Issue No 21 THE AVIATION HISTORIAN 85
aeroplanes come in this morning I was so proud
to be British”. She was very impressed and
actually repeated those words three times that
evening; it must be remembered that we were in
Tanganyika, German territory until after the war.
A good many Germans have stayed on, and have
equal rights with any other nationality.
After dinner we went to a dance at the club;
it was a very cheery party but I’m afraid I was
rather tired and at midnight I sneaked off to
the Kilimanjaro Hotel, where I was staying.
I shall never forget those wonderful views
of Kilimanjaro. At sunset the shadows of the
horizon first enveloped us, and then it gradually
began to creep up the sides of the mountain until
finally it reached the snowcapped peak, which
was transformed in colour from white to golden
yellow and then to orange and red, which then
gave place to purple and dark blue. Later on
the moon rose, and when I looked out towards
the mountain I perceived its dim black outline
looming up in the darkness; but right above it
was the snowcapped peak glowing iridescently
in the moonlight, seemingly detached from
the Earth and to all appearances like a new
triangular-shaped body in the heavens. Then
came the dawn. We in darkness below watched
the sun tip the snow with golden light, before
the shadow of the horizon slowly crept down
the mountainside just like the minute hand of a
gigantic clock, until we too were bathed in the
sun rays and another day had begun.Across Tanganyika
At 0930hr on March 4 we departed Moshi. The
country was hilly and well covered with forests
and bush so that we were unable to see any
game. After 2½ hours of flying we landed at
Dodoma, which is on the railway from Dar es
Salaam to Lake Victoria. Here it was discovered
that Victoria No 4 had cracked another oil tank.
A temporary repair was effected and at 1100hr
we set off for Mbeya. Once more the country
took on a mountainous aspect intersected by
deep afforested river valleys, which presented
little or no chance of making a forced landing.
We gradually approached a long range of
mountains, and high up between two peaks saw
Mbeya landing ground, which is 5,000ft [1,500m]
above sea level, and where we landed at 1345hr.
The local mechanic immediately set to work,
with the aid of an assistant, to rivet a copper oil
tank which had been made at Nairobi for us.
Unfortunately it took them 20hr to do the job, so
instead of leaving Mbeya the next day we had to
spend two nights there.ABOVE Resplendent above the clouds, Kilimanjaro recedes from view through the airframe of Victoria VI K2343,
the author’s aircraft, probably after take-off from Moshi. At 19,000ft (5,800m), the perpetually snow-covered peak
of Kilimanjaro would have been beyond the Victoria’s own absolute ceiling of 18,500ft. Next stop Dodoma...