Aircraft Down: Landings, Crash Landings and Rescues

by Alec Brew

  When his aircraft was ready he intended to fly across the Atlantic and then continue across America and the Pacific to complete a circuit of the world at almost its greatest circumference. On 24 June 1929 Southern Cross was once more ready for a momentous flight. Fully-fuelled, it stood on the beach at Portmarnock, Ireland, with three crew members: Kingsford-Smith and his new navigator, the Dutchman, Evert van Dyk, and wireless operator JW Stannage. At 4.25 am they took off and headed west across the cold waters of the Atlantic. They landed at Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, after 31.5 hours in the air. They then flew across America, via New York, to Oakland Airport, completing their circumnavigation of the Earth. Some regard this as the first circumnavigation, as the American Army fliers of 1924 who are usually credited with the feat, did not cross the Equator on any point of their circumnavigation.

  For his next exploit, Kingsford-Smith attempted to beat Bert Hinkler’s record for an England-to-Australia flight, and for the purpose abandoned his faithful Fokker monoplane. Avro built a special long-range Avian for him, which he christened Southern Cross Junior. In this he took off from Heston Airfield on 9 October 1930, and arrived at Port Darwin on the afternoon of the 19th, having beaten the record, achieving the flight in fewer than ten days.

  His prestige was totally restored in his native land. In 1931 he failed in an attempt to break Jim Mollison’s Australia-to-England record, but then in 1931 Southern Cross returned to the news when Kingsford-Smith used it to rescue an experimental consignment of airmail. The Imperial Airways DH66, bringing the mail from England, force-landed on the island of Timor and was put out of action. Qantas had a contract to transport the mail from Darwin, but did not have an aircraft capable of crossing the Timor Sea with it. Kingsford-Smith came to the rescue in Southern Cross, not only flying out to Timor to fetch the inbound mail, but also flying the outbound mail as far as Burma, where it was transferred to Imperial Airways.

  Later in the year he also rescued the Christmas mail. The Australian National Airways Avro Ten, Southern Sun, broke down on Alor Star in Malaya, taking the Christmas mail to Great Britain. Kingsford-Smith set off in another Avro Ten to retrieve the situation.

  Once more he encountered a storm over northern Australia and landed in Darwin amidst thunder and lightning. On the soft ground the aircraft crashed into a telegraph pole and was severely damaged. Frantic repairs put it back into the air and he was able to proceed to Alor Star and collect the mail. He then flew to England through fog and snowstorms, arriving in time on 16 December, and saving the reputation of his airline.

  Nevertheless, Kingsford-Smith’s fortunes were to plummet again, and in 1932 he was reduced to giving joy-flights in Southern Cross at 10 shillings a flip. The following year he once more broke the England-to-Australia record, this time flying a Percival Gull, which he named Miss Southern Cross. He was once more a national hero, knighted by the King, and granted £3000 by a proud Government.

  Perhaps Australia is the only country where heroes are knocked off their pedestals with greater alacrity than England, and Kingsford-Smith was to discover this one more time. He naturally entered for the England-to-Australia air race of 1934. With money raised by public subscription, he purchased a Lockheed Altair for the race, but when the aircraft was badly damaged in Australia it was not possible to repair it in time to reach England for the start. He was the victim of much approbation, and determined to return the aircraft to its makers.

  With PG Taylor as co-pilot he flew from Australia to America across the Pacific, becoming the first man to do so, just as he had been the first to make the flight in the opposite direction. His place on the pedestal was assured. He was unable to sell the Altair, and had it shipped to Great Britain.

  He made his last flight in the old Southern Cross on 18 July 1935 from Mascot to Richmond, where he handed it over to the people of Australia. There it remained in storage until 1944, when RAAF fitters put it back together again for use in a film about Kingsford-Smith’s life. This famous aircraft was then installed in a purpose-built building at Eagle Farm Airport, Brisbane, very near to the point Kingsford-Smith completed his Pacific flight.

  Later in 1935 Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith set out on his last flight from England to Australia in the Altair Lady Southern Cross, with co-pilot Thomas Pethybridge. They left Lympne on 6 November, and Baghdad was reached in 29.5 hours. He was last seen on 7 November flying over Calcutta at 21.06 hrs. He disappeared without trace over the Bay of Bengal.

  Two years later a Lockheed Altair wheel was washed up on the coast of Burma. Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith was only 38 years old when he died. He had pioneered some of the great air routes of the world, and made a whole continent air-minded. He was a brave and skilful pilot, and earned all the plaudits he received.

  CHAPTER 8

  Down in an Ornamental Lake

  Pilots flying landplanes over the sea have always been anxious not to have to make a forced landing on the water. Conversely, flying boat pilots flying over land can run into equally worrying problems. When, suddenly, that sickening moment occurs, when the engine note drops, or something breaks, they look round desperately for a piece of water, any piece of water, even an ornamental lake.

  In 1935 No. 209 Squadron at Felixstowe was suffering from a lack of aircraft. They had a few old Southamptons and were able to cadge the odd flight in a Perth. To add insult to injury they became involved in the re-equipment of No. 230 Squadron, which had reformed at Pembroke Dock on 1 December 1934. They received their first Singapore III, K4579, flown directly from Short Bros at Rochester to Pembroke Dock, on 26 April 1935; the next, K4580, was collected from Rochester on 21 May; and the third, K4578, was collected on 22 June. The fourth and fifth Singapores did not arrive until August.

  The Singapore III was a development of the earlier Singapore II, which though nominally a development of the much earlier Singapore I, was virtually a completely new design to Spec. R.32/27. It was a four-engined biplane flying boat, with the Kestrel engines in tandem pairs, two tractors and two pushers. The prototype, N246, flew briefly for the first time on 27 March 1930. After prolonged testing the Singapore was ordered into production in August 1933, the production version being known as the Singapore III.

  The aircraft had a span of 90 feet and a length of 63 feet 9 inches, with an all-up weight of 31,500 lb. The four Kestrel engines gave it a maximum speed of 140 mph, and it had a range of 1000 miles.

  No. 230 Squadron was the first to form on Singapore IIIs. Its first short cruise with the aircraft was from 10 to 14 June, with K4580 and K4579, flying to Ireland. It was planned to send No. 230 to Egypt and No. 209 was detailed to help collect all the necessary equipment for service in the Middle East, at Felixstowe, before handing the aircraft back to a No. 230 Squadron crew to ferry the aircraft to its base.

  On one such occasion the Singapore, K4580, was at Felixstowe being kitted out for service to the Middle East. It was collected by Flight Lieutenant Hill, who had been posted to No. 230 Squadron on 16 January 1935. He had assumed command of the Squadron for a while, until Wing Commander WH Dunn, arrived as CO on 23 February. Hill arrived to fetch the aircraft on 2 September and decided to set off after an early lunch. It happened to be a Wednesday, the day No. 209 had half a day off for various sports. Flying Officer Edwin Shipley was the pilot left alone in the Duty Pilot’s Hut on the Front, normally a very quiet duty. Then he received an extraordinary signal from Hill.

  29. A Short Singapore III, K4583, at Felixstowe shortly after K4580 had departed for its unscheduled visit to Hever Castle.

  ‘Have landed in ornamental lake at Hever Castle, with tailplane struts carried away in the air.’

  The Singapore had been flying sedately over Kent, when the tail incidence gear failed. This was not the only known failure of these struts, before Shorts managed to cure the problem, but it gave Hill some heart-stopping moments.

  He happened to be over Edenbridge in Kent. Below him were the grounds of Hever Castle, and most importantly, the 700 yard long
ornamental lake. Hill successfully managed to land the aircraft, and taxied to the bank to explain his sudden arrival to the curious locals.

  Although a successful landing had been made on the lake, it seemed rather too small to consider a take-off, so John Lankester Parker, the chief test pilot of Short Bros, was consulted. He was, perhaps, the most experienced flying boat pilot in the country, as he had been testing waterborne aircraft for the Royal Naval Air Service even before his employment with the country’s pre-eminent flying boat manufacturers.

  John Lankester Parker’s family had run a flour mill at Barton Mills, Mildenhall. In 1910, aged 14 he first took a sudden interest in flying when out on a walk with his elder brother. They watched some rooks performing startling aerial manoeuvres, and the young man suddenly declared his intention of becoming a pilot, but he did not even see an aircraft for two years. In the autumn of 1912 two BE2s landed at Worlington near his home, while on Army exercises.

  Lankester Parker learned to fly at the Vickers School at Brooklands and qualified in June 1914. He became a flight instructor on seaplanes at the school on Lake Windermere, and also a freelance test pilot. When he arrived at Short Bros at Eastchurch in 1916, Horace Short would not at first let him test any aircraft, believing him too young, but Lankester Parker persisted. In the end Horace Short relented and told him to test fly a Short bomber. He actually put three of the Short bombers through their tests that day, and became Shorts’ chief test pilot, a position he held for over thirty years.

  Lankester Parker travelled the short distance to Hever Castle to examine the problem. At the same time Short Bros sent a team out to undertake temporary repairs to the aircraft, which took until 13 September. Normally, when an aircraft is flown out of a restricted space the technique is to hold the brakes on, while the engines are run up to full power and then release them. Flying boats, of course, have no brakes. Lankester Parker ordered the Singapore to be lightened as much as was possible, and then had it tethered to a very stout tree. He took just one other crew member aboard with him, a fitter named Corporal Lewis, who was sited in the rear gunner’s position, armed with an axe. Lankester Parker ran up the engines to full throttle, and then signalled the fitter to chop the rope. The big Singapore shot forward like a rocket, as far as such a stately flying machine could, and left the lake in almost as spectacular a fashion as it had arrived.

  The aircraft was flown back to Rochester for final repairs, and was then flown back to the Squadron on 22 September, along with K4578 and K4579. After being handed back to the RAF, K4580 went with the No. 230 Squadron to the Middle East, departing on 23 September, with Wing Commander Dunn piloting. K4580 became the CO’s usual aircraft.

  On New Year’s Day in 1936 K4580 carried out a sea search for another flying boat in trouble, the Imperial Airways Short Calcutta, G-AASJ, City of Khartoum. This was a veteran boat, which had flown for the first time on 10 January 1930, being handed over to Imperial Airways the following day. The Calcuttas had been withdrawn from service, but two had been pressed back into use on the Mediterranean route after the crash of the Short Kent Sylvanus.

  In putting them back into use, a mechanic had adjusted the carburettor jets to consume 10 per cent too much fuel. Approaching the flare path at Alexandria on the evening of 31 December 1935, all three engines of City of Khartoum had run out of fuel and stopped together. The aircraft fell out of the air and the hull spilt open when it hit the water. It sank immediately.

  The flare path crew were amazed to see the aircraft’s lights suddenly disappear, but could not send the Imperial Airways tender out of the harbour as it was not built to cope with the open sea. It was some hours before the duty destroyer could get up steam and reach the area, and K4580 was also sent out on the search at first light. Sadly, only the pilot of the Calcutta was found and rescued.

  No. 230 Squadron returned to the UK after this deployment on 30 July 1936. Before being deployed to the Far East, it handed over three of its Singapores, including K4580, to No. 210 Squadron. They remained with No. 210 until September 1938, when they were passed fleetingly to No. 209 Squadron. Once more No. 209 did not get its hands on K4580 for very long, as it was turned over to the ECD in October. The aircraft was then transferred to the Flying Boat Training Squadron in September 1939. It was finally struck off charge in 1940, after a far longer and more eventful career than might have been expected if that ornamental lake at Hever Castle had not hove into view at just the right moment.

  CHAPTER 9

  Down in the Desert and Down in the Sea

  In 1936 the chief designer of General Aircraft, FF Crocombe, flew to Australia. On the way his airliner force-landed in the Arabian desert, and on the way back, just seven weeks later, he force-landed on a tidal reef in the Timor Sea.

  Fred Crocombe had worked for Fairey Aviation until HJ Steiger formed the Monospar Wing Company in 1930, to develop his design for a single spar wing. Steiger, who was Swiss-born, had invented the wing while working for Wm Beardmore & Co. The basis for it was a single Warren girder spar, with the torsional loads taken up by a pyramidal system of tie rods. He claimed that this system allowed a lighter wing structure, something that might have seemed alien to Beardmore. The company was most famous for the all-metal Beardmore Inflexible, the biggest landplane yet built in this country. It was so over-weight it could transport just itself and its crew around the air with awesome majesty, but could not lift a worthwhile payload. A prototype wing was built, designated the ST-1, and exhibited at the Olympia Aero Show of 1929, but it was the swansong for Beardmore, which dropped out of the aviation business.

  Steiger formed the Monospar Wing Company to continue the development of the wing, and Fred Crocombe joined him as chief designer. The Air Ministry ordered a larger wing, the ST-2, to be fitted to a Fokker F.VII/3m fuselage, and work also began on the ST-3, a little three-seat aircraft powered by two 50 hp Salmson radials. The ST-3 was registered G-AARP, and so well was it received, it prompted the company to put a four-seat version, powered by two 85 hp Pobjoy radials, and called appropriately the ST-4, into production. General Aircraft Ltd was formed in 1932 to exploit the design, and to manufacture the ST-4 at Croydon. The aircraft was now called the General Aircraft Monospar ST-4. This was followed by the ST-6 with retractable undercarriage, and the two aircraft began selling in reasonable numbers. The number of employees slowly rose to sixty-five.

  In 1934 a new chief engineer, DL Hollis-Williams, also formerly of Fairey, joined the company, which was moved to Hanworth later in the year and floated on the stock market. Shortly after this Steiger resigned and Eric Gordon England was appointed managing director. He was convinced the era of modern civil aviation was approaching, no doubt inspired by the tremendous strides being made in America, and initiated the design of a ten-seat twin-engined monoplane airliner, the ST-10 Croydon. The aircraft was metal-framed but fabric-covered, and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney 450 hp Wasp Juniors, as there were no suitable British engine. The monospar wing had a large degree of sweepback to balance the centre of gravity, as it was attached well forward on the fuselage to give the rudder a greater degree of moment to ease single-engined operation. Unusually, there were two over-wing bracing struts, and the siting of the wing relative to the fuselage meant that the structural bulkhead to support these struts could be sited immediately behind the cockpit, giving an unobstructed cabin for ten people, particularly so as there was no second spar to pass through the cabin.

  The top speed was a very respectable 203 mph at 5000 feet, with a suggested cruising speed of 190 mph at 75 per cent power. The range was 600 miles, and the asking price was £8000. Built at Hanworth, the Croydon was a very modern design in many respects, with a retractable undercarriage, Dowty hydraulic units and two-blade variable pitch propellers. Because of the noisy nature of the Wasp Junior, there was extensive soundproofing in the cabin. Behind the cabin there was a 41 cubic feet luggage compartment. Despite being very fast and modern in comparison with contemporary British airliners, the C
roydon suffered in comparison with American aircraft by not being of all-metal stressed skin construction, and British Airways preferred to order the Lockheed 10.

  Registered G-AECB, the Croydon made its first flight in March 1936, having taken only ten months to construct. Despite British Airways turning it down, sales prospects looked good in Australia, where Oceanic Airways operated ten Monospar four-seaters. Major CR Anson of Anson Airways offered to buy G-AECB as his personal aircraft, if it made a record-breaking flight to Australia. General Aircraft did not really wish to part with the Croydon just yet, but saw the flight to Australia as an excellent way to demonstrate the aircraft’s capabilities to potential customers.

  The flight was planned with a crew of four. Lord Sempill was to be in charge of the flight and act as second pilot, with Harold ‘Timber’ Wood as chief pilot. Captain Wood was very experienced, and had been the chief pilot of Hillman Airways, until becoming Major Anson’s pilot. The other two crew were Gilroy the wireless operator and Davies the ground engineer.

  Two extra fuel tanks, with a capacity totalling 40 gallons, were fitted but there were no other modifications. It was intended to operate the aircraft as if it were a normal airline flight, to prove the Croydon’s capabilities. They took off from Croydon, appropriately, on 30 July with attendant publicity. The first part of the flight went well, flying via Vienna, Athens, Aleppo, Bushire and Jask on the Persian Coast of the Gulf of Oman, but that is where things started going wrong.

  After leaving Jask for Karachi they encountered bad weather and were forced to turn back. Lord Sempill made a very heavy landing and damaged the tailwheel. A temporary repair enabled them to reach Karachi, but closer inspection there showed much greater structural damage than first suspected.