VH-AEW Darwin
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| Type: | L-14-WF62 Super Electra |
| MSN: | 1497 |
| Previous Identities: | EI-ABV VH-ADW |
| Subsequent Identities: | Nil |
History:
| 05MAY39 | Export CofA No E-5047 issued. |
| 09MAY39 | Construction completed at Burbank. |
| 15MAY39 | Delivered to Aer Lingus Teoranta. |
| 23JUN39 | Added to the Irish Register as EI-ABV. |
| 10NOV39 | Irish CofA issued. |
| 20MAR40 | Australian Ministerial approval granted for Guinea Airways Ltd to import two Lockheed 14s. Approval was also given for the aircraft to carry Australian markings on their delivery flights to expedite diplomatic clearances. Aircraft were to be purchased through W.S. Shackleton Ltd of London. |
| 13APR40 | Registration application from Guinea Airways Ltd. Subsequently VH-ADW was allocated. |
| 17APR40 | GAL pilots departed Adelaide to collect the aircraft. |
| 15MAY40 | Added to the Australian Register as VH-ADW. |
| 25MAY40 | Struck off the Irish Register on sale to Australia. |
| 29MAY40 | The two L-14s departed Dublin on delivery to Australia. The aircraft were painted in camouflage with black Australian registrations underlined with blue/white/red stripes. Note the date conflict with the following entry. |
| 28MAY40 | Arrived at Luqa, Malta from Heston via Marseilles and Tunis at 19:15 hours, departing for Alexandria at 11:35 hours the following day. (Source: 1) Note the date conflict with the previous entry. |
| 09JUN40 | Both L-14s arrived at Parafield in the record flying time of 65.5 hours. |
| 40 | The aircraft entered service on the Adelaide-Darwin courier run named "Darwin". |
| 27AUG40 | Re-registered VH-AEW at the request of GAL to prevent confusion with MMA's Electra VH-ABW as both aircraft regularly operated into Darwin. |
| 12DEC41 | The port undercarriage collapsed at Alice Springs. |
| 06NOV42 | The aircraft was landed wheels up 1.5 miles from Alice Springs. The damage was quickly repaired. |
| 43 | The aircraft suffered many forced landings without damage while engaged on the Adelaide-Darwin courier run. |
| 08MAY44 | While operating a scheduled Guinea Airways flight from Adelaide to Port Lincoln, the aircraft diverted to Cleve, S.A. owing to a storm and rain at its destination. Capt J. Chapman and F/O L.E. Schubert. (NAA via G. Goodall) |
| 08OCT45 | The aircraft had an accident at Darwin. No further details known. |
| 02JAN46 | Leased to Australian National Airways for Brisbane-Cairns services for a time. |
| 16APR47 | CofA expired. To be renewed later for charter use by by Guinea Airways. |
| 22SEP49 | CofA lapsed and aircraft withdrawn from service at Parafield. |
| 19JUL50 | East-West Airlines, Tamworth wrote to the Regional Director, NSW Region, Department of Civil Aviation, Mascot to enquire about the availability and serviceability of Guinea Airways' VH-AEW which was parked at Parafield. Would the Department approve a flight to Sydney, Tamworth or Brisbane for a CofA inspection and possible engine changes? (Source: NAA files on EWA inspected by Chris O'Neill) |
| 27JUL50 | DCA Adelaide advised NSW Region that the CofA for VH-AEW expired in September 1949 and that the previous CofA inspection had been carried out by ANA at Parafield 22 months ago. The aircraft was parked in the open but the engines had been inhibited. The starboard fin and rudder had been damaged but repairs would be covered by insurance. The radio had been removed and was not immediately replaceable. DCA estimated the total work excluding radio to ready the aircraft for ferry at approximately one week. (Source: NAA files on EWA inspected by Chris O'Neill) |
| AUG50 | The above information was passed to East-West Airlines by J.A. Collopy on behalf of the Regional Director, NSW Region. The precise date of this letter is illegible but could be 16AUG50. (Source: NAA files on EWA inspected by Chris O'Neill) |
| 03JUL51 | Noted stored behind the Department of Aircraft Production hangars at Parafield. |
| 06AUG51 | Struck off the Register. |
| SEP51 | Sold to Browns Scrap Metal, Croydon, Adelaide and broken up in their yard. |
| Issue | Date | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 16DEC24 |
Added
an image from the John Hopton Collection
thanks to the CAHS.
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| 7 | 13DEC20 |
Added
a reference at 28MAY40 from Source: 1.
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| 6 | 15MAR17 |
Added
a reference to an expression of interest from East-West Airlines
in JUL/AUG50. Belated thanks to the late Chris O'Neill.
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| 5 | 03APR16 |
Refreshed
page layout with no change to data.
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| 4 | 26AUG15 | |
| 3 | 06MAR06 |
Added
reference to an incident on 08MAY44.
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| 2 | 29MAR02 |
Amended
date on to Irish register from 23AUG38 to 23JUN39.
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