Cool!
If It Can Fly, It Can Float!!!
- Thread starter Njaco
- Start date
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Escuadrilla Azul
Tech Sergeant
- 1,616
- Feb 27, 2020
Escuadrilla Azul
Tech Sergeant
- 1,616
- Feb 27, 2020
Video from No-Do (Noticiario y Documentales, weekly news proyected before movies in spanish cinemas between 1942 and 1981) announcing the start of the air connection from Southampton (UK) to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands) in 1952, via Lisbon and Madeira.
The flight was made with Short Solent of Aquila Airways weekly, arriving at Las Palmas on Saturday and leaving the same day and the connection lasted till 1957.
The flight was made with Short Solent of Aquila Airways weekly, arriving at Las Palmas on Saturday and leaving the same day and the connection lasted till 1957.
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
I didn't care for that Wildcat variant before. It's my new fave.
BlackSheep
Banned
- 443
- May 31, 2018
Like Johnny Cash's Cadillac in the song "One Piece at a Time" lol
BlackSheep
Banned
- 443
- May 31, 2018
I always thought the Emily should have had more of a role as a bomber. It had the range and armament to cause fighters trouble. Like the second attack on Pearl Harbor, there were refueling options. If more were built and if the Japanese drew up some of their intricate plans to utilize them, they could have stirred up trouble on the coast. I read about a sub base on the Mexican coast south of San Diego, imagine if they were able to hide a small refueling depot for Emilys there. 1942-early 43 could have been really interesting if the navy had to focus closer to home instead of honing carrier operations against misc Japanese based.
MiTasol
1st Lieutenant
There is a Solent preserved at MoTaT in Auckland.
Interesting to see the clip, thanks for posting Azul. The aircraft in it is a Sunderland, note in the last frame at .049 you can see two recognition features, the bomb bay door below the wing and the fairing in the nose that replaced the gun turret has been retracted to aid in the mooring process. Aquila had a few Sunderland IIIs, as well as a Sandringham, which was a more extensive Sunderland conversion that resembled a proper airliner and not a converted maritime patrol bomber, without turrets and bomb bay doors, as well as the Solents.
Escuadrilla Azul
Tech Sergeant
- 1,616
- Feb 27, 2020
Thanks for the clarification. I do notice the faring that covered the front turret but (wrongly) belive that the Solent was a Sunderland converted to civil Airlines.
Much appreciated the correction!
No worries, my friend. The Solent was the civil version of the Short Seaford military flying boat, which was a bigger and more capable aircraft than the Sunderland. The Solent was bigger and could carry more passengers than the Sandringham, which was based on the Sunderland.
Tasman Empire Airways Ltd, or TEAL, the predecessor to Air New Zealand operated all these types, as well as pre-war S.30 "Empire" Class flying boats (just so we don't forget who was in charge
) and after the war the inadequacies of the Sandringhams on long distance routes was demonstrated in an occurrence known as "The Sandringham Incident". This took place in 1947 when a Sandringham en route from Sydney Australia to Auckland New Zealand had an engine failure and to lighten the aircraft, pax luggage and mail was dumped overboard. The issue was engine overheating caused by the design of the intake baffles, which were duly altered in-house at TEAL, but it raised the issue that type was not sufficiently capable to make repeated lengthy crossings of the Tasman Sea.The Solent was bigger and more powerful, but like the Sandringham purchase, the airline didn't want flying boats anymore, but that was another story altogether.
Excuse the quality, but this is the only image I have of MoTaT's Solent and Sunderland together. It was taken some years ago.
MiTasol
1st Lieutenant
The Solents used Hercules engines and there was one incident when the wrong oil was used to service one at Rose Bay (Sydney). I can't remember the other details but I remember there was a big stink over it and it was always drummed into us when working on the Hercules engines.
Good shots!
