Flying Boats Read online

  The Imperial Airways Short S.23 flying-boat G-ADHM Caledonia at her moorings with a launch alongside the forward door. (via author)

  Imperial Airways Empire flying-boat G-AETX Ceres on the water near Mombasa. (via author)

  Underneath the decking were bilge pumps for disposing of any water that seeped into the hull. The upper deck was accessed by a ladder from the stewards’ pantry, and was normally out of bounds to passengers. On the flight deck, or ‘bridge’, sat the captain and first officer. Behind them, and facing aft, was the wireless operator. He was also responsible for mooring the aircraft. To perform this task he had to descend to the mooring compartment via a small hatch in the floor between the pilots’ seats. Aft of the wireless operator’s station was the mail storage area. Towards the rear of the upper deck was the desk of the flight clerk, whose many duties included the preparation of the aircraft’s load sheets and trim sheets, the compilation of passenger lists, the handling of freight consignments, the customs and immigration procedures, and the safekeeping of the inoculation certificates of the passengers and crew. In the event of overnight flights he was also expected to descend to the lower deck and help the stewards to make up the bunks using bedding stored in the aft portion of the wing box, above the promenade cabin. From mid 1937 his rather inconveniently sited workstation was relocated downstairs into what had previously been the forward smoking compartment. He was also given the grander job title of purser. The Empire flying boats did not carry an engineering officer or navigating officer, their duties being carried out by the first officer. On top of the flight deck was a mast from which the appropriate ensign could be flown during stopovers. The pilots had to put up with some discomfort on these aircraft. The controls for the Sperry autopilot were located on the captain’s side and tended to leak oil onto his left trouser leg, and when it rained the leaky flight deck roof dripped water onto both pilots. The passengers were always looked after by male stewards, mostly recruited from the ocean liners of the Cunard steamship company. Imperial Airways was against the employment of stewardesses on any of its aircraft. As the company put it:

  This curious hybrid nursemaid-cum-waitress was not the best way of putting the passengers at their ease ... Our aerial stewards are men of a new calling. They have to be, since much is expected of them. In less than an hour a couple of flying stewards can serve six courses, with wines, to between thirty and forty people.

  The first C-class scheduled service was operated from Alexandria to Brindisi by Canopus on 30 October 1936, fewer than sixteen weeks after she had been launched. In December of that year sister ship Caledonia was flown out to Alexandria with 5 tons of the Christmas mail on board. She continued onwards to India on route-proving duties. On her way back to Britain she covered the leg from Alexandria to Marseilles in just over eleven hours, and flew onwards to Hythe, near Southampton, in four hours. In January 1937 Castor and Centaurus commenced a regular series of flights from Hythe to Marseilles and Alexandria via Lake Bracciano (for Rome), Brindisi and Athens.

  The Imperial Airways Short S.23 G-ADUW Castor at Gladstone, Australia. (via author)

  Hythe had been selected by Imperial Airways for use as a temporary UK flying boat terminal in 1934, after serious consideration had also been given to the use of Langstone Harbour at Portsmouth, while the site for a permanent base was still to be decided. A maintenance base was also set up at Hythe, in sheds rented from Vickers Supermarine Aviation. To get to the terminal from London, passengers travelled on the 0830hrs train from Waterloo Station to Southampton in a dedicated Pullman railway carriage proudly bearing the title ‘Imperial Airways Empire Service’. Also attached to the train was a special guard’s van in which the aircraft’s flight clerk processed the luggage details and compiled the load sheet en route to Southampton. Imperial was to experience difficulties in getting the passengers there in time for the mid-morning flight using this train, and the decision was taken to transport them down the previous evening and put them up in a hotel overnight. In the morning the passengers would clear customs at Berth 50 at Southampton and be transferred to the aircraft moored off Hythe in one of the many launches that had been built for Imperial by the British Power Boat Company. Boarding the launch and then transferring to the flying boat was a tricky procedure in any kind of rough weather, particularly for the less agile passengers, and operations were later to be moved to the more sheltered No. 9 Berth while pontoons were constructed at 101 Berth. Once this work was done the flying boats could be winched tail-first into moorings at the quayside, eliminating the need for the launch transfer. In late 1938 the pontoons were to be moved to Berth 108, where a two-storey wooden terminal building named ‘Imperial House’ was erected. Things did not always run smoothly on these services. On 6 February 1937 Captain H.W.C. ‘Jimmy’ Algar was in command of Castor for a service from Hythe to Alexandria. On board were eight passengers, a ton of mail and five large cases containing bullion. One more passenger was booked to join the flight at Marseilles, and another at Brindisi. The take-off from Hythe was uneventful, but ten minutes later the aircraft returned, suffering from oiled up spark plugs. The plug change took longer than expected, and by the time the aircraft was serviceable again it had become apparent that Brindisi could not be reached that night. The passengers were taken off to spend the night at the Lawn Hotel in Hythe and police were called in to guard the bullion. Rough weather made operations impossible the next day, and so it was not until 0720hrs on 8 February that the flight eventually departed. On 24 March Imperial Airways lost C-class flying boat Capricornus in a fatal accident. The aircraft was en route from Hythe to Marseilles when it struck a hillside 12 miles south-west of Macon in France. It was carrying just a single passenger, plus a consignment of bullion and the first mail scheduled to be transported all the way to Australia by air. The first officer was thrown out of the aircraft on impact and was the only survivor.

  An Imperial Airways magazine advertisement for their new Empire-class flying-boats, featuring the promenade deck cabin. (via author)

  From 15 May 1937 the C-class flying boats operated through to Africa, although at first only as far as Kisumu, a freshwater port on Lake Victoria and Kenya’s third-largest city. About fifteen minutes before arriving there the aircraft crossed the equator, and to mark the crossing of this invisible feature the Imperial pilots used to waggle the wings or dip the aircraft’s nose, and it was customary for each passenger to be presented with a certificate signed by the captain. As the flying boat fleet was expanded, the route was extended through to Durban, with Centurion departing Hythe on 29 June 1937 for the Sudan, Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland and South Africa with 3,500lb of unsurcharged mail at the surface post rate of 1½d for a half-ounce letter and 1d for a postcard. Imperial was not allowed to operate all the way through to the Cape as the South African authorities had specified that only South African Airways could fly into Cape Town. Until 1937 the usual mode of travel to South Africa had been aboard the Union Castle Line’s weekly mail steamer from Southampton, which took two weeks to reach the Cape. By September of that year Imperial Airways was flying twice-weekly to South Africa, and produced a thirty-page booklet for passengers titled ‘Through Africa by the Empire Flying boat’. This traced the entire route from Hythe and described the many points of interest along the way. Over Africa the pilots often descended to low altitudes to offer passengers excellent views of herds of elephants, plus rhinos and giraffes on the plains below. A favourite spot for viewing hippos was just below Murchison Falls at the northern end of Lake Albert in Uganda. The one-way fare to South Africa in 1937 was £125, which included all meals, overnight accommodation and tips, and was based on the criteria that the total weight of each passenger and luggage would not exceed 221lb. For this price the flying boat passengers enjoyed far more space and more attentive cabin service than today’s economy-class passengers are accustomed to, although the low cruising altitude of the unpressurised aircraft did mean that turbulence was quite often encountered. To cope with the e
xtreme temperatures at stopover points in Africa, Imperial Airways advised its passengers to take the opportunity to purchase topees, or sun helmets, from the local traders. A lady passenger travelling to Durban aboard Castor in 1937 kept a journal of her experiences, including the overnight stops and the very early departures from them:

  The Imperial Airways Short S.23 G-AETX being worked on outdoors at Rose Bay, Sydney, while the new hangar takes shape in the background. (Qantas Heritage Collection)

  A Qantas promotional photo of the interior of the passenger compartments of the Short S.23 Empire-class flying-boat. (Qantas Heritage Collection)

  Imperial Airways encouraged its captains to leave the flight deck to converse with their passengers at suitable times. During the Coronation of King George VI on 12 May 1937 Captain Powell joined his passengers on the promenade deck of Courtier to propose the Loyal Toast. Then, along with other passengers in flight aboard Castor and Cassiopeia, they listened to the Coronation service from London on their aircraft’s wireless sets. In its publicity material Imperial Airways described its C-class flying boats as providing ‘the most effortless and luxurious travel the world has ever seen’. The airline was particularly proud of its patented ‘Imperial Airways Adjustable Chair’, describing it as ‘by far the most comfortable chair in the world, an exclusive to Imperial Airways’ and declaring that ‘at the touch of a power-operated lever, without leaving your seat you can adjust these wonderful chairs from a ‘sit-up lunch table’ position to a reclining afternoon-nap position’. Another feature of the chair was its ability to double up as a life-preserver if the worst happened. Much was made of the flying boat’s advertised cruising speed of 200mph, although in service this proved to be nearer 145mph. The heating system was not particularly efficient, and few crews could master the art of getting it to perform properly. Passengers complaining of the cold at cruising altitude were issued with blankets and foot muffs. The Empire flying boats were prone to taking on water, and before each flight an engineer would go around each rivet line, tightening up where necessary and coating it with beeswax to make it more watertight.

  During 1937 a survey flight to Singapore was made in preparation for the extension of the route network through to the Far East. On a more sombre note, the year was also marked by the loss of three flying boats in accidents. In addition to the previously mentioned loss of Capricornus, Courtier was destroyed when a newly promoted captain misjudged his height on approach for landing and crashed into Phaleron Bay near Athens. After this accident, in which three passengers were drowned, the Air Ministry made the provision of lap straps in passenger-carrying aircraft compulsory. In December 1937 Cygnus stalled on take-off from Brindisi and nosed into the sea, with two passengers drowned. As a result the small roof hatches on the flying boats were replaced by larger escape hatches and push-out windows. The eastbound route network was meanwhile steadily expanding, and by October 1937 it had reached as far as Karachi. The services bound for Karachi usually routed via Kuwait and Dubai, where Imperial had negotiated an arrangement for the rental of a base at Dubai Creek at the rate of over 400 rupees each month. Over the Persian Gulf the air was usually hot and bumpy. After Dubai the route went eastward over the desert, with the aircraft climbing to 8,000ft to clear the mountain ranges. Then it was over the Gulf of Oman to Karachi. This section of the route was subject to monsoons during July and August, with upward convection air currents and much turbulence. Also, tropical storms were frequently encountered during the periods May–June and October–November.

  By the end of 1937 Imperial had taken delivery of twenty-two C-class flying boats, and more captains were needed for the fleet. These were recruited from the airline’s four existing operations divisions and posted to the newly formed No. 5 Operating Division. Conversion training for Imperial’s former landplane crews as well as for new recruits was carried out at Hamble on Southampton Water and also at Richards Bay in South Africa. During a three-month course the trainees had to attend seventeen lectures on such subjects as marine law and the meaning of the various lights and signals displayed by marine craft by day and night. All pilots had already been required to learn Morse code, but now they had to master semaphore as well. Other lectures covered knot tying, the use of Admiralty charts, and the regulations pertaining to towage and salvage. The significance of these particular rules was later to be brought home to one captain who encountered fog and was obliged to alight on the water some distance short of his destination. He accepted the offer of a tow from the skipper of a tug boat, who later sent Imperial Airways a claim for salvage. Practical seamanship training began with batches of three or four trainees learning to handle a 10-ton ketch and motor launches before moving on to Cutty Sark amphibious aircraft and elderly Rangoon or Calcutta flying boats. On these aircraft they learnt the techniques for approaching mooring buoys when the wind was pushing the aircraft in one direction and the tide in another, the deployment of drogues (canvas-covered conical frames used to steady the aircraft while manoeuvring on the water), and the technique of taxiing around in circles while the engines were being warmed up, as the aircraft had no brakes. The differences between landplane and flying boat handling were summed up as:

  Landplane pilots, who had never had to park their aeroplane amongst cars, coaches and lorries, were being trained to handle a flying-boat in the presence of native canoes, Arab dhows and ocean liners. Pilots learnt the vagaries of water landings and how the many variables encountered, wind, currents, swell and tides, could affect their landings.

  International regulations decreed that any aircraft proceeding more than 600 miles offshore must carry a licensed first-class navigator, so the possession of this qualification became a prerequisite for promotion to captain. As soon as a flying boat alighted on the water it became by maritime law a boat, and was required to display the flag of its country of origin and another bearing the emblem of its operator.

  The passengers on Imperial Airways flying boats were treated to the very best of in-flight catering. Along the route to India they could choose from a breakfast menu offering grapefruit or fruit juices, cereals, omelettes, bacon, bread rolls, marmalade and honey. Later, they were offered midday refreshments, a five-course luncheon (the term ‘lunch’ was never used on Imperial Airways), and afternoon tea with cakes and sandwiches. A typical luncheon, as served on Centurion en route from Lake Naivasha to Durban on 3 February 1938, consisted of potage Jackson, iced asparagus, fricassee of lamb Therese, boiled potatoes, and a cold buffet including roast beef. None of the cooking was carried out on board. Instead, all the hot and cold food was prepared and cooked in kitchens at the stopover points and placed onboard in vacuum flasks. These were stowed in either the hot box or the ice chest on the aircraft, ready for reheating and serving. After each meal it was the job of the stewards to wash up and stow everything away tidily.

  By 1938 Imperial had taken delivery of enough flying boats to extend services through to Singapore, with an aircraft change taking place at Alexandria. At Singapore, Qantas aircraft and crews took over for the onward journey to Sydney. Passengers bound for Hong Kong transferred to a DH.86 landplane at Bangkok. By the end of the year a third weekly service to Durban had been added to the timetable, which now also included seven flights a week to Egypt, four to India, three to South Africa, and two each to Malaya, Hong Kong and Australia. From July 1938 all mail to Australia and New Zealand was also carried unsurcharged under the Empire Air Mail Scheme.

  The considerable expansion in traffic made it necessary to schedule dawn take-offs and dusk arrival at Hythe. As naked flames were not permitted on Southampton Water an electric flarepath was developed for use there, and on 24 September 1938 Canopus and Corinthian became the first flying boats to operate scheduled night departures from Hythe. Along the routes, however, paraffin and kerosene lamps were still being used for flarepaths, with about 150 alighting areas being so equipped. In the meantime much thought was devoted to the establishment of a trans-Tasman air link between Australia a
nd New Zealand. On 27 December 1937 Centaurus arrived at Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour on a route-survey flight from Sydney. It was moored alongside the Pan American Airways Sikorsky S.42B flying boat Samoan Clipper, which had arrived the previous day on that airline’s inaugural service from San Francisco. During its stay the Imperial Airways aircraft paid courtesy visits to Wellington, Lyttelton and Dunedin before setting off back to the UK on 10 January 1938. Press coverage of the visit was favourable but it was soon realised that the C-class machines were not suited to commercial trans-Tasman services, which would have to wait until the introduction of longer-range aircraft.

  Imperial Airways was always at pains to ensure that only the most select hotels, managed by Europeans, were used for the overnight accommodation of its passengers. As the route network grew the hotels used included the Grande Bretagne in Rome, the Oriental in Bangkok, and the world-famous Raffles in Singapore. Not all overnight stopovers were in conventional hotels. At Dubai the flying boats alighted on the Dubai Creek, where an extra fee of four rupees was paid by the airline for a nightwatchman to keep an eye on the aircraft while the passengers and crew were taken 10 miles by road to spend the night at Sharjah in a combined fort and hotel complete with steel entrance door, loopholes in the walls for rifles, and an encircling ring of barbed wire. At Crete, while their aircraft was being refuelled, the passengers were taken aboard the Imperial Airways yacht Imperia for tea. Houseboats were also used for overnight accommodation, including the Mayflower and the Agamemnon at Cairo and the King Richard at Mozambique. This latter vessel could sleep up to thirty people and had a lounge, dining room, bar and electric lighting. At overnight stops it was customary for the crew to stay in the same accommodation as the passengers, so they all spent a lot of time in each other’s company. Some of the hotels in India and the Far East expected their guests to dress formally for dinner, so the crew and passengers needed to remember to pack a dinner jacket or evening dress. During the long flight sectors Imperial provided its passengers with distractions such as playing cards, jigsaw puzzles, crosswords and board games.