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iiiiiiii 1:1: ■ ■W I I ■i:, Warners Wooden Wonders i 1 I Milton A. yoe) Taylor i gsg^rnmmtmv^^ Paddy Heffernan ~ Series ~ Part 8 A.H.S.A. 40™ ANNIVERSARY 1959M 999 .fill i 1' ■ The Journal of the AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY of ACSTRALIA Inc. A00336533P

Volume 30 - Number 2 - March 1999

EDITORIAL EDITORS, DESIGN & PRODUCTION I have believed for some considerable time that we must capture our Aviation history NOW before it all goes. It is true Bill and Judith Baker to say that every day we loose bits of it. So seize the day and Address all correspondence to; do something about it. You must be interested in this subject The Editor, AHSA, or you would not be a member or be reading this. P.O. Box 2007, South 3205 Victoria, Australia. We have a wide variety of topics in this issue and includes 03 9583 4072 Phone & Fax two new types - ‘Seen at’, which comes from a personal Subscription Rates; photographic album, and ‘Final Report’ which comes Australia A$40, originally from a RAAF report and is quite interesting. These Rest of World A$50. Surface Mail two could be duplicated anyone with a few photos or access A$65. Surface Airlifted to some reports. A$85. Air Mail Overseas payment to be in Australian Included is another issue of the “Newsletter” which I am currency by International Money Order or trying to keep just that and not a de facto ‘A-H’. Surely you Bank Draft. Overseas personal cheques can contribute in some small way??? cannot be accepted.

Articles for Publication; Are to be on an Editors wish list; Australian theme. Any facet of Australia’s aviation history, Compass Airlines, The Editor reserves the right to edit any GAF Nomad, Korea, Vietnam, anything that interests you article accepted for publication. and can be printed. How about the history of in Payment is not made for articles. Australia? Please include sufficient postage for the return of originals if that is required. Cover A - H and the Computer; Contributions for Les Holden stands in the water on the flooded Salamaua the Journal are most welcome in any form, aerodrome in 1931. The DH-61, “”, with its wings but if you have a computer, exported on a folded is in the hangar behind him. 3V2" disc in ASSCII format (plain text), or WIN 6, would be just great! (Include hard Contents; copy also). 43 ...we discovered we were to fly Beaufighters Kenneth McDonald Disclaimer; 1. Whilst every effort is made to 48 Seen at Broken Hill in 1938. Mac Kennedey check the authenticity of the material and 49 Aeroflights-The Billboard Barnstormers advertising printed, the Publishers, Editors, Neville Hayes and the Aviation Historical Society of 54 Talkback Australia and its Office Bearers cannot 55 John George Morton Greg Banfield accept responsibility for any non­ 58 Final Report performance. 59 No4 Service Flying School Paddy Heffernan 2. The views expressed in 'Aviation 62 Warners Wooden Warbirds Keith Isaacs Heritage' are not necessarily those of the 70 Milton A. (Joe) Taylor Greg Banfield AHSA or its Editors.

Meetings of the AHSA; AVIATION HERITAGE Melbourne Branch: The fourth Wednesday in every ISSN 0815- 4392 month, 7:30 at the Airforce Association, 4 Cromwell Street, Print Post Approved PP 320418/00017 South Yarra. Further information - Keith Meggs 9580 0140. NSW Branch: The first Wednesday in every month 7:45 © 1999 by the Publishers; Studio lat the Powerhouse Museum, enter from the THE AVIATION HISTORICAL Macarthur Street end. Further information - Gordon Lassiett SOCIETY OF 9416 7603 AUSTRALIA INC., A0033653p P.O. BOX 2007, SOUTH MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA AHSA Aviation Heritage

• • • • we discovered we were to fly Beauflghters.

Text and photos by KENNETH NEAL McDONALD, DEC.

In September 1939, Prime Minister Robert Menzies become fully operational. But such minor irritations as no announced to the nation that as a consequence of Britain hot showers and no parachutes did little to dampen our declaring war on Germany, Australia was also at war. This enthusiasm. We washed in cold water and sat on pillows was just a few weeks after I had celebrated my twenty first in the Tigers. birthday, and my first thought was that if the Government decided to call up men to serve in the army, those aged The first hurdle was to go solo in the Tiger. Everyone twenty one would most likely be the first to be called. was on edge until that first adventure, and of course there Having read some of the gruesome stories of the was a time limit, reported to be seven hours of instruction. privations of the AIF in Gallipoli, France and Belgium Beyond that the cold hand of authority banished the failed during the First World War, I was not keen to become ones to navigation or even worse, gunnery schools, or so cannon fodder in the coming strife. we were led to believe. It turned out however that there was certainly some leeway in this regard, possibly due in I had long had ambition to fly aeroplanes, but my some measure to the difficult conditions under which we experience was limited to a couple of joy flights in a Gipsy lived, for many of us took much longer. In my own case, Moth at Essendon, the home of the Victorian Aero Club. 14 hours. I think I was one of the slower learners, and However, as soon as possible I applied to join the RAAF possibly the maximum allowed was about 15 hours to as a pilot. In due course I was advised to report to join No solo. 4 (P) Course on July 21, 1940 which gathered at No 1 Initial Training School, Somers, for two months instruction Having gone solo the pressure was much reduced, in such important subjects as Morse Code, Air Force and for most of us the rest of the course was enjoyable. I Regulations and endless Parade Ground Drill. Two of the completed the course with 20 hours dual and 21 hours recruits who were well known Aussie Rules League solo which would be about average for most trainees. By footballers received some special privileges like going to that time we were quite confident and were able to handle the city for their regular training sessions on Thursday the Tiger quite well, including aerobatics such as slow roll, afternoons, and of course every Saturday off for the match loop, roll off the top of a loop and so on. After two months of the day. They were both redheads, Bluey Holton, and we had finished the course and we were on our way to the Bluey Truscott who later became famous as a fighter ace. next part of our training. My log book shows that I was rated "Above Average" as a Tiger pilot and recommended Our course was split into several groups who were for twin engine advanced training. sent to different Elementary Flying Training Schools. I went to No 7 EFTS at Western Junction, near Launceston, The next move was to No 1 Service Flying Training where we learned to fly Tiger Moths. This was a new School at Point Cook. Here we trained on the twin station, we were the first course to attend, and there was engined , the big "bomber" of the RAAF in still much work to be completed before the base could earlier days. I went solo on the Anson after four hours of

43 AHSA Aviation Heritage dual so obviously the transition to a twin-engine aircraft flaps but a much was fairly straightforward. After two months I had 20 higher wing loading hours dual and 25 hours solo including a couple of night which caused it to landings. At this point we were awarded our Wings, and drop a wing in a how proud we were! nasty manner on stalling. It also had Another two months in the Advanced Training Flights a wicked swing on took in more operational-type activity such as bombing take-off and and gunnery and a few more night take-offs and landings. landing which gave On completing my Anson flying I had 25 hours dual and 65 me quite a lot of hours solo, a total all flying to that time of 142 hours. trouble to control at first. The trick of I was sent to Central Flying School at Camden for a course was to Wirraway conversion on the way to fly Fairey Battles at No anticipate the swing 1 Bombing and Gunnery School at Evans Flead. A group and once you had it of us arrived there to find that they had more than enough beaten there really staff pilots and we were definitely not wanted. We did no was no further flying there as they refused to allow us anywhere near the problem. Battles. So, we cooled our heels for a few weeks until P.O Ken McDonald in 1942 another posting came through directing us back to Camden for an instructors course. Flaving completed the four months instructor’s course we were all much improved pilots. We were sent to Central Flying School was regarded as the University various training schools, and I was sent back to Point of the RAAF and the staff instructors there were quick to Cook and soon began instructing the regular student reinforce this attitude. We trained to become instructors courses as they came through. At the beginning we still on both elementary as well as advanced aircraft. They had had Ansons, but later these were replaced by Oxfords. no Tiger Moths, our elementary instruction was on Avro After about 12 months there in August 1942, I was posted Cadets which we found were a little more comfortable then to 31 Squadron, a new squadron being formed at Forest the Tiger. Hill Base, Wagga, where we discovered we were to fly Beaufighters. The Cadet had on both upper and lower wings which made it very sensitive in the rolling plane but good The Beaufighter was an impressive aircraft. Whilst at for slow rolls and similar aerobatics. Also the radial engine Point Cook some of us instructors went over to Laverton did not cut out when upside down like the Tiger, which was one day to see them being assembled. After the Oxford it an advantage, that is if you liked flying in this manner. looked enormous to us. I was delighted to be posted to 31 After two months on the Cadet we transferred to the Squadron and looked forward to doing some real , a twin-engined trainer just arrived from operational flying. As there was no Operational Training Britain. Unit established for Beaufighter training at that time we carried out a course mapped out by Squadron Leader The Oxford was a bit like the Anson, with virtually the Bruce Rose, DFC & Bar, an experienced Beaufighter pilot same Armstrong Siddeley engines and made of plywood. who had flown in RAF Squadrons in the European theatre. It had hydraulically controlled retractable and All of the pilots were experienced, most with 1000 hours or more as instructors or as staff pilots at navigation or gunnery schools. Our navigators were specially trained, having qualified both as a radio operator and a navigator. We teamed up with our navigators early in our training and flew together right through our training and operational flying. The nature of our work demanded a high degree of co-operation between both crew members as they completely depended on each other's skills for their survival.

Before flying the Beaufighter we did a conversion to the Beaufort. We had a number of these Australian built aircraft 31 Squadron crews returning from a sortie - Coomalie 1943. L to R; Fig Off. K. McDonald, with dual controls. Bruce Fig. Off. J. D. Entwistle, Sgt. W.J. Agnew, Sgt. H.O. Thorncraft. Rose hated the Beaufort,

44 AHSA Aviation Heritage

consequently he flew it as little as possible. My conversion water. He crashed immediately and was killed along with consisted of two circuits, less than one hour. Then Bruce his navigator Warrant Officer Clarke. took me up in a Beaufighter for two circuits standing behind him and sent me off solo. The second aircraft in our flight developed engine trouble and we returned together without firing a shot. The That first flight in the Beaufighter was pure joy. At last other flight attacked a village but it was the wrong one here was a real fighting aeroplane. I found no problems actually in a friendly area where some Australian troops with it. It certainly had a tendency to swing on take-off and were billeted. So the first operation was unsuccessful landing, but with hundreds of hours on the Oxford I readily altogether. anticipated and controlled this minor mischief and never experienced an uncontrolled swing in all the hours I flew Later we had some success in attacking enemy air the Beaufighter. Others did have some trouble in this bases especially their main base on Timor at Penfoei near regard, sometimes with fatal consequences. Koepang at the western end of the island. The destructive force of the Beaufighter’s four 20mm Hispano cannons Long-distance flying certainly made one aware of the and six .303 Browning machine guns was devastating. inherent instability of this aircraft in the fore and aft or Anything we hit with all guns usually disintegrated. We pitching plane. All of our early Beaufighters were British destroyed numerous grounded aircraft as well as built, with horizontal tail-planes. There was absolutely no transport, shipping and ground installations. way you could set the trim to fly straight and level even in calm conditions. The nose would either gradually rise up The effect of firing the cannons was spectacular to say or drop away. We later found this rather tiring on our long the least. They were situated in the centre of the aircraft flights to Timor and back, often of a duration of five hours between the pilot and the navigator and the muzzles were or more. Later deliveries of British Mark V1C and the right under the cockpit. The noise was deafening for the. Australian-built Mark 21 Beaufighters had a dihedral pilot but he had the satisfaction of seeing where his fire tailplane which improved their stability. But the view from was striking the target. Our cannon ammunition was the cockpit was great. The pilot had an uninterrupted vista usually a mix of armour-piercing, semi - armour - piercing, from wingtip to wingtip and the snub nose also gave him high explosive, and high explosive incendiary. We could lots of visibility in front and down to earth below, a great easily pierce a ship’s hull, cause explosions and set fires advantage when low flying, which was virtually all our in one burst. Aircraft targets of course had no hope of operational flying anyway. survival once hit, they usually blew up in a great burst of pyrotechnics. In Ian Gordon's book, "Strike and Strike Again" he quotes the experience of pilots of 455 Squadron, based in The first Beaufighters we received had drum-fed Scotland, flying sorties to the Norwegian coast to attack cannons with four spare drums stored in the fuselage. The German shipping. These operations were strikingly similar navigator was supposed to reload the cannons by to ours. On some flights they were accompanied by changing the drums when the original drums were Mustang fighters for protection against the German emptied. In practice of course this never happened. When fighters. He states that the Mustang pilots complained that engaged in an offensive mission over enemy territory 500 the Beaufighters were flying too low over the water for nautical miles from home there was no way the navigator them and they could not match their altitude. They flew low could spend time changing the drums, After a few for the same reason as we did, to get under the enemy months the drums were replaced by belt-feed mechanisms radar and so preserve the element of surprise. This points allowing, the pilot a continuous supply of ammunition until up the advantage we had of perfect visibility, enabling us the belts ran out. Sometimes the compasses were to fly just a few feet above the water. We could actually affected by the firing of the cannons and possibly see the propeller tips in relation to the water or ground contributed to the loss of some crews who may have over which we were flying. A single engine pilot of course become lost and run out of fuel before making a landfall in had the bulk of his engine in front of him which must have Australia. blocked his view at low level. Another bonus was the speed of the Beaufighter at low We spent about two months training at Wagga building altitude. Our earliest batch of Mark IC’s were rated at 305 up 35 Beaufighter hours day plus 3 hours night flying mph (490kmh) at sea level. Our airspeed indicators were which consisted only of a few circuits to see that one could all calibrated in knots for navigational purposes. I think our safely take off and land, and one 2 hour night cross­ top speed in level flight was about 270 knots at sea level. country with navigator. Fortunately I had accumulated This varied between different aircraft. Some crews more than one hundred hours of night flying as an polished the fuselage to reduce drag and produce a few instructor, so I had no difficulty with the Beau at night. more knots. Our speed was close to that of the Japanese Zero single-engine fighter and we usually were able to In October 1942 the Squadron was ordered to escape when attacked if we were at top speed. The Beau Coomalie Creek airstrip in the Northern Territory. The was no match for a single-engine fighter on the basis of ground staff and heavy equipment travelled by train via manoeuvrability so we could not engage in any dog­ Port Augusta and then by open army trucks fighting. to Coomalie. The aircrews flew via Charleville and Cloncurry early in November and on 17th our first On one occasion, flying back from an attack on a operation was scheduled. Six aircraft took part with the target in Timor a Zero followed us for some time then object of strafing two villages in East Timor that were apparently gave up and disappeared. My navigator Flying reported to be occupied by the Japanese. Disaster struck, Officer Frank Magee turned his attention to navigating and when flying low off the coast of Timor my flight commander did not see the enemy plane later close up on our tail until Squadron Leader Riding failed to lift his aircraft above the he opened fire. By this time we were flying at cruising sea during a turn resulting in his wingtip touching the speed so it took a little time to gather additional speed. I opened the throttles fully and adjusted the propeller

45 AHSA Aviation Heritage pitches to full fine at the same time taking avoiding action The Bristol Hercules engines which powered the by corkscrewing and throwing the aircraft around. I finally Beaufighter were very powerful, developing up to 1,700hp, found a cloud and was able to lose our attacker, but not and we found them generally very reliable. However if an before he had registered a few hits. On our return to base engine failure was experienced, the ability to fly on one we found one oil tank was holed and well down on oil and engine was greatly affected by the fact that the propellers the rudder cable almost cut through. were not full feathering. You could adjust the pitch of the failed engine to full coarse but the drag was still quite The crew were protected by armour plate doors in the considerable, and it was a matter of luck whether you centre of the fuselage and another plate in the nose in could remain airborne for the required time to get to a safe front of the pilot. Also the windscreen was made of very landing place, thick perspex about two inches (50mm) thick. This easily withstood small arms fire, but a 20mm cannon hit could The Australian-built Beaufighters were fitted with full penetrate it although the consequent damage was much feathering propellers and consequently their single-engine reduced. flying ability was much improved. The Hercules engine

31 Squadron attack on Japanese Floatplanes at Taperfane, Aroe Islands, 12 June 1942. Photo taken through navigators perspex bubble by Fig. Off. F.J. Magee, DFC, shows two burning with three still intact. A total of seven aircraft were destroyed and two damaged in this raid. As we flew all of our operations over the sea, we had could take quite a lot of abuse or damage yet still keep an inflatable dinghy in the wing which was supposed to going, even if power was reduced. Damage due to enemy self inflate on contact with water. A smaller dinghy was action was the most common cause of trouble, flying folded and attached to our parachute instead of a foam through trees was also likely to create a problem. On one cushion. It made a very hard seat, most uncomfortable for occasion Flying Officer Phil Biven, after attacking five or six hour flights. The Beau did not ditch very well. grounded Japanese aircraft at Penfoei air base in Timor, Some of our crews successfully ditched but they reported followed down his fire a little too low and found himself the aircraft sank quickly and the cockpit was filling rapidly flying through a large tree. The Beau sliced through the by the time the pilot got the top hatch open and released tree without too much trouble, and Phil returned safely to himself from both the safety harness and the parachute base. Upon landing the damage was evident by much straps. By this time, according to one pilot, there was a denting of the nose and wings of the aircraft, but most problem trying to get his dinghy freed from the parachute amazing was the fact that both engines were completely pack, and in fact he was unable to do so. On that occasion stuffed with tree debris between all of the cylinders. One he said he did not see his wing dinghy emerge and he had would have expected the engines to overheat but Phil only his Mae West (life-jacket) for buoyancy for the reported that they behaved perfectly. eighteen hours he was in the water. The engines were an unusual sleeve valve design, exclusive to Bristol, and were comparatively quiet., with

46 AHSA Aviation Heritage the result that the enemy had no warning of our approach occasions there seemed to be a short spell of clear until we had actually arrived. Thus the Beaufighter weather whereupon Frank asked me to fly very straight became known as "Whispering Death." and level while he dropped a flare on the water and took a drift sight. This was his only navigational aid. In February 1943, my navigator Frank Magee and I were detailed to carry out a reconnaissance over a village Remarkably, just as the first faint light was evident we called Dobo, which was situated at the northern tip of the flew over the south coast of the island. His navigation was main island of the Aroe Group. We took off at about 3 am as usual spot on. We flew on up the east coast towards in order to arrive over the target area at first light. We took Dobo but as we approached the village a large squall a long-range Beaufighter recently acquired, which was came over and blanketed the whole area with low cloud fitted with extra fuel tanks in place of some wing guns and torrential rain. The village and harbour were which had been removed. It was the wet season and the obliterated, so we turned tail for home. The return flight weather was positively at its most foul. It was a pitch black was a little less daunting, at least it was in daylight night, I had to fly on instruments from the moment of although much of it was in cloud. My faith in those becoming airborne. We seemed to fly into the teeth of a Hercules engines was reinforced, if that was necessary, tropical cyclone, the turbulence was easily the worst I after this flight. They just kept going never missing a beat. have ever experienced. At times the rain was so heavy it was like flying inside a waterfall. I was worried about all My operational tour was completed in June 1943, and I that water being sucked into the engines, and turned on was posted back to Wagga as a staff instructor at No 5 the carburettor heat, hoping that might help. The sky was Operational Training Unit, where replacement Beaufighter almost continually ablaze with spectacular forked lightning, crews were being trained. The unit moved to Tocumwal a and sometimes it struck the wing and danced along it for few months later and after about a year I was posted to an instant. Central Flying School then at Parkes, as a staff tutor for training OTU instructors. I flew at about 4,000 feet without any idea as to what height would be the most suitable, but I don't think it made CFS was later transferred back to Point Cook which is any difference anyway. At times we encountered an where I completed my service with the RAAF, being updraught which took us straight up at a very fast rate, the discharged in November 1945. In addition to the standard climb indicator almost went "off the clock." There was training aircraft, Wirraways and Oxfords, we had some nothing I could do about this other than to try to keep the operational types there including Beaufort, Beaufighter, aircraft straight and level and make sure the airspeed was Mitchell (B25), Ventura, Mustang, Kittyhawk, and the only maintained. After rising for about 2,000 feet we hit the top Hurricane to come to Australia. So we were able to have a with a bump. little recreational flying at times which was quite enjoyable.

The armament of the Beaufighter was considerably improved when it was equipped with rockets, four under each wing. These were particularly effective against enemy ships and barges especially in the New Guinea area when the Japanese were desperately trying to land reinforcements for their beleaguered garrisons. Unfortunately there were a few casualties amongst the aircrews especially during rocket training when the pilot misjudged his height after discharging the rockets and flew into the ground. The Beaufighter pilots ofi30 and 31 Squadrons. L to R; Wing Cder B.R (Blackjack) Walker DSO, Beaufighter also could be Sqdn. Ldr. R.F. (Torchy) Uren, DFC, Fit. Lt. K.N.McDonaldDFC, Flg.Ofifi C.A. Campbell DFC, equipped to carry two 250 Sqn. Ldr. R.A. Little DFC, Fit. Lt.M. W. Burrows, Flt.Lt. E. Coate DFC and Bar. pound (113 kg) bombs or clusters of anti-personnel bombs, but this practice was Later the exact opposite occurred. A down-draft took not widely followed in the Australian squadrons. us inexorably down. This was even more frightening. As the altimeter wound down I wondered when it would stop, There was some talk of fitting up some Torbeaus, but eventually it did stop and I was thankful that we still torpedo Beaufighters, as used in the European theatre, had about 2,000 feet over the water. but again no action was taken. Already the Beaufort squadrons carried torpedoes in the Pacific theatre where Frank was worried about his navigation and kept the Beaufighters provided anti-flak attacks to allow the reminding me that I should if at all possible, fly within ten Beauforts a better chance of success. degrees of the course he had given me. On a couple of

47 AHSA Aviation Heritage

SEEN AT BROKEN HILL IN 1938. From an Album belonging to Mac Kennedey of Black Rock, Vic.

VH-UYH is a Fairchild 24G powered by 145 hp Warner Super Scarab. Owned by the Royal Newcastle Aero Club.

Another Royal Newcasle Aero Club machine, is this de HavillandDH87B Hornet Moth VH-UYX, which was powered by a 130 hp Gipsy Major. These two aircraft could hare possibly been there participating in an air-show.

Yet another classic single, Cessna C-37 Airmaster VH-UZU, powered by a Warner Super Scarab of 145 hp. UZU at this time was owned by MacRobertson Miller Aviation Co Ltd, then at Parafield, SA..

Ansett Airways Lockheed lOB tlectra VH- UZN, 'Ansirius\ Two 440 hp Wright M h irlwin d R-9 75E-3 eng in es. AHSA Aviation Heritage

AEROFLIGHTS - THE BILLBOARD BARNSTORMERS by NEVILLE F. HAVES

The original DH-6 at Nhill. Photo; R.J. Morrision via Historical Socien- Like other airmen returned from the Great War, inevitable. The airmen found that they would land 100 Stanley George Brearley, Robert William McKenzie and yards short of the Ground, and they prepared to land in a Ernest James Jones aimed to establish an aerial lane to the right of the oval, but when they neared the enterprise of their own. With a surplus DH-6 from the earth they saw that the laneway was filled with spectators. Central Flying School\ they engaged L. Officer, of vehicles and horses. They were obliged to turn sharply to whom little is known, as business manager, and with the the left and land in Dickens St. close to a residence and machine bedecked with advertising set out on a survey about a yard from the fence. Except for a few spectators incorporating joy flights as a means of obtaining revenue. and a horse they would have made a perfect landing. The Aeroflights Company seems to have been established during July of 1919, as the initial flight was to Hamilton in the Western District of Victoria early in August.

Syd Officer was a nephew of a Gippsland pioneer after whom the railway station of Officer was named, and was undoubtably related to the Officers of the Western District who own ‘Mt Talbot’ grazing estate at Toolondo near Horsham. Newspaper reports suggest that he served in the A.F.C., but no information is to hand to confirm this.

The DH-6 in the charge of McKenzie and Jones left an aerodrome at Glenroy (Melbourne) at 11:15 on the morning of Saturday, August 9th 1919 in fine weather in the presence of a few spectators. They passed Little River and landed at Colac at 12:05pm where they had lunch and refilled the petrol tank. They left Colac at 2:10 and passed Camperdown at 2:55, and shortly afterwards one valve of the engine began to miss, thus wasting petrol. A landing was made at Caramut to adjust this trouble which took an hour to put right.

They were expected in Hamilton at 3:00pm, and already behind schedule they did not take time to refuel, and they arrived over Hamilton at about 2,000ft close to 5:30pm. Their destination was the Friendly Society's ground where a crowd had assembled to meet them. A 40mph gale had set in shortly after leaving Colac and increased in velocity, and this compounded their fuel shortage to such a degree that the motor stopped as they were over the golf links, and a forced landing was Photographed at Hamilton in 1919. Note no advertising and damaged tailplane.. Photo vem McCaiiuw Hamilton Historical Society. I Bennett -The Imperial Gift'.

49 AHSA Aviation Heritage

McKenzie travelled to Point Cook and had the parts sent on the following Tuesday, but they had not arrived by Friday 15th. Frantic phone calls to railway stations were to no avail, but I the parts arrived on Saturday night. A compliant stationmaster allowed access to the goods-shed on Sunday and the parts were trucked to the town airstrip near Fleetwood’ on the Portland road, where the present saleyards now stand. The airmen commenced work early on Monday If morning, and at 2:10pm they made a I test flight. Passenger flights I commenced at 2:30 and stopped just I before six.

Flying resumed on Tuesday at 11:00, operating from a hangar at Brearley with two lady passengers. Photo; Hamilton Family History Centre Inc. Fleetwood’. This hangar may have Unfortunately they clouted the horse and tipped a post, been of canvas construction, as a damaging the tailplane and lower wingtip. surviving Aeroflights ticket has on the rear an advertisement for CFIAMPION’, manufacturers of canvas The crowd at the Friendly’s’ Ground made a bee-line goods, bearing along the bottom, "Note; we are the first for the new landing place, scaling some mighty stiff fences aeroplane hangar manufacturers in u..." and the rest is on the way. Children had to be restrained from damaging missing. With a bulky canvas hangar to convey, it is the machine, and it was promptly fenced off with a rope significant that all of Aeroflights locations were serviced by barrier and ‘Keep Off notices displayed. The Mayor railway lines, welcomed the airmen and called the names of holders of Flying continued on Wednesday, but on Thursday local tickets for free flights, apparently ‘presold’. The plane had businessman and photographer W J Betts organised at carried special copies of The Age and The Argus which trip with Jones to Condah, halfway to Portland, where they were handed to the mayor. operated from Black's paddock, attracting about 500 locals. About eight passengers took flights. Betts became The plane was dismantled and stored in the Western the first Hamilton resident to make a return flight to and District Garage for the night, and McKenzie travelled to from that town. Point Cook to pack a replacement tailplane and consign it by rail to . the wingtip may have been repaired locally. Brearley's first entry In his logbook for the Aeroflights rnmmm

Company is on August 29, when he flew Doctor Palmer to Those with an eye for detail will note that upon arrival Penshurst, taking passengers whilst there, and returning at Hamilton there was no advertising on the horizontal tail- next day. Aeroflights were expected at Coleraine on the feathers. Subsequent photos show that Mac-Robertson's 30th, but engine problems caused a delay. The visit there Old Gold Cocoa occupies this space, the delay in arrival of took place on September 3rd, operating from a paddock the replacement part might be explained by extra near the railway station, returning to Hamilton on the 4th. sponsorship being obtained from Macpherson Robertson On the 5th, Brearley again took Palmer to Penshurst, who was expanding his confectionery business at that returning the same day. time. Saturday September 6th saw them in Casterton, operating from the racecourse for three days. Aeroflights

50 AHSA Aviation Heritage

On November 5th and 6th Brearley was in Jeparit in time for the rowing club regatta, a good crowd giving prospect of customers. The Jeparit Leader gives no reports of aviation, but does remark on a Mr Anderson the Official Starter for the races, shooting himself through the finger whilst cleaning the gun.

Aeroflights were expected in Nhill on October 11th, but the crankshaft failure prevented this. Aeroflights seem to have tried to take advantage of the various regattas along the Wimmera River, as these sporting events followed each other through the next week and a bit. District newspapers are void of Aeroflights references, but are At Nhill full of Vic Levison, world champion acrobat and high diver who was billed made arrangements to share gate takings with the local to leap 65' into a blazing "river of flames", with other Repatriation Committee, and on Tuesday 9th were at attractions being moving pictures, massed bands and Merino. The next day saw them back in Hamilton to cater fireworks, to the Show crowd but foul weather prevented flying to any great extent. Brearley had only one passenger on the Advertisements in the Nhill paper, 7/11/19, advised of 11th. There were half a dozen on Monday and more on the anticipated arrival of Aeroflights at 11:30 that morning Tuesday. Plans to fly to MacArthur on Wednesday were at the racecourse. It duly arrived, McKenzie piloting and shelved due to prevailing winds. carrying a Mr. Livingstone as passenger from Jeparit. On the way, McKenzie diverted to examine a bushfire in the Flights at these earlier venues were at a rate of £3, but Lawloit Ranges, but Livingstone assured him that this was Aeroflights got a bit too ambitious in Horsham. Brearley not the anticipated smudge fire, and advised him to look flew the machine there on the 20th and they erected their for it at the racecourse where they were expected. hangar on Mr Thomas Young's paddock on the Dooen Rd. McKenzie landed at 11:40. Young's paddock was marked by a white sheet and a smudge fire. When they landed on the Saturday they were Over 27 passengers were carried during the following met by a representative of the press who congratulated days, but the Nhill visit had to be curtailed due to summer them on making the first flight between the two centres. temperatures playing havoc with the air cooled engine. They carried with them two packages; one to an unspecified Mr Nesbit with greetings from Hamilton, the Brearley’s last flight at Nhill was on November 10, and other a challenge to the mayor of Horsham from his on the 12^^ he was back at DImboola to carry out seven Hamilton counterpart to see which town would reach the more. Peace Loan quota first. Flights were advertised at £6, but got few takers. Aeroflights dropped their prices to £3 and On the 13^^ he was at Natimuk for two more days, and things picked up. on November 15^^ he was back at Mt Talbot to carry three passengers, and carried two from Mt Talbot to Hamilton on Flights continued all the week, and on the Saturday the the 17^*^, where Aeroflights intended to stay for a week. plane went to ‘Mt Talbot’ for three days, being the However Brearley’s log book shows him in Casterton residence of the Officer clan. Twenty-two passengers were again on the 20^'' for more flying. They stayed until the taken up at this location. It returned on the Tuesday and 26^^ but on November 25^*" he and Jones motored to flying continued at Horsham until the 4th of October when Mount Gambier to select a field, choosing Mr. Purvis’ Brearley took five up at Kewell. On the 6th the plane went paddock at Mt. Gambier West, 1V2 miles from town. to Natimuk where Brearley had six passengers shortly after arrival. Flying continued in the area until the plane On November 27^^ they flew to Mount Gambier. The was flying from Dimboola to Nhill, the next planned plane arrived at 5:30 on Thursday afternoon, and stooged stopover. around for half an hour distributing handbills advertising the Mt Gambier Co-operative Society, which were carried Jones was carrying a passenger from one town to the over the town and for miles beyond it. When it landed the other at 1,500ft when the crankshaft broke. Jones picked a Mayor was the first to take a flip for half an hour. field half a mile away and landed. Not until the passenger was told that this was the end of his trip did he realise that Friday 28th saw strong southerly winds, but flying anything was amiss. continued. One passenger was Mr Blakely, local manager of the Gambier Produce Company who threw out his It would seem, on the face of it, that the machine business circulars at 3,000ft. It is in the local paper that we remained in Dimboola for a month, or somebody else was learn that Aeroflights were planning a service between flying, as Brearley's log book resumes at Dimboola on Melbourne and , using ‘Handley-Page 25 to 30 November 3rd and 4th. (Dimboola Historical Society seaters’ which they were having constructed. They hoped reports that no mention of the aircraft or airmen appears in to have the service ready by July next. Flying continued at the Dimboola Banner for all this period).

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parts, but the team took the opportunity to give the machine a thorough overhaul and replaced a cylinder of the air cooled RAF engine.

Flights were resumed on December 13th and 14th.

On the 16th Brearley had four J passengers at Penola, with three more ■ the next day. On the 18th, three at H Narracoorte. On the 20th and 21st he H was again flying at Casterton with one H each day. On December the 22nd he H flew the plane from Casterton to H Warrnambool, landing at their chosen B site. Jetty Flat. At about this time a H troupe of performers called the H Gallipoli Strollers were going the rounds, and Brearley distributed The DH-6 at Mt. Gambler. advertising leaflets on their behalf on his way over the town. Four passenger Mount Gambler until December 4th. On Friday 5th fights were undertaken, but at the Brearley flew the plane to Millicent, having as passenger beginning of the fifth an engine irregularity after take-off Mr Blakely, who at 5,000ft over the town, threw out more necessitated a precautionary landing. Rectification took up of his handbills. A paddock behind a Mrs Kealey's the remaining daylight. At the concert hall the next night residence was used for landing, and the fare was again £3 one of the leaflets was presented and the bearer was for 15 mins. They remained in Millicent until the 8th, when admitted to the Strollers performance free. More flights the plane returned with Blakely again as passenger. The were undertaken on the afternoon of the 23rd and 24th. plane remained idle at Mt Gambler until the arrival of Two passengers were carried by Brearley on Christmas

Above; Aeroflights second DH-6, first plane to land at Portland. Photo: Authors Collection

Left; R. W. McKenzie and S. G. Brearley at Portland 1920 with the second ‘plane. Photo: Authors Collection AHSA Aviation Heritage

Day, and another pilot taking three more. Five more went He remained there until the 29th when he flew to up on the 26th. Saturday was unsuitable for flying, but Cunninghame, now Lakes Entrance, remaining there for a eight took flight on Sunday. week, taking few passengers. Newspaper reports for this area do not make much mention of the others, until later. The number of flights must have dropped off a bit, as On April 7th Brearley flew from Cunninghame back to the Company advertised in the local paper that passenger Bairnsdale, and on the 9th he was in Yarram. He stayed flights would be available for the next few days. Another there until the 14th,where thirty people were taken for ad on January 9th stated that flights would be resumed on flights. McKenzie was still with him, but there was no that date. Flying continued at Warrnambool until the 18th. reference to Jones after the visit to Glenhuntly. The following day Brearley flew to Peterborough. He had On the 16th of April the plane was at Leongatha where twenty passengers over the next four days, and on the it remained over the weekend, Brearley and McKenzie 21st he arrived in Warrnambool again with a Miss Whyte spending time in Melbourne as the weather on Saturday as passenger who took a joy-ride from P'borough to was boisterous and squally. Locals inspected the plane on W'bool to buy a few souvenirs to show friends that she the Sunday. The local paper reported; "The object of the had indeed flown from town to town. She was holidaying in visit is to complete an aerial map of Victoria, showing P'borough, and arrived in Warrnambool at 11:00, returning landing places at all the chief towns. Excellent shots were to Peterborough in time for lunch. taken of Sale, Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance before the flight to Yarram was undertaken. A bird's eye view of Brearley was back at Warrnambool on the 24th. Leongatha is also to be taken before leaving for However there is nothing in Brearley's log book from the Korumburra". Neither Brearley's log book nor Korumburra 24th of January 1920 until February 11th. It is probable newspapers make mention of any such visit. On May 4th that the old plane was swapped for a new one about this 1920 Brearley took three passengers for local flights time, borne out by the increasing engine trouble, and the before leaving Leongatha for Glenhuntly. fact that they started out in a flying billboard, and on arrival in Portland on Feb 11^*^, th plane was in standard RFC His final log book entry for Aeroflights reads; “Machine colours, but minus serial numbers. sold. 17 th May. Company disbanded. Total passengers 351. Total time 88 hours, 52 minutes.” One of the Photographs as late as December 1919 at Mount Aeroflights DH-6’s went to Henry Morris of Mordialloc^ Gambler of the aircraft they were using show the loyality The other went to W.H. Treloar. McKenzie was next Menswear, Glaxo and Nugget ads, with Old Gold on the heard of doing Peace Loan Flights. Jones was later tail-feathers. No photos of the Warrnambool flights have Deputy Controller of Civil Aviation. Brearley was in the come to light. Aeroflights had eighteen days unexplained RAAF from September 1921 to February 1924. In March in which they could have swapped aircraft. of that year he joined his brother Norman in WA for ten years. He then ran a Stock & Share business in Perth until Arrival at Portland had been expected a week earlier, he died in May 1986. but whether the delay was caused by swapping planes, or the crew just waiting until the Portland Agricultural and Compiled from Brearley’s log book, newspaper reports, Horticultural show began on Wednesday the lOth is and the assistance of the Historical Societies from debatable. Nonetheless, they arrived with RFC roundels, Millicent to Orbost. Should Jones and McKenzie’s books and Aeroflights Co. painted straight onto the military finish. from the period overturn up, a more comprehensive account might be prepared. NFH Aeroflights remained in Portland until the 18th when Brearley flew it back to Warrnambool. Next day it was back to Peterborough for a few days, and back to Warrnambool on the 25th. Brearley's next entry is for Feb 29th 1920, when he was In Glenhuntly. March 5th saw Brearley fly from Glenhuntly to Warragul for three days. Rain and heavy squalls Interfered with flying, however there was a little done. Two days in a row saw Mr and Mrs Gargan taking first one son and then the other for a flight, and one farmer hitched a ride back to his farm .The visit coincided neatly with the Warragul Show.

Brearley flew to Sale the next day, arriving shortly after Roy King in the 57 minute flight in the Sopwith Gnu. With King was the local garage proprietor, J G Hopkins, who organised the whole thing. Good weather prevailed and many flights were taken. Hopkins stated that he had purchased a Sopwith machine that he proposed to use In conjunction with his motor garage. Brearley took off for Traralgon on the 11th, and stayed for a few days. His next log book entry is for the 16th at Morwell. On the 18th he flew a circuit, Morwell-Traralgon-Cowwar (Near Heyfleld) and was still a Cowwar on the 19th. From 20th to the 22nd of March Brearley was flying at Maffra in syndicate with the Gnu. Takings on one day totalled £110. On the 23rd Brearley flew a Miss Mills from Maffra to Bairnsdale at a rate of £10/10/0. He operated from Bairnsdale for two days, and after taking seven passengers, flew solo to ^ "Sea, Land & Air' -Aug 1920 Orbost, and flights were advertised locally at £3/0/0.

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Talkback. letters to the editor from JOHN HOPTON in re “A Brief History of Queensland Airlines Pty Ltd” by John Wilson (A.H.S.A. ^^Journar - vol. 30, no. 1)

1 para. 2 (page 18) concerning John Ronald Shafto Adair (Biographical Note) born 22 May 93 at Maryborough, Qld/* - died 27 Jun 60 at Ascot, Qld.^ Whilst it is true that Adair ''enlisted in the A.I.F." as stated, it would appear from records available that his enlistment was directly into the Australian Military Forces in Australia, but transferring to the of the A.I.F. (rather than the transfer as indicated from the P.B.I.) on 16 Feb 16.^ Adair wrote to the Department of Defence in Melbourne making an "application for particulars re joining Aviation Corps” in June, 1915.^ This enquiry was answered on 07 Jul 15, presumably in a negative form. Unperturbed, Adair again wrote to the Department in (?) August, for "an application for an appointment in the Aviation Corps”, this letter being received at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne on 04 Sep 15.^ and replied to on the 27th. It is clear that his enthusiasm had not at all been dampened, for Adair wrote yet again in September®, enquiring with a "Further application for entry to Aviation Corps” This enquiry was answered on the 14th, preceeding the answer to his second letter - It is assumed he was sent an application form which he returned and was then accepted; he reported shortly afterwards to the Central Flying School at Point Cook, Vic.

Adair - along with many others at the time - was selected to be sent to Egypt as part of the newly-formed 1st Squadron. With the rank of Private, he was attached to the Squadron’s Plead Quarters Flight, allotted the Regimental Number 134, and embarked on the troop-ship Orsova on 16 Mar 16^ the vessel departing from Port Melbourne on that date.®

para. 4 (page 18) Adair [cont.l : Adair returned with the rank of , his address being c/- Mr. J.H.Adair, Fort-street, Maryborough, Qld.® He had seen active service and later became the O.C. of B Flight, No. 1 Squadron.^®

2 paras. 4 & 5 (page 18) - Adair’s flying activities : Adair did acquire a 504K aircraft, but exactly which machine it was Is yet to be determined, as is the exact date he did acquire it, and from whom. The author has confused the issue slightly (para. 4) with his reference to Adair’s Sydney- flight; this took place on 13 Aug 20, when Adair - accompanied by his mechanic W.J.Tagg - made the flight from (?) Mascot to Albion Flats in 5.13 hrs. However, it was not the first aircraft to fly over that route - that flight had been made on 10 Jul 20 by Jack Butler and mechanic R.Bush in one of the Perdriau Rubber Companys’ B.E.2e machines (possibly C6986).^^

As described, Adair continued his operations all over Queensland in the 504K. These actvities came to an untimely end on 24 Apr 21, when the 504K was being landed at Anzac Park, Maryborough whilst en route KIngaroy, It "came down nose first and turned over, being completely wrecked. Adair and Tagg escaped with a severe shaking.”^^ Adair then commenced a long and slow rebuild of this machine, which was never registered in his name. This brings up the question of just what was Adair doing in the period from the time of the crash of his 504K until Dec 26, when Courier Aircrafts Pty., Ltd. was formed. If, as the author states, "mercy and charter flights continued until 1926” - what aircraft were used and for whom did he fly?

3 para. 6 (page 18) - line 14 - name A.Lanchland : ? = should this read A.Lai^hland

4 para. 8 (page 18) - line 1 - Company title : ? = should this read Aircrafts Pty. Ltd

5 para. 7 (page 19) - last three lines - Waco 1QT to New Guinea : ? = if the aircraft "arrived in New Guinea in December, how could they have "immediately put it to good use .... in the following June”

6 para. 5 (page 21) - lines 1 & 2 - Eagle VH-UTG : this aircraft is correctly designated as a British Aircraft [B.A.] Eagle II - it is not a British Klemm BK.1 Eagle II, which mark number did not apply to B.K.-built aircraft.

1 '"Australian Dictionary of Biography" - vol. 13, pages 7-8 2 Ibid, and Brisbane "Tele2raph" - issue of Monday, 27 Jun 60 3 ibid. 4 CRS AA Vic. : accession B536 (Department of Defence Registration Booklets for correspondence files July 1913 - July 1917) - file A38/2/- : entry number A38.2.269 (filed 29 Jim 15) 5 CRS AA Vic. : accession B536 (Department of Defence Registration Booklets for correspondence files July 1913 - July 1917) - file A38/8/- : entry number A38.8.155 (filed 04 Sep 15) 6 CRS AA Vic. : accession B536 (Department of Defence Registration Booklets for correspondence files July 1913 - July 1917) - file A38/2/- : entry number A38.2.328 (filed 17 Sep 15) 7 CRS AA Vic. : accession MT1384, srs. 3 (Australian Imperial Force - Base Records Office - Unit Nominal Rolls : 1915 - 1919) - item 221 8 CRS AA Vic. ; accession MP. 169 - item 5 "Department of Defence - Index to Units of the Australian Imperial Force 1914-1918" 9 Allen Collection ; "Return to Australian Aero Club showing names and addresses of Officers of Flying Corps - Officers returned to Australia to 14 6.19" (List created by Maj. Lean, O.C. Base Records, D.o.D., Melbourne at behest of E.J.Hart, Editor, “Aircraft” magazine) 10 Q.E.A. "Empire Airways" - vol. 7, issue no. 2 of Feb 41, page 2. 11 "Aircraft" magazine : issue of 31 May 27, page 90 12 Melbourne‘MrgwV’ ; issue of Monday, 25 Apr 21, page 6

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John George Morton I by Greg Banfield I John George Morton enlisted in the RAAF as a Stores Clerk at No.2 Aircraft I passed away suddenly at Depot at Richmond. The primary purpose of this move I Bellingen Hospital, NSW, was to gain an Airman Pilot Course. For the previous I on 29th May 1997. John decade, growth of the RAAF was extremely slow but now it I was born on 23rd July was about to expand. John was amazed to find that there I 1910 at the Sydney was not a draughtsman at Richmond and there were no I suburb of Kogarah, to an plans whatsoever of the Station layout. Somehow, he was I Irish mother and a called upon to draw several plans as, although not a I Scottish father. He draughtsman, he had always been interested in geometry completed his secondary and trigonometry and was then doing a correspondence education at Marist course on Aeronautical Engineering and Aeroplane Brothers High School at Design, and could draw lines and make them meet. This fe. Darlinghurst from 1923 to led later that year to his being the only lowly Aircraftsman 1925 before joining the in the Operations Room of a major military exercise, for New South Wales State Public Service in 1926. He joined plotting duties. He flew only a few hours In 1936. the Traffic Branch of the Police Department in Kent Street, Sydney, as a clerk, and later moved to the Motor In mid-April 1937, now a Leading Aircraftsman, John Registration Branch in Phillip Street, Sydney, and at had a lot to do with the general organisation and Manly. In 1934 he completed the first year of a Public administration of the first Inter-Service Sports Meeting, Administration Course at night at Sydney University. This and coached the RAAF team to victory in athletics, course increased his knowledge of accountancy but personally winning both the 880 yards and mile teams' cemented a strong conviction that life in an office was not run. He became well known on the Station and was told for him and led to his resignation from the Public Service on good authority that he was "a moral" to obtain his at the end of that year. desired Airman Pilot Course. However, in early May, no doubt because of the 1936 recruitment of hundreds of During this period, John had played junior grades with fellows in their early twenties and younger. Air Board in the Police Rugby Union teams. This led to a career in their wisdom reduced the upper entry age for Airman amateur athletics, middle and long-distance running. He Pilots from 28 to 25. So it was that John Morton returned also worked as an athletics coach, including coaching that to Kingsford Smith Air Services at Mascot on 7th May, and well-known Rugby Union-playing school, St. Joseph's practically every day for the rest of that month, on annual College at Hunters Hill, which, for the first time. In 1935 leave. Thereafter he spent almost every weekend at won the G.P.S. Athletics competition. Mascot for regular flying training.

John Morton started flying training on 15th March 1935 In early October 1937, when returning to Richmond at Kingsford Smith Air Services at Mascot, with Tommy one Sunday evening, the Duty Guards at the gate saluted Pethybridge as his instructor. John was sent solo after 5 John, a humble Corporal Clerk Stores. On questioning hours 30 minutes' instruction and was issued his Private this, he was told that he would find out in the morning. "A" Licence (Number 1495) on 8th May with a total of 8 This he did, but the C.O. of No.2 A.D., Wing Commander hours dual and 3 hours 25 minutes solo flying. "Bob" Christie, D.S.O. (World War I), was not at all Pethybridge was apparently the only civil pilot in New pleased when John informed him that he did not want to South Wales with a treasured copy of the RAF Gosport accept the Short Service Commission in the Equipment "Patter", old and ...... tattered, which he eventually let John Morton re-type for him. John also recalled, "Pre-solo, Jack Chapman flew me on three short sessions, one of which mainly consisted of a demonstration of low-level control, said Instructor endeavouring, eventually successfully, to make the driver of a tractor mowing grass on the aerodrome, stop, get \ off and take cover behind his tractor." John G. Morton (centre) with the DH80 Puss Moth of the Kingsford Smith Fiying On the 13th School, Mascot, NSW, C.1935. February 1936, John

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1939, he coached (unofficially) junior RAAF Pilot Officers in navigation, the tuition being done at night in a Flight Office in the No.9 Squadron hangar. Navigators for No.9 Squadron were supplied by the and official records show that at the outbreak of World War II, there were only ten pilots in the RAAF who were entitled to "N." (Specialist Navigation Course) after their name.

During this period at Richmond, John Morton had many flights with RAAF pilots of all ranks up to Squadron Leader, sometimes as a passenger but mostly being given dual instruction. These flights were on Gipsy Moths, Hawker Demons and Seagull V amphibians. Once, on 11th January 1938, he flew on an Avro Anson of No.6 Squadron, acting as navigator on a night flight, one year before that Squadron was officially formed.

He left Richmond at the end of December 1939 and on 8th January 1940 began No.2 Instructors' Course at the Central Flying School at Point Cook, on a Short Service Commission in the General Duties Branch of the Permanent Air Force. From there, he was posted on 11th March to No.1 Elementary Flying Training School at Parafield, SA, as a flying instructor and navigation instructor. Next he was posted to No.9 EFTS at Cunderdin, WA, and to No.11 EFTS at Benalla, Vic.

On 12th July 1942, he moved to No.1 Service Flying Training School at Point Cook, where his duties were flying training in general and conducting progress and final tests. In 2/4 years of instructing, John trained 41 pupils throughout their EFTS course and had a total of 245, excluding navigation pupils, pass through his hands for various tests (solo, scrub, progress, cross-country, etc). One of his pupils at Cunderdin was a lad named Anderson / (later Sir Donald, the Director-General of DCA), whom he / gave an hour's dual instruction and sent solo. He was one of several such trainees with whom John took a hand, as he didn't take kindly to the few instructors who wanted to scrub early on the worst of the three pupils they started with on each Empire Air Training Scheme elementary Capt. John Morton (left) on the steps of a Super course. Constellation with David C. Hutchinson-Smith. accept the Short Service Commission in the Equipment In September 1942 John completed No.29A Branch that he had kindly arranged. The fact that he Navigation Reconnaissance Course at Cressy, Vic, and could still fly as a Stores and Accounting Officer, which the following month was posted to No.4 Beaufort Christie firmly emphasised, did not measure up against Operational Training Course at Bairnsdale. John's ambition to be a civil airline pilot in a year or two. Christie solved the problem by giving the Commission to a He was posted to No. 14 Navigation/Reconnaissance contemporary, a Corporal Clerk General, with almost the Squadron at Pearce, WA, in July 1943 as Commanding same name as John's, and Jack Martin finished the war as Officer (temporary), and in March 1944 to No.6 a Wing Commander in the Equipment Branch. A transfer Reconnaissance/Bomber Squadron in the Pacific area, was organised for John to No.9 (Fleet Co-operation) again as Commanding Officer (temporary). On 11th Squadron. John was already very familiar with No.9 September 1944 he was posted to No.36 Squadron at Squadron, as part of his Clerk Stores duties was to check Townsville, Old, which was commanded by Wing the inventory of every new Supermarine Seagull V Commander Harry Purvis. Here he had just time enough amphibian (known as the Walrus in the RAF) they were to check out and fly in command of C-47A Dakotas before receiving through No.2 A.D. being released from the RAAF to join Qantas Empire Airways on 20th October. John finished the war as a During 1938 he gained more flying experience, Squadron Leader holding the DFC, and now doing just including a Mascot to Essendon trip in the Gipsy Moth VH- what he wanted to do way back in 1937: fly for a civil UAH and later another return trip to Essendon in the Puss airline. Moth VH-UPO. Finally, he was issued Commercial ("B") Pilot Licence No.737 on 28th March 1939, with a total of John flew his first trip in command with Qantas, based 36 hours' dual and 110 hours' solo flying to his credit. At at Archerfield, Qld, on 14th December 1944. With the end the back of his first log book is a meticulously-kept record of the war in sight, Qantas flew during this transition period of total expenses to his "B" Licence - the sum of £250-18- under the control of the USAAF's 322nd Troop Carrier 1. Wing, with the First Officer and Radio Officer both being serving members of the RAAF, especially on flights to While Sergeant Clerk Stores for No.9 Squadron in Papua and New Guinea. Sometimes on flights going only

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as far as Darwin, the crew were all Qantas personnel. The 14,000 hours with the airline. Douglas DC-3 types he flew were lend-lease C-53s. 1945 saw him issued with Second Class Flight Navigator John was then appointed as Qantas' Darwin Manager, Licence No.213 on 1st March, and the beginning of a position he held for five years. While in Darwin he Qantas' "Bird of Paradise Service" from Sydney to New gained a Senior Commercial Pilot Licence, which he held Guinea on 1st April. John was one of four Captains until he ceased logging his flying on 20th August 1967, selected for the "Bird of Paradise Service", the others with a total of 16,500 hours. During this time he was being Harry Deignan, Brian Carpenter and Doug President of the Darwin Aero Club and flew many light Elphinstone, and the aircraft used were C-47As VH-AFA aircraft types, including a Beech Debonair which he flew to and VH-AEY. As John was the only Captain to hold both a many outlying parts of the Northern Territory and into Second Class Flight Navigator Licence and a Third Class Western Australia. In 1968 he became Relieving Radio/Telephony Licence, he was made responsible for Manager, Overseas, for Qantas. This position took him to training all new First Officers. These additional, and later many parts of the world, some 110 cities and towns in 45 continuous, training and administrative duties prevented different countries, some of which he had never been to him from obtaining a First Class Flight Navigator Licence, before, to his lasting regret. John retired from Qantas on 30th June 1971, but two In 1947 John moved on to the Avro Lancastrian, years later decided to go back to work, this time as Office gaining his command on the type on 4th November. A Manager for a mining company with its headquarters at short time later, on 16th December, he commanded Crows Nest in Sydney, within walking distance of his home Qantas' first Lancastrian Courier Service to Japan for the at Cremorne. The Managing Director was both a mining RAAF. On 22nd June the following year, he was engineer and a geologist, and was an ex-RAAF Beaufort appointed a Check Captain for the Lancastrian, being pilot, although much younger than John. He suggested responsible for virtually all training and type conversions, that they should try gliding, so they went down to He commanded the first Qantas aircraft (a Lancastrian) to Narromine together on a couple of occasions. John went fly Into Tokyo, on 15th October, and on 1st November was solo on gliders on 19th October 1978, at the age of 68. appointed Flight Captain Lancastrians. After seven years with the mining company, John retired for the second time on 31 st July 1980. On 1st October 1949, John converted on to the DC-4 Skymaster, and on 29th October was appointed a Check A little over a year later, John moved to Dorrigo, NSW, Captain on the type. He commanded the first Qantas DC-4 to operate into Tokyo on 28th November. John was next appointed type instructor on the Skymasters on 9th June 1950, carrying out most of the training and conversions. On 18th July he was appointed Assistant Flight Captain Skymasters, while in October he was directed to continue to supervise Lancastrian operations and training as well. Thus he commanded the first Lancastrian service into the Cocos Islands on 1st February 1952, and commanded the first Skymaster service to Cocos on 19th march 1952. On 16th July that year he was appointed Flight Captain Skymasters, New Guinea and John G. Morton, D.F.C., (centre)at a ceremony, 3 November 1982, at No. 6 New Zealand Services, and through Squadron RAAF Amberley, for the presentation of the ensign taken by the 1953 compiled and wrote the Skymasters' Operations Manual, which squadron on active service in the South-West Pacific in 1942. was accepted by DCA. where he started playing bowls. It wasn't long before he became caught up in administration, firstly as President of John converted on to the Lockheed L.749 the Bellingen Bowling Club for a year, and then as Constellation in 1954, gaining his command on the type Treasurer for a similar period. At the same time, he on 1st July. His command on the L.1049 Super became Secretary/Treasurer of the Bellingen District 60 & Constellation came on 7th February 1955, on a delivery Over Club for a period of eight years, and then President flight. He was appointed a Check Captain on the L.1049 for two years. Thereafter he restricted his activities in this on 1st June 1955, assisting in command training. On 14th area to being Honorary Auditor and a Vice-President of March 1960 he was appointed Flight Captain Super the North Coast Branch of the Bowls Past Presidents' Constellations, and held this position until 1st March 1963, Association of NSW, Inc. when the last of the type was phased out. For most of the last two years of Super Constellation operations, he was Another of John's abiding interests was The Early responsible for the route qualifications of Captains into Birds Association of Australia, of which he was a many European airports not on the regular Qantas routes Foundation Member. Over the years he served on its but from which migrants were uplifted on charters for the Committee and held the positions of President and Australian Government. His last flight in command with Honorary Auditor. He was made a Life Member in 1986 in Qantas was from Karachi to Calcutta and Singapore on recognition of his extensive and meticulous work for the 20th February 1963, by which time he had flown just on organisation.

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FINAL REPORT

PROM: NO. 1 AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE UNIT, R.A.A.P • » LA7ERT0N.

TO : HEADQUARTERS, NO. k (MAINTENANCE),GROUP, "BROMLWY”, 38 IR’'/ING ROAD, TOORAK. DATE: J!j;n944

REF : F/2/2 (23A)

CONFIRMATORY MEMORANDUM - VEHGEANCB 1127-92. A27-49.

1. Forwarded herewith confirmatory memorandum with respect to aircraft accident Involving the above aircraft at WHITTLESEA at 1145 hours 25th MAY, 1944.

2. The aircraft, whilst flying in formation, crashed into MOUNT DISAPPOINTICSNT ^diich resulted in the aircraft becoming a total loss and the death of the following personnel.

P/0. K.A. WOOD (419363) P/0. R.L. ERSKHJE (419119) No. 426002 F/Sgt. HALL, R.J. No. 41360 Sgt. 7?EST, P. No. 51407 Cpl. FALAHEY, W-J,

A Court of Inquiry has been formed on instruction of the Air Officer Commanding No. 4 (Maintenance) Gi*oup.

2. The aircraft were engaged on feriy duties to Aircraft Performance Unit Detachment, BOWEN, A27-49 was piloted by P/0. R.L. ERSKIHE nhose total flying hours at the time of the casualty was approximately 323 hotirs. His assessment as a pilot was as follov/s:-

a) Service Flying School - Average. b) Operational Training School - Average. c) Present Assessment - Average.

A27-92 was piloted by P/Sgt. HALL, R.J. whose assessment was as follows:-

a) Service Plying School - Average. b) Operational Training School - Average. cj Present Assessment - Average.

3. Deceased personnel v/ere burled at War Graves Coz^mlssion Cemetery, SPRINGVALE, on 29th MAY, 1944- C2. (D.R, CUMING) SQUADRON LEADJiIi, T/COMMANDINO NO. 1 AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE UNIT, R.A.A.P. STATION. LAVER TON.

58 AHSA Aviation Heritage

THE HEFFERNAN ARTICLES - 8 No. 4 Service Flying School BY THE LATE AIR COMMODORE P.G.HEFFERNAN, O.B.E., A.F.C. In January 1941 I was in Singapore, commanding No. ing authority gives the number of the plane to be trans­ 8 Squadron, R.A.A.F., when I received a signal posting me ferred; but in this case units holding Anson aircraft were to command No. 4 Service Flying Training School at Ger­ just told to transfer so many of them to Geraldton. These aldton in Western Australia. In due course I handed over units did just what any other unit would do they picked the No. 8 to Frank Wright and returned to Australia by oldest wrecks that they had and sent them off to us. At this Q.A.N.T.A.S, flying boat captained by Aub Koch. We time, March 1941 Australia was still dependent on the landed at Rose Bay and, after a brief reunion with my wife supply of Ansons from England, and whereas the R.A.A.F. and baby daughter, I proceeded to Melbourne by train for had plenty of aircraft, spare parts were just not available. a briefing by the Director of Training, Group Captain (later Local supply was in an infant state and only a trickle of bits Air Marshal Sir George) Jones. He explained that No. 4 and pieces was coming forward. Airframe spares were S.F.T.S. would be officially formed on 1st March 1941, that fairly easy to make, as the Anson was constructed with a instructors and ground staff were already on their way, and tubular metal fuselage covered with fabric, and the wing that the first intake from the Elementary Flying Training and control surfaces were three-ply covered with fabric, School at Cunderdin would arrive on the lOth. but engine spares were the big problem.

This would be No. 8 Empire Air Training Scheme Flying started on 11th March. The day before I pa­ course. He then gave me along talk on the problems of raded all the instructors and we had a “father-to-son" talk flying accidents and asked me to take any measures to on flying accidents. Whether it was the talk or the high keep the accident rate down. I spent a couple of days get­ standard of the instructors that did it. I’ll never know, but in ting all information I could about the new school and was the year that I commanded the school only one flying ac­ then joined by my wife, and we set off by train for the cident was caused by an instructor. West. Following that parade I did the same with the pupils On arrival in Perth I was further briefed by Western and told them quite plainly what would happen if any of Area and in due course caught the night train for Gerald­ them caused accidents through carelessness or disobedi­ ton. To my horror 1 found on the train, the instructors and ence of orders. It has been proven over the years that, the pupils of No. 8 Course. In fact, the whole train was provided the pilot observed his flying orders, there was made up of staff for the school. When we reached Ger­ very small chance of his coming to grief. 1 explained that aldton, my wife and I took up quarters in an hotel, and the object of the school was to turn out some fifty pilots after breakfast I went out to the school to take stock of every twenty eight days, and that, in the event of having to what there was. penalise a pupil for disobedience, I did not intend to ground him but would fine him the maximum I could - In common with all the E.A.T.S. schools Geraldton fourteen days pay. I pointed out that the other service fly­ was brand new and, apart from an airfield, was almost ing training schools equipped with Ansons and Oxfords non-existent. A couple of hangars, a workshop, some flight had a very bad name for accidents, and that accidents huts and the duty pilot's tower comprised the technical could mean only two things, first, a loss of valuable pilot buildings. The airmen's mess was complete, while the material, second, loss of scarce and valuable aircraft and officers and sergeants messes ware still under construc­ waste of man hours in repairing them after accidents. tion. By putting about fifty personnel to each sleeping hut Therefore it was not only in their own interest but in the instead of the regulation thirty, we could sleep everybody interest of the country not to damage aircraft. under cover. However it was summer time, and a number of the troops slept in huts without walls in preference to I realised from my own experience in training pilots that being crowded. we would be very lucky if we had no accidents, but I had hopes that my talk might cut out the needless accidents I was lucky in the staff who had preceded me to the caused by carelessness and disobedience of orders. And unit. The administration officer, Squadron Leader Jim Dar­ so we became airborne. Some three days later we got our ling, was an old infanteer from1914-18, and the adjutant. first accident. An Anson was seen to start its take-off and, Kevin Carr, ex-Royal Naval Air Service. after running about 150 yards, "ground looped" and pulled These two had performed wonders with the limited facili­ off the undercart. Cooper and I went straight to the crash ties. In between the wars Kevin had been a farmer at Min- and pro- ceeded to "interrogate" the pupil while he was genew, some twenty miles south of Geraldton, and so still conscious of what he had done. Incidentally, he wasn't knew all the locals, and this knowledge was most useful in hurt, so we could not be accused of using Gestapo meth­ getting things done. I was also fortunate in having a big ods. percentage of permanent personnel among the ground staff. The instructors were led by Squadron Leader Eric When flying multi-engined aircraft, such as the Anson, Cooper, who had been serving in the Citizen Air Force at two of the rules that must be observed are: (a) tighten the Richmond (N.S.W.) when war broke out; he was joined lock nut to stop the throttles from slipping to the shut posi­ later by Squadron Leader "Jock" Wittschiebe, who had tion; (b) keep the right hand on the throttles. Cooper joined the R.A.A.F. in 1936. About half of the instructors checked and sure enough the lock nut was loose. So had had some pre-war R.A.A.F. experience, and the other the question was put. half were aero-club trained pilots who had been given "Why did you not tighten the lock nut?" refresher flying and then an instructor's course. Answer - "Forgot". “Did you take your right hand off the throttles?" The aircraft presented a different problem. Usually, "Yes". when an aircraft is transferred to another unit, the allocat- As the pupil could give no explanation for his lapse.

59 AHSA Aviation Heritage he was charged under the appropriate regulation with "One what" replied darling'. negligently damaging H.M. aircraft. He pleaded guilty and "The number of a plane". war fined fourteen days pay. "To whom do you wish to speak?" said 'darling'. "To Group Captain Heffernan. Isn't that you, darling?" That evening I paraded the members of the course in a "No", replied 'darling', "it's the adjutant!" lecture room and discussed the crash with them, after having the offending pupil state what he did. The whole Naturally, he spread the story and thereafter my wife discussion was conducted in as informal a manner as was known as "Mata Hah". The said adjutant happened to possible, and eventually the course agreed that the of- be a personal friend of ours, and my wife threatened to fender was a "clot" and told him so. This had been a shoot him on sight, and she told me that henceforth I simple type of accident, but it was found that these infer- could find my own b air force and she would mind the mal discussions, held as soon as possible after the acci- baby, dent, were of the utmost value. The offending pupil always sat on the dais with the chief flying instructor or myself and For the first graduation parade, two months after we gave his version of what happened. The other pupils then started flying, we arranged for a gentleman of politics to cross-examined him, and the C.F.I. or my­ self gave a summing-up at the end. If the offender happened to be an instructor, which luckily (as mentioned above) hap­ pened only once during my regime the same procedure was adopted, but then only instructors were present. However, the summary of the accident was made known to all the pupils.

The moral effect of having his mates telling him what a "clot" he was, and never knowing when they might themselves be the "victim", must have had some effect, because we had the lowest crash-rate of all the Anson and Oxford schools. In the twelve months I had the Geraldton school, our worst month was one accident In 1060 hours and the best one in 2,739 hours, with an overall average for the year of one in 1469 hours. The year's accident rate for instructors was one in 33,898 hours. In fact, Wings presentation July 1941 the it school went for twenty-two months before a fatality occurred. be the guest of honour. The station was paraded and eve­ rybody put an a first-class show. The drill was excellent At one stage I heard that some low-flying was taking and not a riffle was dropped. After the final general salute I place during the cross-country navigation exercises. So I reported to the Air Officer Commanding, Air Commodore took the school Moth and hew out along the known track "Kanga" de la Rue. who then asked our political friend to of the aircraft. Having chosen a suitable paddock, I landed address the parade. and parked the Moth under a tree, lit a cigarette and waited. Sure enough, along came an Anson at about ten He did so for some twenty minutes and finished his feet above the ground, when it should have been at a address with the words "Men of the A.I.F., I thank you!" I minimum height of 2,000 feet. I took the number, started was watching "Kanga’s face and his naturally florid com­ the Moth and went back to Geraldton. I organised two plexion started to take on a deep purple shade. Thereafter Service police to be on the tarmac when the pupil landed, we conducted our own graduation ceremonies without and as he stepped out of the aircraft the police arrested assistance. him and carted him off in full view of all the other pupils. Within ten minutes of landing he had been charged with Every twenty-eight days a new intake of some sixty low flying and fined fourteen days pay. One might say that pupils arrived from Cunderdin, where they had received to be the chief witness, prosecutor and judge was a bit their elementary training in Tiger Moths. The C.O. of Cun­ illegal, but that was the least of my worries. The object of derdin, Norman Brearley, was an old friend of mine - well all that I did was to save lives and turn out efficient pilots, known in aviation circles in the West as the pioneer of and so far as I was concerned the means justified the end. West Australian Airways - and so we liaised continually. The set-up in Western Australia was very compact: the While on the subject, one humorous Incident, against trainees started at the initial training school in Perth myself, occurred. As mentioned earlier, my wife and I were (Squadron Leader Alan Brown), then went to Cunderdin living in an hotel in Geraldton, and my wife had nothing and later to us at Geraldton. Each month we three C.Os much to do except look after our first-born, then aged got together and discussed the problems of each course, about six months. Some of the pupils had been "beating and so by the time the trainees came to me I had had the up" the town, so I asked my wife to get the number of any benefit of the experience of the other two. plane seen over the town, particularly if it was low down. One day she spotted a plane, took the number and made Generally no real problems arose except in the spare- for the telephone. She asked the switchboard for my ex­ parts supply for the Ansons. As mentioned earlier, we got tension and as soon as a voice answered she said, "I've about the oldest Ansons in Australia, and after about five got one for you, darling!"

60 AHSA Aviation Heritage months the engines started to give continuous trouble. For flew quite a number of the injured to Perth, and then pres- example, one morning we put twenty-four Ansons on the sure of training, as well as the arrival of No. 14 Squadron line and at the end of the first flying period had only seven (Hudsons) from Pearce, allowed us to resume our normal serviceable. Cylinder wear caused by dust was the main activities, trouble, which caused plug fouling and consequent engine failure. Repeated demands for new cylinders and pistons As a precautionary measure, reserve squadrons were had met with "nil" returns or stony silence. So I sent a sig- formed in all twin-engined training units, by change of nal to Western Area Headquarters, and repeated it to Air name only, but, apart from occasional searches to sea. Force Headquarters, that we could not accept the next they were never called for active duty. Aerodrome defence entry of trainees. measures were speeded up and some slit trenches were dug around the drome. We flew a lot with the local C.M.F. Such a decision was like trying to plug a IGinch water assisting them in siting beach defences. Dispersal airfields main with your finger, because once the flow of trainees were located inland, and generally speaking we were as had started it had to be cut off at the source and not along prepared as we could be, considering the shortage of the line. The results were dramatic. Within forty-eight equipment, hours a Dakota arrived with four new Cheetah engines and a second one the next day with a gross of cylinders There was always the problem of aircraft sabotage as and pistons. I could never understand why dramatic steps we had 104 Ansons scattered around the field, so roving had to be taken to get stores that should have been avail- patrols covered the aerodrome by night. A scare occurred able through normal supply channels. Quartermasters one night when an Anson was seen to burst into flames, were always queer people and they apparently thought The fire was put out and the investigation disclosed no that the contents of their stores were their private property, sabotage, but a most peculiar set of circumstances. The aircraft were equipped with a downward signalling light in The flying training pursued its usual hazardous course the belly, and the switch controlling this light could be until the 23rd November, when I had a phone call about used as a Morse key or switched on permanently. An en- midnight from the A.O.C. telling me that H.M.A.S. Sydney thusiastic but misguided airframe mechanic had covered had failed to acknowledge radio calls and that we were to the light on this Anson with a piece of fabric, nicely doped start a search for her in the morning. I called the duty offi- and painted, and on the last flight of the day the pilot, in cer and ordered twelve Ansons to be ready for 6 a.m. getting out of his seat, had accidentally knocked the take-off and crews to be in the briefing room al 5 a.m. I switch to the "permanently on" position. Naturally, quite a was given a rough area where the Sydney was likely to be lot of heat had developed and the fabric had caught fire, found, so parallel track searches were organised to a Luckily the aircraft was near the hangars and the fire crew depth of one hundred miles starting from a point south of were smartly on the job, with no great resultant damage Port Hedland. The first sortie failed to sight anything, but from the fire, about mid-afternoon lifeboats were reported some fifty miles off the coast. The next day the boats were taken in In January 1942 1 was posted from Geraldton to tow by the Centaur (later torpedoed by the Japanese) and brought close to shore at Port Hedland. The locals had prepared a welcome for the ship wrecked mariners, as it was expected they came from the Sydney, but they were sadly disappointed when it was found that they were Germans from the raider Kormoran, which had sunk our ship.

We spent a couple of days flying up and down the coast looking for sur­ vivors, but found no trace of any. I should have mentioned Chat on the second day of the search we were joined by two Catalina flying boats from Port Moresby, and they searched up to 500 miles out to sea, well beyond the depth of the Anson searches. The R.A.A..F. Pearce 1942 only trace of the Sydney was a shrap­ nel riddled Carley float washed up on the beach between command the R.A.A.F. Station at Pearce, near Perth. Carnarvon and Port Hedland; this was spotted by one of Having seen the Geraldton station grow from infancy. It our Ansons and duly collected by a ground party and de­ was a bit of a blow. We had an excellent crowd of instruc­ livered to Geraldton. tors and the enviable reputation of an almos,t accident-free flying record. I suppose we can claim some reflected glory, The dramatic news of the entry of the Japanese into as one of the first public pupils trained there was D. G. the war and the subsequent bombings of Darwin, Wynd- Anderson, later the Director-General of Civil Aviation. It ham, Derby and Port Hedland made us wonder if we were was a happy unit, the weather was beautiful, and the on the waiting list of targets, but, apart from a report that Dongarra crays were 2s. 6d. a dozen! However, all good an aircraft was heard over Geraldton one night, we got no things had to end, and towards the end of January I closer to the war. After the bombing of Port Hedland we headed for Pearce, to be succeeded at Geraldton by Wing Commander Ron Fleming.

61 AHSA Aviation Heritage

9

THE DHA GLIDERS

by Grp Capt Keith Isaacs AFC, RAAF (Retd) The history of airpower in the antipodes began tenta­ Gliders subsequently disappeared from the Australian tively in 1909 with a fragile biplane glider with a box-kite military scene for almost 33 years, except, perhaps, for the tail became the first aerodyne to fly in Australia. On 11 pseudo-glider demonstrations during the three great RAAF September 1909, the Commonwealth Government had displays at RAAF Laverton, Victoria, on 10 November announced a competition for “Flying Machines For Military 1934. Flemington Racecourse, Victoria, on 9 April 1938, Purposes" and one contender for the £5,000 prize was and RAAF Richmond, NSW, on 23 April 1938 Each of the George Augustine Taylor. During September, Taylor pageants featured a popular event showing "a possible opened an aeroplane factory the first in Australia, and, method of rescue of light aircraft after engine failure”. In probably, the first in the southern hemisphere at Redfern, each instance a D.H.60 Gipsy Moth appeared over the a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales There he con­ spectators, simulated an engine failure and made a spot structed a glider based on the box-kite experiments of landing with a "dead stick". Mechanics immediately re­ Lawrence Hargrave, a close friend and mentor for some moved the propeller and attached 300 ft (91,5 m) of tow- years. Thus on 5 December 1909, Taylor became the first line cable, with a special quick-release fitting, to the pro­ man in Australia to fly a heavier-than-air craft when he peller boss. A then towed the Moth to completed a number of fights in his glider from the sand- 3,000 ft (915 m) before casting it off over the landing dunes at Narrabeen Beach, near Sydney. area; in the 1938 displays the "glider" slow-rolled during the climb to height. After release, the Moth dived for Taylor’s historic glider was built under the aegis of the speed, made a perfect loop off the glide, executed a stall army and. on 20 December, he was made an honorary turn or two to dispose of surplus height and concluded by lieutenant in the Australian Intelligence Corps. Early in making another excellent spot landing. The propeller was 1910, Taylor designed a 20 h.p engine which he planned immediately refitted and the aircraft flew off under its own to install in his glider to meet the requirements of the gov­ power. Thus, these RAAF “Moth Gliders" like their insect ernments competition for a powered military aeroplane. namesakes enjoyed but a minuscule life span. The engine was not a success, however, and he aban­ doned the project. Nevertheless, Taylor's glider is re­ Such demonstrations were in keeping with the happy, corded in history as the unpowered precursor of the mili­ carefree days of the inter-war air displays, but all-too- tary aeroplane in Australia soon these gave way to the grim reality of global conflict and, early in 1942, Japanese forces were poised around

62 4HS4 Aviation Heritage northern Australia where an invasion appeared imminent. down. It is interesting to note that the RAAF referred to One immediate problem facing Australia was the inability both aircraft as Experimental Glider 1 types, whereas DMA to transport, rapidly, large numbers of troops and equip­ identified them as Experimental Glider-1 and Experimental ment across the vast inland areas of the continent to the Glider-2. northern defence perimeters. Existing road and rail facili­ ties were inadequate and the RAAF transport aircraft ele­ EG-1 and EG-2 were built entirely with Australian ma­ ment was practically non-existent. In fact, a small number terials in accordance with the specification. Each glider of civilian , including flying boats, was a high wing cantilever monoplane with a thick ply­ Douglas DC3s and de Havilland DH.86s and D.H.89s, had wood covered monospar wing of 59 ft (17.9 m) span. The been chartered and impressed to augment the RAAF's wing section at the root of the mainplane was NACA sole transport aircraft type, the Wackett-designed Tugan 23015 and changed to NACA 4415 near the wing tips. The Gannet. In addition, a varied collection of privately owned ailerons were of a simple unbalanced type and spoilers Percival, Fairchild, Miles, Stinson, . Cessna, de were located on the upper surface of each wing near the Flavilland and Lockheed light aircraft was taken over for maximum thickness. The box-section fuselage was ply­ communications duties. At the time, the demand for trans­ wood covered and was built up on four longerons. Seats port aircraft was at a premium throughout the world and were provided for a pilot, and six passengers in three the possibility of Australia obtaining such machines in a pairs. Access doors were positioned on each side of the hurry was extremely remote. From this desperate situa­ fuselage and a luggage locker was situated at the back of tion, therefore, a need arose for production of a transport the rear seat. The windscreen and window frames of the aerodyne - which could be constructed quickly and easily DFIA utility version of the Dragon radio and navigation for use in conjunction with the existing transport force. trainer - equivalent to the British Dragon Mk 1 were incor­ One answer to the problem appeared to be the military porated in the glider design, but the rest of the nose sec­ glider. tion was an original pattern. The tail unit was of simple construction with unbalanced elevator, "cheese-cutter” The experimental gliders longitudinal trim, and a horn balanced rudder with a fixed On 24 March 1942, the Aircraft Advisory Committee metal trimming tab. The control surfaces were fabric cov­ which had been set up by the War Cabinet in 1941 to ad­ ered. The undercarriage consisted of a single wheel ap­ vise the Director-General of the Department of Aircraft proximately beneath the aircraft's centre of gravity and Production received a communication from the Director- braced to the mainplane spar on a tubular steel frame. General of Supply and Production, Department of Air, The nose skid was sprung by rubber buffers and the tail stating that an immediate requirement existed for 126 skid was of laminated ash with a metal shoe sprung by gliders. Accompanying the communication was an RAAF coiled elastic bands. specification for an experimental seven-seat prototype glider, which was submitted to the Commonwealth Aircraft The pilot's controls consisted of a conventional column Corporation and to de Flavilland Aircraft Pty Ltd (nominally and rudder pedals, “cheese-cutter” tail trim, spoiler control known as de Flavilland Australia or simply DFIA). L. J. lever and brake lever. The.flying instruments comprised an Wackett, as Chief Technical Adviser to the committee, ASI, altimeter, fore and aft level and cross level. The glider considered that the project could be handled by DFIA, and was towed from two points under the main spar and the committee member Major A. Murray Jones, General Man­ towline about 200 ft (61 m) of 2V2 in (6.4 m) Manila rope ager of DH, concurred with Wacketfs suggestion. had a 28 ft (8,5 m) bridle at the end maximum tow speed was 130 mph (209 km/h) which brought the gliders into the The terms of reference specified that no equipment or minimum tug speed range of a . Al­ labour - other than a chief designer and an organiser and though the Spitfire was used for subsequent trials, the stressing expert would be provided by DFIA. This was be­ initial flying tests were made behind Wapiti and Battle air­ cause of the priority allotted to contracts for the D.FI. 82A craft. The gliders had a gross weight of 2,800 lb (1,271 Tiger Moth and the D.FI.A.84 Dragon Trainers, both of kg), and a tare weight of 1,240 lb (563 kg) which com­ which were in full production at Mascot Aerodrome, Syd­ prised the pilot, six passengers and 160 lb (73 kg) of lug­ ney. Furthermore, tentative plans were already in being for gage. the construction by DFIA of Australian versions of the D.FI.98 Mosquito. In the event, the Sydney branch of Flight resting by DFIA of EG- I began on 14 June 1942, Slazengers (Australia) Pty Ltd provided a foreman, a after the glider had been assembled at RAAF Richmond draughtsman, most of the labour force and all the wood­ The first taxi tests were made behind a RAAF motor vehi­ working equipment. Perhaps the most surprising aspect cle and a Wapiti then took over for the initial flight tests of the project was the locale selected for the production of The tests were satisfactory, although an accident occurred the prototype glider - the fifth floor of the Bradford Cotton in the first week of July, during full load trials, when the Mills building at Camperdown, Sydney. tow rope broke on a flight behind a Battle, between Bank- stown and Richmond Warner was flying the ballast-loaded As chief designer, DFIA selected Martin Warner, who glider and Newbigin was also aboard as an observer. Al­ was not only an engineer but a keen glider pilot and a though the pilot landed successfully in a small field, the member of the Sydney Soaring Club. Warner had already brake structure on the single landing wheel failed and the designed two attractive and efficient pod-and-boom glider went through a fence with barbed-wire strands. The sailplanes, the Kite I and Kite II (in no way connected with nose of the aircraft was considerably damaged, and War­ the English Slingsby designs of the same name). DFIA ner spent some weeks in hospital with badly lacerated also provided Steve Newbigin, while Gordon Andrews be­ shins. Meanwhile, the incomplete second prototype, EG-2 came the main draughtsman. As the project got under way was transferred from Camperdown to a building which had the transport glider became known, unofficially, as previously been used as the Slingo and Williams toy fac­ "Warner's Wooden Warbirds". In April 1942, the RAAF tory. In early November the glider was assembled at Mas­ authorised the construction of a second DFIA G1 prototype cot where night tests were made. glider, for military trials, before a production line was laid

63 AHS4 Aviation Heritage

Prototypes enter service SDPF, RAAF Laverton this Flight subsequently became in late September 1942. personnel from the Special No 1 Aircraft Performance Unit, and a detachment moved Duties and Performance Flight, RAAF Laverton. arrived at to RAAF Point Cook with the gliders. The two prototypes were used for glider trials and experiments during the 12 months that they were attached to SDPF and No 1 APU. In May 1944, A57-1001 and.A57-1002 were allotted to No I 5 Aircraft Depot. RAAF Cootamundra, NSW, for storage and were eventually transferred to the Department of Air­ craft Production for disposal on 18 December 1947.

RAAF glider element While the DMA G1 prototypes were undergoing initial tests in mid-1942, the RAAF glider specification had been considerably changed, necessitating a major redesign for the wing into three parts for ease of transportation. A two- wheel undercarriage was also proposed, but this was re­ jected in favour of the original mono-wheel. Also, by the time production commenced on improved DFIA G2 gliders, the original requirement for a large number of these air­ craft had been negated by several factors the improved De Havilland DMA G1 Specification military situation, the acquisition by the RAAF of Douglas Performance: Towing speed. 130 mph (109 km/h), maximum Dakotas and other transport aircraft and the availability of speed. 185 mph (298 km/h), stalling speed. 48 mph (77 km/h). the Waco CG-4A glider which accommodated 15 troops. Weights: Empty, 1,240 lb (563 kg): loaded, 2,800 lb (1,272 kg). Consequently, only six DFIA G2 gliders were ordered in Dimensions: Span. 59 ft (17.99 m); length. 35 fl (1.,68 m): accordance with RAAF Specification 5/42, and they were height. 7 ft 10 in (2.39 m), wing section NACA 23015. allotted the RAAF serial numbers A57-1 to A57-6 it is per­ Accommodation: Pilot and six troops tinent to record that during November 1942, DAP received RAAF Richmond to ferry EG-1, towed behind a Battle, to an inquiry from the USAAF in connection with the supply the Flight's home base. On 29 September, two demon­ of 20 DFIA G2 gliders Follow-up action was initiated, but stration Flights were made with EG-I and the Battle, to an order from the USAAF did not eventuate. enable the DFIA pilot to explain the glider's capabilities to his RAAF counterpart. A further familiarisation flight of almost one hour was completed by the RAAF on 2 Octo­ ber.

During the morning of 5 October, the Battle took off from RAAF Richmond with EG-I on tow, bound for RAAF Laverton, where EG-I was officially accepted by the RAAF on 11 October 1942 and it was later renumbered with the service prototype serial A57-1001. It was joined at RAAF Laverton on 17 November by EG-2 which eventually be­ came A57-002. Almost immediately the RAAF, through the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Divi­ sion of Aeronautics at Fishermen’s Bend, Victoria, issued brief handling notes for the gliders. Part One of this re­ port, published in November 1942, detailed the operating capabilities of A57-1001 on the ground, in towed Flight, in free Flight and during the landing pattern. De Havilland DHA G2 Specification Performance: Towing speed, 130 mph (204 km/h): max speed, Part Two of the CSIR-DA report, dated April 1943, re­ 200 mph (322 km/h): stalling speed, 48 mph (77 km/h). Weights: Empty, 1,450 lb (658 kg): loaded. 3,250 lb (1,476 kg). vealed that "further flying has been done on A57-1001 Dimensions: Span. 50 ft 6 in(15.40 m): length. 33 ft (10.07 m). (EG1), including the rate of descent in free Flight and the height, 7 ft'IO in (2.39 m), wing section NACA 23015 Accom­ investigation of stability on tow" This report stated that the modation: Pilot and six troops. most stable condition for towing was at 120 mph(193 km/h) with the glider below the tug; presumably, the clear The six production gliders were all built in the Slingo vision panel above the pilot’s seat had been installed and Williams building and were assembled at Mascot since the delivery Flight of A57-1001 in October 1942. The Aerodrome for testing. Battles were flown in from No 1 report also commented on the high accident rate with tail Aircraft Park, RAAF Geelong, Victoria, for towing, and the skids. Almost every landing resulted in a broken skid and, tests were carried out at No 3 Communications Flight, consequently, the tail skid was considerably strengthened raaF Mascot. DFIA tested the first glider on 20 March In addition, the report contained diagrams showing the 1943, and the ailerons were found to be very heavy owing estimated performances of a DAP VIII and to the fitment of substitute bearings. The incorporation of a a III towing one or two gliders at 10,000 balance tab rectified this fault and, by July, all six gliders ft (3,050 m), and a CAC Wirraway and a Battle each tow- had been tested by the company, ing one glider at 10,000 ft (3,050 m). In contrast to the DHA Gl. the DHA G2 glider had a Up to this time April 1943 the two gliders had been slightly larger fuselage although it still retained the DHA.84 held on charge by No 1 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Laverton. Dragon fittings. Also, the one-piece straight wing of 59 ft During the month, however, they were transferred to (17.99 m) span on the Gl wan replaced with one of 50 ft 6

64 AHSA Aviation Heritage in (15.40 m) span with a single box spar, a 23 ft (7.02 m) the RAAF register. Both A57-4 and A57-5 also remained constant chord centre section and two tapering outer sec- in storage throughout the war years. Then, on 27 March tions. In addition the round windows and short wingtip 1947, A57-4 was issued to the School of Air Support, skids on the G1 gave way to square windows and longer RAAF Laverton, from No 2 AD. wingtip skids on the G2. Most of these changes were made, under the direction of Martin Warner, by the com­ In 1948 SAS moved to RAAF Williamtown. NSW, and plete fourth year University of Sydney aeronautical class was renamed the School of Land/Air Warfare. By late of students. Professor A V Stephens, who had assisted in 1950, SCLAW had relegated A57-4 to an instructional solving the aerodynamic problems on the prototypes, also airframe and it was eventually converted to components at took a close personal interest in the construction of the the school on 7 July 1952. Like its predecessor, A57 5 DFIA G2s and in March 1943 he proposed fitting an ex- was also brought out of storage in 1947 when it was is- perimental laminar flow wing to a DMA G2 glider for aero- sued on loan to CSIR-DA. Little is known of its history at dynamic tests, but this project was held in abeyance. the division but, presumably, it was used in some way with the post-war experiment conducted with A57-1. In the The first production glider, A57-1, was handed over to event A57-5 was returned to No 1 AD in late 1949 and, a the RAAF at DFIA Mascot on 6 May 1943 and, on 11 June, year later, was converted to components, it was delivered to SDPF for service trials. The glider was damaged in a landing at RAAF Laverton on 22 October The last glider, A57-6, was transferred from storage at and was issued to No I AD for repairs. On 10 January No 2 AD to No 5 AD on 2 January 1944. In 1946 approval 1944, A57-1 was allotted to No I APU where it completed was given to convert the glider to components but, in- its wartime service a, a trials and pilot-conversion aircraft, stead, it was passed to DAP for disposal on 18 December It was transferred to No 1 Central Recovery Depot on 20 1947. January 1945 for storage and, as from November 1946, was kept in Category E storage at No 1 Stores Depot. But Flying the DMA G2 A57-1 had yet to reach the zenith of its career, and the As most of the RAAF gliders spent their time in stor- role it played post-war in a major experiment is subse- age, only a few pilots were trained for glider operations. quently related. and conversion courses were mainly conducted on A57-1 at No 1 APU. Four fights were usually sufficient to convert The remaining five gliders. A57-2 to AS7-6, were all a normal pilot-three under instruction, and one solo. A57-1 delivered to No 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, from was modified to take dual controls, although the second set comprised only a control column and rudder bar. When required, the latter installation was mounted behind the normal pilot's seat, in front of the forward flow of pas­ senger seats, where it was possible to see the instrument panel - comprising an airspeed indicator, altimeter, pitch indicator and bank indicator over the shoulders of the first pilot.

Preparations for flight included a normal pre-flight in­ spection of the glider with particular attention being paid to the tow rope and release gear of the tug aircraft. On the glider the pilot checked that the tow release catches under the wing were properly closed, and that the lever for the tow rope release was in the lock position: this lever was on the left hand side of the cockpit above the cable-operated The first prototype DHA G1 glider EG-1. brake jever For the single landing wheel. The spoilers - No 2 Aircraft Park, RAAF Mascot, in July 1943. On 30 which were fitted to the top surface of the wing, and were August it was decided to transfer the five gliders, for tem­ operated by a lever forward, and to the left, of the pilot's porary storage, to No 1 Air Observers School, RAAF seat - were checked in the closed position. When check­ Evans Head, NSW (where the author first saw the DHA ing the flying controls it was necessary to obtain full G2 glider while on an interim posting to No 1 AOS as a movement of the ailerons to ensure that the gap between Staff pilot flying Avro Ansons ini944). the balance tabs and the ailerons was clear. The third glider, A57-3, remained in storage until The glider was positioned off the runway for take-off to March 1948 when it was transferred for overhaul from No ensure that it would not pitch forward on its nose during 2 AD to DHA. It was then allotted to No 86 Wing, RAAF the initial take-off stage; otherwise, it would stop on the Richmond -comprising Nos 36, 37 and 38 Squadrons fly­ nose skid and lift the tail high off the ground and, of ing Dakotas - but was damaged during take-off on the course, the tail would be damaged when released from the delivery Flight from Mascot Aerodrome on 31 May 1948. In tug in this condition. It was also desirable to have the the event, the glider continued the towed Flight to Rich­ wings held level before the take-off commenced The mond and was repaired by No 2 AD before it joined the brakes were then released by the glider pilot and take-off transport wing on 10 August. A57-3 is believed to have trim was set - longitudinal trimming was effected by a trim completed the occasional flight on tow behind the Dakotas tab on the elevators which was operated by a lever on the but, apparently, it was kept mainly in storage. Late in flight hand side of the cockpit. The tug, having been at­ 1952, the glider was reported as being held in a service­ tached to the glider, would then taxi slowly forward to take able condition by No 82 Wing, RAAF Amberley, Queen­ up the slack in the tow rope. sland - the RAAF’s bomber wing comprising Nos 1 (then in For take-off the pilot of the tug applied as much power Singapore), 2 and 6 Squadrons flying GAF (Government as possible while holding his aircraft on the brakes. As Aircraft Factory) B Mk 30s On 14 November soon as the brakes were released full take-off power was 1952 A57-3 was offered for disposal and war deleted from

65 AHSA Aviation Heritage applied. If power was not applied rapidly the glider would in London. Several proposals eventuated from this meet­ drag one wing on the ground for some distance before ing including the recommendation that a Griffith-type suc­ control was obtained, and this could damage the tion wing should be tested in flight. The aims of the project wing skid. As the glider got under way the pilot would find were to assess the engineering problems involved in that his aircraft had a tendency to pitch forward momen­ building, and flying, wings of this type, and to see how far tarily until the elevator control became effective. The glider the theoretical advantages of the suction aerofoil could be was then lifted into the air as quickly as possible to a realised in practice. The task was accepted by Australia height of not more than 20 ft (6.1 m), where the nose was and was allocated to CSIR-DA (later the Aeronautical Re­ eased down to allow the tug aircraft to accelerate and search Laboratories), DAP-Beaufort Division (later the take-off The pilot's notes emphasised that the glider must Government Aircraft Factories) and the RAAF. not be flown too high above the tail of the tug, otherwise it would "pull the towing aircraft's tail up and place the tug Suction aerofoils had originated from a suggestion put pilot in an extremely embarrassing position". forward in the UK in 1942 by Dr A..A. Griffith He proposed a wing designed specifically for suction, and of such a After take-off the tug climbed away at 115 mph (185 shape as to have a rising velocity over a great proportion km/h), and the glider pilot was free to select the high or of its surface so that the major part of the boundary layer low tow positions, whereby the glider cleared the tugs slip­ flow remained laminar. His design envisaged boundary air stream by dying above or below the tail of the towing air­ being sucked away towards the trailing edge of the aero­ craft. At 400 ft (122 m), the tug usually commenced a port foil through suitably placed slots, the resulting sink effect turn to keep the glider within gliding distance of the aero­ giving rise to a sudden Increase in pressure. Thus the drome. The tug normally climbed to heights between adverse pressure gradient on the rear of the aerofoil, 3,000-5,000 ft (915-1,525 m), and towing speeds never which contributed to drag, would be eliminated. In addition exceeded 160 mph (257 km/h), the optimum speed being to the aspect of low drag, the Griffith principle permitted 130 mph (209 km/h). the design of very thick wings which, at the time, appeared to show great promise for the development of an all-wing To obtain free flight the glider pilot merely had to move aircraft. One outstanding design was the GLAS II, a 31 per the tow-rope release lever from the back to the forward cent thick section that was particularly suitable for the position. The immediate result of this action, as outlined in moderate size all-wing application, in the 300-400 mph pilot's notes was twofold: (482-643 km/h) speed range. Consequently, it was this "(a) It releases the two ropes from under the glider's type of wing that was selected for the Australian experi­ mainplanes and ment. (b) Causes a sharp 'crack' -- that usual[y brings to an abrupt halt any light conversation being held at the The CSIR component of the GLAS II project team in time by the passengers. Australia comprised T. S. Keeble, R. W. Gumming; and A. F. W. Langford. A review of local resources indicated that The glider stalled at about 48 mph (77 km/h) with the the most expedient method of Flight testing a suction wing spoilers out. or in the retracted position. The stall was ex­ would be to modify a DHA G2 glider by replacing the ex­ tremely gentle and there was no tendency of a wing to isting unswept wing with a suction aerofoil of the same drop. The nose merely dropped slightly and, as the speed plan form - a second stage of the investigation was built up, control was quickly regained. planned to determine the effect on a swept-back wing. It was decided to accommodate the suction plant in the The approach to land was Initiated at about 80 mph glider-s fuselage where, unfortunately, weight and space (129 km/h) with the spoilers in. The spoilers were used limitations prevented the installation of a stand by emer­ only when the pilot felt he was overshooting or required to gency plant. Consequently, it was necessary to provide for lose height more rapidly. S-turns were also recommended the possibility of suction failure. Thus, the GLAS II aerofoil to keep the glider on the downwind edge of the selected was an ideal choice for the project because of its simplicity landing spot. On the final approach a careful use of the it required suction on the upper surface only and because spoilers enabled the pilot to reduce speed to about 55 the cambered aerofoil was expected to have safer char­ mph (88 km/h). acteristics in the event of suction failure.

The landing was made on the wheel at the slowest Anticipating the requirement for a DHA G2 glider, the speed possible. If the glider landed into a wind of moder­ RAAF arranged to take A57-I out of Category E storage at ate strength, the pilot could maintain control until the glider No 1 SD, On 15 January 1947, an allotment authority was ended its landing run. At the end of the run the glider issued for the aircraft to be transferred to No 1 APU. rocked back on its tail skid, and over on to one of the Throughout the year a limited number of flying tests were wingtip skids. The glider could be brought to a halt in an carried out with the glider at No 1 APU, RAAF Point Cook emergency by applying the brake and pushing forward on and, later. ARDU, RAAF Laverton. These flights were the control column, which pushed the glider on to its nose made with the orthodox wing to form the basis of compari­ skid. son with the planned suction wing, and the glider was also used on occasions for demonstrations at the School of Air The glider conversion courses all but came to an end Support, RAAF Laverton In January 1948, A57-1 was at the conclusion of the 1939-45 War, and It appeared that transferred to the GAF factories at Fishermen’s Bend for the RAAF's small glider force would soon be phased out of modifications and fitment of the new wing. service. In the event, at least one of the gliders was granted a new lease of life in the immediate post-war Meanwhile, preliminary design work on the suction years, and it remained in flying service until 1951. wing at CSIR-DA had commenced in March 1947. Many The GLAS 11 project details could not be settled, however, until October 1947 In June 1946, the inaugural meeting of the Common­ when the wind tunnel development of the aerofoil, in the wealth Advisory Aeronautical Research Council was held neighbourhood of the suction slots, had brought the suc­ tion quantity and pressure to reasonable values. This ar-

66 AHSA Aviation Heritage duous task, which used a -scale model of the wing, a access to each bay; the bulkhead was positioned ap- similar scale model of the complete glider and a quarter- proximately in line with the leading edge of the wing. The scale half-wing, was carried out by Tom Keeble, Ron forward bay comprised the crew compartment for the pilot Gumming, and Rick Langford and observer. The pilot's controls and instruments re­ mained standard, except for the spoiler lever. Instead of opening the surface spoilers, this lever operated a shutter which closed the exit from the slot for a distance of 4 ft (1.22 m) on each wing. This had the same effect as the spoilers and avoided the necessity of cutting into the skin to fit normal top surface flaps. Additional fittings on the star­ board side of the cockpit included the engine throttle and the radio control box; a subsequent recommendation suggested that all controls should be on the port side, so that the trimmer and The GLAS II suction wing glider in free flight on the third test flight, 7 December 1948. Point Cook base in engine control could background. be operated without changing hands on the control column. As 1948 progressed, the new wing war manufactured by GAF at Fishermen’s Bend where AS7-1 had been po­ sitioned early in the year. The basic design concept for the The observer sat with his back to the pilot at a desk, wing was originated by Nigel Joyce of CSIR-DA, and the and his controls included the engine starting button, detailed design was carried out at GAF under Gbrdon Ap­ switches, choke, throttle, and the automatic observer pleby. GAF also appointed Paul Mardel as project engi­ camera operating button The panel in front of the observer neer, and he stayed with the project throughout the con­ contained a duplicate set of night instruments (airspeed struction and Flight test phases. Indicator, altimeter, rate of climb, air temperature, and angle incidence), engine instruments (RPM, boost, tem­ The GLAS II wing had the same planform as the origi­ perature, and oil pressure gauges), and the fire warning nal NACA 23015 wing of the DMA G2. It was made up of light and extinguisher control. Three sets of indicators re­ a centre section of 8 ft (2.44 m) chord and 23 ft (7.02 m) corded the pressure and quantity of suction air, towline span, with tapered outer panels each of 12 ft 10: in (3,93 drag by direct measurement, and aerofoil pressure which m) span, making a total span of 48 ft 9 in (14.88 m) as showed the static pressure and, thus, the state of Flow on against 50 ft 6 in ( 1 5.4 m) of the original wing. The same the wing behind the slot. The observer also controlled the aileron span was retained, but the conventional spoilers of speed of the suction motor, but the pilot had an over-riding the DMA G2 wing were replaced by shutters, inside the throttle control in case of emergency. A radio was fitted to suction duct, which shut off 4 ft(1.22 m) of the front slot on give contact with the tug and the ground and a normal each wing. The new wing was also fitted with three suction intercommunication system was installed for the pilot and observer. slots on the top surface at 63.4, 66.6 and 68.6 per cent of the chord from the leading edge. These slots had well rounded entries and were 0.09 in (2.3 mm), 0.05 in (1.27 The Ford Mercury car engine was housed behind the mm), and 0.05 in (1.27 mm) wide, respectively, over the observer's compartment and was fitted with the specially whole span, with tolerances of plus .005 to 0.000 in (0.13 designed centrifugal fan with the inlet duct coming down mm to 0.00 mm) on width. The remaining control surfaces from the wing. The suction air passed through the radiator of the DMA G2 glider were retained. The other major of the engine and provided cooling independently of air­ modification was the installation of a Ford V-8 Mercury craft speed The suction air was discharged through two 59A automotive engine of 96 bhp in the fuselage to drive louvre doors, one on each side of the fuselage. the CSIR-DA designed centrifugal blower for the suction. The final assembly work on the glider was carried out at The next compartment contained the automatic ob­ RAAF Laverton. server, comprising a panel containing 30 standard air­ speed indicators, a lighting system and an F24 camera The reconstructed glider had a soundproof bulkhead which was motor operated and controlled by the observer. dividing the fuselage into two sections with a separate These instruments formed, in effect, a 30 tube multi- manometer; their leads were carried forward to a connec-

67 AHSA Aviation Heritage tion board in the observer's compartment where they could AS7-I remained grounded until early 1949 while re- be connected to any of the 150 pressure points fitted to pairs and adjustments were carried out. The starboard the wing and suction duct. wingtip skid was repaired, the tailplane fittings were strengthened and the tailplane itself was braced. A swivel­ Flight tests ling pitot static system, installed after the first fight, was After the GLAS II glider was assembled at RAAF removed from the port wing tip and installed on top of the Laverton it was allotted to ARDU where the chief test pilot, fin. And, once again, the aileron circuit was altered to re- Sqdn. Ldr. D R Cuming, AFC, initiated the Flight testing move excessive frictional loads and to stiffen the circuit programme. ‘Jel’ Cuming, as he was universally known, generally, arranged for the glider to be tested on the ground before the first flight was made. AS7-1 being tethered in the slip­ By March 1949, two more flights had been made, but stream of ARDU's GAF Avro Lincoln B.Mk.30. An appre- the lack of lateral stability still remained a problem. The ciation of the aileron handling characteristics was obtained glider was grounded again so that the wing joints could be in this way, with suction on and off, and as these tests improved and the area of the trim tabs on the elevator indicated that the ailerons were positive in their action, it increased. It was also suggested that the swivelling pitot was decided to go ahead with the air tests. and incidence gauge should be removed from the fin to a more suitable position. Cuming recommended, at this On 26 October 1948, the GLAS II was attached to time, that any further research gliders of the suction wing ARDU’s Douglas Dakota by means of a 300-ft (92-m) ny- type should have a conventional three-wheel undercar- lon cable, for the first take-off. It was decided to make the riage, and a variable incidence tailplane controlled by the flight with the glider’s engine running in idle, with negligible pilot so that he could cope with suction on and off condi- suction. but at a speed of 60-80 mph (97-129 km/h) during tions. the take-off, the wings started to rock laterally, the ailerons appeared to become ineffective, the port wing dropped as The test flights continued for another nine months and. the glider became airborne and the wing-tip skid hit the in January 1950, Cuming compiled his final report on the runway. Cuming immediately released from the tug and GLAS II trials before handing over the project to another landed straight ahead. pilot. Between April and November 1949, 25 flights had been completed - making a total of 30 since October 1948 A second flight was attempted almost immediately, and it was during this latter stage that an answer was with the glider engine off, as it was thought that the lateral found to most of the peculiarities of behaviour in the instability might have been caused by the transitional boundary layer of the GLAS II aerofoil with suction on. stage between suction-on and suction-off at low airspeed. On the second attempt, the GLAS II became airborne at Contaminated wing problem 90-95 mph (145-153 km/h), but the aileron controls be­ As a result of visual and instrument observations, it came slack at 150 mph (241 km/h) and were effective only was established that foreign bodies adhering to the wing, when the stick was moved to the extreme of its range. The with suction on, had a marked effect on the performance flight was continued to 10.000 ft (3050 m) and Cuming of A57-1. These foreign bodies were, in fact, insects which ascertained that the glider could be controlled down to 64 stuck to the wing during take-off and created a contami­ mph (103 km/h) with suction off. nated; or dirty, leading edge on the GLAS II aerofoil. The presence of these foreign bodies became known to the However, when the engine was started and suction on pilot in the form of buffeting or asymmetric control loads, the wing increased, a violent oscillation in the longitudinal and the location of the Insects also showed up on the ob- plane began, at a frequency of about one per second, server's manometer: when the Insects were small in size continuing until the boundary layer adhered to the wing, and number their presence was revealed only when the when the ailerons immediately stiffened and became ex- suction was reduced. The contaminated wing condition tremely heavy to operate, becoming almost unmovable at could be measured by the engine rpm required to stick the 90 mph (145 km/h). Cuming eventually effected a rea- flow over the wing - the rpm could be as low as 1,500 be- sonable landing at about 60 mph (97 km/h) with the stick fore the flow would unstick but, in bad cases, full rpm of hard back, the engine running and the ailerons locked 2,850-2,900 were insufficient to stick the flow, solid. A somewhat relieved but very harassed pilot emerged with the comment "you'll have to do something The effect of unstuck flow due to the presence of in­ about the b----- ailerons!" sects on >the leading edge caused a loss in the lift, and increase in drag, over the section of the wing behind the A number of modifications were made before the next insects. The aileron sections appeared less affected by flight, involving the aileron control circuits, CG position, the insects, and it was only on rare occasions that the flow tailplane incidence and instrumentation, and another flight would unstick due to insects on the leading edge. When was scheduled for 3 December. Control was greatly im- this happened the ailerons would try to apply themselves proved although some characteristics were still unsatis- which the pilot had to counteract by applying a consider- factory and further small changes were made for the next able amount of side force, flight, made on 7 December. Aileron control was again found to be unsatisfactory and after release at 4,000 ft In retrospect, it was ascertained that a badly contami- (1,220 m), when suction on the wing was Increased, the nated wing was the reason Cuming almost lost control of glider entered a spiral dive to port that was stopped only the glider during the third test flight on 7 December 1948 when the engine was closed down. The loss of height in The purpose of the flight had been to assess the effect of the spin forced an immediate landing, which Cuming exe- a transition on the vortex formation over the centre section cuted with considerable skill and a measure of luck on the of the glider apparently, however, a considerable number airfield boundary: the time from casting off at 4,000 ft of insects were collected at about 1,000 ft (610 m) on the (1,220 m) to touch down was 1V4 minutes! climb away from the aerodrome. This caused a breakdown in the flow over the wing and over a portion of one aileron

68 AHSA Aviation Heritage and, on the glide down, asymmetric control forces, were ally useless, the rudder had little effect, possibly due to the required to maintain level flight. The situation was aggra- disturbed flow from the wing. On the occasion that the vated at about 800 ft (244 m) when, either, more insects glider started to enter into a spiral dive, full opposite rud- were collected or one of the transition cords fell off. At this der was not sufficient to stop the nose turning. In the stage the spiral dive to port commenced, and application event, this was the wrong action to recover from the spiral of full aileron failed to lift the wing The only course left was and only aggravated the wing dropping tendency by in­ to switch off the engine and carry out an emergency land- creasing the slip, ing without suction which, of course, Cumjng did. As a result of these findings on the contaminated wing, plans The stall, suction full on, occurred at 52 mph (84 km/h) were in hand in 1950 to modify the front slot in an endeav- and was accompanied by a rapid dropping of the nose and our to improve the flow and nullify the effect of insects on buffeting over the rudder surfaces The stall occurred first the leading edge. over the centre section and, as the nose dropped immedi­ ately, it was not possible to stall the whole wing There was By July 1951,47 flights had been made with the GLAS no warning of the stall and the flight of the glider remained II aerofoil, and most of its handling qualities were well smooth flight up to the stall or break away at the centre known. A vital pre-flight requirement had been introduced section. In turns the same effect occurred, and the nose whereby the glider's wing was thoroughly cleaned before it dropped out of the turn without any tendency for a wing to was taken from the hangar. Prior to take-off the wing was drop, cleaned again to remove any dust or dirt that may have collected while the glider was towed out to the starting With suction-on, the approach speed over the last point. 1,500-2,000 ft (458-610 m) was 100-105 mph (161-169 km/h). This was well above the approach speed that was The glider was usually towed to 15,000 ft (4,575 m), normally used on an orthodox glider with a stalling speed and after release it settled down to a steady glide at the of 52 mph (84 km/h), but was necessary to ensure that the trimmed speed. The glider was free of any buffeting, and glider would still be controllable in the event of suction the only vibration was that due to the engine. All the con- failure. This procedure had been justified on two occa- trols worked in their normal sense, and at normal gliding sions - once when the engine boiled and there was a speeds up to 85 mph (136 km/h) they were reasonably chance of engine seizure, and also when the glider got out light and effective. of control on the third test flight, at about 800 ft (244 m) and the engine had to be stopped to regain control. The With full suction, the glider was longitudinally stable approach path was made so that the aerodrome was al- stick free, and if displaced from a trimmed speed it would ways within suction-off gliding distance, even though the return to it with practically a dead beat oscillation. When landing might have to take place dead across wind it the the suction was reduced the glider eventually became suction failed; two such landings had been made in cross difficult to maintain at a steady speed - within a mile an winds of 15-20 mph (24-32 km/h), suction off. without diffi- hour or so due to slight changes in the longitudinal trim, culty. For a normal landing the speed over the fence was This appeared to be due to the formation of a bred vortex reduced to about 95 mph (153 km/h)l and the glider was just forward of the front slot. Further reduction of the sue- held just above the ground until a normal two point touch- tion after the vortex had formed produced little effect until down occurred. The touch-down speed was below 52 mph the how over the centre section became unsteady and (84 km/h), broke away. This caused a further nose down change of trim and, as the suction was again decreased, this change As from July 1951, A57-1 was kept in Category B stor- of trim became progressively greater until the how broke age at ARDU pending the results of the scientific assess- over the whole wing. The minimum steady speed achieved ments of the flying trials. Eventually the glider was under these conditions was 64 mph (103 km/h) with stick grounded in December by the Director of Technical Serv- full back. With suction on, the minimum speed was gov- ices. It remained in Category B storage at ARDU for a year erned by the stall which occurred at 52-53 mph (84-85 and, on 17 December 1952, A57-1 was offered for dis- km/h), the stick still not being fully back. posal. Under suction-on conditions, the aircraft was laterally unstable, and it was possible to get out of control by al- The final report on the GLAS II project recorded that lowing too much skid or slip to develop. The ailerons were the objective of the investigation - the full-scale flight reasonably light and very responsive under stuck flow evaluation of a suction aerofoil had been achieved. Al- conditions and gliding speeds up to 80 mph(128 km/h). As though interest in the principle of the suction aerofoil sub­ speed increased the aileron forces became progressively sequently waned as other means of achieving BLC to ob- heavier until, at 110 mph (177 km/h), they were quite high, tain high lift became more attractive, the GLAS II remains The response, however, remained good throughout the an important milestone in the history of Australian aero- speed range and the ailerons were still effective at the nautical research, and provided an unusual finale to the stall. As suction was decreased the ailerons became story of the little-known de Havilland Australia gliders of heavier and the response decreased, particularly as the World War II. flow started to break away from the centre section, and as The author wishes to thank the Department of De- the break away progressed out towards the ailerons. Fur- fence-Air Office, Mr TS Keeble. BSc Be (Superintendent ther reduction of the suction caused the flow to break Mechanical Engineering Division Department of Defence, away over the whole wing, whereupon the aileron hinge Aeronautical Research Laboratories) and MrSA Newbigin moments became balanced once more, and lateral control (Hawker de Havilland Australia Pry Ltd) for their assis- was again achieved. tance in the preparation of this article.

The glider was directionally stable with suction on, and The Editor would like to thank Mr. T. Malcolm English, satisfactory aileron turns could be made. The rudder was Editor of “Air International” for allowing us to reprint this not very effective, and the loads were reasonably light, very important historical document. Under conditions of suction where the ailerons were virtu-

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^ X X- ■>

One of Taylor’s Air Services Dragons undergoing maintenance at Lae, PNG, in 1949 Milton A. (Joe) Taylor Photos from the Milton Taylor Collection. Milton A. ("Joe") Taylor, late A.R.Ae.S., first became involved in aviation when it was still in its infancy. His career in Australia and New Guinea spanned tremendous advances in aviation and in the development of the countries themselves. He recorded this interview with Greg Ban field on 20th September 1978 while he was living in Sydney. He subsequently moved to Perth where he lived in retirement until he passed away at Bull Creek, Western Australia, on 30th March 1994. I had done part of an apprenticeship with McCleary's, September 1921 I went to Point Cook, where I was posted an engineering firm at Moss Vale, before I joined the Army to No.3 Squadron, to work on aircraft engines. The in January 1917. McCleary's did quite a lot of work such training there consisted of going into the squadron and as building ammunition wagons for the Army. At the age of learning on the job in the workshop. The officers and 17 I went to Europe with the Signals Corps of the Second NCOs were flying people from the First World War and Infantry Battalion and spent two years in France. When I they taught us the rudiments of aircraft and engine returned from France I went to Plymouth, where the unit overhaul and maintenance, spent Christmas 1918 before sailing home. During this time I still wanted to fly so I contacted Bill We arrived back in Australia in February 1919 and Leggatt of Shaw-Ross Aviation at Fishermen's Bend and after spending a while in Sydney, I returned to Moss Vale in 1922 learned to fly in their D.H.6 G-AUBW. But I didn't to complete my apprenticeship, during which time 1 did a carry on from there because I was still in the RAAF and at lot of the machine work on the first rotary hoe cultivator, £12 an hour it was costing too much. I had been hoping to which was designed by Cliff Howard. This unit was get on a pilot's course with the Air Force, since I had extensively used throughout the world and, in fact, I was already started to fly, but one of the senior officers told me an original shareholder in his company, Howard Auto quite frankly, "It takes five years to train an engineer and Cultivators. three months to train a pilot. So what are we going to do with you?" And that was that. In 1921 I saw an advert in the paper for appointments as mechanics in the Air Force and I applied. That was at While I was at Point Cook a little jazz band was started the time the RAAF was first being formed from the and I learned to play the banjo. In the process of learning Australian Flying Corps of World War I. I was accepted. I to play, I would cease work at 4 o'clock every Wednesday had an idea that I would like flying because as a child I afternoon, change into civilian clothes, take the truck from had always been "messing around" with kites and had Point Cook to Laverton and then the train from Laverton been interested in anything associated with flight, such as out to Albion Park, where I had my lessons. After dinner 1 the Boys' Own Annuals. would go to a little flat we had there for the boys coming on leave at weekends, and I would sleep there. The next First I was taken in to Liverpool to do some basic Army morning I would take the 5 o'clock train back to Laverton, training, which I had already been through, and then In catch the truck to Point Cook, change into uniform and be

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j with the Siddeley Puma engine but they also had a Rolls- Royce Eagle-engined Sopwith Wallaby. They were ^ ^ running pretty well daily services on the Adelaide-Hay and ^ ^ Hay-Cootamundra routes and they used to carry an engineer on every flight. I would pick up the aircraft at Hay and fly to Narrandera and Cootamundra, where we ^ would stay overnight before flying back the next morning.

During January 1927, Ray Parer passed through Hay on his way to New Guinea with the D.H.4 G-AUCM fitted with a 375-hp Rolls-Royce Eagle engine. He asked me if I would join him in New Guinea and I agreed. I had just been accepted by Arthur Baird for a job with QANTAS up at Longreach and it was a toss-up whether I took that job or joined Parer. I chose to go and have a look at New Guinea but afterwards I often wondered whether I did the right thing. In August that year I received a cable from A Liberty engined DH9A at Point Cook C. 1922. Ray telling me to see his representatives in Sydney, back on parade at 8 o'clock. We used to play at lots of Cooper & Oertel, so I resigned from Australian Aerial local dances when we got under way and this added to our Services and went to Sydney, meagre income of £4 per week. I sailed up on the old Marsina, which took me as far as No.3 Squadron was transferred to Richmond in 1925 Rabaul, and then I transferred to a copra boat called the and I stayed there until I left the Air Force the following Durour, which sailed around all the islands about the place year. I then sat for my civil licence as an aircraft engineer before arriving in Lae on 21st September 1927. Ray Parer with a section of the Defence Department under the and a chap named Eric Gallet were there operating as the control of Colonel Horace Brinsmead. I sat for Bulolo Goldfields Aeroplane Service Ltd with the D.H.4 examinations covering airframes and engines and was when I arrived, and Guinea Airways' establishment issued Licence Number 222, which was signed by Colonel consisted of Pard Mustard, A. W. D. ("Mull") Mullins and Brinsmead. In those days aeroplanes were fairly simple Eric Cross, and I think they had a man looking after their and one had to learn the rudiments of everything. An books. That was about the sum total of the people in Lae examination in engines, for instance, covered the engines, at that time. electrical systems and general engine practice, while an examination for airframes covered the structure, timbers, Ray Parer's establishment consisted of a hangar and glue, electrical systems and instruments, plus practical house constructed of bush timber and sago palm leaf roof tests. and sides. On inspection.of the aircraft, I discovered dry rot had got into all the vertical members in the fuselage of I was licensed on engines that people these days the D.H.4, and it was grounded when I arrived. The seldom hear of, such as the rotary Clergets and Le spruce vertical struts were cross-braced with wire and Rhones. Those two were good engines for the time and where they were attached to the top and bottom they really made flying. Sometimes a cylinder would come longerons, the wood was so rotten that you could just get off and, because the whole engine would go around with hold of them and pull them out. There was no suggestion the propeller, it acted like a spinning wheel and took all the of any workshop, tools or equipment, paint, fabric, timber cowl with it. The fuel was taken in through a hollow or a spare part of any description, without which it was crankshaft and was sucked from the crankcase out to the impossible to make the aircraft airworthy. So at the end of cylinders, with the result that mineral oil could not be used a short period we parted. No doubt the state of the D.H.4 in them as it would have been dissolved by the petrol was brought about by the extremely wet conditions in New mixture. So castor oil was used as a lubricant and it Guinea, and as rice was the main cargo at the time, the sometimes sprayed back and soaked the crew; it didn't two made a very corrosive mass. All wooden aircraft had take long before we got the "trots". this problem to some extent and it was very difficult to avoid, especially in open cockpit aircraft. When I left the Air Force in May 1926, I joined a man named Bob Walder, who manufactured tents and various On my trip to Lae on the Marsina, I had met a pilot canvas equipment. He was a great motor boat enthusiast named Les Shaw, who was to fly the De Havilland Gipsy and had just bought a boat, the Century Tyre, from the Moth G-AUGE on behalf of the Morobe Trading Company, United States. This boat was powered by a big Liberty which was operating in Wau. He brought the Moth to Lae aircraft engine and was one of the fastest hydroplanes in m a case on the deck of the Durour. Initially, Les Shaw the world at that time. The engine was the same as we was staying at the same house as Ray Parer and, as a were using in the D.H.9As in the Air Force and, as I had matter of courtesy, I helped him assemble the aircraft in experience of this engine, I joined him for a six-month between working on Ray's D.H.4. There were no wharves season with the boat. at this time and we had to pull the Moth out of its case on the ship, fit the undercarriage and tail-skid and lower the When the boating season finished, I worked for a short aeroplane into two whaleboats, the wheels in one and the time at Mort's Dock rebuilding six Air Force D.H.9s. When tail-skid in the other. Then we ran the two whaleboats in the work ended, I wrote to Australian Aerial Services and to the shore, turned them side-on when we got to the obtained a job with them. I was sent to Hay, where I met beach, rolled the front one over when It reached the sand Arthur Butler. Arthur was in the workshop then and was and rolled the aeroplane out over the gunwales on to the learning to fly on an old Avro 504K with a Dyak engine, beach. We then took the Moth to the aerodrome where Most of Australian Aerial Services' aircraft were D.H.50s we finished assembling and testing it.

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I joined Les Shaw at the end of September. He had Australian Glass Manufacturers, asked me If I wanted a served in the Royal Air Force and had spent a lot of time job. I said "Yes", and he told me, "There's an aeroplane in flying in India. He was a funny chap and was a typical that case. What about putting it together and seeing if it Indian Army type. Tommy Wright, who ran the will fly?" Administration's Agricultural School in Lae, had a little pony which Les used to borrow. He would get a long The aeroplane turned out to be a Ryan B.1 which, as bamboo pole and go riding around the place poking the far as I know, someone had ordered and couldn't pay for. stick into various things in the manner of the pig-sticking Nobody seemed to know much about it and Dave Smith he enjoyed in India. had bought it, still in the case. There were no rigging instructions with it, no information at all, but I put it On 7th November 1927, a native was hanged in Lae together and got it going. The Ryan was registered G- for the murder of the husband of his lady love. Although I AUlZ on 15th October 1928 and T. W. Shortridge (the attended the execution, I would not sign as a witness as I captain who died in the loss of ANA's Southern Cloud), could not be a party to the taking of the life of another was employed to do the tests. He and I test-flew it, and human being under those circumstances. "Shortie's" final remark on take-off was, "Hope this b- thing flies!" I had much the same thought. In January 1928, after Les had been flying the Moth for a while, the Morobe Trading Company sold the aeroplane, Dave Smith then employed Keith Anderson to fly the hangar and house to Guinea Airways. The company had Ryan. I went with Keith up to St Marys on a barnstorming ordered an old Bristol Fighter, G-AUDK, from Kingsford job at the end of the year. We landed on a banked area Smith's Interstate Flying Services and Les arrived at Lae on a racecourse and he overshot, hitting the bank, with it on the Matupi on 4th February. Some of the miners breaking off an axle and standing us on our nose. The suggested that we form our own company so I went into propeller fortunately was not damaged. It was late in the partnership with Les and a group of the miners and we afternoon and I went into St Marys and found a blacksmith bought the Bristol, which had the rear cockpit opened up with a welding set. We then welded the axle back on by to carry cargo. putting a sleeve through the whole thing to make it quite secure. When we finished, it was so late at night that We finally got the Bristol rigged and assembled and on Keith and I slept in the aeroplane. At 4 o'clock the next 15th February we tested it in the air with a small load, morning, when the sun was just about to rise, we took off Then, carrying me as well as the trial load, Les flew to and flew back to Sydney. Salamaua and back. The aeroplane flew well. Then Les went off to Wau, stayed there a bit too late and arrived On a later occasion at Ballina, I happened to be back at Lae in darkness. He undershot the aerodrome standing behind the Ryan as it took off. The whole and wrote the aeroplane off. aeroplane was fabric-covered and the fuel tanks were in the wing, outboard of the fuselage on either side. As I None of us realised his neck was fractured, as he watched the aeroplane taking off, I saw a section of the moved about complaining of a sore neck. It was then fabric six feet wide ballooned out a foot above the decided that he return to Sydney to seek treatment. Les fuselage and tanks on either side. It could not be seen on was put on the Montoro on 24th February and sent to the ground because the fabric flopped back when the Sydney, where he eventually recovered from his broken aeroplane stopped moving, but we had to stop operations neck. The remains of the Bristol were sold to Ray Parer while I obtained aluminium strips and screwed them right but Les' unfortunate departure left me high and dry, so 1 through to fix it in place. The original attachment method tidied up our affairs and returned home to Sydney in April, was very unsatisfactory. However, before departing I also cleaned up what was left of Morobe Trading Company's equipment for them, as From there on, we continued our barnstorming with the they had got out of flying, and sold their Gipsy Moth to Ryan until Keith left to buy the Westland Widgeon, Guinea Airways. Kookaburra. Keith had been involved in Kingsford Smith's plans to fly the Pacific and had come back to Australia I was out of a job again until at Mascot one day a from the United States to raise some money. In the couple of months later, Dave Smith, whose father owned meantime, "Smithy" had organised backing in the United States and Keith was left behind. I understand that Keith bought the Kookaburra for a flight he was planning to New Zealand, but before he and Bobby Hitchcock could leave, "Smithy" was lost in the Coffee Royal affair. They turned around to join the search for "Smithy" and that was when they themselves were lost.

When Keith Anderson left, Dave Smith and his father employed Captain Gordon ("Skipper") Wilson, from Western Australia, to fly the Ryan and we continued barnstorming, The aeroplane at that time had no air cleaner and, flying out in the dusty western country, the engine was Ryan B1 Brougham G-A VIZ sucking grit and dirt in through the air

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had been successful in finding Kingsford Smith, who had disappeared in the Southern Cross, in the search for which Keith Anderson and Bobby Hitchcock died. I joined Holden after that tour and we went barnstorming for a period of time in his De Havilland D.H.61, VH-UHW Canberra, which was fitted with a Bristol Jupiter engine.

Les owned an Avro Avian, VH-UIV, before he bought the Canberra and we used to use it in conjunction with the D.H.61. I would fly the Avian when we went from place to place but when it came to taking passengers, Les Holden and his friend Frank Mitchell took over. Frank Mitchell was later killed in the crash of another Avian, Capt. Gordon ("Skipper”) Wilson with the Ryan. C.1928 VH-UKR, at Tamworth on 31st May intake. This was scoring the insides of the cylinders and 1930. He was giving a pupil instruction in spins and piston rings to the extent that we couldn't get full power for recoveries and the aircraft spun right into the road. The take-off. So while we kept pottering along, the Smiths in inquest afterwards found that the pupil was subject to fits Sydney got in touch with the Wright Engine people and and it is believed that he took a fit during the spin and they sent us a complete set of Whirlwind pistons and clamped on the controls. cylinders and an air cleaner. We were flying at Inverell on one occasion in 1929 The aircraft was grounded in Trundle at the time I was when the Canberra hit a large rock while landing. The assembling the engine with the new components. While rock was hidden amongst long grass in the paddock we we were doing that job, "Skipper" Wilson and I decided to were using and we struck it just as we were finishing a go for a trip to Forbes with another fellow who had a new landing run, unshipping the port undercart and standing Model A Ford. On the way, the car hit a gravelly patch of the Canberra gently on her nose. All the passengers were road and overturned. The owner of the car got out without emptied down the front of the cabin in a heap because we a scratch but "Skipper" Wilson was killed and I suffered a didn't have any belts or harnesses in those days. Even damaged arm and had to be put in hospital. When I had the seats weren't securely fixed, just slipped into cleats. recovered, Dave Smith came out to Forbes with the We had to fish the passengers out one after the other Westland Widgeon VH-UKE and picked me up from the before we got the aeroplane back on a level keel again. hospital. We went back to Trundle, where the conversion As well as the damage to the undercarriage, a main spar was completed, and the Ryan was eventually flown back in one wing was broken and we had to pull the aeroplane to Sydney. The Smiths pretty well folded up their to pieces to repair it. We were at Inverell a couple of barnstorming business then and I left them. weeks then while we blocked and scarf-spliced the wing and then re-rigged the Canberra. In about May 1929, I was We did a trip in June 1929 to Central and Northern pottering around Australia with the Minister for Home Affairs, Charles L. Mascot one day Abbott, to investigate conditions in that area which came when Bob Gurney under the control of his Department. We covered about p came to me and 6,000 miles and also carried the Administrator of the asked if I wanted a .Northern Territory, Mr Carrodus, a pastoral expert, a job. I did, and he journalist, and a wireless operator to work the Morse Code told me that Les radio transmitter that had been fitted temporarily for the Holden was looking trip. for someone with a licence on radial Early on this trip, the port magneto failed. We fa engines. There discovered on landing that the contact breaker spring had were very few broken. As we had no spare, it was necessary to go to a people in Australia local watchmaker and obtain a piece of spring the same B who had radial gauge as the original, cut it to size and fit it. It was not ^ tickets at that time. altogether successful as it continued to break ^ L. H. Holden had occasionally. However, by replacing it every so often and B served in the cleaning the spark plugs at each stop, we managed to ■ Australian Flying complete the journey. Strangely, the passengers were not ■ Corps in World War very worried. ■ One and was a ■ cousin of Ted We flew up to Marree and the different stations along ■ Holden who was a the way. Brunette Downs, Tennant Creek and Wave Hill. ■ director of Holden's In between Tennant Creek and Wave Hill was where Keith ■ Motor Body Works Anderson and Bobby Hitchcock were lost in the ™ in Adelaide. The The Inverell ‘incident \ Kookaburra, and we actually saw the Widgeon when we previous month Les

73 AHSA Aviation Heritage flew over it on that trip. From Wave Hill we went to rods broke and fell inside the engine. It made a heck of a Victoria River Downs, then to Wyndham and on to Darwin, mess and we had a lot of trouble with that engine after and from Darwin back to Sydney when the party had that. Les came back to Sydney while I had to pull the finished the inspection. engine out of the aircraft, take it to a blacksmith's shop in Coffs Harbour and rebuild it. On another occasion we carried the Prime Minister, Stanley Bruce, on an official trip up the coast of New A representative from Bristol's was in Sydney at the South Wales. He was accompanied by his wife and a time and he came up to see what I was doing. "You can't couple of officials, and Mrs Bruce became very, very rebuild this engine here," he said. "You haven't any airsick. facilities and Bristol's wouldn't allow it in such a dirty place We did a trip in 1930 with a group of mining engineers as this." However, Les managed to obtain the necessary who were investigating a silver/copper deposit at the cylinders, pistons, etc, from the RAAF, which was flying Jervois Range, 210 miles north-east of Alice Springs. The Westland Wapiti aircraft fitted with the same Bristol Jupiter area was just wide open spaces so we took with us a chap engine, and sent them up to me. The rebuild was from Alice Springs who was supposed to guide us to the completed and the aircraft flown back to Sydney, site. But after we did a turn in the air around the Alice Springs aerodrome, he didn't know his head from his Spare parts were a constant problem in those early heels and he was completely sunk. Les had a compass days and it was often necessary to effect makeshift repairs and I had a duplicate compass in the cabin, and we kept or make up the necessary part. On one occasion we cross-checking them as we went until finally we saw the discovered excessive wear in the gudgeon pin bores of little camp away out in the middle of nowhere. This area is the pistons. New pistons cost £12 each and, as there not very far from where Mount Isa is today. 1 think the reef were nine pistons in the engine and we didn't have that was not economical to operate because of the lack of sort of money, some alternative had to be found. We water and communications. obtained the correct steel (as tested by the University of Sydney) and had pins made up .003 inch oversize, rebored the pistons to size and fitted them. It must be remembered that during those Depression years we were living from hand to mouth, and every penny counted.

While I was in Coffs Harbour ^ working on the engine, Kingsford ^ Smith arrived in one of his Avro I Tens. His port engine was out of I action and he asked me if I would I take a look at it. A valve had I broken off inside the cylinder and j stirred the works up. There wasn't anything we could do about it so he I sent to Sydney for parts and an ^ engineer. It was soon rectified and 1 away they went. The 1930 second Central Australian trip. The party at departure. Later "Smithy" came by again. When we got back to Alice Springs after inspecting the On New Year's Day 1930, on the inaugural Brisbane- site, the Matron from the Alice Springs Hospital contacted Sydney service of Australian National Airways Ltd, us. The doctor was away and they had a chap there with Shepherd and Ulm had been forced by bad weather to a very bad case of appendicitis. The Matron said it was land the Avro Ten VH-UMH Southern Sky in a paddock essential that we take this chap to Port Augusta for right in amongst the mountains at Old Bonalbo west of treatment but we had a full load of passengers, including Lismore. People thought it would be practically impossible the wives of two of the directors of the mining company, to get it out again but "Smithy" went up there himself and whom we could not leave behind. However two geologists flew it out. The tail of the Avro was tied to a tree and when decided to stay behind so that we could put this fellow In "Smithy" ran to full throttle on the engines, the rope was on a stretcher. We flew him back to Port Augusta where cut with an axe and away he went. He landed at Coffs they operated on him that night. The geologists managed Harbour and I cadged a ride with him back to Sydney. to get back some weeks later by operating some form of trike on the railway line. The Canberra's engine continued to give us trouble, mainly with the big end sleeve, and I was down at West The Canberra was originally fitted with seven Wyalong working on it when Les telephoned me from passenger seats and a toilet, but we pulled the toilet out Sydney to say that Dave Smith had killed himself. The and fitted three more seats for barnstorming, The original , the D.H.71 VH-UNH, was aeroplane could carry ten passengers or a ton of freight, a fast, light little aeroplane that was brought out to and had a range of four hours at 110 mph. Australia by Hubert S. Broad, one of De Havilland's test pilots. It was bought by Frank K. Bardsley, who ran a bus Then Les flew the Canberra with a full load of service out to Cronulla, NSW, but it was only ever flown by passengers in a race that was held at Coffs Harbour. He Broad. It was extremely sensitive on the controls and I ran the engine at full throttle and one of the connecting believe it had to be flown with the hand on the joystick braced by the other hand. On the morning of 17th

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September 1930, Dave Smith got it out of the hangar at I went home and found everything all right but my Mascot and flew it. It started to porpoise with him and finances were a bit strained and the electric light had been crashed. turned off. I had my wife, her mother and my two children to support and we were nearly broke. I pottered around On one of our subsequent trips, we had four or five Mascot, getting odd jobs here, there and everywhere; politicians who wanted to go to Newcastle and Inverell on anything I could find to do. On one occasion Tommy an electioneering campaign. We also had trouble with the O'Dea and I spray-painted his Bristol Tourer VH-UDZ with centre main big end bearing of the engine but I thought it a fly-spray gun. would probably be all right for the trip. The main big end bearing carried all the connecting rods and was a floating Australian National Airways' Avro Ten Southern Cloud, sleeve made of bronze and coated inside and out with a with "Shortie" Shortridge in command, was lost on 20th thin film of white metal. Three or four times I had made up March 1931. The following morning I had just got up and a new one of these sleeves and fitted it, only to find that was having breakfast when Les Holden and Pat Hall drove the white metal wasn't hard enough and kept flaking away, up and said we were going to go searching for it. My wife's mother made us all a cup of tea and something to When we got the politicians to Newcastle, I pulled out eat and then we hurried off to Mascot. Charlie Ulm was the scavenge filter as a precaution to see what was going there with his own little Moth, VH-UFU, and Pat Hall and on. I found a small quantity of white metal flakes. "What Les Holden each borrowed a Moth from the Aero Club, do we do?" I asked Les. The engine was running all right. We flew to Tumbarumba, which we used as a base for the and the oil pressure and temperature were normal. three Gipsy Moths. We spent a fortnight searching for the Southern Cloud, flying up and down the bush, without Les said, "We can't carry the aeroplane back to success. Sydney on a train, we can't put it on a boat; the only thing we can do is fly it." It was a bit of a mystery because Shortridge was a very capable pilot and I reckoned at the time that on The engine being a radial, all the reciprocating running into bad weather, he would have flown west to get components were splash fed with the oil, with a scavenge out into the open country again. But apparently he didn't, filter between the two bottom cylinders where any foreign One witness, a schoolteacher, said he saw the aircraft particles would be picked up and could do no harm. So come through the clouds and then start to climb up again, we carried on to Inverell, where on inspection of the right in the middle of the mountains. Thirty-one years scavenge filter we found a few more flakes. After an later, a man working on the Snowy Mountains Hydro­ overnight stop we carried on back to Newcastle where our Electric Scheme stumbled across the wreckage where the passengers decided to stay the night and return to Sydney Southern Cloud had hit a mountain, very close to where by train. The engine was still running well, so we decided we had been searching. I obtained a piece of the to get a bit of height because of the rough terrain between wreckage, mounted it on a polished board and presented Newcastle and Sydney but we ran into strong southerly winds and had to fly at wave-top height to avoid low scud. However, we arrived back safely and next day pulled the engine down to see what could be done about the bearing.

It wasn't until this time that we learned from the Bristol people in England that the white metal had to be spun while in a plastic state at 2,000 rpm in order to harden it. We had been pouring the white metal in the normal way, turning up a bearing and fitting it, but the white metal wasn't hard enough to stand up to the work. When we discovered the secret, we had P. J. Taylor make up special jigs to spin the sleeves, did a couple of them and got a really successful one, which was still running in the engine some years later when the aircraft was destroyed in an accident at Kiapit in the Markham Valley, New Guinea.

The Depression was getting very bad by the end of 1930. Les Holden and I were still barnstorming around the western districts of New South Wales but things were getting very tight. The farmers were even handing their cars in and we couldn't make a penny. By the time we got to Moree, things were really bad. We were in debt to the Shell Company for £600 and they wouldn't give us any more petrol. So we were stuck in Moree.

We decided our best move was to do some flights at two shillings and sixpence each, with the bit of gas we had. This gave us money to get petrol from the local pumps, sufficient to get us to Coonamble. In Coonamble we did more flights for two shillings and sixpence and that bought us enough petrol to get to Coonabarabran, where we did the same thing again. That got us back to Sydney Les Holden (left) and Joe Taylor and the DH61. and that was it.

75 AHSA Aviation Heritage it to the Royal Aero Club of New South Wales as a for the flight across to Salamaua. The postal set-up then reminder that some clouds have a hard core was such that it was compulsory for any transport anywhere to carry mail and we were forced to unload My wife was very pregnant at the time and when I got some of our personal gear to make room for the mail from back to Sydney after the search, I was just in time to go to Moresby to Rabaul. bed and get up again at 3 o'clock in the morning to dash for the doctor. There was no time to get to the hospital and my son was born at home that morning. Les Holden had a daughter born at much the same time.

Les had been trying to pay off the Canberra. His father, H. W. Holden, who was a director of I Nestles, then formed a little syndicate, Holden's Air Transport Services, with Dr George R. Hamilton, a skin specialist at Sydney Hospital, and Fred Z. Eager, who was the manager of Ford Australia, based in Brisbane. They bought the Canberra and The “Canberra” at Wau, 1931, with Guinea Airways Junkers G 31 behind. employed Les, who also held shares, to operate it. Les' father then suggested that we With our base in Salamaua, we started off flying to should pack up and go to New Guinea, since we might as different aerodromes with supplies. We were warned off well be broke up there as down In Sydney. I said to Les at from Bulolo because it was a private aerodrome, but the the time, "I don't see why I shouldn't have a few shares in warning didn't cut any odds with Les Holden: he was going the company too," and he agreed. So I took 200 shares in to go there and that was it. Guinea Airways used to fly the Holden's Air Transport Services. We went to New Guinea supplies in for the miners once a week but the men and we never looked back until Les died. wanted a more regular service. So Les came to an agreement with the Bulolo Gold Dredging Company for a We took the Canberra up on the Marsina in May 1931, limited operation. Les would fly in and the men would with the wings off. We landed it at Port Moresby and I had crowd around, giving him orders for a couple of pounds of to rig it, just off the wharf. We couldn't carry it to the tobacco, a hat, a pair of boots, or what have you. When aerodrome so we had to get it around to Ela Beach, where he came back to Salamaua with the orders, I would go to we could take off. The natives had to hold the trees up the store and buy the items and then load the aeroplane while we pulled the aeroplane through with the wings for Les to go back to Bulolo. As a result, he built up a folded back, on to the beach. Ela Beach is a little, narrow, pretty good business in Bulolo and Wau. curved beach and we waited two days for the tide to go out. But we found there isn't any tide: the beach stayed One very frightening experience we had was when we the same. We had to get off somehow so we took off on a had some petrol to freight from Salamaua to Wau. We curve and flew out to the aerodrome where we loaded up couldn't get the 44-gallon drums through the door of the Canberra so we decanted the petrol into 5-gallon containers and closed them with any bungs we had. On the climb to Wau, the bungs blew out, together with a quantity of petrol. With the floor swimming with petrol and the exhausts just underneath the cabin, I had no fingernails left by the time we arrived at Wau. Needless to say, we did not do that again.

Les Holden Salamaua C. 1930 purchased another aeroplane, a Waco

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Model 10T VH-ULV, on 25th November 1931 and Davies, who later became Ansett's Chief Engineer and employed Tommy O'Dea to fly it. On 2nd August 1932, then the first Chief Engineer of TAA. The Canberra was a Tommy was flying the Canberra on a trip to Salamaua and beautiful aeroplane, with very short landing and take-off back. Taking off from Salamaua towards the nearby hills, capabilities. It was finally written off on 2nd November he realised that he couldn't climb quickly enough to avoid 1934 when Eddie Sutcliffe hit a native house at Kiapit, up the hills so he pulled the throttle and tried to stop. He in the Markham Valley, and it caught fire and burned, ended up with the aeroplane's nose in the Bitoi River and Eventually Tommy O'Dea sold Holden's Air Transport the bottom port mainplane damaged. Insurance covered Services to Guinea Airways. Tom died in Western the cost of a new mainplane, which we ordered from De Australia in the late 1970s. Havilland's in Sydney, but the aircraft was out of action for a while awaiting delivery of the wing and additional spares. I joined W. R. Carpenter & Company at Salamaua in July 1933. At that time there were only two pilots, Dick Les Holden left for Sydney for a well-earned holiday Mant and Col Ferguson, and on the ground staff side and to arrange for the shipment of the spare parts for the Harry Wyatt and George Mendham. Harry Wyatt was Canberra. He was flying on 18th September 1932 from responsible for transport between Salamaua and the Brisbane to Sydney with Dr Hamilton to go on a fishing trip aerodrome. I understand that George Mendham had with Fred Eager when he died. The wing of the De worked for Sir Walter Carpenter as a chauffeur and Havilland D.H.80 Puss Moth he was travelling in, VH-UPM, general handyman before he came up to New Guinea and owned and piloted by Keith Virtue's brother, Ralph, started to get mixed up in aviation. He worked for me in collapsed in flight at Byron Bay and the aircraft plunged to the hangar for a while, doing odd jobs about the place, the ground, killing all three. Les and I had done a few then he came down to Sydney and learned to fly. Later he thousand hours in the air together in the Canberra and we went back to New Guinea and started flying on his own. had absolute confidence in each other. His death shocked me deeply. Col Ferguson was eventually killed in the crash of the VH-URO on 30th September 1935, Tommy O'Dea took over as manager and we up in the Bitoi Valley. He had done a number of trips that continued to run the business for a while. I left Holden's in day and we were standing leaning on the wing and talking mid-1933 and sold my shares in the business to Tom when he said, "I think I'll do another trip." It was a bit late O'Dea. My place was taken at Holden's by John J. in the day, as we used to get the flying over as early as

Some of W.R. Carpenter’s DH Fleet. All photographed at Salamaua

DH 84 VH-UTX "HOPE” (Right) Below left, DH60 VH-UJM. Below right, DH84 VH-UVB “HELEN” Lower left, DH83 VH-UUS “IRENE” Lower right, DH50J VH-UMN “MAISIE” (The aircraft were named after the wives of staff members) 4HSA Aviation Heritage possible, but off he went. It was his last trip. length.

Col didn't come back that night. We contacted Wau Whilst I was at work in the hangar on another and found he hadn't arrived there so we knew something occasion, the natives rushed in and informed me that had happened. Eddie Sutcliffe had been flying out of Wau there was a "puk-puk" (crocodile) in the river at the end of at the time and he said that he saw Col fly in underneath the aerodrome. I took the .32 rifle down and shot it. The the clouds, whereas he stayed above them. I flew up to natives pulled it out of the river but ruined the skin in trying Wau when the wreckage was located and walked in to to preserve it. They ate the remainder. This was the start where the aircraft was. It was in a saddle in the mountains of a crocodile plague, so far as the natives were with the 10,000 feet high Mount Thompson on one side concerned. Every day there were crocodiles, so finally, and another mountain on the other. One could get after being informed of yet another sighting, I went down through the gap at about 6,000 feet in good visibility but to the river and shot at what appeared to be a crocodile at there had been a strong wind blowing and he just couldn't the far bank. I fired several shots at it and nothing get over the saddle - by a margin of only a few feet. happened. On further investigation it proved to be a banana leaf moving up and down with the movement of Carpenters had a good set-up at Salamaua. We had a the water. The plague was over. little 50-foot hangar with a workshop right along the back, Another of the pilots, Norm Fader, wrote off equipped with a lathe, an air compressor and other Carpenter's De Havilland D.H.50 VH-UMN in the Bitoi equipment. Gradually we built up the workshop with all Valley on 16th October 1937. Low cloud prevented him the equipment we needed. Engines were stripped right from getting over the gap at Black Cat and he turned into a down to the bearings and completely rebuilt. Of course, blind valley where he eventually flew into the tops of the we had to do everything ourselves on the site as we trees. The sudden stop catapulted him out of the cockpit couldn't send the work down to Australia. The first little and the top of the joystick caught the crutch of his pants hangar soon wasn't big enough for the number of aircraft and ripped them off. The first report of the accident we we had and fairly early In the piece a second, larger had from natives in the area told of a man walking around hangar was built. with no pants. Patrol Officer "Spud" Murphy and I set out to search and we found Norm in a native village - by this In fact, the facilities of the workshop there were such time wearing a lap-lap. that I was able to build a 6-Inch astronomical telescope in my spare time. I did my own aluminium castings on an old I sent my wife and family back to Sydney in 1939 when gold furnace which was not in use, and turned and the war broke out. The Carpenter internal New Guinea machined them on the lathe. The mirror and lenses were service had become Mandated Airlines in September 1936 ground by hand. On a clear night, with no dust or and I stayed with them until 1941, when 1 came down to humidity, the skies In Salamaua were beautiful and I used Sydney on leave and rejoined the RAAF on a short service to do a bit of work for the British Astronomical Association, commission. My enlistment in the Air Force lasted only a of which I became a member. Of course, the war ruined matter of weeks before I was informed that I was to be all that and when the Japanese saw the mounting for my transferred to the Department of Aircraft Production at telescope, they thought It was a machine-gun mounting Fishermen's Bend. The Department sent me to the and blew it, together with the house, out of the ground. Beaufort Scheme where I had charge of the Experimental When I went back after the war, ail the houses were gone and Flight Test Shed, supervising the flight testing. and the only part of my house that I found was one of the legs off the stove. I joined Ansett Airways in 1945 as Assistant to the Chief Engineer, Jack Davies, in Melbourne before coming When I first joined Carpenters, I was on my own in the to Sydney to work for them for a while. In 1946 I left and engineering work. Then I was joined by Arthur Collins, joined Qantas Empire Airways as Station Engineer In Lae. who learned to fly a couple of years later and became a During this time in Lae, a somewhat disturbing incident pilot with the company. Joss Crisp joined me as an occurred. All civilians were camped in old army huts near engineer, too, before getting a job as a pilot. He was killed the Butibum village. Our hut had one open side, and on on 14th February 1942 in the crash of Carpenter's awakening one morning I noticed, against the dawn sky, Lockheed 14 VH-ADS at . Other members of the the head of a four-foot snake waving about. I assumed it engineering staff included Peter Adrian, Viv Clifton, Clem was outside the mosquito net, but to my concern Ethell, "Blue" Smith, Doug Anderson and several others. discovered that it was coiled up on my pillow and had been in the mosquito net all night. I slid gently out and During the period of my employment with W. R. promptly despatched said snake. Carpenter, several interesting and humorous events occurred. In the early days, the staff were housed in a But things didn't work out too well with Qantas and I mess adjacent to the hangar. Early one morning I was stayed with them for only twelve months. In April 1947, awakened by noises coming from our fowl house. Dick with the financial aid of several ex-New Guinea people, I Mant was also awake and suggested someone may be formed a small company, Taylor's Air Transport. We getting off with some chooks, and that we should purchased two De Havilland D.H.84 Dragons, VH-AFK investigate. So Dick with a revolver, and I with a torch, and VH-AHY, from a Sydney motor car dealer on 10th went down, but at first we could not see anything. The June. These had both been operated by New England door of the fowl house was only about eighteen inches Airways at Bankstown and were former Air Force aircraft wide. I went inside and shone the torch around, but could from Disposals which had been reconditioned in see nothing until I started to come out, when I noticed the passenger-carrying configuration. I employed two pilots, very large abdomen of a snake. It had just swallowed a Doug Elphinstone and Ross Kerrick, two engineers. Max fowl, hence the swelling. Dick suggested that he shoot it, Hardcastle and Bruce Pitman\ and an accounts clerk, Ted but while I was inside and not sure of Dick's marksmanship, I cautioned against it. However, I sidled out and we duly killed it. The snake measured 16 feet in ''Max Hardcastle and Bruce Pitman were ex-RAAF engineers.

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Ryan, and we flew to New Guinea in the Dragons. Guinea.

During the trip we were held up at Thursday Island for Then on 6th September 1948, the Dragon VH-AFK several days by bad weather and had to proceed to Lae was wrecked in a forced landing 10 miles south of Bena via Daru Island and Port Moresby. On our arrival at Lae, a Bena. Pilot Johnny Keene lost an engine and, instead of Department Of Civil Aviation representative enquired as to carrying on, decided to land in the long kunai grass. We what authority we had to operate. When we told him that pulled the wreckage to pieces and brought it back to Lae DCA in Melbourne had approved our service, he was in a DC-3 but the aircraft was not rebuilt. satisfied. On 18th October I had bought another Dragon, VH- We started to acquire freight and passenger business BJH, from Aircrafts Pty Ltd. It was flown from Brisbane by and continued successfully until we were unfortunate to Jack Stammer on 23rd October, arriving at Lae on 27th, lose one of our aircraft. On 20th May 1948, the pilot and he was employed, initially until Ray Harris arrived, but undershot the airstrip at Slate Creek and wrote off VH- then was asked to stay on. AHY. This was replaced by the Dragon VH-AAC, purchased in Brisbane on 9th June. One of Carpenter's During the time I was running Taylor's Air Transport, I old Dragons, VH-USA, was for sale in Sydney and that had a total of seven pilots working for me: Doug was the one I wanted. Sid Marshall had it at the time but Elphinstone, Ross Kerrick, Johnny Keene, Bill Passlow ^ he couldn't sell it to me because the owner had set Jim Perry, Ray Harris and Jack Stammer. Doug conditions on its use in New Guinea. Elphinstone, who was my Chief Pilot and who was also a shareholder, had formerly been with Qantas as a Captain The skeletons of Mandated Airlines' two hangars were on Lockheed L.749 Constellations. He eventually left still at Salamaua when I went back to New Guinea and I Taylor's Air Transport to go to Mandated Airlines and then almost bought them. All the galvanised iron had been went gold mining. Jim Perry also later joined Mandated. blown off them but, apart from a bit of damage here and On the engineering side, I had Max Hardcastle, Bruce there, the rest of the structure was ail right. But it was Pitman and Ray Stockton. Three of the pilots (Ross such a job to get them stripped down and carted across Kerrick, Johnny Keene and Jack Stammer) went on to join the Huon Gulf to Lae that I abandoned the idea. I think Qantas, as did Max Hardcastle and Bruce Pitman. somebody else bought them afterwards. Guinea Air Traders was a newcomer to the Territory. It We continued operating satisfactorily and cleared a was run by two brothers from Sydney, John and Samuel profit of 20% at the end of the first year. However, capital Jamieson, who had bought a number of Avro Ansons from was always a problem. The area from which we were Disposals in 1946 and taken them up to New Guinea, operating was not satisfactory and staff accommodation even though they knew very little about aviation. Later and workshops were dire necessities which we lacked. they replaced the Ansons with Lockheed Hudsons, two Doug Elphinstone, my Chief Pilot, left to join Mandated Douglas DC-2s and two DC-3s. They had a contract with Airlines in March 1948 and I employed pilots Jim Perry, Bulolo Gold Dredging Company to fly supplies in the DC-3 Johnny Keene and Bill Passlow (who became the new into Bulolo but they soon got on the wrong side of them. Chief Pilot). When the ships used to arrive, the frozen cargo would be unstowed and it had to be picked up quickly and taken There was a chap in Lae who owned Milne Bay straight to Wau or Bulolo, where it would be put into the Merchants Ltd and had the salvage rights at Milne Bay. refrigerators, otherwise it would go off. On one occasion, He had bought an Avro Anson, VH-AHG, from Disposals their DC-3 was found sitting on the ground with melting ice and flown it to New Guinea in January 1948. However, dripping out the bottom and the frozen cargo forgotten, the pilots he employed wouldn't stay with him, so he came and Guinea Air Traders lost their contract. to me in desperation one day in May 1948 and said that if I would give him 40 hours' flying when he wanted it, I could I was faced with the same sort of problems, since we have the Anson. I agreed and sent a pilot over to Port were also carrying frozen cargoes on the outside runs Moresby to bring the aeroplane back. while Guinea Air Traders were doing the big freighting job for Bulolo Gold Dredging. We had to get our supplies to a The Anson was a bit of a nuisance really, as the metal freezer in Lae and we had to get them there as fast as we propellers used to throw rocks back through the tailplane could. As I had no freezer, when the weather delayed spar and make a heck of a mess of it. But the deal suited flights I had to borrow space until it cleared and we were me because we used to do a mail run on Friday able to make our deliveries. afternoons from Lae right through the Highlands and back again, and the Anson was much faster than the Dragons. Before I went up to New Guinea with the two Dragons, It was quite a good trip with good revenue. Anyway, I I had been to see Eddie Ward, who was the Minister for gave the chap his 40 hours' flying and he was satisfied. External Territories. I had discussed my plans with him However, there was no paperwork handed over with it at and his Secretary and they were quite happy about it as all; things were so casual in those days and this later my airline was a co-operative organisation mainly for the caused an argument when I came to sell up the company. use of its shareholders throughout the Territory. When finally the RAAF closed down all its operations in New At one stage, we leased another Anson, VH-BJP, from a Melbourne firm for three months. Bill Passlow collected VH-BJP from Albury and on his way back called in at ^Bill Passlow was killed in the crash of De Havilland D.H.84 Dragon VH-AOT at Wapenamunda, New Guinea, on 2nd August Broken Hill to interview another pilot, Ray Harris, of the 1955. Aero Club of Broken Hill. Ray had learned to fly there at ^Ray Harris became a DCA Examiner of Airmen. the Aero Club before the war and had served as an '^Max Hardcastle was killed in a tragic accident at Qantas' Block instructor in the RAAF before returning to Broken Hill after Maintenance Hangar at Mascot when he was caught in the the war as a mining surveyor. Ray then joined us in New retraction of a of a 707.

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have the capital to cover these requirements, so when I was approached by the Secretary of Guinea Air Traders to buy me out, after consultation with our Directors we agreed to sell our company, effective 1st March 1949, and repay the capital to our shareholders. I agreed to sell because of a combination of quite a few things, the most important of which was the fact that all my life I had seldom been home with my family. I had two sons going Guinea, the Department offered to sell me six DC-3s and to high school In Sydney and they hardly knew me. In the the routes that the Air Force used to fly in New Guinea. finish I thought, what the hell, I was homesick. But I wasn’t in the race: I didn't have the money to even think about it. It was agreed that Guinea Air Traders would pay us a deposit on the organisation plus a fixed amount every I have since thought that, being a very good friend of month for six months. There was also a clause that if they Arthur Butler, I may have been able to get him to invest in defaulted In their payments, we could repossess the the DC-3s On the other hand, I had mentioned it to Reg aeroplanes. At this time, they got themselves into a lot of Ansett at one time. As an executive with Ansett towards problems, financial and otherwise, and I repossessed the the end of the war, I used to have lunch with Reg every aeroplanes several times. But when they came to light day and I knew him pretty well. Reg had replied, "It's a bit with the money, I let them have them back again. I could too early to think about it yet." I may have been able to simply have taken the aircraft when they defaulted but I get the money but I think 1 was more keen to get out of the didn't, I let them get away with it. The transaction was not Territory and back to Sydney. finalised until 1950 but, as it transpired, Guinea Air Traders ceased operations in New Guinea a few months Guinea Air Traders lost a Lockheed Hudson that they later and the company was liquidated. We might just as had chartered from Lionel van Praag, VH-ALA, at Lae on well have called up more capital and stayed where we 18th April 1948. I had built a little house for myself were but, judging by subsequent aircraft activities in New adjacent to my hangar so that I could keep an eye on the Guinea, I think we made the right decision. aircraft. That morning I had got up and was half-dressed After I returned to Sydney in 1950, I went down to after taking a shower when I looked out and saw the Wagga and joined Roy Condon, who ran a motor business Hudson taking off to return to Wau. As it took off in the there. We were going to start an aircraft maintenance and direction of the hills, it lost the inboard engine. The pilot. flying school business but it didn't last very long because Captain G. S. Bowen, couldn't turn right because of the the business just wasn't there. Shortly after we shut the mountains and he had to turn left against the dead engine, organisation down and I came back to Sydney, Roy died with the result that the aircraft just rolled over on its back of a heart complaint. and went straight into the mud in the mouth of the Markham River. Rupert Murray, the Department of Civil I then joined Bristol Aviation Services Pty Ltd at Aviation Aircraft Surveyor, went out in a boat but there was Bankstown as Senior Inspector Engines, and later as nothing could be done and the wreck was just left there. Senior Inspector Airframes. In late 1953 the Australian The Hudson had 4 white men and 33 natives aboard, all of Government presented six ex-RAAF Catalina amphibians whom died. to the Dutch Government and Bristol's were given the job of rebuilding them for use by the Dutch Air Force While making a test flight near Lae on 25th March 1950, another Hudson, VH-BDN, crashed into a house, As we were getting near the end of the work on the killing a young man and his wife, Mr and Mrs Stanley Catalinas in late 1954, I joined the Royal Aero Club of Flarey. The pilot was badly injured and died in Lae New South Wales. While I was at the Club I was hospital ten days later. Two engineers who were in the accepted by the Royal Aeronautical Society as an Hudson were thrown from the tail, which broke off, and Associate, which I considered a great honour. I was Chief were uninjured. The plane belonged to Mandated Airlines Engineer with the Club for 13 years and when I retired in and trouble appeared to develop right after takeoff, when August 1969, I was honoured by being made an Honorary at about 400 feet above Lae's aerodrome black smoke Life Member. My time with the Club was one of the was seen to come from one of the aircraft’s motors. The happiest associations of my aviation career. pilot made a low approach towards the strip but the plane seemed to get out of control, ploughing through a clump of Looking back, it may appear to some that we early bamboos which tore off a wing. It appears to have been at aviation people took foolish and unnecessary risks. This this stage that the roof of the cockpit was torn off. The was not so. The aeroplanes of those days were quite safe Hudson then swerved into the house, under which Mr and and reliable in the right hands. With their low landing and Mrs Flarey were standing, and burst into flames. The take-off speeds it was not unusual, in the case of a very young couple were badly injured and burned, Mrs Flarey rare engine failure, to find a paddock, road or beach to put dying 20 minutes later in hospital and her husband dying down quite safely. I think there was a much closer liaison the following afternoon. between pilots and engineers in the barnstorming days, when each depended so much on the other, than at any In 1949, as it became more vital to consolidate our other time. position, it was necessary to build staff quarters, a proper hangar and workshop, as well as to obtain larger aircraft to 6 enable us to compete with bigger organisations coming One PBY-5A was reduced for spare parts. The six aircraft were: into the field. I had to reassess our position. I did not A24-92 reduced to spares A24-99 became 16-224, scrapped in 1957 A24-104 became 16-220, scrapped in 1956 ^ommy Zoffman and Tommy Yeomans of Bulolo Gold Dredging A24-110 became 16-221, scrapped in 1956 had several discussions with Joe Taylor trying to persuade him to A24-111 became 16-222, scrapped in 1958 buy a DC-3 but Joe told them he was not equipped to handle it. A24-112 became 16-225, scrapped in 1957.

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