Neil Follett offers his first-hand insights into the earlier days of South Australia's aviation preservation scene, and in the process uncovers some enlightening relics.
Back in the 1960s, Adelaide was a bit of a backwater for the local aviation enthusiasts as they didn’t have the volume of aircraft that the eastern states had. To get their aviation fix, they had to be content with a small number of older, and sometimes long-forgotten, derelict aircraft on private properties. The upside was that when easterners like us visited Adelaide and South Australia, we had resident guides to show us these interesting relics.
Lockheed Hudson Mk.I A16-22
Only the fuselage of this Hudson survived, and was lying on its side, tail down, at the bottom of a slope on a property at Blackwood, in the Adelaide Hills. Originally brought on charge by the RAAF in February 1942, it was disposed of to Guinea Airways Ltd. in February 1946. They stripped parts and the engines at Parafield before selling the fuselage to Harry Parrott. He planned to use the fuselage as a hut, but in unloading, the fuselage rolled onto its side down a hill and was left in that position.
Pearce Dunn of the Warbirds Museum in Mildura acquired it in November 1972, and it was displayed as an unrestored fuselage. In 1983 it was acquired by Malcolm Long and transported to Point Cook, where parts were used in the restoration of Hudson VH-AGX. The fuselage of A16-22 is currently stored at Point Cook.
Lockheed 14
This aircraft had a very interesting history. Built in June 1938, it was delivered to KNILM at Batavia (now Jakarta) and registered PK-AFP. In February 1942 it sustained damage from strafing by Japanese aircraft, but was able to be used on evacuation flights from the Netherlands East Indies to Australia. In Australia it was given the radio call sign of VH-CXJ and operated by the Allied Directorate of Air Transport (ADAT). In December 1942 it was delivered to Guinea Airways at Parafield to be operated on behalf of ADAT.
In March 1945 it was handed over to the War Disposals Commission, who eventually sold it to a Harold Mortimer and Arthur Bergen for £25, and was moved to Mr Mortimer’s house in the Adelaide suburb of Prospect. The intention was to convert the fuselage into a caravan. As time went by the Lockheed was built in and despite attempts from Warbirds Museum in Mildura to obtain it, the aircraft was cut up and ended up in a scrap yard in 1975.
De Havilland DH.100
Vampire F.30 A79-202
This Vampire was delivered to the RAAF in November 1951 and served with 23 and 21 RAAF Squadrons before being withdrawn from service in March 1960. It was on display at the Air Training Corps headquarters in North Adelaide from March 1962. Pearce Dunn from the Warbirds Museum in Mildura acquired A79-202 in 1969, and in July 1989 it returned to Adelaide and is currently on display in the South Australian Aviation Museum.
Ansons & Oxfords
Many of the 1000-plus Avro Ansons and nearly 400 Airspeed Oxfords that arrived in Australia served in South Australia. After the end of hostilities many were offered up for disposal. Numerous Ansons were transferred to the civil register and flew until being grounded by DCA in 1962, due to glue deterioration in their wooden wing structure. Many others were purchased by farmers as a source of scarce materials such as nuts, bolts, wiring and so forth.
In the 1960s, members of the West Beach Aviation Group (WBAG), led by Geoff Goodall, scoured the South Australian countryside looking for the remains of these aircraft. They located about 130 aircraft in various stages of decay, damage and cannibalisation.
One such Anson was EF954, which was located on a farm in the Mallala area, after serving with the No.6 Service Flight Training School (SFTS) at Mallala. It was recovered in 1984 by the South Australian Aviation Museum and was restored, using parts from several other Ansons, particularly ex-VH-FIA, formerly AW965. The Anson is currently on display in their Port Adelaide Museum. Interestingly, another Anson found was W1953, which had served in No. 6 Communications Unit, and still clearly visible on the nose was “Fentons Flying Freighters”.
Airspeed Oxford HN412
After arriving in Australia in June 1943, this Oxford was erected by Ansett at Mascot before being issued to 5 Operational Training Unit at Forest Hill, Wagga Wagga on 1 October 1943. It served at Point Cook and Port Pirie before being placed into storage at the end of hostilities. It was eventually sold by the Commonwealth Disposals Commission to a Mr. Fuss at Agery, South Australia. Stored under cover until the early 1960s, HN412 was in remarkably good condition.
The Moorabbin Air Museum heard about it in 1965, and purchased it from the owner. By the time the museum managed to actually recover the aircraft it had deteriorated due to exposure to the weather and wanton vandalism. Tragically, only components were salvageable, and today, no known parts exist.
Adelaide may have been a backwater to the locals, but it certainly was a mini treasure trove to others.
Airspeed Oxford HN412, in the condition it was when purchased by the Moorabbin Air Museum. (Neil Follett)
