overseas payment to be in Australian Journal/Aviation Heritage becomes the Federal body is lost currency by International Money Order or in the midst of time. It is my personal view that all attendees Bank Draft. Overseas personal cheques at branch meetings should, like it is in Melbourne, be cannot be accepted. members of AHSA Inc. and receive their own copies of the Newsletter and Aviation Heritage. Thus helping to lower the Articles for Publication; overall printing costs. Are to be on an Australian theme. The Editor reserves the right to edit any Editors wish list; article accepted for publication. Priority 1: First to Fly in Australia. Payment is not made for articles. Any facet of Australia's aviation history. Airlines, Please include sufficient postage for the GAF Nomad, Korea, Vietnam, anything that interests you return of originals if that is required. and can be printed. How about the history of Airbus in A - H and the Computer; Contributions for Australia? Or some photos out of your collection? the Journal are most welcome in any form, but if you have a computer, exported on a Cover: An introduction to John Wilson's major article on 3V2" disc in ASSCII format (plain text), or S.23 flying boats, shows G-ADUT on the mooring at WIN 6, would be just great! (Include hard Gladstone after its arrival from on 21 December copy also). All photographs submitted will be 1937. Photo: Gladstone Art Gallery and Museum. copied and the originals returned within 5 Next Issue; Volume 31 Number 4 will be in your letter-box in days of receipt. the first week of December 2000. Disclaimer; Contents; 1. Whilst every effort is made to check the 37 Pre-War Civil A/Craft in WA, 1 DH-83 Edward Fletcher authenticity of the material and advertising 92 Oh Dear! 2 Wills & Cookson printed, the Publishers, Editors, and the 93 Guinea Airways Lockheed 14 Crash M.J.Flanagan Aviation Historical Society of Australia and its 95 Short S.23 Empire John Wilson Office Bearers cannot accept responsibility 121 The Australian Sopwith Gnus Douglas T. Pardee for any non-performance. 122 Robin Miller Dicks Shirley Adkins 0AM 2. The views expressed in 'Aviation Heritage' are not necessarily those of the Meetings of the AHSA; AHSA or its Editors. Melbourne Branch: The fourth Wednesday in every month, 7:30 at the Airforce Association, 4 Cromwell Street, AVIATIO AGE South Yarra. Further information - Keith Meggs 9580 0140. -4392 Print Post Approved PP 320418/00017 NSW Branch: The first Wednesday in every month 7:45 Studio 1 at the Powerhouse Museum, enter from the ©2000 by the Publishers; Macarthur Street end. Further information - Gordon Lasslett THE AVIATION HISTORICAL 9416 7603 SOCIETY OF llillli Branch: The last Friday in every month 7:30 A0033653P ARBN 092-671- at the RQAC Archerfield. Meals available. Contact Richard P.O. BOX 2007, Hitchins, 07 3208 9810 SOUTH MELBOUR VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA AHSA Aviation Heritage

PRE-WAR CIVIL AIRCRAFT IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA. By EDWARD FLETCHER

De Havilland DH-83 Fox Moth r A.E. Hagg, the assistant chief designer of the de The performance of the aircraft was remarkable. Havilland Aircraft Company, was a keen While heavier than the DH82A Tiger Moth, and capable of M yachtsman who kept a family cruiser at an accommodating up to four times the number of anchorage on the south coast of England. He had passengers. Its rate of climb was only slightly less, its become Increasingly weary of driving his family down to cruising speed was 15 mph greater and It could reach a the coast through the summer traffic and, being a pilot, slightly higher celling. Much of this was due to the more knew that flying was the obvious answer. None of his streamlined body shape provided by the cabin structure. company’s low-priced aircraft had the necessary carrying This improved aerodynamic efficiency was enhanced even capacity to accommodate the Hagg family and their more in those models which were fitted with a sliding luggage so in 1931 he turned his ability to designing a canopy over the and were referred to as the suitable aircraft. The result was the DH83 Fox Moth and ‘Speed Model’. This performance immediately attracted the prototype, G-ABUO, first flew on 29 January 1932. the attention of small commercial operators who could see To keep the price down to the lowest possible figure, the benefits that would arise from the capacity of the Hagg reverted to the tried and proven wood and fabric aircraft allied to its versatility. C.G. Grey, the outspoken construction which the de Havilland company knew so editor of “The Aeroplane”, claimed it was the first British well, and he Incorporated as many existing parts and sub- aircraft to support itself financially in the air. The price in assemblies as possible. The new aircraft had standard 1932 was £995 sterling which equated to approximately Tiger Moth wings, slightly modified at the wing roots to A£1250, a most attractive proposition for the small enable them to fold, while the nose and tail were shared commercial operator or well-heeled amateur needing with the Tiger and the Puss Moth. The engine was initially something bigger and better for his family flying. a single Inverted Gipsy III, but most of the production was For Australian users the benefits were even greater. It fitted with the more powerful Gipsy Major. Only the body had an excellent short field landing and take-off ability was new and consisted of a plywood box cabin of and, in addition to the above economic advantages, it sufficient width to accommodate three passengers could be fitted with a stretcher for aero-medical work. If all normally with provision for a fourth to be carried on short the seating was removed, the aircraft would carry a 750 lb flights. The pilot occupied an open cockpit behind the payload. The large number of components which were cabin and could see Into it via a dashboard porthole and interchangeable with those on Puss, Gipsy and Tiger could communicate with the passengers by telephone. Moths meant ready availability of spares while the tried Bendix wheel brakes were fitted and the castoring sprung and trusted Gipsy Major engine added to its attractiveness tall wheel enabled full use to be made of the individual to local operators. wheel operation of the brakes. 98 Fox Moths were constructed by de Havilland One frequent criticism of the de Havilland wooden Aircraft in their Stag Lane factory at Edgeware, UK, while designs was the tendency for joints to loosen as the wood 53 were built in after the war by utilising war shrunk, a fault particularly noted In hot climates. A simple surplus Tiger Moth parts, de Havilland building 52 and but effective solution was found by the use of domed Leavens Bros, building one. These Fox Moths were given compression washers under all the nuts, which ensured the designation of DH83C, as they were considerably that pressure was maintained even when the wood had modified to suit local needs, having a strengthened cabin, dimensionally changed. Weather resistance of the larger port-side door, and a wider cockpit with a sliding fuselage was Improved by particular attention to the canopy. Of the total of 24 Fox Moths that operated in adhesion of the fabric covering of the plywood and the use Australia, seven came as new machines, 15 were of weather-resistant cellulose dope finishes. imported from England after use by operators in that

87 AHSA Aviation Heritage country and two more were constructed locally by de service in Western Australia and, with other aircraft now in Havilland Australia. the fleet, was being used less frequently. In October 1940, Lewis sold the DH83 to Guinea Airways in South The Japanese company Tokyo Gas and Electric Australia and on 16th of that month, commenced a ferry Industry Co. made one copy of the Fox Moth which was flight to Adelaide. A minor accident at Ceduna delayed him fitted with a 150 hp 7 cylinder known as the briefly and the aircraft reached Adelaide on 18 October Gasden Zimpu. Registered as J-BBJI it was known as the 1940. Chidorigo and was operated by Japan Aerial Transport Ltd with four other British-built machines. The new owners used the Fox Moth on various routes Five Fox Moths operated in Western Australia at to Kangaroo Island, Whyalla, Port Pirie etc. and after various time between June 1935 and March 1964 and one almost 12 years service with the airline, sold it to Kingsford of them, after leaving the State, continued flying until Smith Aviation Services at Bankstown In NSW, ownership August 1968. They were all used by commercial operators passing to them in September 1952. The next users were and were particularly popular as aerial ambulances, a role Papuan Air Transport in New Guinea who possibly leased filled by four of the five local aircraft for at least a part of it, as Kingsford Smith Aviation Services are still shown as their lives. MacRobertson Miller Aviation were the biggest the owners In the June 1953 Register of Aircraft. On 17 operator, importing three aircraft, James Taxiplanes November 1953, while en route from Port Moresby to importing one, while Goldfields Airways imported one and Kokoda and climbing for height over Lake Myola, the acquired one of the MMA aircraft at a later date. aircraft was caught In a severe down-draught and spun in. The pilot. Frank Goossens, suffered only minor injuries but the VH-UTY was damaged beyond repair. It was struck off VH-UTY. Constructor’s number 4041. the Australian Register on 20 February 1954. George Lewis commenced operating Goldfields The Australian Aerial Medical Service (AAMS) had Airways at Kalgoorlie in August 1934 with a DH60M VH- planned that three towns In Western Australia would UPD as his sole aircraft. He soon became involved In become bases for an aerial ambulance and flying doctor emergency ambulance flights which exposed the service. Two were to be In the North West, at Port unsuitability of the Moth for this type of work. His financial Hedland and Wyndham with a third in the Eastern backer, Joe Thorn, manager of the Lake View and Star Goldfields at Kalgoorlie. In 1934 some discussions were gold mine, approved the purchase of a Fox Moth, fitted held with West Australian Airways regarding the charter of with a stretcher, and a second-hand aircraft was ordered suitable aircraft but these lapsed when that company lost from a broker In England In March 1935. The machine the mail service to MacRobertson Miller Aviation (MMA) in selected was G-AACA, which had been purchased new In October 1934. February 1933 by the well-known English racing motorist. Negotiations were re-opened soon afterwards and MMA agreed to the principle of such a charter. In January 1935, the Department of Defence called tenders for a feeder service, incorporating an aerial ambulance service, to operate between Ord River and Wyndham and connecting with the aircraft making the normal mail flights through Ord River to and from Perth. MMA were advised in late March that their tender had been successful. Successful negotiations had also been concluded between the AAMS and MMA regarding the stationing of an aircraft at Port Hedland for use as an aerial ambulance and flying doctor transport. Accordingly, MMA contacted the English aircraft brokers the Hon. Brian Lewis. He sold it to the Portsmouth, W.S. Shackelton Ltd and placed an order with them for Southsea and Isle of Wight Aviation Ltd in September two second-hand Fox Moths, each modified to carry a 1933, who operated it until early 1935. stretcher. Two aircraft were found and shipped to The aircraft arrived at the port of Fremantle, WA, on 21 Australia on the SS Waimana, arriving In Fremantle on 24 May 1935, aboard the SS Chitral and was soon June 1935. The aircraft which. was to be used at assembled and test-flown at Maylands airfield. Nine days Wyndham was given priority in assembly and testing as later, now registered as VH-UTY, it was flown to Kalgoorlie the contract stated that the aircraft must be in service by by Lewis and a new pilot he had engaged, Alec Whitham. 29 July 1935. Both were registered on 9 July 1935, the Flying conditions on that day must have been very machine destined for Wyndham as VH-UTF while its sister favourable with a strong following wind as the aircraft became VH-USJ. made the 350 mile journey at an average speed of 127 mph. VH-UTF Constructor’s Number 4039 The aircraft was soon busily employed on ambulance This aircraft was purchased new in 1933 by an flights and charter work over a huge area of the Eastern unknown German user and registered as either D-3408 or Goldfields, ranging as far as Madura, 350 miles to the D-2408. It returned to England the same year when east, Esperance, 200 miles to the south. Marble Bar, 550 bought by L.Ingram who re-registered it as miles to the north and Perth, 350 miles to the west. By G-ACID and who used it until early 1935. Two months February 1939, VH-UTY had logged over 2000 hours later it was sold to MMA.

88 AHSA Aviation Heritage

unsettled as it went through several changes of ownership, being sold to Henry Verdon Moss of Darwin on 17 June 1947, then to Max Bond c/- Robby’s Aircraft Repair Co. of Parafield on 2 February 1950, with registration being changed to that company only a month later. On 14 July 1950 it was withdrawn from service and struck from the register just over a year later on 6 August 1951. For two years nothing was heard of the D.H.83 and then on 17 April 1953, it returned to the register as VH-RAL, still owned by Robby’s Aircraft Repair Co. and with a new Certificate of Registration no. 1999. On 19 March 1956, the aircraft again changed hands, the new owners On arrival in Australia it was assembled by the new being Australian Aircraft Sales of owners at Maylands and registered to them as VH-UTF. Sydney NSW, to whom it was registered until 9 December On 29 June 1935, the Fox Moth was christened “Dunbar 1958 when It was purchased by M. Kennedy of Caringbah Hooper” by Lt Col Thomas White in honour of the late Dr NSW. On 20 July 1961 the D.H.83 was again struck from J.W. Dunbar Hooper who was a member of the committee the register on the grounds of having been ‘withdrawn which founded the AAMS in 1927. Willis Reeve had been from service’. engaged by MMA to operate the Ord River — Wyndham On 26 October 1962 the Fox Moth came back on the service and on 4 July 1935, the aircraft was flown to register with a Certificate of Registration no. 4172, but Wyndham by J.Woods, MMA’s Operations Manager, with now, according to the Journal of the Aviation Historical Willis Reeve as a passenger. On 11 July, Reeve flew the Society of Australia, owned by Austerserve of Bankstown first service from Ord River to Wyndham, returning to Ord NSW. The company did not retain it for long, ownership on 16 July, and from then on operating a weekly service in passing to D.R. Walters of Toowoomba Old. in March each direction. The contract conditions stated that the 1963 and now registered as VH-UAL. aircraft had to be available at all times as an aerial Three years later it passed into the hands of the P.J. ambulance, such demands to take precedence over the Pastoral Co. of Goomeri, Old. who were to be the last to mail run if necessary. operate the aircraft, now thirty years old. On 1 August, The conditions In Wyndham could not have been to 1968, when flying near an Island off the coast of Reeve’s liking as he only operated the service for two Queensland, the old Fox Moth encountered a severe down months before returning to Victoria to become an draught in heavy turbulence and the pilot was unable to instructor with the Aero Club. He was replaced by R.R. arrest the rapid descent, striking the water. He was (Robbie) Robinson who flew the Fox Moth for the next rescued unhurt but the aircraft was severely damaged. It is three years and became a well-known and respected possible that repair was contemplated as the aircraft figure in the North-West. remained on the register for another eleven months but was finally struck off in July 1969. VH-UTF made its last medical flight with MMA on 23 July 1938 to Argyle Downs Station. Changes In air mail routes and the need for twin-engine safety, led to it being VH-USJ Constructor’s Number 4058 replaced with a DH84 Dragon The Fox Moth was still in Between March and May 1933, the Scottish Motor excellent condition having only flown 18,700 miles and Traction Company of Renfrew, , bought eight of had made 53 medical flights in the three years it had the new Fox Moths for use on air services to remote towns operated from Wyndham. George Lewis was eager to in the Highlands and Hebridies. In 1934 , the company own two aircraft with short-field capabilities and purchased commenced replacing the Fox Moth Fleet with the machine to work alongside his other Fox Moth. twin-engined DH84 Dragons, as single-engined aircraft VH-UTF spent the next eight years with Goldfields had been banned from making flights over more than 12 Airways, flying charters and aerial ambulance work for the miles of open water, and the Hebridies were 60 miles from Eastern Goldfields Section of the AAMS. In September, the mainland. The Fox Moth fleet was slowly sold off. One 1944, the D.H.83 had a break from routine when Lewis of these aircraft, G-ACEB, went to Southend Flying flew it on a successful search for a Spitfire which had Services Ltd In June 1934 and was used to inaugurate the force-landed 200 miles east of Kalgoorlle while on a ferry Thames Air Ferry between Southend and Rochester. In flight from the Eastern States. After the war Ansons were the first half of 1935 the aircraft was put up for sale and becoming available from the Commonwealth Disposals was purchased by MMA. Commission and Lewis decided to turn to these aircraft as After assembly and testing at Maylands airfield on 5 being more suitable for the type of work he was doing. He July 1935, It was registered as VH-USJ and on 29 purchased two Ansons and advertised the Fox Moth for September flown to Port Hedland for use under charter to sale, describing it as “Total time 2200 hours - as new”. the AAMS. On 1 October 1935 it was named the “John Roy Maxwell Edwards in DanA/in bought the machine Flynn” by Ernest Lee Steere For the next four years the and was registered as the new owner on 12 February aircraft was flown and serviced by Max Campbell on a 1946. The Fox Moth’s life was now to become rather variety of aero medical flights. In the later part of 1939,

89 AHSA Aviation Heritage

MMA made a DH84 Dragon available for this work and the From then on the aircraft was shuffled around various Fox Moth was put into reserve. This situation did not last people, passing back to Bob Couper and then going to for long as the Dragon was impressed in October 1940 Les Kordys ot Trayning who hangared it with Wally and the VH-USJ was returned to Port Hedland to take up Thompson in Kelleberrin for an eventual rebuild. Very little its original role. Due to wartime needs, Max Campbell left was done and the now-decaying Moth was acquired by to join the RAAF and the resident medical officer in the Ray Windred as part of his purchase of a quantity of Tiger district, Dr Harold Dicks, who held a flying licence, took Moths. In 1983, the Moth was hangared at Lyn Forster's over the piloting of the aircraft. MMA were unwilling to restoration business in York where it remained for several continue their charter under these conditions so the Fox years awaiting a decision on its fate. In 1995, Robyn Moth was purchased by the AAMS for £750 in August Stewart, a daughter of Dr Harold Dicks , appealed for help 1941. to save the old aircraft which her father had flown extensively pre-war on RFDS work in the Port On 13 April 1942, the aircraft crashed while taking off Hedland-Marble Bar area. John Markham of Perth came to from Port Hedland and had to be shipped south for the rescue and bought USJ from Windred and, in 1997, repairs, which due to wartime shortages of spares took six sent it to Croydon Aircraft In where It is months to complete. On 22 October 1942 VH-USJ re­ nearing the end of a rebuild to flying condition. entered service at the inland base of Marble Bar where the AAMS had relocated for safety. The Moth flew on until 1945 when It was again replaced by a Dragon but stayed in Port Hedland as a reserve aircraft until the early fifties. It VH-UVL Constructor’s No. 4015 seemed the AAMS, now called the Royal Flying Doctor Service, were unwilling to part with This aircraft was built in early 1932 at Stag Lane, the aircraft and It finally found a permanent home at the new Meekatharra base. In 1960 the RFDS had no further need for the aging Moth and offered the aircraft for sale. It was bought by R.C Currell on 17 May 1961 who retained it for almost exactly one year before selling it on 5 May 1962 to the well-known agricultural aircraft operator. Bob Couper of Cunderdin. On 5 July 1963, Couper disposed of the DH83 to William Dermody of Shackleton, WA, and during the time of his ownership the aircraft was damaged in a ground accident. AHSA Aviation Heritage

Edgeware and sold to H.G. Travers who registered it as swayed and VH-ABU, in common with all Fox Moths on G-ABXS. In January 1933 It passed to P.A. Wills and in the Australian register, was only allowed to carry three March 1935 to the Hon. Brian Darvel Ayrshire of London. passengers or a stretcher case with one attendant. Five months later the Fox Moth was sold to MacRobertson James had other interests besides operating his air Miller Aviation, arriving in West Australia on the SS taxi service, having not only a road taxi service and a Comnorin in late August 1935. The post-assembly trial photography business but also acting as a part-time pilot flight was made by H.C. Miller on 5 September and, for Airlines (WA) Ltd. In February 1940 he advertised the registered as VH-UVL, it was immediately put Into service Taxiplane business for sale, listing the Moth, a spare on the North West run to handle extra traffic that the engine, spares and a hangar in the price of £1,500. He regular service was unable to take and to be available as stated that the main business of the company was a stand-by aerial ambulance when either of the other two operating an air service to Rottnest Island, 12 miles off the DH83s were unserviceable. coast of WA and joy rides at 7/6 and 10/- each. In typical This work proceeded without incident until January style he concluded the advertisement with a warning to 1939. VH-UVL was on relief duties at Port Hedland when intending purchasers that “Lengthy Correspondence Not a cyclone struck and demolished the MMA hangar, Entertained”. The advertisement evidently drew no crushing the Fox Moth inside. The wings were completely interest as in July 1941, VH-ABU was impressed by the smashed and much other damage was caused to fuselage RAAF as A41-1. and undercarriage. A decision was made not to rebuild the The Moth was Immediately allocated to Pearce aircraft and three months after the accident, the wreckage Headquarters and served with 35 Squadron as a was sold to Syd Marshall of NSW, being registered to him communications aircraft until January 1944. In that time it in April 1940 after he had rebuilt the Moth. had several mishaps, mainly forced landings, and the only In October 1942 VH-UVL was impressed into the serious accident damage was sustained in December RAAF as A41-2. The rebuild had probably not been well 1942 when it forced landed during a Naval co-operation done as It spent a year being shuffled around various exercise, breaking the airscrew, fuselage and starboard maintenance units before the Air Force decided It required lower wing. The repairs were effected by MacRobertson too much work to restore it to serviceable condition. Miller Aviation at Maylands aerodrome and the aircraft Approval was given on 30 November 1943 to convert the returned to 35 Squadron in April 1943. In January 1944, DH-83 Fox Moth to components. A41-1 was sent to at Archerfield In Queensland who had it In their charge until September of that year when they passed it to 3 Aircraft Depot who Immediately allocated it to No.2 Air Ambulance Unit. In October, the Moth went back to Qantas for conversion Into a stretcher- VH-ABU Constructor’s No. 4047 bearing ambulance aircraft. In December 1945, A41-1 This Fox Moth was bought new in March 1933 by was considered by the Air Force as ‘surplus to Midland and Scottish Air Ferries Ltd of Renfrew, Scotland requirements’ and offered for sale through the and was one of four used by that company for scheduled Commonwealth Disposal Commission. services and pleasure flights. It was registered as G- In February 1946 the Moth was bought for £250 by the ACCT and remained in their service for over two years Federal Methodist Inland Mission and operated by them In until August 1935 when it was sold to West of Scotland several locations in Queensland until October 1948 when Air Services Ltd, also of Renfrew. They operated the DH- they did a deal with Guinea Air Traders Ltd of Sydney, 83 until November 1937 when It was sold to James Taxi exchanging the Fox Moth for that company’s DH-80 Puss Planes Ltd In Perth Western Australia who applied for Moth. Guinea requested a change of registration serial to Australian registration on 18 January 1938. Two days VH-GAV as they had other aircraft In that block. The later it was registered as VH-ABU and almost immediately request was initially granted but rescinded only a month was the subject of heated correspondence between the later by the Department as GAV conflicted with radio call owner of the company, Mr Vivian James and the secretary signs and the registration was altered to GBV. of the Civil Aviation Board. On 25 April 1949, the DH-83 crashed at Bulolo In New In Britain, the Fox Moth was licensed to carry four Guinea when it suffered an engine failure while landing in passengers and a pilot but James was irate when the the hands of R.C.T. Burt, and was declared a total loss by Department notified him that in Australia, the registration the company, the aircraft being struck from the register on would only be granted for three passengers and a pilot. 20 July 1949. He produced the British Certificate of registration and insisted that the department alter its ruling in his favour, adding that he trusted they would take no further steps, autocratic or otherwise, to interfere with the successful operation of his business. The Board, who were well aware of James’ deep dislike of bureaucracy. Informed him that the cabin of the Fox Moth was too small to carry four passengers in comfort and safety and their ruling would stand. This letter resulted in an even more irate answer from James but the Board was not to be AHSA Aviation Heritage

OH DEAR! 2 Training accidents claimed many aircraft and pilots during WW II. Photos from the RAAF Museum via Bob Wills. Research and captions by Bert Cookson

OXFORD AT 623 On 18-7-45 Fit. Sgt. Reis from Advanced Flying and Refresher Unit at 7 SFTS Deniliquin was completing his landing run when he came in contact with a soft area of the drome and tipped AT 623 on its nose. No great harm was done and the Oxford was converted in December, 1950.

OXFORD BM 818 At 0600 hours on 30-4-43 L.A.C. Lawson took off from the Little River Satellite Drome (nr. Laverton, Vic) when he experienced engine trouble. He completed a short circuit and came in to land but overshot and as a result braked too hard causing the aircraft to turn over on its back. It was converted on 31-5-43.

OXFORD LW 922 On 19-3-52 both main-planes of LW 922 were extensively damaged when the aircraft rolled into a ditch following brake failure while taxying. It was on charge at 30 Sqdn based at Schoefields, on target towing duties. It was passed to DAP on 1-5-53 and scrapped. AHSA Aviation Heritage

GUINEA AIRWAYS LOCKHEED 14 CRASH AT KATHERINE, NT. Submitted by M J Flanagan. It is still possible to stand at a certain spot on the footpath running alongside Gorge Road, Katherine, and look along the length of the old Katherine airstrip. To your left is the hospital, to your right the township and behind you the Katherine River. It was here on the morning of Wednesday 18th January 1939 that Lockheed 14 VH-ABI Koranga failed to become properly airborne and crashed into the river. The following is a report on that accident, retyped for clarity but otherwise unaltered. The report makes interesting reading.

Report on: Accident to Lockheed 14. aircraft at Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia, on 18*'’ January, 1939. "The aircraft was owned and operated by Guinea Airways Ltd. and was employed on regular scheduled service carrying passengers, mail and freight between Darwin and Adelaide. The following personnel were killed and the aircraft was almost completely destroyed in the crash, - C.R.Clarke, 1st pilot; J.A.Jukes, 2nd pilot; P.l. Donegan, Flight Engineer; A.W. McDonald, Aerodrome Inspector, Civil Aviation Department. Guinea Airway's Lockheed 14H VH-ABI 'Koranga' (c/n 1418) photographed, it is believed, at Parafield, SA, sometime between May 1938 and January 1939. The aircraft left Darwin at (Photograph J. O'Leary via Chas Schaedel). 5.50 am and arrived at a point was reached 294 yards from the N.W. end of Katherine at 6.50 am. The delay of one hour at the runway, which is 700 yards in length. Here, there Katherine was due to heavy rain. The aircraft was was a mark made by the tail wheel which indicated that taxied for its take off along the runway and turned to at this point the pilot had attempted to lift the aircraft off take off in a N.W. direction 60 yards short of the S.E. the ground and that its flying speed was insufficient and end of the runway. The runway between the point of resulted in the tail wheel touching the ground. From this turning and the S.E. end is covered with grass and the point up to a final mark 18 yards from the N.W. end of pilot probably assumed that the overgrown area of the the runway the tail wheel was making intermittent contact with the ground. Just before reaching the N.W. end of the runway the aircraft left the ground at what must have been an excessive angle of attack, as was evident from the marks on the runway and from the evidence of eye-witnesses, and it continued on without appreciable change of attitude, or gain in altitude, for a distance of approximately 150 yards. Here, the Katherine River flows across the line of the runway. The pilot evidently considered at this moment that the aircraft would not obtain sufficient , height to clear trees bordering runway was soft, and unsuitable for taxying over. The the opposite bank of the river and apparently decided to whole unprepared surface of the aerodrome was turn to the right and attempt to fly along the river, which, unusable owing to rain. The wheel marks of the aircraft at this part is about 60 ft. below general ground level, were plainly visible on the surface of the runway and it However, the speed of the aircraft when the turn was observed that the take off proceeded normally until commenced was but little above its stalling speed and

93 AHSA Aviation Heritage the loss of lift due to the turn caused the aircraft to stall and fall away to the right. The right wing struck the near side of the river bed and the aircraft crashed into the river. There was some evidence to indicate that the engines were shut off immediately prior to the crash. This is quite probable as the pilot may have realised that it was impossible to gain height and decided to descend into the river preferring this action to striking trees on the far bank of the river. At the time of take off the load of the aircraft was 1,276 lbs. below the maximum authorised by the Certificate of Airworthiness. Both pilots held valid Commercial "B" Licences The Committee consider that the pilot attempted to endorsed for the Lockheed type and had had lift the aircraft from the ground before adequate flying considerable experience in charge of aircraft engaged speed had been obtained, and continued in his on the Adelaide-Darwin service, including landings at attempts until when near the end of the runway the Katherine on many occasions. On this trip from speed was just sufficient to keep the aircraft in the air Adelaide to Darwin and return Jukes, who was the with full power but insufficient to allow for any senior pilot for Guinea Airways Ltd., was flying as manoeuvring or any gain in height. In attempting to second pilot for the purpose of giving Pilot Clarke a final prematurely lift the aircraft from the ground the change check over the route before he acted as Captain in the of attitude would retard its acceleration. Had the attitude Lockheed 14 type. of the machine been kept in the normal take off position throughout the whole length of the runway the Committee considers that the aircraft would then have been taken off successfully and would have cleared the boundary fence and the obstructions on the river banks by a safe margin. In view of this accident and the increasing use of modern aircraft which require a take off run far in excess of older types, the Committee considers that all aerodromes in regular use by modern types of aircraft should be provided with a take off run of at least 1,200 yards in one direction. The provision of a long take off run in one or more directions will reduce the risk There was no evidence to indicate that mechanical of accident due to minor errors on the part of pilots, and defect was a contributing cause of the accident and the will provide a margin of safety under adverse conditions aircraft made a normal take off from Darwin two hours such as high ground temperature, little or no wind, and previously with a load slightly in excess of that at engine failure during take off." Katherine. During the investigations it was found that the Acknowledgements: Mr. Chas Schaedel and Mr. Ron Cullen, both of Adelaide, SA. airscrews were in the full high pitch position but the Committee consider it was improbable that the pilot Notes on the crash photos; The wreckage of VH-ABI in the took the aircraft off with the airscrews in this position. Katherine River. These photographs are believed to have been taken by a PMG employee working at the time in the Katherine Post Office. These copies supplied by Mr. Ron Cullen.

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SHORT S.23 EMPIRE FLYING BOAT AUSTRALIAN CONNECTIONS

by John Wilson

The first Short S.23 Empire fiying boat seen in Australia, G-ADUT “Centaurus ” on the mooring buoy at Rose Bay after its arrival from England on 24 December 1937. Photo: Sydney Morning Herald

The first proposals for the establishment of a flying boat originally taken onto the British register as G-AFBJ on 26 service for the carriage of all mail throughout the British August 1937 but later transferred to the Australian register Empire by air were made in 1934. Known as the All Up or as VH-ABA. This was soon followed by another order [22 Empire Air Mail Scheme it was to be implemented in three June 1937] for two S.23 aircraft [S.877-78: registered as G- stages: [1] the linking of ; [2] , Ceylon and AFBK and ‘BL on 26 August 1937, for QEA which became Malaya, and [3] through to Australia, to be extended to VH-ABB & ABF] and then eight S.30’s [S.879-886] ordered New Zealand when a trans-Tasman air service operated, on 21 October 1937. These aircraft were registered on 15 Conceived as the greatest British air transport operation November 1937. ever undertaken. Imperial Airways Ltd. eventually placed an order with Messrs. Short Bros. (Rochester and A single S.30 [S.1003] was ordered [probably in November Bedford)Ltd., for a fleet of flying boats. Designed by 1937] and registered 10 November, and the last order placed Short Bros, to Imperial Airways’ specification, these were on 7 June 1939 was for three S.33’s [S.1025-27 registered called the Short S.23 C-class Empire flying boats. on 27 January 1939] bringing the total Empire fleet order to 43. Work on the forty-third aircraft [S.1027 G-AFRB] was Production stopped when it was more than 75% completed and the hull The first order, confirmed on 19 February 1934, was for was later scrapped.^ quoted for a further four one S.23 Mk.l prototype [c/n S.759] and one S.23 Mk.lll aircraft but these were never built. Atlantic boat [c^ S.804] registered on 17 June 1935. The first production batch comprised 12 aircraft [S.811-822], The first aircraft, c/n S.795 G-ADHL Canopus, emerged from ail for Imperial. This group was registered on 7 October the No.3 Erecting Shop at Short Bros Rochester plant on 1 1935. July 1936. Nothing like Imperial Airways’ new flying boat had been seen in Britain before. Design and construction had The second production batch of 14 aircraft [S.838-851] advanced carefully and progressively, led firstly by Oswald was covered by the third order [2 September 1935] Short and later by Arthur Gouge. When G-ADHL was bringing the total fleet to 28 aircraft and were registered launched on 2 July 1936, the test pilot, John Lankester on 1 March 1937. The last three of this order were for Parker, had intended to try some fast runs on the Medway OEA [S.849-51 = VH-ABC, ABD & ABE]. Whilst it appears River but the aircraft handled so well that he took off for a that the original 6 OEA aircraft were in this order, several flight lasting 14 minutes.^ S.23’s had been lost and Imperial retained three of the aircraft intended for QEA. The remaining three QEA jhe first official flight was made on 4 July but concerns were aircraft came from the two further orders. expressed over the inability of the Gouge flaps to operate correctly resulting in the first few take-offs and landings An order placed on 27 April 1937 was for a single aircraft being carried out without the use of flaps . There are few alr- [S.876] to replace G-ADVA which had crashed on 24 ______March 1937.^ The aircraft was named Carpentaria and ^ md., p.46-47 ^ B.Cassidy, Flying Empires, Queens Parade Press, Bath, 1996, p.46 ^ Ibid., p.34.

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1921 with its concave planing bottom and ff CORAL Harbour continued through the S.1 Cockle, the S.5 Darwin Oroote I and S.12 Singapore II, the S.8 6EA Calcutta, the S.19 Singapore III and the S.14 Ka rumba Sarafand. The development of the mainplanes, Townsville flaps and fuel tanks had similar histories. Three of Dowen Short Bros aircraft that did play a considerable STvN, [return flight] Auckland part in the development of the S.23 were the S.16 Gladstone Scion II G-ADDR, the S.18 Knuckleduster K3574 and the two L.17 landplane versions of the Kent

BRISBANE flying boat, G-ACJJ Scylta and G-ACJK Syrinx.^

Initially, Imperial Airways ordered eight aircraft of what was later to become a much larger order. On Adelaide SYDNEY Rar^g.Harb. 28 June 1937 Qantas Empire Airways formally advised the CAB of their intention to operate Mel^urne TASMAN ickland S.23’s and on 6 July 1937 the CAB allotted the registrations VH-ABA to ABG. On 21 April 1937 Hobart Wellington the first batch of OEA pilots left for SEA SHORT S.23 training in the UK and included Capts. L.J.Brain, G-ADUT CENTAURUS Lyttleton Har. W. H. Crowther and C.R. Gurney as well as SURVEY FLIGHT 20 DEC-20 JAN 1937-38 Otago Harbour A.Balrd[works manager] and two ground engineers, D.Wright and H. Williams.® By November 1937 they had returned and Capts. G.U.AIIan, R.B.Tapp, H.B.Hussey and O.D.Denny to-air photos of these first flights as the chase plane were undergoing their training. During November the first of [Leopard Moth] could not keep up with the new aircraft."' seven new refuelling launches, with a capacity of 1050 In contemporary terms, the Short S.23 was an advanced gallons of aviation fuel, had completed its trials on Sydney aircraft and the fact that only minor details required Harbour and these were to be stationed at Darwin, Groote adjustment vindicated the care and attention that had Eyiandt, Karumba, Townsville, Bowen, Brisbane and Rose gone into its design and construction. The Certificate of Bay. Airworthiness trials for the type were begun at Felixstowe on 15 September 1936 with G-ADHM Caledonia, being the The first completed aircraft, G-ADHL Canopus, left England second aircraft off the production line, and were on 22 October 1937 for Genoa and entered service on 31 completed by December. October in the Mediterranean. As these aircraft came from the assembly lines, they were given names beginning with The Empire flying boats were ordered straight from the "C" and the Empire ‘C-class’ flying boats soon spread their drawing board, a decision that caused many sleepless wings across the world. In July 1935, a RAAF Supermarine nights for the managements of Shorts Bros and lAL. The Mk.ll A11-1 [Sqdn. Leader A.E.Hempel] from S.23 had a long ancestry and the development of the hull the Coastal Recon-naissance Flight at Point Cook had made began many years before with the Cromarty in March a survey along the Australian east coast to the Fly River in

® /bid., 17 6 Ibid., p.34. B.Leonard, A Tradition of Integrity, UNSW Press, Sydney, 1994, p.41. 96 AHSA Aviation Heritage

Darwin with Lester Brain at the controls on Brcakfaet Creek HAMILTON 17th as scheduled, Brain, QEA flight NEWSTEAO superintendent, had joined the crew at Lan^lin^ >4 Singapore to show them the way to Darwin. ® ALIGHTING AREA- I approach of d-ADUr Croee-hver ferry “Hetherington” BULIMIA G-ADUT arrived over the Hamilton area of & Brisbane at 1.10pm on 21 December after Mercantile.Wharf m 5aro A27e % tah&-off area having left Townsville at 7am followed by a TENERIFFE civic reception in Gladstone. It alighted near the Mercantile Wharves on the Bulimba Reach mCQ I of the Brisbane River approaching from the NEW south shortly after 1.30pm. Lester Brain was FARM Taxy route again given the honour of landing the aircraft. of G-ADUT It turned around near Breakfast Creek and Mooring buo;y then taxied five miles upstream to the South G-ADUT Brisbane Reach and moored on a naval buoy Landing approach S.23 G-ADUT set up near the Domain opposite the South of 5a ro A.27e Arrival in Brisbane Brisbane dry dock. \ 21 December 1937 Norman Creek ______No demonstration flights were made by Centaurus In Brisbane as any flight would New Guinea In preparation for the new service. have involved 40mins of taxylng time to and from the take­ off area and this was considered an unnecessary call on the England-Australia Survey Flight engines at this stage of the flight. The agreement between the governments of Great Britain and Australia having been signed for a flying boat service in Brisbane, the Centaurus was welcomed by Q.E.A. from England to Australia, Imperial Airways Ltd. decided Chairman Fergus McMaster, Vice Chairman A. E. Rudder, to send the Short S.23 Empire flying boat G-ADUT Imperial Airways’ Australian representative and Hudson Centaurus, on a survey flight to Australia and New Fysh, managing director. The aircraft, the largest to have Zealand. This was the longest flight for a commercial visited Australia to date, was then inspected by the state flying-boat ever undertaken and the first time a governor and many leading citizens, commercial flight had been undertaken between England and New Zealand. The schedule for the Australian On 24 December it was taxied downstream at Sam to the component of the flight included the following: Bulimba Reach, took off, circled the city twice, and flew to Rose Bay, Sydney, arriving 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Dec. 3 1937 Departed Southampton 17 Bima Bay-Koepang-D,arwin It was officially welcomed by the NSW Premier [Mr B.S.B. 20 Darwin-GrooteEylandt-Karumba-Townsville Stevens] who then joined an official party for a 21 Townsville-Gladstone-Brisbane 24 Brisbane-Sydney demonstration flight over Sydney. 27 Sydney-Auckland 31 Auckland-Wellington On the 27th G-ADUT left Rose Bay at 4.03 am for New Jan 1 1938 Wellington-Christchurch [Lyttleton Harbour] 2 Christchurch-Dunedin [Otago Harbour] Zealand and arrived in Auckland at 3.13pm [N.Z. time] in the 3 Dunedin-Auckland record time of 9 hours 10 minutes breaking Jean Batten's 5 Auckland-Parengarenga Harbour-Auckland record by 1 hour 20 minutes made on 16 October 1936. 10 Auckland-Sydney 13 Sydney-Melbourne While in Auckland, Centaurus was flown on the 5 January 17 Melbourne-Adelaide with a load of Imperial Airways’ guests to Parengarenga 18 Adelaide-Hobart 20 Hobart-Sydney Harbour for a picnic lunch.® After a few days’ rest, the return G-ADUT Centaurus [Cap­ tain J. W. Burgess, F/0 C.F.EIder, Sen. W/0 A. Lowe, W/0 H. Danger- field, F/Steward H. J. Bing­ ham] left Southampton on the 3rd December 1937. This was the day after five RAF 204 Squadron Saro A.27 London Mk.ll flying boats [W.Cdr. K.B.Lloyd] left Plymouth on a long­ distance training flight to Sydney^ as well as to take part in Australia’s 150th Imperial Airways Short S.23 G-ADUT ‘Centaurus' moored near the Domain, Brisbane River, 21 December anniversary celebrations. 1937 after its arrival from Gladstone. Photo: via J.Petersen

Centaurus alighted In ^ B.Cassidy, op. oil, p.185. ^ G.Duval, British Flying Boats and Amphibians, Putnam, 9 P.Harrison et al, The Golden Age of Flying Boats in NZ, Random London, 1966, p. 185. House, Auckland, 1997, p.28. 97 AHSA Aviation Heritage

flight across the Tasman on Monday, 10 January 1938 of gravity and the aircraft came off the surface like a bird." was flown in 10 hours. Centaurus then made flights to With no passengers, G-ADUT flew to on three Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart. engines’^ and returned to England arriving at Hythe on the 24 February after having flown over 30,000 miles on her Four of the RAF Saro A.27 London flying boats arrived in historic flight without mishap. Brisbane from Bowen at noon on the 22 January and alighted on the South Brisbane Reach near where On 23 February, 1938, with the service to India and Malaya Centaurus had been moored. The fifth A.27 had been in operation, Stage II of the Empire Air Mail Scheme was delayed by engine trouble and arrived at 4pm creating accomplished. In preparation for Stage III - the extension to interest for thousands of Brisbane onlookers. The five Australia - it was decided to make trial flights over the route A.27s departed Brisbane from the Bulimba Reach on the of the proposed service. These were as follows:- 25th for Sydney with one of them K5912 having to abort its take-off to the north when the steam vehicular-ferry • Southampton-Marseilles-Riem-Brindisi-Athens Hetherington crossed its take-off path.’° • Athens-Alexandria-LakeTiberias-Habbaniyeh (Baghdad)-Basra • Basra-Kuwait-Bahrein-Dubai-Karachi • Karachi-Raj Samand-Gwalior-Allahabad-Calcutta G-ADUT departed Sydney on 27 January 1938 on its • Bangkok-Koh Samui-Penang Singapore • Singapore-Batavia-Sourabaya return flight to the UK via Brisbane [Pinkenba Reach], • Sourabaya-Bima-Koepang-Darwin and included a visit to Bowen. During the return journey, • Darwin-Groote Eyiandt-Karumba-Townsville the port outer engine seized just before reaching Lake • Townsville-Gladstone-Brisbane-Sydney Tiberias [Gallilee] and a three-engine take-off failed due to drag from the windmilling propeller. This was removed On the 26th June, 1938, G-AUEB Camilla, [Captain E. S. overnight. The next day, the first attempt at take-off on a Alcock], left Southampton at 5.15am followed at 5.45 am by glassy surface failed as the starboard outer engine could G-AEUD Cordelia [Captain E. S. Madge] on the first England- not be fully opened up so Capt.Burgess tried an Australia service; Camilla was replaced at Karachi by G- operational procedure learnt before during training on ADVD^ ^ ^ Challenger. [Capt. G.U. Allan, F/0 O. Denny, both of Imperial’s Short S.8/8 Rangoon G-AEIM [c/n S.757]. He Singapore arriving on July mustered the crew forward on the lower deck and opened 1st. Cordelia flew to Singapore, also arriving on 1 July with the throttles. As the aircraft came up onto the step, on Captain E. H. Atwood who had taken over command at Burgess’ signal, the crew rushed aft shifting the centre Alexandria.

Leaving Singapore on the 2nd with the passengers and mail from Cordelia, Challenger arrived at Darwin at 6.15 p.m. on Sunday 3 July. The time taken to fly the service was 7 days 4 hours covering a distance of 10,544 miles. At Darwin the mail for W.A. was transferred to a MacRobertson Miller Co. DH-86 acquired from QEA Ltd. Guinea Airways Lockheed L.10A. took the South Australian, Victorian and Tasmanian mail through to Adelaide. With a day's delay at Darwin due to customs and Short S.23 G-ADUT “Centaurus ” alighting on Rose Bay on 10 January 1938 after its return from quarantine formalities, Challenger Auckland, New Zealand. Photo: Sydney Morning Herald flew through to Townsville on the 5th, alighting on Rose Bay at 4.30 pm on Wednesday 6 July.

I These early flights were not I without their problems. When " Challenger arrived in Darwin on I July 3rd chaos reigned. The I refuelling vessel broke from Its I moorings and damaged the port I float resulting in the aircraft not : departing until two days later. The I flight across the Timor Sea had I been made at 14,000ft to avoid surface winds and an Immense Imperial Airways Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat G-ADUT Centaurus on the mooring buoy on the Derwent River after arriving in Hobart from Adelaide on 18 January 1938 during the England - cloud belt in an attempt to reach A ustralia survey flight. Photo:Hobart Mercury Darwin In daylight and the B.Cassidy, op. cit, p.141. The Courier Mail, Brisbane, 26 December 1937. Harrison et al, op. cit., p.28; and B.Cassidy, op. cit., p.140. 98 AHSA Aviation Heritage passengers had to endure a very cold flight. The arrival at Darwin at 6.15pnn was not a pleasurable one for the passengers who Included a number of members of the press.

It was to be some time before adequate facilities were provided at Darwin with much debate between QEA and the Government. Passengers who arrived in Challenger were made to stay aboard the aircraft while customs and health formalities were finalised, as well as inventories taken of luggage and the aircraft’s stores. The aircraft was filled with ether fumes from vaccinations given to three passengers, one customs officer became seasick due to choppy conditions crated by a southerly gale, and the fuselage became unbear­ able in the hot conditions. It was some three hours before the last passengers reached their hotel after two old open launches 11 were used to transfer passengers to shore j| resulting in them being wet with spray. They then had to use the landing steps of imperial Airways Short S.23 G-ADVD “Challenger” taking ojffrom the Pinkenba Reach of the Brisbane River the ship Porf Moresby as 6 My 1938for Sydney. Photo: Courier Mail there were no satisfactory steps at the jetty to cope with the exceptional sea wireless mast was delivered to Groote Eyiandt for a conditions. They were then subjected outside to windy directional beacon to aid the flying boat services across the conditions as they were admitted to the tiny Customs Gulf of Carpentaria. This was too tempting for the local shed one at a time. Then followed a half-mile walk to aborigines who decided it could be put to better use in the waiting cars.'^ The passengers were not impressed. manufacture of spears. They marched off with a large section of the mast and its accessories pursued by a When it came time for the aircraft to depart Darwin on the constable and were arrested.'® 5th it was discovered that the lights had been left on all night by the watchman causing a delay starting one of the Federal Cabinet decided to establish the overseas air engines resulting in an 8.15am take-off instead of terminal temporarily at Rose Bay, to be eventually 6.30am. When the aircraft arrived at Karumba, the transferred to Botany Bay, and assumed responsibility for refuelling launch collided with the starboard float causing the bases between Singapore and Sydney. QEA became a dent.'"' The Challenger finally arrived at Pinkenba, responsible for this sector after an agreement was signed Brisbane, on the 6th at 12.15pm where the press were between Imperial Airways and QEA on 7 September 1938. quick to note the two dented floats. When it arrived in Sydney there was no official welcome as Imperial Airways Rose Bay Chosen implied the flight was just a running-in service'^ however, The choice of Rose Bay as the flying boat terminal was not a large crowd turned out to watch the arrival. made without a great deal of opposition from residents. Rose Bay locals produced charts stating that runway take-off At this time an amusing story was recounted when a large lengths were inadequate resulting in aircraft encroaching into shipping lanes, noise would be a problem [even The Courier Mail, Brisbane, 4 July 1938. suggesting that silencers be fitted to all aircraft], and many Ibid., 6 July 1938. suggested Botany Bay as an alternative choice. On 4 Ibid., 7 My 1938. Ibid., 6 July 1938.

99 AHSA Aviation Heritage

August 1937 the Prime Minister [Lyons,] had announced that Rose Bay would be the temporary site of the base but that steps would be taken Immediately to establish Botany Bay as the permanent base.

The initial choice of Rose Bay was made to ensure the commencement of the flying boat service to England. The Mayor of Woollahra [Aid. Griffith], however, stated that the base was there to stay for all time and that promises made by one government were not binding on the next.^^

Further support was given by H.E.Wimperis [described by the press as an ‘aeronautical expert’ in Australia at the invitation of the Federal Government] who stated that the harbour appeared to possess most advantages of a flying boat QEA's first S.23, VH-ABB ‘Coolangatta’on the mooring buoy on the Pinkenba Reach after its base. The base was established on delivery fiightfrom England, 2 April mB Photo: Courier Mail land adjoining Lyne Park with the main maintenance hangar being completed towards the end of F/0 W. B. Purton, R/0 A. S. Patterson, engineers E. Kydd, 1939. and G. J. Aldous, and F/S W. Drury] that left Southampton for Australia, arriving at Brisbane on 2nd April, 1938. The On the 26th July 1937, it was announced that the second aircraft VH-ABF Cooee [Captain P. Lynche-Blosse], contract for the erection of the hangar at Rose Bay delivered to QEA on 30 March arrived In Brisbane on the 3rd [completed October 1939] had been let to Messrs. Cody May. & Willis, builders, for £25,643.00, and in March 1938, that the tenders of C. R. McKenzie Ltd. for the construction of The early flights used flying boat bases that were not quite the slipway, and that of Messrs. Gaskin Bros, for the completed. Groote Eyiandt and Karumba were Incomplete at erection of the control offices had been accepted. this time but it was stated by the Commonwealth Works Director [J.Orwin] that the bases would be sufficiently First aircraft to be hauled up the new advanced to allow the regular services to operate. slipway was G-AEUE Cameronian in January 1938. When almost at the top of the slipway the tractor struck a wet patch and the aircraft, on its beaching gear, began to roll nose-first back into the harbour. The tractor driver jumped for his life as the free-wheeling aircraft, now out of control, gathered momentum and dragged the tractor with it into the harbour. It was found that although the tractor could haul the aircraft, it did not have the weight to hold It and so a new heavier tractor was ordered with more successful results.^®

Delivery and Training In 1938 it was planned that Capt. G.U.AIIan would depart Southampton on 20 March in VH-ABD Corio which was intended to become the first S.23 actually delivered to QEA.^® In the event, the departure date was moved forward to the 18th and It was VFI-ABB Coolangatta [Captain G. U. Allan, with Short S.23 G-AFBK '‘Coolangatta ” in Imperial Airways livery being refuelled at Singapore early 1938 before being handed over to QEA in April. Photo: CM The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 Aug 1937. B. Leonard, op. cit., p.50. On 9 June, the pontoon for the Pinkenba base was put in Empire Airways, QEA House Journal, Vol.4 No.2, Feb. 1938, p.4. place and two small buildings, one with a windsock on the 100 AHSA Aviation Heritage

It was left resting on its nose on the river mud about 40yards off the southern bank until it was removed two days later and transported to Archerfield for possible overhaul. After 1; the initial accident in the river, the aircraft did not appear to be damaged structurally^^ but photos of it taken after its removal from the water showed the fuselage badly broken behind the wings,which could only have been sustained during its removal from the river and VH-UNV was later written off.

The QEA timetable showed that effective 12 April 1938, the Empire Saro A. 17 Cutty Sark VH-UNV purchased by QEA for training of crews for the Empire Flying flying boats would depart Brisbane at Boats during 1937. Photo: QEA via B.Dannecker Sam on Tuesdays and Fridays but this was later changed as effective from 16 roof, leased from the railways department for QEA and April the aircraft would depart at 6am on Wednesdays and the Civil Aviation Branch were painted. The pontoon was Saturdays, located at the western end of the Railway Wharf with landing steps leading down to it. The area just upstream Arrangements were being made at this time to transfer the was still being dredged, forming a basin in which the flying Headquarters of QEA Ltd from Brisbane to Sydney on the boats would be moored. Consequently, when Coolangatta weekend of the 28 May 1938, and on the 30th, the offices in arrived, it was moored on the southern side of the river. Shell House, Margaret Street, Sydney were officially much to the disappointment of a crowd of 2500 which had opened. VH-ABB and VH-ABF were used for training by the gathered on the northern bank to view the aircraft. company's personnel using the Pinkenba Reach of the Brisbane River until the two S.23’s left within five minutes of QEA also acquired a lone Saro A. 17 Cutty Sark each other at 10am for Rose Bay on 10 June with 39 persons amphibian VH-UNV [c/n 370] on 15 September 1937 from and a large quantity of personal baggage and office Keith Caldwell for £700 for use in training the crews in the equipment. Qantas enjoyed a very long association with essentials of operations; namely, flight the Rose Bay flying boat base from 1938 before vacating it practice, taxying, mooring, anchoring and towing. Works at midnight on 16 August 1955. manager, Arthur Baird, expressed reservations about the aircraft stating its hull was unsound and the aircraft was too small for training riggers for water work.^° This aircraft remained In ill service until an accident on the Pinkenba Reach of the Brisbane River on 5 April 1938, only three days after the arrival of VH-ABB. It was intended that VH-UNV be used in conjunction with VH-ABB and VH-ABF for advanced crew training in Brisbane before regular services began in August. Short S.23 VH-ABA [‘Carpentaria ’] at Rochester prior to delivery to QEA 1938. The aircraft had not yet been named. Photo: Short Bros. The aircraft had three pilots on board - Capt. W.H. Crowther, F/Q S.K.Howard and F/Q First Regular Service J.L.Grey, and was returning from Archerfield after With the agreements signed for the operation of a flying boat refuelling, piloted by Crowther and Howard with Grey in service, VH-ABF Cooee, Inaugurated the first regular the rear seat. When the aircraft touched down, its wheels service from Australia, leaving Rose Bay at 7.10 am on were still projecting and the drag resulted in the aircraft Tuesday, 5 July 1938, for Singapore with the following somersaulting, turning tall over nose coming to rest on its personnel: back. The Dept, of Harbours and Marine vessels Tern Capt. P. Lynche Blosse (commander) and Aurelia were In the area at the time and went to the F/0 C. R. Gurney Capt. W. H. Crowther R/0 A. S. Patterson F/0 H. V. Homer aid of the crew who escaped with very minor injuries. F/C I. Mclean R/0 R. E. Lander Another launch, the Betty, succeeded in towing the F/S W. Drury F/C C. W. Burns G.Jones and J. Oram QEA employees] aircraft back onto its keel and it was dragged to shallow Passengers: Ms M.Fol, Sqdn Ldr A.E.Hempel [C.A.B., water while slowly sinking. The Courier Mail, 6 April 1938 [photo] B.Leonard, op. oil, p.41 Ibid., 8 April 1938 [photo]

101 4HSA Aviation Heritage

the dredging of the mooring area on the northern side. There was a great deal of shouting and waving of arms, even driving the bright red mail van onto the wharf to try to attract attention. The QEA employees also hailed the crew of a passing dredge, the Dolphin, which Qantas Empire Airways ’first Short S.23 VH-ABF “Cooee ’’flying over the CBD of Brisbane on its arrival from Gladstone on delivery 3 May 1938. Photo: Courier Mail altered course to try to stop the flight but inspecting flying boat bases], Capt.K.M.Travis, Mr A.H. Stuart [Sydney Morning Herald], Mr S.Deamer [Sydney the aircraft left the mooring buoy and began taxying Daily Telegraph], Ms E.Kerslake [who left the aircraft in downstream and took off. It was eventually contacted by Brisbane]. ^ radio when 40 miles north of Brisbane and returned to the Pinkenba Reach at 11.10am, taking off again 20 minutes After take-off, VH-ABF flew low over Point Piper before later."'^ heading north, arriving in Brisbane and alighting on the Pinkenba Reach at 10.20am. Dr P.W.Seewar [hydraulic As a result, on 27 July Qantas Implemented the use of engineer], Mr P.Simpson and Mrs E.Aitken joined the signals using red and green flags to ensure that all flight in Brisbane. The aircraft arrived at Gladstone clearances were given before any aircraft departed.^^ These [1.05pm] and Townsville [5.20pm] where It overnighted. early experimental services were used to alleviate any On the same day the KNILM inaugural Batavia-Sydney problems before the regular service began In August. service using Lockheed L.14 Super Electra PK-AFM [Capt. Van Messel] arrived at Archerfield. Although this In order to provide a uniform delivery of the first incoming service was faster than the Short S.23, there was no mail to the capital cities on Monday, 8 August, only mail for comparison with the luxury of the flying boat. At 1.30pm South Australia and Western Australia was off-loaded from the QEA DH.86 VH-USF Melbourne arrived with the mail G-ADUY Capella. Leaving Darwin on the 5th, Capella arrived from the S.23 Challenger which had been delayed in at Rose Bay on Saturday the 6th at 5.45 pm, having flown Darwin. the journey from Southampton to Sydney in 5 days 21 hours 45 minutes. Qn arrival, the mail for Victoria and Tasmania, An Imperial Airways crew took over VH-ABF at Singapore normally sent by Guinea Airways service from Darwin to on the 9th and arrived at Southampton on Monday, 18 Adelaide was forwarded by the Melbourne Express (train) to July 1938. An agreement was made between QEA and Victoria. The New Zealand mail was dispatched by the Imperial that the flying boats would be operated as an steamer Kairanga. integral fleet over the entire route with QEA crews as far as Singapore. The conclusion of the trial flights heralded the third stage of the Empire Air Mail Scheme. Qn board the M.V. Medina at Southampton, the British Secretary for Air, Sir Kingsley Wood, officially opened the service when he handed the King's mail to Captain E. H. Atwood on Thursday, 28 July, 1938. G-ADUY Capella arrived at Singapore on the 2nd August In the flying time of 4 days 21 hours and on the 3rd, under the command of Q.E.A. Captain Lynch-Blosse, left for Darwin, arriving in Sydney on the 4th.

Challenger was again in the news when it departed Brisbane on 19 July at 10.50am minus the overseas mail. It was customary for overseas passengers to go ashore for a brief walk but the two passengers on Challenger decided to remain on board. Consequently, the Qantas launch which had taken out freight did not return to the wharf but remained to give the all clear signal to the flying boat which was moored on the opposite side of the river due to

Ibid., 6 July 1938. The passenger lists in the CM and the Sydney Ibid., 20 July 1938. /Worn/ng Hera/d differ considerably. However, the CM reporter interviewed the passengers and these names are presented. Ibid., 28 July 1938. 102 AHSA Aviation Heritage

G-AEUA Calypso suffered engine trouble at Bima Bay on service was officially inaugurated on 9 August when G-AETV the second service and was delayed on 5 August with Coriolanus [Capt. G. U. Allan and Capt. R. B. Tapp] left engine trouble and the mail was transferred to G-AEUE Sydney at the normal departure time of 7 am and arrived in Cameronian (Capt. H. B. Hussey) on the 6th. G-AEUE Brisbane at 9.45am. overnighted in Koepang, arriving at Darwin at 11.30am on Sunday the 7th, when both mails were transferred to When leaving Darwin on the 11th, G-AETV Coriolanus was waiting aircraft. The MacRobertson-Miller aircraft left at 2 carrying over three tons of mail arriving in England on the p.m. with the Western Australian mail, followed by the 19th. The first thrice weekly service operated by VH-ABF Guinea Airways Lockheed L.14H VH-ABI Koranga at 2.15 Cooee left England on the 4th and arrived in Sydney on 13 p.m. taking the mail for South Australia, Victoria and August 1938. The mail for New Zealand was dispatched by Tasmania. G-AETW Calpurnia which had taken a new the steamer Awatea. From 12 September 1938 Gladstone engine to Calypso on the 8th, returned to Sydney on the was included as a port on the service. 10th. The flights were not without their mishaps. VH-ABE Coorong Mail on the outward journey for the flying boat service was driven onto a breakwater from its moorings on Darwin was collected as follows: N.S.W. and Queensland mall Harbour on 12 December 1938 In the biggest seas seen in was taken by the flying boat direct; Tasmania and the harbour. A squall blew up, gusting to 48knots, and the Victorian mail was flown by A.N.A. to Adelaide and then, 75mm manila mooring line broke at 9.03pm. The storm with South Australian mail, by Guinea Airways to Darwin, pennant shackle also worked loose due to corrosion and the The West Australian mail was flown by M.M.A. to Darwin, aircraft drifted onto the shore with the starboard wing at which point the flying boat completed Its loading. VH- overhanging a small cliff and the hull hard against a timber ABA Carpentaria [Captain 0. Denny] left Rose Bay on jetty. Four engineers and a watchman on board escaped Tuesday, 2 August at 7 a.m. arriving at Darwin on the 3rd. along the wing to dry land but the planing bottom on the The mail arrived in England on 15 August 1938. starboard side had been gashed and the rescue party worked to hold the aircraft, securing it with ropes and then Rose Bay Opened laying on top of the starboard wing to prevent the waves On Thursday, 4 August, the Rose Bay flying base was pounding against the aircraft’s hull. The Empire boat G- offlcially opened by the Acting Governor-General Lord AEUC Corinna was dispatched immediately to retrieve the Huntingfield, designated as the terminal of the air mall mail from Coorong. service from England. Lord Huntingfield opened the first The aircraft was later dismantled and the hull refloated in early January 1939 for transport to the UK j by ship for rebuilding, commencing in May. VH-ABE was struck off the Australian < register on 10 November 1939 and eventually : delivered for re-entry to j service on 14 November 1940 to Imperial Airways as i G-AEUI, having been out of service for some 11 months.

Ron Adair, founder of Queensland Airlines Pty Ltd, attained his 100,000th hours In the air when he flew G- i AEUB Camilla from Darwin to G-AEUB ‘Camilla ’ taxying downstream towards the mooring buoy on the Pinkenba Reach of the Sydney on 6 January 1939. Brisbane River on the first tri-weekly service to England, 4 August 1938. Photo: via H. Watts This was unusual In that the aircraft, departing Darwin at official outward service by cutting a red, white and blue 2.10am was flown for 16h 20mins at an average speed of ribbon connecting the flying boat G-AEUB Camilla with 147mph via the normal refuelling stops but without the usual the shore and handing over a special mail bag containing overnight stop in Townsville. After the 2,404mile flight, letters for the King; Camilla [Capt. L. J. Brain] carried two Camilla arrived at Rose Bay at 10.30pm with 7 passengers crews and took off at 12.40 pm with F/0 M.V.Mather, and 10,500lbs of mall.^® MessrsA. S. A. Paterson, M. W. Bateman and R.S.Drewell. The second crew comprised Capt. S.23 Empire flying boats running aground was not normally a C.R.Gurney, F/0 A.A. Koch and Messrs J.H.WIImott, concern while the flying boats moved about their business A.K.Kirkwood and Griffin who disembarked In Singapore, on water as they drew only 1.274m in salt water while the The aircraft’s late departure from Rose Bay was caused S.30 boats drew 1.408m in fresh water."" However, G-ADUY by its involvement in the opening ceremony and after its ______arrival in Brisbane at 3.37pm, remained overnight before rhe Air Log \/ou No.i. Feb.i939, p.7. leaving for Gladstone at 11.05am the next morning. The 27 B Q^gsidy. op.dt., pp.49.133. 103 AHSA Aviation Heritage Capella was lost while taxying at Batavia [Capt. H.B. New Zealand Operations Hussey] on 12 March 1939. The aircraft was swung in Two other Empire flying boats had an association with very close to shore [port wing tip was only 7 metres from Australia. In 1939, during negotiations between QEA, the bank] and struck the wreckage of a submerged Imperial and Union Airways [NZ] to set up TEAL, three S.30 frigate which had sunk years before [and had been Empire flying boats were ordered by Imperial Airways^® for forgotten] and ripped a huge gash in the planing hull. The the new trans-Tasman services. They were Initially G-AFCY aircraft was quickly beached and lay there for some time Captain Cook, G-AFCZ Canterbury an6 G-AFDA Cumberland and gradually filled with sea water. The engines were and allocated to TEAL while still under construction and the dismantled to prevent corrosion and like Coorong, it too names changed. Until TEAL was operational, the aircraft was shipped in pieces to England but was so badly could not be operated. It was not until 25 April 1940 that it damaged it was not repaired and was written off. This was was registered as a company in Wellington. the last time Imperial dismantled and shipped an Empire flying boat home as the cost and time were prohibitive. Imperial intended to work the aircraft out to New Zealand by September on their own services but G-AFCZ Australia [to The Empire boats were sometimes noted for stalling become ZK-AMB] never reached New Zealand. After being during approach and G-AEUB Camiiia [Capt. R.P.Mollard] partially rebuilt to repair damage from a grounding at Basra was involved in an incident on 30 July 1939. The aircraft on 10 August 1939, it was retained by Imperial was eastbound with mail and 11 passengers and stalled Airways/BOAC as G-AFCZ and re-named Clare. into Alexandria from 10 ft. The approach was made normally with airscrews in fine pitch and flaps half out. G-AFCY was launched on 9 March 1939 as ZK-AMA Ao-tea- The flare was made at 20ft with the control column fully roa but the hyphenated name drew a protest from the NZ back when the aircraft stalled and hit the water tail down Government and Union Airways [NZ] claiming the Maori at 82knots damaging the port float and part of the name should be spelt correctly. G-AFDA, initially registered mainplane and tailplane, fortunately with no injuries. as ZK-AMC, later became ZK-AMA Aotearoa, as the NZ authorities insisted the first aircraft to be delivered had to be Sometimes the flying boats themselves caused marked as ZK-AMA and named Aotearoa.^ collisions. During 1939 VH-ABA Carpentaria met the Peng Am 46, a two-masted junk head on, stoving in the Thus, ZK-AMA c/n S.886, made its first flight on 9 May 1939 nose of the starboard float, bending the outer airscrews as ZK-AMC Awarua. It was delivered to and used by Imperial and tearing out part of the of the mainplane. as G-AFDA until it was reregistered ZK-AMA on 15 August. On another occasion in 1945, G-AEUI Coorong was The second aircraft, ZK-AMC c/n S.884 [ex G-AFCY], was struck by the BOAC Sunderland III JM722 [code OQZB] not delivered to Auckland until 2 April 1940 and placed in which broke loose during a gale and collided with service on 6 May. Coorong's port mainplane and tailplane.^® ZK-AMA suffered a bird strike over India on 19 August during the delivery flight to NZ when a vulture struck the aircraft’s VH-ABF Cooee collided on the water with VH-ABD Corio windscreen but caused little damage. at Sharjah on 17 July 1938. Cooee had arrived from Karachi and Corio was on its way to Karachi when a violent gust of wind drove the wings together causing superficial damage but no injuries. The aircraft were tempo­ rarily out of com­ mission and pass­ engers from Corio were picked up by G-AETZ Circe.

The early Empire Air Mail flights were often delayed 2 to 5 T.E.A.L. Short S.30 ZK-AMA "'Aotearoa ” at Auckland ca. 1947. Photo: Air Logistics days, with some up to seven days late. claimed there were a Also at the time of the flight, Mackay’s new harbour facility number of reasons for this: Incomplete bases and route was being opened and it was requested that the new aircraft facilities between Darwin and Singapore; the short range pay a visit during the celebrations on 26 August 1939 on Its of the Empire flying boats when carrying heavy loads and way to Brisbane. With F/0 W.J.Craig at the controls, the a considerable amount of engine trouble. In 1939, up to 7 aircraft was brought down to 1000ft to make a tight circuit of March, of 98 flights, 50 were on time, 26 were one day the town. The Blue Star liner Sydney Star, In the middle of late, 15 were two days late and the remainder up to 7 ^9 references state that Qantas ordered the S.SO’s but days late. Fysh, himself, states that Imperial placed the order. H. Fysh, Qantas At War, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1968. p.104 and AHSNZ Journal, Vol.16 No.7 p.84-85 Ibid., p.135. [location unknown] B.Cassidy, op. cit., p.36

104 AHSA Aviation Heritage the harbour, was dressed overall for the occasion so Maybee on 21 June 1948 and hauled out of the water at Craig headed ZK-AMA straight for the ship with R/0 Auckland on 28 July 1948 for the last time and moved to G.W.Cussans winding in the trailing aerial as fast as he Mission Bay on the site of the Walsh Brothers Flying School could to avoid hitting the bunting between the masts. ZK- where It became a tea-room for some years. It was later AMA was pulled up in a steep turn, headed for the city taken away and scrapped, being the last remaining Empire and Craig took the aircraft up the main street at 148knots boat still basically Intact.^^ just above roof-top. A cyclist, hearing the noise, looked back in horror to see a flying boat following him up the Wartime street. He swerved and fell off his bicycle as ZK-AMA During 1938 much concern was expressed by both the RAAF climbed away to 2000ft and continued the flight to and QEA over the lack of flying boat and engine overhaul Brisbane.®^ facilities in Australia. The RAAF had already recognised the value of the Short Empires for reconnaissance work during After Aotearoa’s delivery to Auckland on 28 August, it wartime but were concerned that the value of such aircraft spent several months on special service flights around would not be very high In emergencies if engines had to be the south Pacific commencing on 7 September. Many of sent to the UK for overhaul. On 23 November 1938,^® after these were diplomatic flights as well as for sections of the the serious position which might be brought about in wartime trans-PacifIc air route and visited Noumea, Suva, Tonga due to a lack of such facilities was made clear, the Air Board and Western Samoa as well as Honolulu®^ and returned supported the proposal of establishing an engine overhaul to TEAL on 25 April 1940 just prior to commencing the base. After consultation with Imperial Airways a new engine first trans-Tasman service. The RNZAF were able to facility was eventually ready for occupation at Mascot on 18 utilise ZK-AMA until after ZK-AMC’s delivery to Auckland August 1939. on 3 April 1940 as the trans-Tasman service could not be operated until the second aircraf arrived. It made the second Auckland- Sydney scheduled flight on 6 May.®®

On 30 April 1940, TEAL operated the first trans-Tasman service, Auckland- Sydney, using ZK- AMA A 0 t e a r [Capt. J.W.Burgess] with 9 passengers and 5 other crew. The return flight was T.E.A.L. Short Empire flying boat ZK-AMC “Awarua” alighting on Auckland Harbour ca. 1940. Photo: Air Logistics made on 2 May. In June 1941 ZK-AMA was struck by lightning over the On 1 September 1939 as war with Germany seemed Tasman Sea causing a fire on the flight deck.®^ imminent, QEA was instructed by the Australian government that the Singapore service would cease. G-AFCT Champion Military modifications made to both S.30’s by March 1941 was already on its way from Sydney and was recalled from also turned them Into radar-equipped reconnaissance Townsville on 2 September. Five days later it was judged aircraft and carried out special missions In the S-W that Italy and Japan would not Immediately enter the war and Pacific as well as operating the trans-Tasman the service resumed on a twice-weekly basis. services.The TEAL S.30’s continued in service until ZK- AMA made its 442nd crossing of the Tasman from Rose On Sunday, 3 September 1939, war was declared. Aircraft Bay to Auckland on 29 October 1947. It then made an ^^d personnel became an urgent need of the Royal unofficial flight to Sydney on 5-6 November [Capt.C. Australian Air Force for operational purposes and civilian air G.GrIffith]®® as well as five flights In support of Aid for ^ regulation of the Australian Civil Aviation Britain on 9 November 1947 from Auckland and these Department, were members of R.A.A.F. reserve and could were to be its last. be called upon when required for active service or other duties. The first impact of this was to conserve the use of ZK-AMC was withdrawn from use in 23 June 1947 after suspended, making its last flight Sydney-Auckland on 12 June and to the surcharge system for the carriage of mail, was scrapped in November 1947 at Tamaki Estuary, T^® s®"^'®® '^®®®"^® ® twice-weekly operation on a Auckland.ZK-AMA was sold to Messrs Carter and ^3-day schedule and VH-ABF Cooee [Capt. E. C. Sims, F/0 W. B. Purton, W/0 W. G. Mumford, F/C G.E. Allan, F/S D. ®^ Ibid., p.148 Smith] left Sydney for Singapore on the 6th on the first of ®® P.Harrison et al, op. cit., p.72 these services. ®® P.Sims, Adventurous Empires, Airlife, UK, 2000, p.182 ®'^ B.Cassidy, op. cit., p.151 ®^ P.Harrison et al, op. cit., p.58 quote Oct.1950. Other references show ®® Courier Mail, 3 Nov. 1947 ZK-AMA broken up 1954 [Cassidy] and 1957 [Turner]. ®® P.Sims, op.cit., p.237 ®® Australian Archives Series All96/1 Item 11501/240 - various letters. 105 AHSA Aviation Heritage

By September numerous reports had been made of war On 7 June VH-ABB Coolangatta was to be handed over and vessels in the vicinity of New Guinea and the islands to VH-ABC Coogee on 17th, both placed on loan to the RAAF the north-east prompting the Air Board to request the as A18-13 and A18-12 and the aircraft joined No.11 charter of two long-range flying boats to be used for Squadron in July, replacing the two Seagull V’s A2-8 and A2- investigating reports, patrolling on a twice-weekly basis, 12. The S.23’s were placed on a similar charter to A18-10 as well as seeking sites for advanced operational bases and A18-11 on a contract basis with QEA supplying some of so as to increase the area patrolled. Landplanes were the crews. Priority was given to the installatiion of extra fuel unsuitable and as Sunderlands had been ordered for this tanks and Lewis guns. Periodic reconnaissance was carried purpose but had not arrived S.23’s were to be used^® in out in the Port Moresby-Rabaul-Tulagi-Vila area as well as conjunction with two Seagulls. rapid investigation of reports of suspicious movements, incidents etc received from intelligence sources.These On 19 September 1939 three S.23’s were chartered by included searches for German surface raiders. the Australian Government. Two BOAC aircraft in Australia at the time, G-ADUT Centaurus and G-AEUA The impressed aircraft eventually served with 11, 20, 33 Calypso, became A18-10 and A18-11 operating with the and 41 Squadrons RAAF and had four underwing bomb R.A.A.F No.11 [General Reconnaissance] Squadron racks, two for 2501b and two for 5001b bombs. Two .303 in. under FIt.Lt. J.Alexander. This unit had been formed on Lewis machine guns were fitted in the freight room, aft. 21 September at Richmond, NSW. The aircraft were valued at £65,537 each and 5 spare engines were made The QEA aircraft in wartime service were stripped by available. QEA supplied 2 captains, 2 first officers, 8 removing the cabin trimmings, heating and pantry, enabling engineers and 2 wireless operators for enlistment. The them to carry 31 passengers, with the take-off weight two S.23’s left Rose Bay for Port Moresby on 25 increased to 43,500lbs.'^^ Qn occasions when required for September and arrived on 28th.G-AEUC Corinna was moving personnel, the S.23’s were listed as capable of also placed on Government charter. The aircraft’s main carrying 42 passengers.^'^ duties at this stage became reconnaissance flights around New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the New A18-10 [Centaurus], probably late in 1939, was bristling with Hebrides. armament. It carried two Scarff mountings on top of the hull for 0.5in guns, two mountings on either side of the rear A18-10 and A18-11 were converted at Rose Bay at a cost freight compartment for 0.30in guns, one 0.5in machine gun of approximately £660 each, having their bulkheads on a swivel mounting in the mooring compartment, two 0.30in raised so that the aircraft could float with any two guns in the navigation hatch and one 0.5in machine gun in compartments flooded as well as extra fuel tanks new positions on either side of the control deck."'® Installed. Their weight was Increased to 40,500lbs. An Australian camouflage scheme was used as the Air Board A18-11 [Calypso] and A18-12 [Coogee] were fitted with requested that the British scheme not be used. transparent plastic bombing cupolas'^® in place of the mooring hatch to accommodate No.4 course-setting sights. The two QEA S.23’s VH-ABE Coorongand VH-ABD Coho, The bombsights were removed for the maritime operation of overseas at the time, were handed over in return to casting off and mooring. A18-14 Clifton, when serving with Imperial Airways as G-AEUI and G-AEUH. Imperial 33 Squadron RAAF In 1942, had the Vickers and Lewis Airways and British Airways were merged and began machine guns replaced with US calibre weapons - 12.7mm operations as BQAC on 1 April 1940 although the two and 8.46mm. companies had operated as a single unit since September 1939. Qn 18 November 1941 A18-10 and A18-11 were allotted to No.20 Squadron as a transport flight which existed until In May 1940 the Air Board requested two further flying February 1942'*^ mainly in a role of flying out evacuees from boats be chartered due to a reduction in air defence outer Islands and from Port Moresby itself. capabilities and the necessity to provide adequate reconnaissance of the Pacific Islands. QEA expressed Qn 24 December 1941 QEA, the RAAF and the USAF concern over their ability to maintain the Singapore- completed their first joint operation when A18-10 [ex G- Sydney section of the England-Australia air mail service ADUT] alighted on the Hamilton Reach of the Brisbane River If further aircraft were chartered. QEA explained that they with 22 pilots from the US 27th Bomber Group and 5 pilots of were under contract to Imperial and the Australian and the 24th Pursuit Group who were withdrawn from the British Governments and that this would have to be Philippines. These US pilots, together with RAAF personnel, resolved before further aircraft could be requisitioned. organised and trained the first squadrons that were to become the US Fifth Air Force.'^ The UK Government responded by suggesting the charter of two QEA S.23’s [VH-ABB and VH-ABC]."^ VH- Qn the same day, A18-13 left Rose Bay [Fit. Lt. ABB had been due at Rose Bay on 7 June and VH-ABC Coogee was bound for the UK and was turned around at D, Vincent, The RAAF’s Empires, in AHSA Journal, Vol.21 No.4, p.73 Singapore and returned to Sydney. B.Cassidy, op. cit, p.191 E. C.Johnston Collection - Movement of Personnel to Darwin, Memo S.220 28 June 1940. Minute Paper, RAAF, 15 September 1939, Australian Archives B.Cassidy, op. cit, p.188. Series A1196/6 Item 36/501/22. 46 Ibid., p.188 Ibid., Cypher Message from No. 11 Sqdn, 28 September 1939. D.Vincent, op. cit, p.73 Cablegram from UK High Commissioner to PM, 5 June 1940, 48 Australian ftArchives Series All96/6 item 1/501/340. Gateway to Victoryp\aque, Bretts Wharf, Hamilton, 1997. 106 AHSA Aviation Heritage

The four Empire flying boats were transferred on 12 February 1942 to No.33 Squadron for transport duties, based at Townsville under the command of Sqdn.Ldr.R.Gurney.®^ On 4 March the RAAF requested a replacement flying boat for A18-10 destroyed at Broome. The new aircraft was owned by British Airways and permission from the Air Ministry was obtained and on 14 March 1942 the S.33 VH-ACD Clifton [ex G-AFPZ] was flown north to join No.33 Squadron as A18-14. The Short S.33 was powered by four 920hp Bristol Pegasus XC engines and had a strengthened hull for a maximum take-off weight of 53,000 pounds.

In April 1941, G-AEUI Coorong and G-ADUV Cambria were detached for three weeks to help in the evacuation of Allied forces from Crete. First flight was made by Coorong [Capt.J.L.M.Davy] on 22nd. The aircraft flew from Alexandria departing late afternoon to arrive at Suda Bay at last light for J.] for Dili with a spare engine for a RAAF a night stop before returning at daybreak the next morning Hudson. On 1 January the aircraft flew to Darwin and on with RAF personnel. The aircraft were flown at wave height 11th flew ammunition into Sourabaya for the USAAF. On for most of the journey, rising to clear the White Mountains 17th it evacuated wounded service personnel, women and into Suda Bay. and children from Koepang and Ambon. The aircraft were sometimes escorted by Sunderlands, but Passenger loads of forty or more were flown by the often on their own. A typical load was 35 personnel but no aircraft in RAAF service, mostly on evacuation flights. On one worried about load sheets. When the passenger hatch 23 January 1942, between them, A18-11 [FIt.Lt. threshold was about to ship water, loading was halted.®^ On M.Mather] and A18-12 [FIt.Lt.L.Grey] rescued eighty-six one occasion, Coorong [Capt. J.M.L.Davys] took out 47 RAAF personnel from 24 Squadron from boats at a passengers, most of whom had already been rescued from rendezvous on the open sea 35 miles south of Japanese- Greece by RAF Sunderlands. In total, 469 British troops occupied Rabaul and flew them to Samaral and then flew were flown out in 13 flights between 22 April and 5 May.^ 42 of the group to Townsville in A18-11. The The next day, A18-12 [FIt.Lt. L.Grey] flew another sortie Anticipating Italy's entry Into the war and with the closing of and rescued a further forty-nine personnel from Tol Mediterranean airports, the Horseshoe route from South plantation which included missionaries, planters, and Africa to Australia via was established. A landplane Army and RAAF personnel. This flight took off in heavy service from England to and thence through French seas in darkness and without the aid of a flare path.^° North Africa, across the Sahara to Northern Nigeria and The aircraft was overloaded by some 2 tons and during a thence to Khartoum was also proposed to link with the night landing on the return flight one of the floats was Horseshoe service. Lockheed 14’s were to be used for this carried away. The passengers helped by climbing out section and with Italy's entry into the war on the 10 June onto the opposite wing to help keep the float clear of the 1940, the proposed service quickly became a reality when water and the aircraft was repaired within a couple of the England-Australia service was suspended on the 11th. days when parts arrived.The [unconfirmed] record passenger load is believed to have been sixty women, The first Lockheed left England on 15 June 1940, but only children and wounded evacuated from Ambon to Darwin urgent official dispatches were carried, the ordinary public by RAAF S.23 A18-13 which operated three evacuation air mall being sent by sea to Durban and connected with the flights up to 30 January following the Japanese landing third service. The service from Durban was inaugurated by on the island. BOAC on the 19 June 1940 using S.23’s, 16 of which were caught south of Italy on the 10 June. The service was During Its war service, A18-13 had an arrangement of weekly In either direction with a span of approximately several Wirraway tanks In the centre cabin strapped 15,400 miles taking 13 days from Durban to Sydney with down to rails on the floor, normally used for transporting Qantas Initially operating the Singapore-Sydney section. engines. On 12 February 1942 A18-13 [FIt.Lt. J.Hampshire] returned to Ambon and put down in the sea 19th June Durban-Laurenco Marques-Beira-Lumbo, to the north of Australia to refuel from these tanks while thence to Lindi-Dar-es-Salaam-Mombasa- Kisumu-Pt.Bell-Laropi-Juba-Malakal- the aircraft had been searching for the last RAAF Khartoum-Wadi Halfa-Luxor-Caijo-Kallia- personnel on Ambon. The refuelling was carried out over LakeHabbabiyeh-Basra-Babrein ls-Shar]ah- Jirwani-Karachi-Raj Samand-Gwalior- the top using hand pumps. The next day another group Allahabad-Calcutta-Akyab-Rangoon-Bangkok- was located and rescued from Buru Island. Penang-Singapore-Sourabaya 29th Sourabaya-Bima-Koepang-Darwin P.Sims, op.cit., p.212 Ibid., p.73 Bennett-Bremner, E., Front-Line Airline, Angus &Rob., 1944, p. 192. B.Cassidy, op. oil, p.191 FIt.Lt.L.Grey in radio interview, National Archives Series SP300/3 Item 512, 2 November 1942. ^ J.Stroud, Annals of Br. & Com. Air Transport, Putnam, 1962, p. 181. 107 AHSA Aviation Heritage

BOAC Short S.23 VH-ADU ‘Camilla ’ after its handover to QEA in 1942. The aircraft is in its wartime camouflage still wearing the British Airways logo. Location: Rose Bay flying boat base. This aircraft was written-off in April 1943. Photo: via J. Peter sen 30th Darwin-Groote Eyiandt-Karumba-Townsville service in 1934, calls had been made at Koepang but 1st July Townsville-Gladstone-Brisbane-Sydney Qantas now decided to alternate between Koepang and Dili, On arrival at Singapore, mail from the first Horseshoe Portuguese Timor, and survey flights were made before the service was loaded onto G-AEUH Coho [Captain R.B. introduction of the regular service. The first survey Tapp] arriving at Rose Bay at 4.15 pm on 1 July 1940. rteparted from Sydney on the 27 December 1940, arrived at Mail from the U.S. trans-Pacific service to Hong Kong and (Captain Hussey). The first flight from from the Far East was flown from Hong Kong via Fort ^ourabaya and Dili was flown on 31 December 1940. Bayard, Udorn and Hanoi to Bangkok, where it was O. Denny), loaded onto the S.23’s for Australia. The first return service left Rose Bay, Sydney at 8.10 am on Wednesday establishment of the fortnightly service, Koepang 19 June 1940. omitted when calling at Dill and the aircraft flew direct from Sourabaya via Bima Bay on the inward run and from BOAC set up a large group of administrative and ^^e outward run. G-AETV Coriolanus [Captain technical staff at Durban to handle the new services. It Hussey] left Rose Bay on Friday, 17 January 1941 on was the establishment of this western terminal that the first official service and arrived at Dili on the 19th on Its resulted in full use being made of the new QEA engine Singapore, overhaul facilities at Mascot at the eastern end. The Empire flying boat engines were conveyed from Rose Bay S.23 G-ADUV Cambr/a [Captain R. B. Tapp] left to Mascot for overhaul and then transported back for Singapore on 20 January 1941 on the first eastbound reinstallation in aircraft. service, arriving at Sourabaya the same day. Cambria left Sourabaya on the 21st flying direct to Dili via Bima Bay and In May 1940, Qantas advised passengers In Brisbane on to Darwin, arriving that afternoon. It arrived in Sydney on that they could no longer use the terminal facilities at the 23 January 1941. As previously, the mail for South Pinkenba as the base was to be moved to the Hamilton Australia and Western Australia was picked up at Darwin by Reach. At the time of the change, passengers had to use Guinea Airways Ltd. and MacRobertson Miller Airlines. This the Hamilton ferry pontoon to board launches to be taken service was suspended on the 6 December 1941. out to the flying boats moored on the river. The new terminal at Hamilton with Its associated pontoons was Extension to Karachi constructed over the next twelve months downstream Because of the heavy demands made on the aircraft and from the Hamilton wharves and was fully operational in personnel of BQAC, Qantas now undertook to fly the 1941 providing greatly Improved facilities over the landing SIngapore-Karachi sector due to a shortage of BQAC pilots. stage at Pinkenba. This involved a greater use of the aircraft owned by the company, and also longer flying hours for the Qantas crews. Timor The additional ports included Penang, Bangkok, Rangoon, Portuguese Timor was of strategic importance as an Akyab, Calcutta, Allahabad, Raj Samand and Karachi, alternative stop on the flying boat route to Australia, and J. V. Fairbairn, Minister for Air, made a survey flight of To Inaugurate this service, the first QEA crewed flight was the route from Darwin to Dili by the Guinea Airways made by G-ADHM Ca/edon/a [Captain W. H. Crowther] which Lockheed L.10A VH-AAU Salamaua on 22 July 1939 for left Sydney on the 16 Qctober 1941 and reached Karachi on talks with Portuguese colonial officials. In December the 23rd. Captain Crowther flew G-AEUH Coho on the return 1940, an agreement on landing rights was signed In service from Karachi on 24 Qctober and arrived at Singapore by the British and Portuguese governments. The on the 26th. G-AEUE Cameronian [Captain R. Gurney] then first of the flights was made in November 1940. departed Singapore on the 27th on the first eastbound service and arrived in Sydney on the 30th. Since the commencement of the England-Australia In order to provide sufficient crews for the Karachi The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 December 1940. extension, pilots seconded to the RAAF were recalled from 108 AHSA Aviation Heritage

33 Squadron to QEA service. These included R.Gurney, and, in addition, a modification of Phase II had to be E.C.Sims, W.B.Purton and M.Mather.^® employed.

A survey of a Far East reserve route was made in August Captain Ron Adair, in command of the S.23 G-ADUW Castor, 1941 in the event of hostilities with Japan increasing. In having arrived at the night stop Rangoon on the 7th, was order that the flying boat service could continue, four sleeping preparatory to the next morning's take off when he alternative plans were devised, to be known as phases. was awakened and ordered not to land at Bangkok but to proceed to Singapore via Mergui and Penang. Leaving Phase I Omission of Bangkok as a night stop. Rangoon on the 8th he flew through to Mergui and refuelled. Phase II Diversion of route omitting Thailand, Leaving Mergui, and south of Victoria Point in heavy rain, OperatingRangoon-Mergui-Penang-Singapore, further instructions were received to avoid Penang due to an Phase III Omission of Burma coast, air raid in progress and to proceed to Medan direct if Operating Rangoon-Port Blair-Sabang- sufficient fuel remained. Adair flew back to Mergui for Penang-Singapore. refuelling and with hostile aircraft overhead, returned to Phase IV Omission of Malaya; Rangoon. General Gordon Bennett and a number of senior Operating Rangoon-Pt. Blair-Sabang-Padang- R.A.A.F. officers were passengers. This brought into Batavia with intermediate refuelling stops at operation Phase I and a modification of Phase II. Sibolga and Benkulen and then a shuttle service Singapore from Batavia.

Japan enters the War Japanese bombs fell on Singapore and Penang on Monday 8 December 1941, and war was declared with Japan. Events followed so rapidly on December 8 and 9 that three of the four phases were involved Short S.23 G-ADVB “Corsair” at anchor on Gladstone Harbour ca.l940. This aircraft was involved in a secret RAF D.Vincent, op. cil, p.73 charter flight. Photo: Gladstone Art Gallery & Museum.

109 AHSA Aviation Heritage

At Singapore on the 8 December, A. A. Koch in G-AETX 24km away. He tried turning and zig-zagging to avoid the Ceres delayed his departure until 6.30a.m. under bursts of tracer and incendiary bullets. The aircraft was now instructions from the airport control officer, He flying at maximum speed [200 mph] with the main step a foot proceeded to Rangoon via Mergui as planned under above the water and the wing floats dipping the surface each Phase II and Captain Adair took over from Captain Koch time the aircraft turned. The speed dropped off as two as G-AETX had long range tanks and Koch flew G-ADUW engined caught fire. The planning bottom was so badly holed through to Karachi. Adair then flew G-AETX through to that G-AEUH practically stood on its nose as the cockpit Singapore carrying out Phase III of the plan. submerged as it hit the water, going in opposite the mouth of the Noelmini River about 6km offshore.®^ On 13-14 December G-ADVB Corsa/r [Capt.R.B.Tapp] operated a secret RAF charter to Sabang carrying urgent Koch, although badly burned, managed to swim ashore supplies of aircraft fuel. A temporary 100-gallon fuel tank together with one of the passengers, Mr. F.A. Moore. Mr was fitted and because of the range of the aircraft, 48 B.L.Westbrook, after getting clear of the blazing aircraft, gallons of this fuel had to be used to reach Sabang. The used a floating mail bag for support on the long swim to the crew had difficulty In anchoring the aircraft at Dill on the shore where he landed three hours later. Mr J.C.B.Fisher, way resulting in a small hole being made in the hull under another passenger, although badly Injured, and F/0 Lyne the chine as the aircraft left the moorings.^^ with a badly injured foot, managed to reach shore in an exhausted condition. Westbrook cared for the injured men During December-January, there were to be many while Moore tried to get through to Koepang for assistance. occasions when the flying boats were In locations being He was successful in doing this, and on 2 February the monitored by enemy reconnaissaince aircraft, involved in Dutch authorities sent a Dornier Do.24K flying boat [Captain evasive action to avoid ports under attack or. In some V. H. B. Burgerhout] and Doctor Hekking to rescue them and cases, meeting up with enemy aircraft in flight.®® return them to Koepang. This was the first aircraft belonging to QEA to be lost by enemy action with only five of the Hudson Fysh was meeting Mr. Whitney Straight of BOAC aircraft’s complement surviving the ordeal. in Singapore at this time on matters relating to the air mail services. Mr.Stralght was held up in Bangkok, and On 4 February, Captain W. H. Crowther flew the last managed to escape just prior to the Japanese Singapore-Batavia shuttle using G-AEUB Camilla and left at occupation. The continued Japanese advance and 2.30 a.m. the following morning in near darkness without a Increasing raids on the stopping points made the flying of flare path with a load of forty-three women and children. civilian aircraft a hazardous undertaking. Towards the Tokyo radio broadcast the news of Its departure that end of December the fall of Manila and Cavite in the afternoon. Captain R. B. Tapp flew the last Empire flying Philippines left Batavia open to attack. boat service Karachi-Batavia on 13 February and Captain Koch was flown to Darwin. Approximately 399 passengers In the early part of January, the Batavia-Singapore- were carried out of Singapore on the shuttle flights. With the Batavia shuttle service [Phase IV] commenced but fall of Singapore imminent, the following message was ceased after 14 flights each way. Flying boats received on the 14 February from the director of fighter approaching Singapore, if stood off by an air raid or operations at Bandoeng: warning signal, chose a suitable alighting area among the Dutch islands south of Singapore, and awaited the all- Flying boats are to stop at Batavia and Calcutta until further clear signal before proceeding. Captain O. F. Y. Thomas notice as parachute troops landed at Palembang. Contact had discovered a bay which he used during an Millar of BOAC. Flying boats are not to proceed east of emergency and named it Thomas's Funkhole which Calcutta or west of Batavia until further advised. became well-known because of Its frequent use. Almost all the shuttle flights made use of this location until Singapore surrendered on the 15th and the service was now daylight raids reached such an Intensity that the risk severed west of Batavia. The last flight departed Batavia on the 19th for Tjllatjap in preparation for the Broome-Java became more than a reasonable one. 59 shuttle service. On Friday, 30 January 1942, G-AEUH Corio [Captain A. Darwin Bombed A. Koch, First Officer V.Lyne, senior radio officer A. S. On 19 February at 10 a.m., the Australian mainland received Patterson, flight steward S. C. Elphick and purser W.G. a bombing attack from the air for the first time in its history, Cruickshank] left Darwin shortly after dawn for Koepang by successive waves of Japanese aircraft attacking Darwin. with thirteen male passengers urgently required in the war They Initially included carrier based aircraft: 71 BSN’s [Kate] zone, intending to bring back women and children level bombers, 81 D3ATs [Val] level bombers and 36 A6M2’s evacuees from Sourabaya. [Zero] fighters.®^ They were closely followed by 54 landbased aircraft [G3M2’s and G4M1’s]®® from Kendari on Approaching Koepang at 400ft In clear weather a radio Sulawesi. Japanese pilots found the town an easy mark due message was received that a heavy bombing raid was to the inadequacy of the ground defences to cope with the being made on the town but this came too late as seven Intensity of the raids. Afterwards, all that remained of a Japanese Mitsubishi A6M’s had already located Corio and attacked from above and astern. Capt. Koch opened 60 B.Cassidy, op.cit., p.148. the throttles and dived to sea level, making for the coast Bennett-Bremner, E., op. cit, p.68. Bennett-Bremner, E., op. cit., p.40. The Earliest Air Battles in Australia, Burbank. Retrieved 02.02.2000 from www:senet.com.au/~mhyde/darwin_first_raid.htm “ Ibid., p.42, 46, 65. Aircraft of World War II. Retrieved 02.02.2000 from Bennett-Bremner, E., op. cit, p.42. WWW.senet.com.au/~mhyde/ww2_aircraft Japan.htm#transport 110 AHSA Aviation Heritage

Tjilatjap-Broome Shuttle On 19 February 1942, staff flown through to Tjilatjap from Batavia by Captain L. R. Ambrose, began to set up a base for operations as the rapid advance of the Japanese had made the use of Batavia impossible. Malcolm Millar, in charge of operations, received an Invitation to call at headquarters at Bandoeng to organise priority loadings. The official view was that Java could not be held against the Japanese because of the powerful enemy Imperial Airways Short S.23 G-AEUC “Corinna ” on the Brisbane River. This aircraft was destroyed convoy approaching from the east at Broome in a Japanese air raid on 3 March 1943. Photo: Courier Mail but it was believed that operations for a further five days were reasonably harbour filled with shipping was the hospital ship safe. On the 26 February, Millar sent a request for two flying Manunda, the Empire flying-boat G-AEUB Camilla and a boats to clear stores and staff and on contacting Java few launches and small craft. Camilla apparently had headquarters was told that there was no change of orders, been partly obscured by the pall of smoke from burning and the last service should leave on the 27th. ships. Operations from Broome were Intended to transport urgent Captains Hussey and Crowther went out to Camilla in the supplies for the defence of Java, and for this purpose the small C.A. launch, and found that the aircraft had three flying boats G-AETZ Circe, G-AETV Coriolanus and G- escaped with only two small shrapnel holes in the AEUF Corinthian were used, operating under charter to the elevator. It became known that one of the ships blazing US authorities. The speedy overrunning of the island of at the wharf, the Neptuna^"^, was loaded with explosives Java meant the use of these aircraft for the withdrawal of so it was decided to get Camilla away. The aircraft was personnel and refugees. These people were also being initially taxied on three engines until the fourth engine brought down in Dutch civil aircraft as well as the service could be started, keeping under the pall of smoke for aircraft of the Dutch and American air forces. Between 16 protection, and then taxied on all four towards the East and 28 February seven return flights were made between Arm of the harbour with Capt. Hussey keeping a lookout Tjilatjap and Broome carrying 88 passengers. for floating debris from the observation hatch in the top of the hull. After hearing what sounded like distant bombing, On the 28th Circe [Captain W. B. Purton] and Corinthian it was decided that to try and hide the aircraft near shore [Captain S. H. Howard] left Tjilatjap for Broome. Captain would be futile so a decision was quickly made to take­ Howard succeeded in bringing Corinthian safely to Broome off. Once in the air, a course was set for Alligator River that afternoon. The last position report was heard from Circe but later changed to Groote Eyiandt. at 10.25am, but nothing further was heard from the aircraft, presumably shot down by enemy fighters some 300km out This must have been the first and only time in the entire from Tjilatjap. US bombers flying to Java were Instructed to history of the Empire flying boats that an empty aircraft keep a lookout but a last search by G-AEUC Corinna [Capts. was manned by two captains as the entire crew. Eight Thomas and Ambrose] on 2 March found no trace of the minutes after Camilla departed, the ship exploded, aircraft or its 20 occupants. The disappearance has never destroying, among other things, all small craft nearby, been solved. including the QEA passenger launch Halcyon, as well as the QEA offices on shore. Had Camilla still been at its Coriolanus [Capt. O.Denny] left Broome on 28 February on moorings it would have been destroyed. what was to be the last shuttle but was recalled to Broome shortly after take-off when information was received from After arriving at Groote Eyiandt at noon, a full load of fuel DCA to recall all aircraft west of Broome. On the afternoon (1,400 gallons) was taken on and Camilla departed at of the 28th the US Army advised Millar that the Qantas 4pm, receiving all-clear signals each half-hour during the service had been suspended. On arrival In Broome, Lester flight to ensure a safe landing at Darwin.®® The following Brain asked Denny to conduct a further search in Corinthian morning Camilla took off for Sydney with a full load of [Capts. O.Denny and L.R.Ambrose] at the request of the US QEA crew and staff as well as Captain A. A. Koch, authorities for a missing USAAF C.53.DO [47-20066 callsign commander of Corio. He had been in the hospital at VHC-DW. Capt. R. van River]. The five-hour search was Darwin throughout the raids and was taken back to fruitless. Sydney on this aircraft. The flight was accomplished without Incident arriving In Sydney to a large group of However, on his way from Broome to Darwin in Corinthian on reporters eager for first eye-witness reports of the Darwin 1 March, and using the missing pilot’s descriptions of his raid. surroundings [as well as information from other search pilots], Capt.O.Denny located the five crew of the C53. The ®'* B.Freeman, Lake Boga at War, Catalina Pub., 1995, 35 quotes USS aircraft had left Perth for Broome on 26 February but had Smith as the ship; Capt. H.B.Hussey, who was an eyewitness, in H. become lost despite radio contact and had run out of fuel Fysh, Qantas at Warp. 135 quotes the ship as the coastal steamer Neptuna as does J.Gunn in Challenging Horizons, p.52. and had force-landed in an isolated part of Vansittart Bay, ®® E. Bennett-Bremner, op. oil, p.77 400 miles NE of its destination, Broome. 111 AHSA Aviation Heritage Broome Attacked a burning engine near Carnot Bay. The aircraft was on a At Broome the town was crowded with refugees and the Bandoeng-Broome flight, the last Allied flight out of Java, number of aircraft, mainly Dutch and American, increased The only aircraft to escape was the USS Houston’s Curtiss daily. On 2 March 1942 Coriolanus an6 Corinthian \etX SOC Seagull floatplane [Lt.J. Lamade] which had been Broome for Sydney via Wyndham and Darwin and Cor/nna preparing for departure earlier, took off and managed to arrived from Sydney. A18-10 [Centaurus, FIt.Lt. K. reach the safety of Port Hedland.®® The Liberator 40-2370 Caldwell] also arrived that day. G-AEUB Camilia [Captain had just departed at the start of the confusion and a Zero E.C.Sims] was at Wyndham after searching for the took off after it and shot It down into Roebuck Bay, 7 miles bombed evacuee ship Kooiama which had been run off Cable Beach ashore on the west coast near Wyndham but had limped Into Wyndham harbour. Camilla left to rescue 24 A18-10 [ex G-ADUT] was the first to be attacked with passengers from a party of 40 who had been left where incendiary bullets. With 5800 litres of fuel onboard, it was the ship had run aground. Camilla had been instructed by soon in flames. G-AEUC Corinna was in the process of being Lester Brain in charge of operations at Broome not to refuelled from the lighter Nichoi Bay and was the next to be return to Broome before II a.m. on the 3rd, as it was attacked. The QEA crew on Corinna jumped for their lives expected that Corinna would have left for Sydney. before the aircraft went up in flames. One Zero was shot down by ground fire and the other seven and the C5M.2 At low tide at Broome, the jetty was left standing out of reconnaissance aircraft left for Koepang with one Zero the water, despite its half-mile length, making the running out of fuel near Roti Island, SW of Timor. A Dutch handling of flying boats extremely difficult due to the 30ft. Dornier Do.24K X-36 had overflown Broome to the south the tides. On the morning of the 3 March, passengers and previous night and was stranded on a mudflat near Anna crew were waiting on the jetty to go aboard G-AEUC Plains Station but had been burnt by its crew thinking it Corinna which was being refuelled while A18-10 [G- might fall into enemy hands. ADUT] was lying at anchor. Fifteen flying boats were at anchor as follows:®® The toll was approximately 70 dead, including all but two of the American personnel on the Liberator shot down after It S.23 Empire F/B A18-10 [ex G-ADUT] RAAF managed to take off, although one of the Liberator survivors “ “ G-AEUC Corinna QEA later died. PBY-4 Catalina Bu1227 US Navy Bu1237 US Navy PB2B-2R Catalina Y59 Y60 NEI Naval AS. G-AEUB Camilla flew In at 11.15am and was anchored off the Y67 Y70 NEI Naval AS. jetty due to all moorings having been destroyed, but was Dornier D0.24K X-1 X-3 NEI Navy X-20 X-23 NEI Navy ordered by Brain to get away to a sheltered spot In case the X-28 NEI Navy raiders returned. 28-5ME Catalina I W8423 [code FV-W] RAF205 Sqdn " “ W8433 [code FV-N] RAF205Sqdn^ On arrival the next morning, March 4th, Camilla followed a lugger up a small creek for added protection during refuelling At 9.20am nine Japanese A6M.2 Zero fighters from the during which it lost 30cm from one wing when it struck the Third Naval Air Group [Lt. Zenziro Miyano] and a lugger’s mast when manoeuvring into position.^^ With only Mitsubishi C5M.2 [Babs] Navy Type 98 reconnaissance slight damage, Ca/T?/7/a loaded up with 19 U.S. Navy and 17 aircraft arrived overhead. The Zeros jettisoned their 320 Qantas and British Overseas Airways personnel and litre long-range belly-tanks [giving rise to the belief that Immediately left for Port Hedland. At Port Hedland bombs were dropped] and while three circled above Instructions were given for Camilla to proceed to Perth with keeping top cover, three, in line astern, shot up every the wounded. Camilla was flown back to Broome on the 7th flying boat at anchor on Roebuck Bay. With no air and returned to Perth. The next day it flew a load of gelignite resistance, the other three Zeros also joined the attack. to Broome for emergency demolition purposes. On return to Perth, the aircraft was flown via Albany, Adelaide and The second three had attacked the Broome aerodrome Geelong to Sydney for repairs and maintenance, arriving on destroying the following: March 18th. B. 17E Flying Fortress 41-2448 USAAF 41-2454 USAAF With the loss of G-AETZ Circe shot down, G-AEUC Corinna Consolidated B.24A Liberator 40-2373 USAAF shot up on the water, and A18-10 [G-ADUT Centaurus], on 40-2370 USAAF IV A16-119 RAAF loan to the RAAF, sunk and burnt at Its moorings during the Lockheed Lodestar LT9-18 NEIAF Broome raid, the departure of Camilla from Broome on 7 Douglas DC-3 PK-ALOOehoe. KNILM March ended QEA’s operations in this area.

A second KNILM DC-3 [PK-AFV Pelikaan Capt. Ivan S-W Pacific operations Smirnoff]®® carrying personnel and diamonds was shot DH.86's and the Lockheed 10 VH-AEC /n/ancfercontinued to down 80 kilometres north of Broome resulting in a forced- operate the Qantas inland services, and Lodestars were landing on the edge of the sea In an attempt to extinguish placed on the Brisbane-Port Moresby courier service for which they were originally intended. Camilla and Coriolanus ®® P.Dunn, Military Aircraft Crashes in WA. Retrieved 20 January 2000 in the meantime had transferred to Townsville on 19 from http://home.star.brisnet.org.au/'-dunn/crashwa.htm ®^ R.Creed, PBY-The Catalina Flying Boat, USN Institute, Maryland, ®® H.Edwards Port of Pearls. Retrieved on 30 January 2000 1985 p.251and M.Prime, Broome’s One Day War. 1992, p.34. www.ebroome.com/history/body-historybombing.htm 68 LAAS, DC-3 Production Vol.1,1968, p.14 & 16.; and J.Hopton, The B.Livingstone, letter. Aeropiane in Australia, unpublished aircraft histories [DC-3]; and A.Bovelt, Known Australian Fates of Foreign Douglas Aircraft in E.AIIen, in Australian Service , in Australian Aviation, World Warn, 21 June 1999, p.1. Aerospace Pub, Canberra, 1995,p.140 112 AHSA Aviation Heritage December 1942 and Coriolanus opened the Townsville- in two passengers being killed with 14 persons surviving Port Moresby-Milne Bay return service on the 20th. the ordeal. The aircraft had alighted short of the flare These flights were interrupted with occasional trips to path and It has been suggested that the shifting of the Sydney for overhaul. Interspersed with these were the heavy military cargo being carried in the forward usual bombing raids, and rescue operations - searching compartment might also have been a contributing for survivors of shot down aircraft. factor^'* as it appears the aircraft flew unchecked straight into the water. Camilla was transferred to QEA from British Airways in wartime camouflage In April 1942 and was reregistered as • 6 August 1942 the British vessel Mamutu [300tons] was VH-ADU In August. In May-June 1942 four charter flights sunk by the Japanese submarine RO 33 off Daru. When were made to Noumea followed by a weekly regular news of the attack reached Port Moresby two days service which commenced on 15 June and by 13 later, A18-11 [ex G-AEUA FIt.Lt. M.Mather] took off to September, 13 trips had been made. search for survivors. In attempting to alight In a heavy swell near Daru, the nose was stove in and the next In September 1942 a decision was made by the RAAF to wave ripped off part of the planing bottom and the delete the red stripe from the national Identification aircraft sank within two minutes.One crew member markings on aircraft being flown during the war. By was killed and the survivors managed to reach landfall January 1943 the Director General of Civil Aviation was and eventually returned to Port Moresby on 28 August. advised that the markings to be displayed on individual aircraft would comprise blue and white stripes placed From 20 February to 7 March 1942 QEA Empire flying boats under the registration letters on the upper and lower wing operated under charter to Pan American on behalf of the US surfaces and fuselage sides, and vertical stripes on tall War Department when they came under the direction of the fins."' Department of Civil Aviation. Later, a Sydney-Brisbane to Darwin service, leaving every third day, was begun on 1 May Camilla, left Townsville in good weather on 22 April 1943 carrying priority passengers and by 30 September 30 round at 12.45pm with 26 military passengers on a normal trips had been completed carrying 2,399 passengers. routine flight to Port Moresby. Approaching its destination, the weather suddenly closed in with visibility From 12 August 1942 VH-ADU Camilla and VH-ABG nil. Captain A. A. Koch, with F/0. Peak, R/0. Phillips and Coriolanus flew 16 services Townsville-Cairns-Port Moresby Purser Bartley as crew, searched for a break in the including 6 to Milne Bay. By September the two aircraft had weather. The harbour was obscured by driving rain and flown over 100 round trips to Port Moresby, were operating Capt. Koch tried to find a break in the clouds. With fuel fortnightly to Darwin with several flights to Milne Bay. These running short and hampered by lack of radio aids, an flights had been carried out under the control of Air attempt was made to land on the open sea in darkness. Transport Command carrying troops, anti-aircraft guns, ammunition, commandos and key Army personnel. They When the showed 100ft the water became ferried out sick and wounded back to the mainland. visible beneath the aircraft using the aircraft’s landing However, these services were frequently interrupted when lights. The automatic pilot was disengaged and the the flying boats were required for more urgent work. aircraft flared for alighting. However, the height had been misjudged and the Captain opened the throttles but the The two remaining RAAF Empire’s A18-13 and A18-14 were aircraft rose, stalled and crashed into the water. The transferred to No.21 [Sea Transport] Squadron when it was seventeen survivors were eventually picked up by formed on 21 August 1942."® They then performed transport various surface craft and landed at Port Moresby for duties from Townsville to Horn Is, Port Moresby and treatment. R/0. Phillips and Purser Bartley were missing, Merauke [Dutch New Guinea]. In January 1943 the two and it is assumed that they went down with Camilla. aircraft were allocated callsigns - VHC-RB and VHC-RC respectively, in line with ADAT policy. The course of the war in the SW Pacific region saw a number of Empire flying boats destroyed: QEA continued to operate the S.23’s on military flights into frontline areas as typified by the following flights during •27 February 1942 A18-12 [ex VH-ABC Coogee] 1943: [FIt.Lt.R.Love] crashed during a mishandled alighting • 1 January, Capt W.H.Crowther flew Camilla Uom Milne at Townsville at the completion of a test flight. Bay to the Trobriand Islands in search of the 8 crew Carrying unauthorised personnel on the flight deck, from a US B.24 Liberator which had been attacked by the captain had not anticipated the movement Zeros and forced down on an island in the Lusancay forward in the aircraft’s centre of gravity resulting in Group. Friendly natives had taken them to Kiriwina Is the 8 RAAF persons on board being killed."® from where they were picked up by Camilla. • 6-7 January Capt H.B.Hussey flew Coriolanus to •22 March 1942 G-AEUF Corinthian [Capt. L.R. Wamea Is under fighter escort searching for a B.17 Ambrose] was being operated on a US Army flight crew and rescued a group of 9 stranded airmen from when it was holed during alighting on Darwin harbour. Goodenough Island. The B.17 had been attacked by It is believed submerged wreckage was struck while three Zeros and had been forced down by lack of fuel. planing at high speed at about 1am causing the hull This was the first time a lone Qantas aircraft had had to disintegrate and the aircraft to capsize, resulting J.Gunn, Challenging Horizons, UQ Press, Brisbane, 1987, p.64 "' DCA files, cited in J.Hopton, unpublished Short S.23 histories, p.3. B.Cassidy, op. cit., p.158 "® D.Vincent, op. cit., p.74. "® D.Vincent, op. cit., p.75 113 AHSA Aviation Heritage

fighter protection/^ • 14 April, Camilla was sent to Karumba to check on the sighting of a group of Japanese soldiers alleged to have landed near the Nassau River, 90 miles north of Karumba. The aircraft alighted on the Staaten river with troops but no Japanese were found. • July, Clifton was flown to Horn Island to carry out transport duties to Tanah- merah on the Digoel River, north of Merauke in Dutch New Guinea. It operated The world’s last operational Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat VH-ABG ‘Coriolanus ’ about to alight on under Torres Force on 10 the Hamilton Reach, Brisbane River in March 1947. Photo: via J.Petersen troop and equipment flights that had previously been undertaken by No.41 water, VH-ABG®^ was put down on Botany Bay off Squadron. Sandringham beach near the mouth of the Georges River in smoother water. The aircraft carried a crew of 5 and 22 When the Dorner Do.24K and Martin PBM Mariner flying passengers who were taken ashore 40yards away by boats arrived in 1943 the Empire boats were handed launches.®^ VH-ABG was beached and repaired by 8 back. The last RAAF Empire flight was with A18-13 [Sqdn. August. The following year on 10 January the aircraft, on a Ldr. Hampshire] when it was flown from Townsville to Sydney-Brisbane flight [Capt.F.A.Reeve], struck severe Rose Bay on 13 July 1943.^® turbulence in a storm while flying near Newcastle. The passengers were caught unawares and resulted In 7 The S.33 A18-14 Clifton [callsign VHC-RA] was handed persons on board being injured and serious interior damaged back to QEA from the RAAF as VH-ACD on 26 June 1943. sustained by the aircraft. On the 1 July It was bought by QEA for £51,084."® A18- 13 Coolangatta was handed back on 13 July at the 1944 was not a good year for QEA when two flying boats termination of the charter and reregistered as VH-ABB on were lost in alighting accidents. VH-ACD Clifton [ex A18-14], 29 July. being piloted by Capts. H.B.Hussey and A.L.Ashley, was destroyed when attempting a night landing on Rose Bay on In August 1943, QEA’s flying boat fleet comprised the 18 January 1944. On alighting, the aircraft porpoised for S.23’s VH-ABB Coolangatta and VH-ABG Coriolanus and about 30metres, stalled after rising into the air again and the S.33 VH-ACD Clifton. was severely damaged by the subsequent impact with the water when the planing hull broke up. The aircraft was run When It became possible to release the flying boats from into shallow water near the slipway at Rose Bay base but It the New Guinea services, at the request of DCA, ANA was low tide and when the tide rose the aircraft was further and QEA made arrangements for the cooperative submerged and damaged beyond repair. It was hauled up handling of traffic between Sydney and Townsville. These the slipway and stripped of engines and all usable items services commenced on 1 August 1943 and included the before being scrapped. two S.23’s VH-ABB and VH-ABG on daily charter services for ADAT. The aircraft were operated mostly on VH-ABB Coolangatta [ex A18-13] [Capts. L.J.Brain and the courier service from Sydney and Brisbane to K.C.Caldwell] with five other crew and 23 passengers was Townsville but also operated to Port Moresby and Milne lost on 11 Qctober 1944 when oil pressure became low in the Bay. By 30 September, 83 trips had been made carrying starboard inner engine 20 minutes after take-off for 6,158 passengers. Brisbane. Qn return to Rose Bay, the aircraft stalled 10-12ft above the water and on impact the planing hull failed, During the war years, QEA Empire boats had made 765 resulting in an extensive break-up of the aircraft and an flights Into Papua and New Guinea and had carried 24167 immediate sinking. Crash launches were on the scene service personnel. ®° quickly picking up passengers within a 300yd radius of the accident site. This accident resulted in one passenger, VH-ABG became a news item when during the afternoon J.Mott, from Townsville being killed. As a result of this of 4 August 1943, Capt. E.R.Nicholl attempted to land on incident, the daily service between Sydney and Townsville Rose Bay In rough weather. During the hazardous landing was reduced to three per week, being operated solely by VH- a float collapsed. The landing was aborted and fearing ABG Coriolanus. that the aircraft would capsize if landed in such rough Coriolanus was also damaged on 27 February 1945 during a slipping operation at Rose Bay. The aircraft was allowed to "" E.Bennett-Bremner, op. cit, p.156 collide with a tractor causing damage to hull plates, the "® D.Vincent, op.cit, p.75 planing bottom, chine and various stringers and the B.Leonard, op. cit., p.90. ®^ P.Sims, op. oil, p.223 80 B.Cassidy, op. cit., p.194. ®^ Courier Mail, 5 August 1943. 114 AHSA Aviation Heritage supervisory staff were held responsible for the accident, became the terminal of the Indian Ocean service when the Liberator G-AGKU [Capt.H.T.Howse] left Mascot for Gawler, The ravages of war and a spate of accidents to date had Learmonth and Ratmalana. seen Qantas lose every one of Its Empire flying boats except the indestructible VH-ABG Coriolanus, but On 6 April the route was changed back via Singapore Qantas had achieved an exceptionally proud record following the disappearance over the Indian Ocean of the during the war years. Lancastrian G-AGLX [Capt.O.F.Y.Thomas] on 24 March. Hythe Class Sunderland flying boats began a joint Mornington Island BOAC/QEA England-Australia service on 12 May using G- Mornington Island lies directly on the flying boat route, AGJN Hudson as far as Singapore and G-AGJL HobartXo between Karumba and Groote Eyiandt in the Gulf of Sydney. The need for Short Empire boats to operate long Carpentaria. The Australian Inland Mission established a range flights was now diminishing greatly. mission station there to cater for the needs of the aboriginal population. With the outbreak of war and the VH-ABG Coriolanus [Capt. K.G.Caldwell, F/Q F.A.Reeve, shortage of shipping to the north, supplies were urgently R/Q G.W.Mumford, F/E W.E.Wilcox and R/Q J.F.Christie] needed and in December 1939 Qantas, as a goodwill left Sydney on 4 Qctober 1945 and arrived at Singapore on Christmas gesture, offered to perform an air-drop of the the 8th®\ This was the first civil air service operated Into needed supplies and mall. These were carried by the Singapore in peacetime. Capt. W.H.Crowther joined the flying boat Corio [Captain R. B. Tapp] en route to aircraft at Darwin. Also on board were engineers A.K.Stone, Singapore. N.Capel, T.Lopes, B.Sykes, R.Carr and T.Koh; Traffic No flights were made to Mornington Island in December Superintendant G.AIIen; and Civil Aviation Airline Supervisor 1940, but in 1941, although now flying the gauntlet Mr.Chrlstie.®"' The flight was originally proposed to leave on through hostile territory on leaving Australia, Japan the 22nd September. The stages of the flight were as having bombed Singapore on the 8 December, Qantas follows: carried out a second flight. By 1942, the service to Singapore had been suspended and Qantas was under 4.10.45 Sydney-Brisbane-Gladstone full wartime operations in northern Australia, having by 5.10.45 Gladstone-Karumba-Darwin 6.10.45 Darwin-Morotai this time lost four of the available fleet of flying boats. 7.10.45 Morotai-Labuan The company was using the two remaining aircraft - 8.10.45 Labuan-Singapore Camilla and Coriolanus on the Townsville-Port Moresby- Milne Bay service, and for other requirements of the The return service was operated by the same aircraft and military. With special charter flights to the Darwin area, crew, and brought back 34 members of the 8th Division the opportunity was again taken to drop mall and supplies A.I.F. who had been prisoners of war in Malaya. Coriolanus for Mornington Island. left Singapore on 12 Qctober and arrived in Sydney on the 17th flying Singapore - Labuan - Morotai - Darwin - Melville Camilla had been lost in April 1943, but when Coolangatta Bay - Karumba - Townsville - Gladstone - Brisbane - Sydney. was returned to the company by the RAAF in July, a Coriolanus on its return to Sydney had flown over 10,000 service was again operated to the Darwin area. No flights miles. were made in 1944 or 1945, but in December 1946, Q.E.A. again carried through this goodwill gesture - the Pacific Island Services first to be flown during peacetime. Similar flights were At the request of the Fijian and Australian governments in made In 1947 and 1948; the latter three services being order to relieve urgent passenger congestion at Suva due to flown by S.25 Hythe Class Sunderlands of BQAC crewed lack of shipping in the Pacific, QEA undertook the by QEA personnel on the Darwin-Bowen-Sydney sector. operations of a flying boat service to and from Fiji on a The flight in 1948 by G-AGHZ Hawkesburyv^as the last to charter flight basis. VH-ABG Coriolanus [Capt. 0.Denny, Mornington Island undertaken by Qantas, as Trans- F/Q. F. A. Reeve, R/Q. R. E. Lander, F/E. W. E. Wilcox, F/E. Australia Airlines took over the operation of the Qantas B. D Maher and F/S. A. E. Graham] left Rose Bay at 7.18 internal services on 2 September 1949 and Q.E.A. a.m. on 17 November 1945 on the first charter flight, arriving aircraft no longer operated near the island. at Suva on the 18th. The stages of the flight were: Summary of Mornington air drops: miles flying time 17/11 /45 Sydney-Brisbane 523 4.25 Dec.1939 Short S.23 Empire G-AEUH Corio 17/11 /45 Brisbane-Noumea 905 7.79 Dec.1941 Short S.23 Empire G-AEUC Corinna 18/11/45 Noumea-Suva 961 6.04 Dec.1942 Short S.23 Empire VH-ABG Coriolanus Dec.1943 Short S.23 Empire VH-ABB Coolangatta The first return service with 20 passengers was operated by Dec.1946 Short S.25 Hythe G-AGIA Hazelmere the same aircraft and crew. The stages of this flight were: Dec.1947 Short S.25 Hythe G-AGKY Hungerford Dec.1948 Short S.25 Hythe G-AGHZ Hawkesbury miles flying time Sydney-Singapore Re-opened 19/11/45 Suva-Noumea 961 6.08 20/11/45 Noumea-Brisbane 905 6.29 After the ending of the war with Japan, QEA decided to 20/11/45 Brisbane-Sydney 523 3.32 investigate the possibilities of re-opening the Singapore A second service departed Sydney on the 24th returning route to England. with 21 passengers.

Qn 31 May 1945 BQAC and QEA began a joint weekly Qn war service as a special charter flight, the first flight to Hurn-Sydney service with the Lancastrian G-AGLV [Capt.E.Palmer], later increased to twice-weekly, flying E.A.Crome, Qantas Aeriana, Sutton Coldfield, England, 1955, p.137. over the Indian Qcean route. Qn 30 November, Sydney 84 B.Leonard, op. oil, plate 29. 115 AHSA Aviation Heritage

Vila in the New Hebrides was undertaken by QEA on the 1 Hamilton Reach as a reminder of the wartime involvement of June 1942, using G-AEUB Cam/V/a [Captain W. H. QEA, its personnel and these magnificent aircraft. Crowther, F/0. D. Elphinstone, R/0. G. W. Mumford and F/E. E. Aldis] arriving at Vila on the 3rd via Brisbane and REFERENCES Noumea. Leaving Vila on the 3rd and flying the same • Alien, E. Airliners in Australian Service Volume 1. Aerospace route, the aircraft arrived back in Sydney on the 5th. Publications, Canberra, 1995. • Arbon, T. & Sparrow, D. The Historic Civil Aircraft Register of A^ralia VH-AAA- VH-AZZ. AustAirData, Sylvania Southgate, A regular service did not commence until the first survey flight on 30 April 1948 [Rose Bay - Noumea - Vila - Espiritu • Aviation Historical Society of NZ. Vol.16 No.7, 2 July 1973. • Bennett-Bremner. Front-Line Airline, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, Santo - Noumea - Rathmines - Rose Bay] operated by 1996 [Facsimile of 1944 edition]. PB2B-2 Catalina VH-EAW [Captain J. L. Grey] arriving at • The Courier Mail. Various issues 1937-45, Brisbane. Espiritu Santo on the 2 May and returning to Sydney on • Cassidy, B. Flying Empires.Queens Parade Press, Bath, 1996. • Creed, R. PBY - The Catalina Flying Boat, USN Institute, the 4th. Annapolis, Maryland, 1985. • Crome, E.A. Qantas Aeriana. F.J.Field, Sutton Coldfield, 1955. • Driscoll, I.H. Flightpath South Pacific. Whitcombe & Tombs, Withdrawn from Service Christchurch.1972. After 1946, the remaining S.23 Empire flying boats • Duval, G.R. British Flying Boats and Amphibians. Putnam, London, throughout the world were begun to be scrapped. The 1966. • Freeman, B. Lake Boga At War. Catalina Publications, Swan Hill, very first S.23 to be launched, G-ADHL Canopus, arrived back in England on 17 October 1946 from Durban and • Fysh, H. Qantas At War. Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1968. was handed over for scrapping a week later. The last • Grey, L. [FIt.Lt.], Radio interview with D.Leggatt [ABC], 2 November 1942, Australian Archives, Sydney, Series SP300/3 Empire boat to be launched, S.33 G-AFRA Cleopatra, had Item 512. already arrived back and was scrapped on 4 November • Gunn, J. Challenging Horizons: Qantas 1939-1954. UQP, 1946. Brisbane, 1987. • Harrison, P. & Lockstone, B & A.Anderson. The Golden Age of New Zealand Flying Boats. Random House, Auckland, 1997. Of the Australian Empire boats that survived, Carpentaria • Hooks, M. Shorts Aircraft: The Archive Photograph Series. Chalford Publishing, Stroud, 1995. was scrapped on 19 January 1947 [14 989hrs]; Cooee • Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft Vot.2 1919-1959. Putnam, was scrapped 2 February 1947 [10 628hrs]; Coorong v^as London, 1960. • Layne, P., Wellington, NZ. Unpublished data on NZ S.30’s. scrapped 10 February 1947 [12 472hrs].®^ • Leonard, B. A Tradition of Integrity - The Story of Qantas Engineering and Maintenance, UNSW Press, Sydney, 1994. The last flight by any Empire flying boat In the world was • Oliver, D. Wings Qver Water. Apple Press, London, 1999. • Parnell, N. & Boughton, T. Flypast: A Record of Aviation in that made by VH-ABG Coriolanus from Noumea to Australia. AGPS, Canberra, 1988. Sydney on 20 December 1947 [Capt.J.Lower]. The • Prime, M. Broome’s Qne Day War. Broome Historical Society, aircraft had flown a total of 2,523,641 miles with a total Broome, WA. 1995. • Qantas Empire Airways. Empire Airways [House Journal] various time of 18,500hours. The log books and the aircraft’s issues Vols 3,4,5 1937-39. QEA, Sydney. name plate were handed to W.Hudson Fysh in a special • Rendel, D. Civil Aviation in New Zealand. AH & AW Reed, Wellington, 1975. ceremony at Rose Bay, Sydney, by Capt. W.H.Crowther. • Sims, P. Adventurous Empires. Airlife, Shrewsbury, 2000. Coriolanus v^as sold on 23 December to Sheffield grinding • Stroud, J. Annals of British & Commonwealth Air Transport. and Salvage Company and dismantled and broken up Putnam, London, 1962. • Sydney Morning Herald. Various issues 1939. during 1948 at Rose Bay and Australia’s Involvement with • Turner,P.A. Unpublished Short Flying Boat Histories, Sydney, the Empire flying boat came to an end. 1999. • Vincent, D. The RAAF’s Empires in AHSA Journal, Vol.21 No.4. AHSA, Melbourne, 1982. While small pieces and momentos from some of the • Walters, B. An Illustrated History of Air Travel. Marshall aircraft remain In collections, no S.23’s, S.30’s or S.33’s Cavendish, London,1979. • Wilson, S. Anson, Hudson and Sunderland in Australian Service. were ever preserved. Almost all drawings and negatives Aerospace Publications, Canberra, 1992. were destroyed due to storage space problems after the move by Short Brothers from Rochester to Belfast in Internet sources 86 • Burbanks Warbird Files; The Earliest Air Battles in Australia. 1948. A large model of Coriolanus is in Qantas’ Retrieved 2 February 2000 from: possession and one hangs from the ceiling in Terminal 2 www:senet.com.au/'-mhyde/darwin_first_raid.htm at Changi, Singapore. • Dunn, P. Military Aircraft Crashes in WA During World War II. Retrieved 20 January 2000 from: http://home.star.brisnet.org.au/'-dunn/crashwa.htm Two plaques erected in Brisbane are among a few to • Edwards, H. Port of Pearls. Extract retrieved on 30 January 2000 from: http://www.ebroome.com/history/body-historybombing.htm commemorate the fine work achieved by these aircraft. A • Prime, M. Broome’s Qne Day War. Retrieved 20 Jan. 2000 from: plaque was unveiled by the Acting Lord Mayor, Alderman http://www.neswa.org.au/Articles/attack_on_broome.htm. • RAAF Museum, Point Cook; A18 Short Empire. Retrieved 29 Phil Denman, on 20 December 1987®^ at the Queensland January 2000 from: Maritime Museum at Southbank, commemorating the 50th http://www.raafmuseum.com.au/research/index.htm anniversary of the arrival in Brisbane of the first Empire Other sources flying boat G-ADUT Centaurus on 21 December 1937. Its • Gladstone Regional Art Gallery & Museum, Gladstone, Q. unveiling was part of the Brisbane City Council’s Year of • John Qxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Southbank, the F?/Ver celebrations. Brisbane. • Various unpublished information from J.Hopton, B.Livingstone, A.Bovelt. The second, one of the many Gateway to Victory plaques located around the city, stands on the banks of the B.Cassidy, op.c/Y..p.195. 86 1 V.H.-ABG B.Cassidy, op. oil, p.42. 00 0 0 ■■■■Q ■■■ The establishment of this plaque was organised by the late Jack Petersen with support from Qantas Airways Ltd. 116 AHSA Aviation Heritage

SHORT EMPIRE FLYING BOAT Only those aircraft connected with Australian operations are listed: Reg C/n Type Name UK CofA Remarks G-ADHL S.795 S.23 Canopus 20.10.36 22.10.36 Del. Imperial Airways 23.10.46 Broken up, Hythe G-ADHM S.804 S.23 Caledonia 04.12.36 18.12.36 Del. Imperial Airways 23.03.47 Broken up, Hythe G-ADUT S.811 S.23 Centaurus 28.10.36 12.12.36 Del. Imperial Airways 09.39 To QEA in exchange for VH-ABE; 19.09.39 on loan RAAF as A18-10 03.03.42 Sunk at moorings in Japanese air attack at Broome G-ADUV S.813 S.23 Cambria 15.01.37 20.01.37 Del. Imperial Airways 04.02.47 Broken up, Hythe G-ADUW S.814 S.23 Castor 23.12.36 02.01.37 Del. Imperial Airways 04.02.47 Broken up, Hythe G-ADUX S.815 S.23 Cassiopeia 25.01.37 26.01.37 Del. Imperial Airways 29.12.41 Planing hull collapsed during take-off at Sabang [Capt.C.E.Madge] when the aircraft struck a swell. Aircraft broke in two and sank, 4 killed G-ADUY S.816 S.23 Capella 16.02.37 16.02.37 Del. Imperial Airways 12.03.39 Struck submerged object while taxying in Batavia Harbour resulting in major damage to the hull and the aircraft settled in the water on the bottom. WO G-ADVB S.819 S.23 Corsair 03.04.37 08.04.37 Del. Imperial Airways 20.01.47 Broken up, Hythe G-ADVD S.821 S.23 Challenger 08.05.37 06.05.37 Del. Imperial Airways 01.05.39 Bounced on alighting [Capt. F.D.Smith] after an aborted landing and aircraft struck shallow water destroying the planing hull at Mozambique Harbour. 2 killed G-ADVE S.822 S.23 Centurion 29.05.37 Del. Imperial Airways Aircraft slewed to port after touchdown [Capt.A.C.Loraine] and skin plates collapsed. Nose dug in and aircraft capsized and sank in Hoogly R. Calcutta G-AETW S.839 S.23 Calpumia 17.06.37 30.06.37 Del. Imperial Airways 27.11.38 Struck Lake Ramad, near L. Habbaniyah, in sand storm at high speed, wrecking the aircraft. [Capt. E.H.Attwood] 3 killed G-AETX S.840 S.23 Ceres 16.06.37 17.07.37 Del. Imperial Airways 01.12.42 Destroyed by explosion and fire in a hangar at Durban, S.Af. G-AETZ S.842 S.23 Circe 16.08.37 Del. Imperial Airways Lost without trace Timor Sea [presumed shot down]. 20 killed G-AUEA S.843 S.23 Calypso 26.08.37 Del. Imperial Airways To QEA in exchange for VH-ABD [to G-AEUH] Chartered to RAAF A.18-11 1 Allotted callsign VHC-RA RAAF 08.08.42 Planing hull broke up in swell on landing Daru, NG. 1 killed G-AEUC S.845 S.23 Corinna 25.09.37 Del. Imperial Airways Destroyed while refuelling at moorings in Japanese air attack at Broome, WA G-AEUD S.846 S.23 Cordelia 09.10.37 09.10.37 Del. Imperial Airways 09.07.40 To RAF as AX660 19.12.41 returned to BOAC del. 15.12.41 06.03.47 Broken up, Hythe G-AEUE S.847 S.23 Cameronian 23.10.37 23.10.37 Del. Imperial Airways 01.47 Broken up, Hythe G-AEUF S.848 S.23 Corinthian 09.11.37 Del. Imperial Airways Operated by QEA thereafter 22.03.42 Crashed on alighting, Darwin, after striking debris. 2 killed G-AFCT S.879 S.30 Champion 27.10.38 28.10.38 Del. Imperial Airways Operated by QEA crews 1939-41 16.03.47 Broken up, Hythe G-AFKZ S.1003 S.30 Cathay 26.02.40 08.03.40 Del. Imperial Airways Qperated by QEA crews 1939-41 03.47 Broken up, Hythe G-AFRA S.1026 S.33 Cleopatra 08.05.40 10.05.40 Del. BQAC Operated by QEA crews 1939-41 04.11.46 Broken up, Hythe

117 AHSA Aviation Heritage

Reg C/n Type Name UK CofA Remarks ZK-AMC S.884 S.30 Awarua 24.04.39 09.03.39 Launched as ZK-AMA Ao-tea-roa and delivered 21.04.39 18.04.39 First flight G-AFCY Ao-tea-roa Imperial Airways 31.05.39 Re-reg. ZK-AMC Aotearoa [by this date] 19.06.39 Imperial Airways as G-AFCY Awarua 08.39 To ZK-AMC Awarua; 15.03.40 to 03.04.40 del. fit. to TEAL, Auckland 16.06.47 SOR; For sale 09.06.48 29.10.47 WFU and scrapped Auckland July1948 ZK-AMA S.886 S.30 Aotearoa 12.05.39 09.05.39 First flight as ZK-AMC Awarua 12.05.39 Del. Imperial Airways as G-AFDA Awarua 15.08.39 Re-reg. ZK-AMA Aotearoa 16.08.39 to 28.08.39 delivery fit. to TEAL, Auckland 04.11.47 WF airline service; Last flight 09.11.47; Scrapped Auckland SHORT EMPIRE FLYING BOAT -Australian Registered Aircraft SHORT S.23 Reg.No. C/n Name UK CofA F.FIt UK Reg Aus.Reg Remarks VH-ABA S.876 Carpentaria 25.11.37 23.11.37 G-AFBJ 03.12.37 Del. Imperial Airways G-AFBJ 06.38 T ransferred to QEA 13.09.38 03.12.38 Del. QEA to VH-ABA 02.42 Operated by BOAC in exchange for G-AEUB 11.08.42 BOAC as G-AFBJ and SOR 19.01.47 Broken up, Hythe VH-ABB S.877 Coolangatta 18.12.37 16.12.37 G-AFBK 18.12.37 Del. Imperial Airways G-AFBK 19.04.38 18.03.38 to 02.04.38 del. flight QEA- to VH-ABB 29.06.40 Chartered to RAAF A18-13 24.11.41 Converted Rose Bay to carry aircraft engines 03.42 Allocated callsign VHC-RB RAAF 22.05.42 All civil equipment removed. Rose Bay 29.07.43 RC to VH-ABB QEA del. 23.07.43 11.10.44 Stalled on landing and planing hull broke up on impact at Rose Bay and aircraft sank. 1 killed VH-ABC S.849 Coogee 08.01.38 31.12.37 G-AEUG 03.01.38 Del. Imperial Airways G-AEUG 17.02.38 Proving flight Southampton-Singapore 26.09.38 QEA del. 07.38 VH-ABC 08.06.40 Chartered to RAAF A.18-12 27.02.42 Crashed on alighting Townsville due to shift in centre of gravity. 8 killed VH-ABD S.850 Coho 10.02.38 28.01.38 G-AEUH 10.02.38 Del. Imperial Airways as G-AEUH 13.06.38 Del. QEA as G-AEUH 03.10.38 RC to VH-ABD 19.09.39 To Imperial Airways in exchange for G-AEUA 10.11.39 SQR to G-AEUH 01.04.40 BQAC 30.01.42 Shot down near Koepang, Timor Sea. 13 killed VH-ABE S.851 Coorong 26.02.38 24.02.38 G-AEUI 26.02.38 Del. Imperial Airways as G-AEUI 07.09.38 03.38 Del. QEA; to VH-ABE 12.12.38 Blown ashore at Darwin. Dismantled and rebuilt. 19.09.39 To Imperial Airways in exchange for G-ADUT 10.11.39 SQR to G-AEUI 01.04.40 BQAC 10.02.47 Broken up, Hythe VH-ABF S.878 Cooee 30.03.38 28.03.38 G-AFBL 30.03.38 Del. Imperial Airways G-AFBL 20.05.38 20.04.38 - 03.05 38 Delivery flight QEA VH-ABF 02.42I Qperated by BQAC thereafter 11.08.42 To BQAC G-AFBL in exchange for G-AETV 02.02.47 Broken up, Hythe VH-ABG S.838 Coriolanus 17.06.37 15.06.37 G-AETV 17.06.37 Del. Imperial Airways G-AETV 28.02.42 Qperated only by QEA th ereafter 12.08.42[Au] 12.08.42 08.08.42 To QEA [to VH-ABG] in exchange for VH-ABF 20.12.47 Last flight by any Empire flying boat 08.01.48 WFU. Sold to Sheffield Grinding & Salvage Co. Broken-up Rose Bay May 1948 VH-ADU S.844 Camilla 13.09.37 10.09.37 G-AEUB 13.09.37 Del. Imperial Airways G-AEUB 26.06.38 First service S’hampton-Sydney with G-AEUD 01.04.40 BOAC 02.42 Operated by QEA thereafter 04.42 To QEA in exchange for VH-ABA 12.08.42 RC to VH-ADU 22.04.43 Crashed alighting in sea 5m SW of Port Moresby when planing hull broke up and aircraft sank. 13 killed. SOR 30.04.43 SHORT S.33 VH-ACD S.1025 Clifton 20.04.40 G-AFPZ BOAC del. 17.04.40 G-AFPZ 09.03.42 Chartered to RAAF A18-14 callsign VHC-RC 01.07.43 25.06.43 Returned to QEA 18.01.44 Bounced on landing and hull collapsed on impact with water at Rose Bay and W.O. Note: All the Empire flying boats were first entered onto the British register. The first six QEA Short Empire flying boats VH-ABA to ABF were under the control of Imperial Airways until delivery to QEA. These aircraft were reregistered at a later date. 118 AHSA Aviation Heritage

EMPIRE FLYING BOAT MARKINGS 1937-1947 ------

CENTAURUS 1G.-.ADUT

IMPERIAL AIRWAYS LONDON

Imperial Airways S.23 G-ADUT Centaurus 1937 All markings black. Aircraft all-over metal finish.

COOLANGAHA ABB O • • • • Qantas Emp BRISB

Qantas Empire Airways Brisbane______Q.E.A. s.23 VH-ABB Coolangatta 1938 All markings black. Company name rear of forward door in low position.

• • CARPENTARIA 7^ - V4H.-ABA □ • • • • • ■ ■■■ ■■■

Qantas Empire Airways Sydney Q.E.A. S.23 VH-ABA Carpentaria 1939 All markings black. Company name now located in higher position rear of forward door. Military red-white-blue stripes on rear fuselage and tailfin.

trm* • 1 V.H.-ADU

CAMILLA BRITISH AIRWAYS

British Airways S.23 VH-ADU Camilla April 1942 All markings black. Red-white-blue stripes on tail fin only. Camouflage: above waterline - possibly dark green, extra dark sea grey or foliage green: Below waterline - possibly duck egg blue or sky blue.

CORIOLANUS HAMTAS AMVAYS • V.H.-ABG

CORIOLANUS 1943 QANTAS EMPIRE AIRWAYS CORIOLANUS 1947 QftNTAS BfffE ABWAYS Q.E.A. S.23 VH-ABG Coriolanus 1945 Aircraft and company name in lower position between cockpit windows and forward cabin windows. All markings in black. Aircraft all-over metal finish.

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EMPIRE FLYING BOAT MARKINGS 1937-1947

N / / V -X -y 9 1 0

The aircraft were all-metal except for fabric covered parts of the fin, tail planes and the flight control surfaces; and the trim and servo tabs which were solid mahogany. Construction time was 30-35 weeks. Cost of G-ADUT Centaurus = £36,200 [£780,000 today] CostofVH-ABBCoo/angfa/ta = £55,288 [£1,110,000 today] All markings black. Lettering height Company name lAL. QEA] 250mrh Company name [TEAL] 150mm Registration lettering 2.13m I Aircraft name lettering 305mm Wartime: Red, white, blue bands [width] 305mm TEAL ‘boats were not camouflaged but had upper surfaces of the outer mainplanes painted orange with union flags [763mm x 1.5m] on both sides of the hull. . British registered ‘boats - dark green & extra dark sea grey on hull and upper surfaces; under-surfaces in Sky Type ‘S’ - duck egg blue]. . Australian ‘boats - scheme not known but possibly similar to above.

0 . • I

LnJ

QEA S.23 VH-ABB Coolangatta 1943 Lettering on top of wings - white outlined in black. Identification markings on tail - white and blue stripes. I Other lettering - black. i COOLANGAm

RAAF S.23 A18-10 1940 ex G-ADUT Centaurus Aircraft all-over metal finish. Roundel - blue and red. Also on upper wing surfaces. D • • • • ■■■■ (•^ ■■■ Other lettering - black. At one stage A18-11 wore the red- white-blue roundel on the under wing surfaces.

RAAF S.23 A18-13 DO.A 1942 ex VH-ABB Coolangatta Aircraft all camouflaged - colours unknown: possibly dark earth/foliage n green. Under surfaces- possibly sky grey / *. Code lettering in white. ■■■■ f*) ■■■ • •DQOA Roundel - blue with white centre. o • • • • • Tail ident. markings - white-blue. Camouflage paint supplied by Balm Paints, Sydney. 120 AHSA Aviation Heritage

The Australian Sopwith Gnus by Douglas T. Pardee Built by Sopwith Aviation & Engineering Co. at a Wright J5 Whirlwind of 200 hp, used it in the East-West Kingston-on-Thames in 1919. The Gnu was a two-bay, Air Race of March 1930, and then again modified it to take three-seat biplane of fabric-covered wood construction in 3 passengers. The final modification was carried out by which the pilot sat in an open cockpit under the centre Hart Aircraft of Essendon, which, in early February 1932, section (one panel of which was left uncovered to improve fitted larger fuel tanks; when inspected on 28 June by CAB his field of vision) and the passengers in a cabin level with Inspector W. Ellis, it was reported as somewhat tall heavy. the trailing edge of the upper main-plane and which In March-1932, Pioneer Air Services of Melbourne featured a hinged and glazed roof. The type incorporated made a tentative offer to purchase the aircraft, but the sale slight stagger on the main-planes - both fitted with was not proceeded with. In March, 1935 the machine was - and the prototype was powered with a Bentley B.R.2 inspected by CAB Inspector J. Pethbridge, and again in Rotary engine rated at 200 hp. March 1939, when the log book showed 1,249 ^ I2 hrs. Registered K.101, and piloted by Harry Hawker (with since built. Some further flights were made until 1941, his wife as passenger) the aircraft - together with a similar when the Pacific War terminated almost all private flying; 110 hp Le Rhone-powered machine Registered K.136 - the aircraft was then dismantled, the engine and propeller flew from Brooklands to Hendon on May 29th. 1919 to was sold to Ansett Airways, and the airframe to, a Mr. Tay attend the reception given to the crews of the visiting of Preston, Victoria. It was struck off the Register on 22 American Flying boats NC.1, NC.2 and NC4; K.101 then August 1945. After the War the aircraft was rebuilt by went to Southport where, for the next few days, it was L.Sherrah of Hawthorn, Victoria, but when he applied to piloted by C. Barnard on a series of pleasure flights. On the Department for registration on 5 May. 1946, he was June 10^^, however, it was completely written-off in an informed that the machine would have to be treated as a accident, fortunately without serious injury to the pilot. new aircraft type. As the expense involved with this Three were sold to the Australian Larkin-Sopwith Aviation procedure. It was not considered worthwhile to proceed, Co. of Melbourne, only two of these received Australian his application was withdrawn and the aircraft was stored registrations G-AUBX (ex-G-EAHQ - Le Rhone engine) in a hangar at Essendon; here on 19 April it was badly and G-AUBY (ex-G-EAlL - Bentley engine) and the third damaged while out In the open by a freak windstorm. (ex G-EAIM) was believed to have been used for spares. Parts of its remains were later used by Keith Farmer in G-AUBX was sold in due course to the Fulham Air the construction of his Bumble Bee pusher biplane but Transport Co., and In March 1922, was Involved in a crash was destroyed in a bush-fire not long before its at Mildura, Victoria, which severely injured the pilot, J. completion. Fullarton, and resulted in the death later of his passenger. G-AUBY - the AAS Sunbird - was operated out of Hay, Technical Details (Bentley): Wingspan 38 Feet 1 Inch, NSW, but was badly damaged when crashed at Balranald Length 25 Feet 10 Inches, Height 9 Feet 10 Inches; All-up on 23 May 2 1924, and was out of action for almost a year. Weight 3,350 lbs.. Maximum Speed 93 mph; Initial Climb In 1928 became VH-UBY, and in that year was sold to 654 Ft/Min.; Range 300 Miles, ^hen fitted with the Wright Keith Farmer, who, after replacing the Bentley engine with engine the empty weight was given as 1,969 lbs.)______

Sopwith Gnu G-A UBYphotographed outside the original Larkin-Sopwith Aviation Co. hangar situated at the Glenhuntly Aerodrome.

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ROBIN MILLER DICKS - THE SUGAR BIRD LADY by Shirley Adkins OAM The following was first given as the 'Sir Norman Brearley Oration*' to the Civil Aviation Historical Society (West Australian Division) on the August 1999, Shirley Adkins had been a long time friend and admirer of Robin Miller and her lifetime achievements. The original oration text only been slightly edited, Robin Miller was to me moment she could in Broome in the house which her the perfect example and father Horrie purchased just after World War II. It was the living proof that no matter visits to Broome that gave Robin her first taste of flying - in *I how far a female may wish the Iate1940's, when her mother was expecting her fourth to venture into what may child - It was decided to make life easier for her by sending i traditionally be classed as Robin and her younger sister Julie to Broome to stay with ^ : "a man's world" - there is no their father - a 1300 Nautical mile, 10 hour flight in a reason at all to act as anything but yourself and certainly DCS.The two little girls found Broome to be a fascinating nothing to be gained by any diminution of femininity. playground - and topping off the other attractions of swimming, fishing, building cubby houses in the shade of The more I researched her life the more I came to the poinciana and mango trees, searching for turtles eggs, realise what an incredible amount this remarkable young catching crabs among the mangroves were the flights in woman managed to achieve In such a very, very short their father's ex-disposals Wackett Trainer. Although period of time - just fifteen years from when she started admitting to being terrified at first when he would her nurse's training until her death in 1975 - and it became sometimes emulate his Western Front stunting days. It apparent that to do justice to her would entail an article far wasn't long before the sight of Horrie changing from more encompassing than this one could possibly be. For sandals to shoes and socks (the signal that he was that reason, as the title indicates, I will concentrate on the preparing to go flying) would see Robin - not even waiting part of Robin's life leading up to and including the period to be asked, taking her place in the old Blitz Wagon, when she became known as "The Sugarbird Lady" - ready or the drive to the nearby aerodrome - already well highlighting her single-handed role over that period and on the way to "growing up with the sound of aircraft just touching on her many other interests and engines In her ears". achievements. The ferry flights from the USA and her six years as a pilot with the Royal Flying Doctor Service are No doubt many stories could be told about those deserving of separate coverage and it is pleasing to know flights, but these two which Robin recounts in her book that at least some of that has been provided in Robin's paint a familiar picture of the indomitable Horrie.... own book "Flying Nurse" and in its sequel "Sugarbird "Starting the Wackett was an adventure in itself. When Lady". Julie and I were strapped in the back seat. Dad would chock the wheels, plug In an external battery, get into the Robin Elizabeth Miller was Born in Perth , W.A., on cockpit to set the switches and controls, climb out again, September 8th, 1940. She was the Second Daughter In a swing the propeller until the engine fired, jump up to family of four daughters and two sons born to Dame Mary reduce the throttle and richen the mixture, leap out to Durack Miller and Captain Horrie Miller, OBE. Although the unplug the battery, drag the battery cart clear, pull away story of Robin Miller as a nurse and a pilot could be said to the chocks, and finally swing himself into the cockpit with have started only in 1960, there is no doubt that the one hand fastening his flying helmet." influences on her life up until then were what set the stage for her later achievements. I speak of course of her family On one occasion, Horrie struck a strong cross-wind on background. landing and the Wackett came down on the edge of the strip, hit some of the white markers, with one ripping the Her Mother, a celebrated writer, was a member of the floor from under Robin's seat and rolling off into the scrub famous pioneering Durack family who in the 1880's drove and others being displaced and dinted. Robin says "Dad their cattle herd from Queensland across to the carried on unperturbed, and as usual taxied right into the KImberleys, and established Ivanhoe, Lissadell and hangar. When I told him about the damage he said only Argyle Stations, where Mary spent her early days and "Oh, well, we needed a new floor anyway. Just nick over about which she wrote in her Best Seller "Kings in Grass and put those markers back in place and better chuck that Castles". Robin's Grandfather Patsy held his interests in dinted one well into the bush." I wonder if Horrie was as the stations up until the year he died - 1950. Her Father equally unperturbed when he discovered that his aircraft was one of Australia's best known pioneer aviators. He had that same pioneering spirit and this, coupled with his love of aviation and of that same outback country, inspired him to form MacRobertson Miller Aviation Co. Ltd., the airline which did so much towards opening up and developing our North-West. It is not hard to see what inspired Robin's aim of combining her nursing and flying and maintaining her association with the North-West and KImberleys. Even when married, she recorded in her diary that she still needed to "go back there" and spend time in the part of the country that meant so much to her. The Miller family home was in Nedlands, where Robin grew up, but she Horrie Miller in his Wackett at Broome, with Robin and Julie in the spent most of her holidays and every other possible rear cockpit.

122 AHSA Aviation Heritage

"survival rations" - a precious jar of boiled lollies - was Association, a position which added to her already heavy empty - and he was told by his daughters that "the workload with attendance at meetings and conferences mouses must have eaten them". etc. all over Australia. However, that was not all she undertook in that busy period. In early 1960, she This idyllic existence for the girls couldn't last forever of accepted the offer to go for a joy flight with a couple of course and once back in Perth it meant leading a normal friends and to use her own words, that flight "changed the suburban life and off to school when the time came. whole course of her life " She realised then that "the urge Robin's schooling was at Loreto Convent, where her to fly was in her blood and was not to be denied". On leadership qualities really surfaced when she was investigating the possibility of learning to fly she appointed Head Girl for her last two years there, discovered to her dismay that the cost of flying training matriculating in 1958.The whole family spent many happy was $10 per hour - exactly two dollars more than she was times in Broome and Robin clearly cherished those days - earning per week as a student nurse. Fortunately when she would take every opportunity to go with her however, being under 21, she qualified for the Father if he was called out on an emergency and any Government subsidy of the day which was $4 per hour and so reckoned that she could afford to have one lesson per fortnight. So on top of the intense nurses training - practical and theory, and her duties for the Nurses Association, was added the not insignificant amount of study entailed in the course for her Private Pilot licence - theory in four subjects, plus getting to and from the airport for her actual flying training. With her usual tenacity and determination, Robin got through all that she had undertaken and 1962 was the landmark year which saw her gain her Private Pilot Licence and not only successfully complete her Nurses training and graduate from RPH, but be awarded the State Nurses Medical Prize for having obtained top aggregate marks over the three year period of the course. Robin and Julie with their father beside an MMA DC3 at Broome In furtherance of her aims, Robin decided that she in the late 40's. needed to have all the nursing qualifications possible and other occasion - like when she was given the chance to fill so the next year, 1963, she commenced Midwifery training an empty seat In an MMA DC3 or other aircraft; at times at St. Anne’s Hospital in Mt. Lawley. It was while here. In being lucky enough to go on the Station Milk Runs... fact not long before her final exams., that she was offered where she would see the wonderful North-West and the chance of going on her first overseas flight. The Sister Kimberley countryside and the prolific bird life of the area In charge, obviously aware of Robin's ambitions, said she - at close range. After successfully completing her final had no objection as long as she was back In time for the year at Loreto in 1958 Robin was rewarded with a holiday exams and Robin was soon on her way to London to join a trip to Darwin and then on to Adelaide to visit some pilot friend who was ferrying a Piaggio aircraft from relatives. By this time she had decided that she couldn't London to Australia for his company. The flight started out even consider an occupation where she may for instance well but the state of euphoria which Robin found herself be confined to an office all day, and that Nursing seemed experiencing was short lived when there was an engine to be a viable option. So she was delighted when in failure and a forced landing at an Air Force base in Darwin she twice scored a DC3 flight to Elcho Island to Greece. Thanks to the goodwill of one of the Officers on help look after patients who had to be brought Into the base the aircraft was eventually repaired and ferried Hospital. out, but after having further bad luck when the undercarriage collapsed on a landing shortly after, the While in Adelaide she decided to put to the test the decision was made to abandon the aircraft and return to only real fear she had about nursing as a career - how Australia without it. Little realising that this was to be the she would react to dead bodies - so she called into a forerunner of a series of eight ferry flights that she would Mortuary she was passing, said she was doing some be involved In, Robin returned to her studies at St. Anne's, research and asked to be shown around. In the event successfully passing her final exams. Over the next two she saw only empty drawers and was faced with a years, further study, experience in general hospital work Mortician who obviously thought his lucky day had come, and working as a surgery nurse saw Robin qualify as a with such an attractive young lady come to visit. Robin Triple Certificated Sister and with this qualification the Idea returned to Perth and with the approval of her family, in of combining nursing and flying was now constantly on 1959 commenced her nursing training at Royal Perth her mind - but with It came the realisation that she would Hospital. It is interesting to note that in those early days first have to have a Commercial Pilot Licence for it to be Robin received no encouragement at all from her father at even a remote possibility. While working as a Surgery any suggestion that she may one day take up flying - his Nurse, Robin would occasionally have the opportunity to view being that it was an absurdly expensive hobby and a go as an "Escort" on RFDS medical flights and to assist female commercial pilot would be as out of place as a with country clinics and this simply served to further whet ballet dancer in a football team. Nevertheless, he was her her appetite and desire to somehow be able to put her first passenger when she eventually got her licence, in flying to a definite purpose, combined with her nursing later years never missed an opportunity to join her on her qualifications and maintain her association with her Clinic and RFDS flights and was obviously very proud of beloved North-West - "her home" as she described it. As the one member of his family who had followed in his luck would have it about this time a limited number of footsteps. The next three years of nurses training Commonwealth Scholarships for study and practical promised to be busy ones and for Robin even more so, training to Commercial Licence standard was offered when her leadership qualities again came to the fore with throughout Australia. This was the chance Robin needed her election as President of the Student Nurses

123 AHSA Aviation Heritage

- she managed to convince the interviewing Board that Robin's proposal to use her combined flying and nursing she had what they were looking for and she was selected skills, while not in the way she herself had envisaged, as one of only six to receive a Scholarship out of fifty or could be the answer to his particular problem - of trying to sixty applicants in Western Australia. This meant that a immunise some 30,000 people scattered over half a Commercial Licence was now a possibility - with the million square miles. Robin herself was aware of the Scholarship subsidy reducing the cost of the flying lessons heart-breaking aspects of polio, having nursed numerous from $18 down to $6 per hour. Once again this amazing polio victims - some of whom were still In hospital after young lady proved that she had her target firmly fixed in five years, some for life, and she could well understand her sights and regardless of how she would find the time the importance of immunizing as many of the population to fit it all in, started on her Commercial Licence Course. as possible. While the suggested vaccination program Working as a surgery nurse was at least not quite so was rather different from her original proposal, she demanding as a hospital job would have been and so she decided it would be valuable experience, and a first step was able to cover the theory side of the course by driving towards achieving her aim. Her reply, therefore, on being about 20 miles to night school each night after work and asked if she thought she could do It, was "I think I can." doing the flying either in the early morning before work or On being asked if she would like an assistant, she said In the week-ends. In 1966, Robin became the proud “No”, that she would prefer to try it alone. The job was holder of a Commercial Pilot Licence. It's interesting to hers! She was told to go ahead and starting planning and note here that she was the only female In a class of 30 on work towards being ready to start - in just three weeks the Commercial Course and many eventually ended up time! With a relatively new Commercial Pilot Licence and with jobs in Airlines. She herself later applied to MMA - her only real outback flying experience being when she admittedly only half-seriously - and was given the rather had accompanied other RFDS pilots on medical flights lame excuse that there would be problems with and assisted at country clinics during the period when she accommodation etc and would a young woman be strong was working as a surgery nurse, she could have been enough to handle the aircraft in all situations? The excused for wondering If she really could handle what she accommodation question was groundless of course, had undertaken, - but there was no time to start doubting because hostesses were already being accommodated, her capabilities or even considering the enormity of the and on the flying side women pilots were flying with task ahead of her - this was the opportunity she had been airlines overseas and a young woman was already flying seeking for so long! Her first move was to find and DC3s for Connellan Airways in central Australia. In purchase a suitable aircraft and she finally settled on a addition Robin contended that her work as a nurse, Cessna 182, VH-CKP, for which she raised a loan to especially on flying doctor jobs had proved that she had cover its price of $12,500. With the aircraft fitted out. Air whatever strength was needed. However, in any case, her Navigation Charges, Insurance, Radio Licence etc. paid real aim was still to achieve her earlier ambition of she was "utterly broke and up to her neck in debt but the combining her nursing and flying skills, while at the same happiest girl In the world." time maintaining her association with the North-West and She then had to visit the Immunisation Centre in the Kimberleys and so she was not really interested In Perth and find out all there was to know about the new pursuing that particular fight for women's rights. (We all Sabin vaccine. This had significant advantages over the know now that Robin Miller was more than a decade previous Salk vaccine - being administered by mouth and ahead of her time - as it was 1979 before a woman pilot not injection and with less rigorous time constraints was finally accepted by any of the major airlines in between doses. However it had to be kept at a Australia). Armed with her Commercial Pilot Licence and temperature below forty degrees Centigrade and she had nursing qualifications, Robin felt the time had come to follow up on her original Idea. This was based on the proliferation of mining camps etc. springing up all over the State and whose workers put a severe strain on the resources of the RFDS when they were called out with minor complaints that didn't really justify flying in a Doctor. Her idea was for a series of small clinics run by nurses to be set up within reasonable distance of the mining camps, with a special aircraft available to fly patients out in an emergency.This would achieve her aim of making use of her combined qualifications while at the same time considerably easing the load on the RFDS, and after going Into the economics of the idea, she worked out that if she could get a guarantee of 30,000 miles per year at 20 cents a mile she could pay off a small aircraft within three years. Outback clinic in the rugged north-west, 1967. This was the proposal she took to the Commissioner for to work out how to maintain that, not only in the air during Health in early May 1967. flights between centres, but while on the ground .She also As it happened, the approach came at a time when had to work out her Itinerary. Anyone who flies, and has the Public Health Department was faced with a had to plan a number of multiple leg flights would have threatened second epidemic of Polio In the State and the some idea of what was involved here. With the majority of task of carrying out a re-immunisation program the places she was required to land at being Station or throughout all of W.A. in order to avert a re-occurrence Mission airstrips often with no details available and of the earlier epidemic. The southern areas, with ready dubious reliability, what she would be doing was vastly road access, were already being covered, but the different from flying from city to city or even country town enormous area of the North of the State was a different to country town. She decided the only way to handle it matter and it had been suggested that the only solution was to divide the area into two parts, the North-West and was to work out some way of doing it by air. Dr. Davidson, the Kimberleys; and each part into sections based on Its the Commissioner for Health at the time, could see that centres of population- mining camps, townships or

124 AHSA Aviation Heritage stations. It worked out that based on a system of eight and used by other aircraft, and with the owners knowing week rounds, making three visits to each of the over 80 when she would be arriving, she was justified in expecting centres to be covered, and allowing for the wet season that the strips would at least have been checked over and when flying would be impractical, there would be two be safe to land on. But this was not so and the next four years work involved. Having finalised her Itinerary the and a half weeks saw CKP landing at many airstrips next task was to work out the best possible way to which were far from coming into this category, and which publicise her program - advance notice and publicity of could at best be described as "hazardous"- like the one what was planned was vital tothe success of the whole that had a deep concealed "sink hole" midway down its venture. The RFDS network became a useful publicity length which would have flipped the aircraft over if It had tool. The following is an excerpt of an actual RFDS hit It on landing, and with the owner - a non pilot, broadcast;______nonchalantly saying that nothing had been done to the FOR BROADCAST OVER R.F.D.S. RADIO NETWORK strip for over twelve months and It would have been better FROM HEADLAND BASE to land on the side! Monday July The polio immunisation clinic will be Even Exmouth - the site of the U.S. communications at Jiggalong today all day. All persons base - where she had expected that the strip would be in the area are advised to attend. well maintained, was actually covered with so many Tomorrow the clinic will be at Nullagine all afternoon and evening. large stones that Robin had to borrow a broom and Tuesday 18^^ July The polio immunisation clinic will be at literally sweep a clear path before each take off to ensure Nullagine today from 2.00 - 9.00 pm. she didn't end up with a burst tyre, cracked propeller or And at Wittenoom tomorrow. something equally as disastrous. Wednesday 19^^ July The polio immunisation clinic will be at Dirk Hartog - in her own words - was "one of the Wittenoom this afternoon and evening oddest she was required to use -being only about four at Mt. Tom Price tomorrow. feet wide and very short and curving between the sand Thursday 20*^ July The polio immunisation clinic will be at Mt. Tom Price school this evening dunes like a bicycle track". - As most pilots know, the and tomorrow morning. All persons in the average minimum width of an acceptable airstrip is very area are requested to attend. much more than four feet. When it came to her day to day programs some interesting situations had to be handled. Following are the Centres on the first Itinerary - for the At one of the first Mining camps on her itinerary - Robin North-West 31 Centres - to be covered between May recalled a little booklet handed out by the Mother Superior 22nd - December 24th 1967: Carnarvon, Shark Bay, at Loreto Convent, when she was a young teenager about Denham, Gascoyne Junction, Eudamulla Station, to go out into the world, entitled "How to Say No". Here Exmouth GuIf.Learmonth, Onslow, Dampier, Roebourne, she was, virtually alone with a large group of very able Port Hedland, Abydos, Mt. Goldsworthy,Marble Bar, bodied young men and her problem was not in having to Nullagine, Jiggalong Mission, Wittenoom, Mt. Tom Price, say "No" to them, but in getting them to say "Yes" to her! Meekatharra, Mt.Magnet, Dirk Hartog Island, Useless A lot of the men obviously believed they would be Loop, Coongan Homestead, , Mundiwindi, MinnieCreek considered "weak" if they submitted to being immunised Station, Williambury, Dampier and 4 Railway camps up and it was only when one of the more burly of the bunch to 150 miles out. came forward with a "My oath. I'm on - my best mate got So on 22nd May 1967 Robin Miller set off in her polio and hasn't walked since" -that the rest all joined him Cessna 182 - VH-CKP (Charlie Kilo Papa) - on the first In lining up for some Sabin. On one rare evening of leg of the preliminary round of the North-West. This relaxation Robin took advantage of being present at a entailed visiting 17 main centres of population including shearing shed party to dole out doses of vaccine - to be washed down with beer - even though she knew the Carnarvon , up and around to Port Hedland, across to Mt. Goldsworthy and over to Jiggalong Mission, the most vaccine would be blamed for all of their hangovers the easterly point of this section, arriving back at Jandakot on next day. At many places, especially where doctors and nurses were only seen when flown In by the RFDS in an 3rd June. The groundwork for the first part of the Immunisation program had been done and it was time to emergency, she would very often be approached at the prepare for Round one. She gathered up the medical end of the clinics by numerous people with a wide range equipment she would need, plus four fifty-two pound of medical problems - and while she was always happy to boxes of sugar lumps on which to administer the help if she could, she had to be very careful not to raspberry flavoured liquid vaccine doses; eight boxes of "overstep the nurses prerogative", with which a number of plastic spoons, ten pounds of boiled lollies for the native doctors were apparently concerned. Fortunately children; and a huge supply of record cards and dispensing immunisation vaccine was ethically pamphlets. If you consider that she had to record the acceptable, because very early on Robin found that name and address of every person to whom she people in the North-west were actually more aware of administered a dose of Sabin vaccine, and the total Tetanus than Polio and were disappointed that it was not number was expected to be in the vicinity of 30,000, the Included in her program. As a consequence she added to paperwork involved in this alone would be a daunting her already heavy workload by carrying a supply of prospect to an average person. With her aircraft well Tetanus vaccine, and In addition, when she found that loaded Robin set off from Jandakot on 19th June 1967 on many of the children had literally not been immunised Round One of the North-West part of the Immunisation against anything, also added Triple Antigen inoculations program. Arising from the original misconception in some to her service. However, Trachoma - the infectious eye places that she was actually dispensing supplies of “The disease, sometimes misnamed "sandy blight" and which Piir - Robin's aircraft, VH-CKP, had become known as - can cause blindness, proved to be the most distressing the "Chocolate Koated Piir and she would often be problem she encountered in the north and when she greeted by other pilots on the radio with "How is the reported her concerns to the Health Department was advised to "do what you can". Chocolate Coated Pill" today? With many of the airstrips Robin was to fly into being on properties owned by pilots

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As a result, on her second round. Professor Ida friends, her younger sister, the "darling" of the family, Mann, the world renowned expert on Trachoma, Marie Rose, and the youngest of the six - her brother accompanied Robin to clinics held at a number of places, John. By the time of the third round of the North-West, including missions, station properties. Marble Bar, which commenced in October 1967, that original program Nullagine and Wittenoom. 600 persons were examined. now included all the additional aspects of health care that Evidence of Trachoma was found in 92% and in 44% this she saw as being needed and could ethically undertake, was active. Treatment was commenced where necessary. and which in many cases up until then had been Following instruction from Professor Mann and with the completely neglected in the outback areas she visited, help of teachers at bush schools, Robin added once and which she now somehow managed to squeeze into again to her workload and set up her own program to her already over stretched time table. But it must be counteract the disease. Eye inspections, health talks, remembered that coping with the clinics themselves, the slide shows and the dispensing of eye drops and sulpha paperwork and all that entailed, was just one part of her tablets became an added part of her clinics. Another responsibilities. When she had finished ail of that she still problem came to the fore and her resourcefulness was had to think about getting herself and all of her supplies to tested yet again, when at a Native Mission she was asked the next place on her Itinerary. if she could do anything about one of the children's ears - Using a light aircraft as a means of transport has which was a running mass of suppuration and obviously many advantages and In this case it was, in reality, the had something lodged inside. Not having a complete only viable answer to the problem. However, as all pilots medical outfit she saw no way of getting it out until she know, a considerable amount of preparation and pre­ remembered the long-nosed pliers in the aircraft tool kit! planning goes into each flight, whether it be one of 20 The obstruction was a pocket of dead flies lodged just miles or 200 and as in Robin's case - where she was the behind the ear drum. This was found to be a not only person onboard, she had the full responsibility for It uncommon occurrence which was simply being accepted all. as something they had to put up with. Worst of all, the • She had to ensure there was a suitable airstrip children concerned were being blamed for being slow on which to land; that there would be someone at the learners or inattentive - when actually they were suffering airstrip when she got there, to provide transport to from a significant hearing defect. Robin's compassion and wherever her clinic was to be held and back again to concern for the treatment of aboriginal children ensured the airstrip when needed; that school teachers were alerted to this problem also, and she was high in her praise of the dedication many • She had to ensure that she would have showed in their efforts to improve conditions for outback accommodation if staying overnight and that there children. Another area in which the school teachers would be somewhere suitable for her to store her proved Invaluable was assisting with the record keeping vaccines; that the Sabin program and of course the additional • She had to carry out her own day to day treatments she now provided entailed. This was maintenance of the aircraft, organise fuel and carry especially so when It came to the Aborigines - who in out the refueling, pack and unpack the not many cases either couldn't remember what their name inconsiderable amount of gear she needed to carry; was, couldn't pronounce it, would give a different one on • She had to keep a constant check on the each visit, or simply leave it to Robin to give them what weather and Flightplan for each flight. And it should she thought was a suitable nickname. This penchant for be kept in mind here, at that time there were no such nicknames was of course how Robin herself came to be things as modern navigation aids, like today's answer to every pilot's prayer - the GPS (Global positioning System). • She had to check as far as she could on the condition of the airstrip and once landed, find a suitable spot to tie the aircraft down and generally ensure the safety of the aircraft As most pilots would agree, especially when flying in outback areas and staying overnight at places where there is no security or shelter at the airstrip, the security of your aircraft on the ground can become more of a concern than when you are in the air and more than once, Robin opted to sleep in her aircraft rather than leave it to the mercy of the elements. Of course it isn't only the Robin with a clinic group at Balgo Hills Mission in the Kimberleys. elements which can be a problem - pilots know that known as "The Sugarbird Lady". The aborigines animals find the wings and tail-planes of aircraft very associated her with the sugar lumps on which she convenient back scratchers and even at times a very tasty dispensed the Sabin and the fact that she always flew in addition to their diet, as Robin found on one occasion like a bird. The program Robin had planned gave her just when she returned to her aircraft to find the fibre-glass two weeks break between each round, his gave her the wheel spats had been chewed up by goats. chance to catch up with her family in Perth - something she eagerly looked forward to. Towards the end of October 1967, when the third Round was well on the way, Robin received a message They were a close knit group and apart from enjoying while in Onslow, from Dr. Harold Dicks in the United her Mother's cooking, after the often makeshift meals on States, asking if she could get away for two weeks her Rounds, and comparing notes with her father, she between clinics to go to America and help ferry a looked forward to the evening "happy hours" in the family Beechcraft Baron back to Australia for the RFDS. She kitchen, hearing of the Air-Hostessing experiences of her could hardly believe that she had been given this chance sisters Patsy and Julie, who both were with MMA, her to be co-pilot on what was to be the first of seven such brother Andrew, who had his own special band of teenage ferry flights they would make for the RFDS and was

126 AHSA Aviation Heritage delighted to find that the dates actually fitted in with her France and he suggested that they should volunteer for clinic program. the job. Her only taste of long ferry flights was in the Twin engined Beechcraft Baron they had ferried out the The stories of these flights undertaken with Dr. Dicks, previous year and, remembering the way the Piaggio flight had ended, and having heard that the machine she was supposed to fly had already had a pilot walkout on it and refuse to fly it any further - Robin decided the idea of flying a single engined aircraft solo from Europe needed careful consideration. However, never one to say no to a challenge, she agreed to do the trip, but not before purchasing a Will form for 10 cents and handing it to her Bank Manager.! Mid-March saw Robin and Dr. Dicks on the way to France, armed with survival and portable radio gear, and a stock of maps and charts for the long route home. On 26th March, 1968, after two weeks' preparations, they departed from Paris, with the two aircraft, F-OCLA and F-OCLI, crammed with radios, all their other gear, spare parts and fuel tanks. The limited and by today's standards, basic, navigation equipment in Robin's aircraft, consisted of a dual ADFA/OR, with both needles on the one dial. When turned on and tuned - the ADF needle stuck to the VOR and both then refused to Robin and Horde loading REM at Broome 1968. move. A back up ADF was all that remained and as this are part of her achievements which It is considered there had a screw missing which could not be replaced, she is not time to do justice to in detail here, - stories of having to use a piece of hacksaw blade to saw off a metal had to hold it by hand, whenever she wanted to use it, to curtain rod and hammer it down a pipe with a cool drink prevent the vibrations shaking the needle off the station. can to release a jammed radio drogue; of when they had Robin had the lower powered aircraft of the two, so to stab holes in their life raft when it accidentally inflated usually took the lead, and with a certain amount of drama in the air and forced them against the dashboard; of getting clearances etc. she made landings in Italy, becoming used to the incredible discomfort and cold of Greece, and Rhodes. Between there and Beirut she was long range metal fuel tanks taking the place of their being threateningly buzzed by an Air Force Jet which padded seat backs; of coping with horrendous was showing no signs of letting her fly on in peace, when thunderstorms on the long legs from U.S.A. to Honolulu the fact that Robin was a female, with flowing long blonde and of course the inevitable un-cooperative officials they hair probably saved the day - she undid the ribbon had to deal with at so many places. However it is perhaps fastening her hair, opened the air vents and let her hair appropriate to quote here from Robin's own book the impact that those early ferry flights had on her." Ever rYNOHAM CockJiCoo U since my first experience flying the Pacific, I felt that I had CAPt LfVlQO* come to grips with nature, with life and with myself, and •\£.- -r ; NiBhoiaon BROOME OERI^Y •Hp/^Ldoowii. ^ LLS CREEK have not been able to attach the same significance to *Marg.^CT* •Flora VaUey many things which I once thought to be of importance ". aiLLiLUHA • Gordon Downs PORT HEDLANO •sjurt Creek ' •mt aOLOaWORTHr ♦ BALOO With barely time to catch up with her family on return • ^ Garble Bar from the Ferry flight, Robin was off again on the last of her clinics to the North-West. This was shorter than the previous rounds and was aimed at catching up with the people who had missed out on their final dose of vaccine CARNARVON Map ahowlng the area of Weatem Australia uaiLaaa loop covered In 1967 and 1968 on the Sabin Vaccine on her last visit. Returning to Perth just before Xmas Clinics carried out by Robin Miller. 1967, it was just seven months since the program had started and in that time Robin had covered 16,857 nautical miles (or 30,821 kilometres), held clinics at 31 OERALDTON different places and administered over 17,000 doses of Sabin Vaccine - not to mention the Tetanus, Triple PERTH Antigen, Trachoma and other treatments she had given. Her Cessna 182 which was far from new when she blow out in the wind. On the next pass the Jet swooped bought it, was beginning to show its age and with some across in front of her, took a good look and kept going. urging from her father, who was concerned about her Officialdom at Beirut caused no end of trouble and setting off into the Kimberleys with an unreliable aircraft, Damascus was not much better, but the trouble they had she ended up selling the Cl 82 and buying a Mooney at those two places was negligible to what was ahead. Super 21, which had become available for sale in Their next planned stop was at Bahrain, but severe Broome. To Robin the Mooney felt solid and reliable, was thunderstorms and head winds forced a landing at a "a honey to fly", and it augured well when she was able to Saudi Arabian outpost called Al Qaysumah .Here they obtain a Registration that matched her initials - "REM" were held In a compound for several days, with less than Romeo Echo Mike. It was early in March 1968, with the basic facilities, and with Robin being cautioned to ensure Wet Season causing a temporary hold on the Sabin that every part of her body was "covered" and to stay program, that Robin was approached by Dr. Dicks who strictly out of sight of any local women. It was here that had heard of a French aircraft company, which wanted her usual composure showed signs of cracking when she two light aircraft ferried out from Paris to Australia. They was told that the local Emir had decided he wanted her in were "Horizons", small single engined aircraft his Harem and nobody could do anything to help her. manufactured by a branch of the Sud Aviation company in Both the English speaking officer who had been

127 AHSA Aviation Heritage negotiating on their behalf, and Dr. Dicks indicated there Liveringa Station, Leopold Downs Homestead, Halls was nothing that could be done to prevent her being Creek, Koongie Station, Balgo Hills Mission, Turkey taken to the Emirate and she was becoming frantic when Creek, Bow RiverStation, Kununurra, Wyndham, Forrest the officer burst into a grin and reminded her of the date - River Mission, Kalumburu Mission, Homesteads at Argyle, 1st April. Their official "release" from Qaysumah came Rosewood, Lissadell, Ord River, Nicholson , Turner, Alice late the next day and they were invited to stay on for Downs, Springvale, Ruby Plains, Flora Valley, Gordon another night - but even the thought of a dark night flight Downs, Sturt Creek, Billiluna, Margaret River, Louisa to Bahrain was more attractive than risking another in the Downs, Lansdowne, Bedford Downs, Tableland, compound. Officialdom throughout India gave them Mornington, Glenroy, Gibb River, Mt.Elizabeth, Mt. further difficulties, and it was a relief to land at Singapore Barnett, Mt. House, Oobagooma, Kimberley Downs, prior to the 400 n.m. hop across the Java Sea to Djakarta. Myroodah, Nerrima, Noonkanbah, Cherrabun, Christmas Here again weather was a problem but not the worst that Creek. Robin had to cope with. Robin always said that the most There was a big difference between the Kimberleys frequently asked question after all their long distance and the North-West - with few towns, a far greater flights was "However did you manage?" In most cases percentage of Missions Stations, Aboriginal Settlements, she feigned ignorance of what was meant - but she does and isolated Homesteads on the Itinerary, and a much, tell the story of when she was flying solo in F-OCLA, en much greater area to be covered. In fact a massive route to Bali from Djakarta , she found she had left her 283,000 square miles - and though she knew that this "usual receptacle" in a rickshaw there, had not really second year would be even more demanding than the restricted her liquid intake sufficiently, still had five hours first, she was looking forward to flying in the part of the to go to Bali and was literally in desperate need. A large country that meant so much to her. With all necessary tin of emergency ration peaches was the only object in supplies packed into the Mooney, she set off again on 19th May on round one of the Kimberleys program. . A typical schedule in the Kimberleys was: 0705 Depart Gordon Downs Homestead 0730 Arrive Sturt Creek 0800- 1000 Clinic 1030 Depart Sturt Creek 1055 Arrive Billiluna 1130-1230 Clinic 1315 Depart Billiluna 1400 Arrive Louisa Downs 1430-1530 Clinic Clinic at Gibb River Station^ Kimberleys 1968. 1620 Depart Louisa Downs the cockpit that could possibly help her out, but first she 1630 Arrive Margaret River had to get the tin open, and dispose of the contents 1700- 1800 Clinic without creating an unspeakable mess. That amazing resourcefulness and determination came to the fore again Next day - no "sleep In" after her long day, but off - and by diligently operating on the tin with the only again at 0710 for the next Clinic -at Halls Creek - not available thing even remotely resembling a can opener- a forgetting the myriad of other things mentioned earlier pocket knife- for about three quarters of an hour and that she had to do. The Durack family ties really came to spending another good five minutes consuming the the fore when she started flying in earnest over the contents, she somehow managed to make use of the tin countryside they had opened up - with its wild colours, without, as she'says "sustaining an embarrassing gash." dramatic contours, the Boabs and Ant-hills which dotted The average person would probably have enough trouble the landscape and she was deeply moved to be able to opening a tin with a can opener- let alone try and do It visit the stations which had been pioneered by her with a pocket knife, while at the same time flying an mother's family. She was particularly touched at Argyle, aircraft - without an Auto Pilot - in turbulent conditions. where her Mother had lived and where she was greeted Leaving Denpasar, with just one stop, at Dili, before so excitedly when she asked the old station aborigines if reaching Darwin, Robin describes the most exciting there were any "Durack time" people still there. They moment of the whole trip as being when they were abeam could hardly believe that this slim and lovely young Sumbawa Island in Sumba Strait and they heard Broome woman flew an aircraft, just as they remembered her radio calling a local MMA Flight. When Robin excitedly father doing, when he would fly over to call on her mother. called Broome with her aircraft's call-sign, she was almost To her the greeting these aborigines gave her was ample too elated to speak when they replied "Go ahead, Robin". proof of the family relationship that existed between the It was only just over a week after arriving back at natives and white employers in those early days. Robin Jandakot from the Paris flight that Robin set off again - felt a lot of compassion for the Aborigines and she talked 24th April 1968 - this time in her newly acquired Mooney, with sadness of seeing at first hand the effects of the Bill VH-REM - on the preliminary round of the Kimberley passed in 1968 which entitled all Aboriginal employees to Vaccination program.In the next two weeks she flew into receive award wages. She saw Station Managers faced 26 main centres where clinics would be held and worked with having to select as few as 10% of their "employees" out an Itinerary to cover the required area, returning to as being the only ones they could afford to pay under the new law - with the rest simply having to leave - and in Jandakot on 7th May.The following are the centres on the Kimberley itinerary. Fifty Centres to be covered between many cases ending up like so many others, existing in the 19th May - October 23rd 1968:Broome, La Grange nearest town from week to week and bar to bar on whatever the Government hand-out happened to be. Mission, Lombardina Mission, Beagle Bay Mission, Derby,Camballin, Cockatoo Island, Koolan Island,

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and offering advice and treatment where appropriate for the myriad of everyday complaints and worries which she was so often asked about. At the completion of the Third Round of the Kimberleys, at the end of October, 1968,Robin handed over to the Public Health Department the many thousands of sorted and collated Record Cards that she had completed - having administered 37,000 doses of Sabin vaccine and flown some 37,800 nautical miles ( 69,100 kilometres). Robin often spoke of the work done by the RFDS, highlighting the great benefits of the psychological effect of people having someone they can call on with problems - not necessarily requiring a Doctor, and the "Mantle of Safety" which the Service provides. I believe VH-REM at Mt. House Station^ Kimberleys 1968. Note the ice-box that what Robin herself did single-handedly In those two under the tail keeping the vaccine cool. years provided all of that and more and was no doubt Servicing her aircraft was an Important part of Robin's what prompted the National Nursing Association of daily duties and in this isolated part of the country if Mantova in Italy to award her their Diploma of Merit "for anything went wrong she either had to fix It herself or fly service to human life" Ini969. When this award was on and hope for the best. announced Robin's comment was "I can't help thinking about all the other outback nurses who deserve it more A case in point was early in one Round, when she had than I do". With the wealth of experience of those two a hydraulic cylinder leak, lost all the fluid and had to fly years behind her Robin was keen to find another job the rest of that Round without flaps or brakes - no mean which would allow her to combine her nursing and flying feat in an aircraft like the Mooney, operating In and out of and she was fortunate once again to obtain a the type of airstrips she was prone to encounter On Commonwealth Scholarship which this time enabled her another occasion, again early in the Round, she had a to complete her First Class Instrument Rating. Her drop of 280 Revs on the left magneto but as it ran OK on earlier vision of setting up nursing clinics to serve the both she continued on with her itinerary, keeping as close Mining areas had been overtaken by progress, with the to the windmill roads as possible between stations. All of rapid expansion in the North-West now requiring towns that sounds quite easy to cope with and matter of fact the and hospitals to service the needs of the ever increasing way Robin puts it, but if you have been fortunate enough population. to see at first hand the type of country she was flying over - I'm sure you would agree that while it is fascinating and A visit to Sydney and an attempt to raise interest in awe-inspiring country, it is the very last place you would setting up a Flying Doctor Service in the New Hebrides ever want to have engine trouble and a forced landing! was not successful so she returned to Perth and early in But that was not the only problem that faced her in the 1969 accepted a job as relieving pilot with the West Kimberleys - arriving at a few Stations which turned out to Australian branch of the RFDS. It was at her first Base, be deserted except for scattered aboriginals, was bad Carnarvon, that she met the only case of real opposition enough but proved to be better than at one or two where she was to face , when the local doctors wrote to the the occupants and the homestead were in a state of RFDS saying they refused to fly with a woman pilot. They complete degradation and it was made very clear to her in received no support from the RFDS, being told that any no uncertain terms that she and her Sabin vaccine were tragedy resulting from their refusing to fly with her would anything but welcome. be their responsibility. It wasn't long before they left and were replaced with doctors less concerned with sex On a few other occasions the owners sent a message discrimination. 1969 and the years that followed saw to the airstrip that they were too busy to see her and only Robin flying all over the country in her new role, mostly when asked, very begrudgingly provided her a drink of with a Doctor or Nursing Sister on board but if the warm water in a billy can after she had spent several particular case didn't require en-route medical supervision hours working on her aircraft In the sizzling heat. Nothing or attention she would fly without one , or sometimes take daunted, in those instances, she would set up her gear in a friend along for company and handle whatever situation whatever shade she could find - sometimes on the wing came up. The situations were wide and varied and or under the tall of the aircraft - round up any aborigines included dealing with nervous, obstreperous and In the vicinity , and by showing them the raspberry sometimes dangerous people. One notable occasion was coloured sugar lumps convince them that they should be when a sixteen year old pregnant girl, whom the Mission part of the clinic program. Fortunately the majority of sister had said was most unlikely to have her baby before Station people welcomed her and what she was doing reaching hospital, gave birth, with Robin's help, half and it actually turned out that the lack of co-operation In between Jiggalong Mission and Port Hedland. some cases had been because the people concerned refused to have anything to do with "government Fortunately the aircraft had an auto pilot and Robin schemes"- it was obvious that many of them would never took delight in calling Port Hedland to explain her delay in recover from the effect of that 1968 law change. radio transmissions by saying "Persons on board now Increased to three." July 1969 was a time of deep The Three Kimberley Rounds covering 50 centres, sadness for Robin when the sudden death of her dearly involved flying almost 21,000 nautical miles (over 38,000 loved sister Julie, at only 27 years of age, saw tragedy kilometers), and some 20,000 doses of Sabin Vaccine first come into the Miller family. As Robin put it "Julie, administered. On each of the three Rounds Robin more than any of us, enjoyed her inherited identity with continued with all the additional treatments she had both the land and the air." As Senior Hostess with MMA Included in the North-West - the Trachoma testing, the Julie was on the last of the DC3 Milk Run flights in 1968 Triple Antigens for the children, the Tetanus inoculations.

129 AHSA Aviation Heritage and remained with the Company until her marriage in particular race, over a distance of 2,600 miles was an February 1969. endurance test for everyone, but especially Robin and Rose, who had never entered the event before, and found October 1969 and December 1970 saw Robin and Dr. themselves up against highly experienced regular race Dicks completing their second and third ferry of a Beech entrants flying their own aircraft in their own country. Baron for the RFDS - leaving Robin with, as she put it, Despite all of that, and having an aircraft, a V- tall just one ambition - to complete her own circumnavigation Bonanza, that gave them trouble almost all of the three of the earth by flying across the Atlantic. With all that days of the race, they acquitted themselves well, coming Robin achieved In the years up to that time she could in 6^^ on line honours and 36th, out of 108, after have been excused for having little time for anything else, handicapping. Never one to miss an opportunity, after the but this was another of the incredible things about her - Race Robin joined Dr. Dicks, who had flown to the States she still found time for other people - family and friends with a view to meeting up with her and then flying their and other interests. Among these was the Australian fifth ferry flight for the RFDS - this time again across the Women Pilots' Association (AWPA), who in 1970 honored Atlantic with another Beechcraft Duke. her with an Award she richly deserved - for the Most Notable Contribution to Aviation by a Woman of Australasia. 1971 was the 21st Anniversary of the AWPA and as part of the celebrations, a Log Book was being flown around Australia by a system of relays. It was a great thrill for me when Robin invited me to join her In her Mooney to collect the Log Book at Kununurra and fly it down to Port Hedland. I didn't realise then how much I would come to treasure the time I spent with Robin and her father in Broome and on that flight in REM. It Is hard to believe, but In between her work and all those other activities she involved herself in, Robin actually found the time to write a book. "Flying Nurse" - which was really the story of the first 30 years of her life - was first published In 1971 and highlighted again the talents she had acquired from her forebears - this time her best selling author mother. January 1972 was the month when Robin Robin on a RFDS accident call out. fulfilled the ambition she had spoken of earlier- to fly across the Atlantic and circumnavigate the earth. This Back in W.A. Robin set about doing all the things that was on her fourth ferry flight with Dr. Dicks, in another and need to be done In a new home -which they had now much more sophisticated aircraft for the RFDS, a much moved into. It was in Brentwood- a quiet spot on the needed pressurised Beechcraft Duke. banks of the Canning River, which she once told me she'd spotted from the air and decided it was where she wanted Just three months after this, in April 1972, Robin again to live - being only 10 minutes from Jandakot Airport was made time in her busy RFDS work schedule to participate of course an added attraction. However busy Robin was in AWPA activities, and we were delighted when she she always kept in close touch with her family - they knew agreed to fly five WA members, in a hired Baron, across they could rely on her for assistance and advice at any to Charleville in Queensland for the Association's Annual time when needed; her home was an open house for Conference. It was great for all of us but especially relations and friends alike. Even though she was often Robin, when she found she could make one or two small called out and had to go off and leave her guests, she detours and land at two of the old Durack family was a generous hostess and never hesitated to offer a properties en route. - The first Tobermory, where we had meal or a bed to interstate and overseas visitors who lunch on the way over and at Thylungra - the original happened to be passing through Perth. homestead built by her Great Grandfather Patsy Durack, for lunch on the way back. The sojourn In Charleville was In May 1974 Robin had a Mole removed from her a pleasant break for Robin during which she was able to right leg. Tragically it proved to be a malignant melanoma autograph numerous copies of her book that were sold and further extensive surgery was necessary. In her usual there. She donated one copy as a Raffle Prize, won it herself, and decided to present It to the then Director- Generalof Civil Aviation, Sir Donald Anderson - with the suggestion that maybe this would provide her with complete immunity from 225's forever more! Since returning from Round three of her Kimberley vaccination program, Robin's aircraft, VFI-REM, had been getting very little use, and after necessary maintenance was carried out it was put on the market - eventually being sold, in July 1972. Still as busy as ever with her RFDS job, in April 1973 Robin took time off to go to Canberra - where she was married, in a quiet ceremony, to Dr. Harold Dicks. Two months later, in June '73 and another welcome off- duty break for Robin, when she and an AWPA friend, Rosemary de Pierres, set off to America to take part in the American Women Pilots’ "Powder Puff Derby "- in Robin loading the Cessna 421 before leaving Wichita, U.S.A.. which they had been sponsored by the local Zonta group, on her last ferry flight, August 1975 with the aim of doing some fundraising for the RFDS. This

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bag of barley sugar, with the request to keep Robin supplied with it throughout the flight, to ensure that her blood sugar level was maintained. It was apparent as the day went on that Robin was suffering a considerable amount of pain, which she still maintained was Sciatica, and when the time came she had no hesitation In assisting with loading the stretchers, as she always had done and making sure the patients were comfortable for the return flight. Although I was extremely concerned at her condition, little did I realise when I left her that night, that it would be the last flight she would make, apart from those she made with Dr. Dicks just two days later - on 1st November. Between then and 4th November Robin had a series of tests which showed she had inoperable cancer in her Robin and Shirley Adkins with VH-REM at Kununurra on the Pelvis and she was forced to admit that she was A WPA 2r^ Anniversary Fliught 1971. temporarily unable to carry on. However, with a phone by calm and practical way of handling traumas, she her bedside, she continued answering emergency calls obviously decided that life should go on as usual and and organising medical flights to within two weeks of her after the operation was back at work in under three weeks death on 7th December. With her Mother's help she even and in a month on her way to the United States with Dr. completed a speech she was programmed to make on Dicks for their sixth Ferry flight from the U.S.A. Very few 18th November in Canberra to the Royal Aeronautical people were aware of the serious operation which she Society Convention. It was delivered by a close friend. had undergone. Six months later, in September '74, Robin Robin had planned to write a sequel to her book was asked if she would do a Charter flight for a local "Flying Nurse" and from the Diary which she continued to company, Airwork, flying a team of geologists in a Baron keep up to date until just three weeks before her death, to Timor. The idea of flying somewhere different and Dr.Dicks with assistance from her mother, compiled that once again as a solo pilot overseas was too tempting to sequel - "Sugarbird Lady". In 1976 two Posthumous resist and the four days away, ending with an added 0600 awards were made to Robin - flight from Darwin to Gove and back, before setting off for • “The Paul Tissandier Diploma” by the Jandakot via Broome for lunch, went without a hitch. Federation Aeronautique Internationale (the oldest In the months that followed It was becoming obvious Aviation organisation in the World) and Robin was, some what uncharacteristically, tiring more • “The Brabazon Cup” by the British Women easily than usual, and had begun suffering pain in her Pilots Association. right leg, which she said she put down to Sciatica. In addition - However, none of this stopped her doing all the usual • A plaque to her memory was set up in the things and in July 1975 she and Dr. Dicks once again set Administration Wing of the Royal Perth Hospital - the off for the States to fly to Australia what was to be Robin's concluding words of which were: "Her life as a nurse seventh and last Ferry for the RFDS - a Robertson Stol and as a pilot was a dedication to the well-being of Cessna 421B. Arriving back in September 1975. Robin others less fortunate than herself She exemplified in took up from where she had left off -continuing to keep the best possible way the hospitars motto "SERVIO". her home running smoothly, her garden producing both • A replica of her Mooney aircraft, VH-REM, was vegetables and flowers, her kitchen a hive of activity as erected as a memorial at Jandakot Airport, opposite she continued to entertain and keep in close touch with the RFDS headquarters there, and her family and friends - while at the same time carrying • The Robin and Harold Dicks Memorial on with her RFDS work. Foundation was established to provide financial The following summary of her Diary entry for 27th assistance to nurses who aspire to follow in her slip September - less than three months before her death - is stream. an example of what this work entailed....______One wonders just how much this remarkable young 0430 Called to Rottnest - child with acute asthma to be woman - who was both extremely practical and brought to Perth resourceful, yet at the same time extremely 0700 Back at Jandakot. Returned home, tidied house, compassionate and loving - and who achieved so much In about to start Home Brew - phone rang. her tragically short lifetime would have achieved had she 1100 On the way to Roebourne - girl with fractured lived for an average life span of three score years and spine - for Perth. ten, instead of just half of it. In accordance with her 2000 Back at Jandakot, cleaned aircraft etc. wishes, Robin was buried in the place she loved - Broome 2115 Back Home -together with the ashes of her sister Juliana and beside 2315 Back at Jandakot - All equipment used. Had to their Father. clean mess in aircraft. 0340 Back home. Their Tombstone is a natural rock from the Broome beach where they played as children. The verse engraved On the 29th October 1975 I was delighted, as I always on the Tombstone Is one Robin quoted on a photograph had been, to be asked by Robin to accompany her as " sent to her father on her return from one of her overseas Escort and shop minder" the next day on a flight to flights: Roebourne. where she was to pick up two stretcher cases, one with a back injury, one with multiple sclerosis, plus two others - one with hepatitis and one with a knee Injury. Before we left Jandakot Dr. Dicks handed me a

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