14 THE AVIATION HISTORIAN Issue No 22
departure at 0530hr GMT on Friday December
2 would have given a Sydney arrival of 1100hr
GMT (2100hr local). The overnight halt of 14hr
15min at Cairo turned what might have been a
30hr journey into one of 44hr 18min” [total time,
not flying time — Ed.].
The next refuelling stop, on December 3,
entailed some 2hr at Santacruz Airport at
Bombay, India, where the crew was subjected
to a long, tiring press conference. Air-India
International had been one of the first airlines
to order the Comet 3 when it was originally
announced and, with the memory of the earlier
Comet I crashes in the sub-continent still fresh,
there was huge interest. The crew was greeted
in the airport restaurant by Mr J.R.D. Tata,
president of Air-India International, so important
was this brief visit.
WHIZZING TO OZ
Singapore on the same day and Darwin on
Sunday the 4th were also quick refuelling stops,
the first great prize for this tour being Sydney,
where G-ANLO arrived in the late afternoon
of the 4th after having covered the 1,968 miles
(3,167km) from Darwin in 4hr 47min. With a
Qantas senior captain aboard and others waiting
to fly the aircraft, it was essential that the Comet
was seen and tested.
Earlier that year Boeing’s new jet airliner
prototype, the 367-80 (Dash 80, precursor of
the 707), had visited Sydney and now it was de
Havilland’s turn to try to persuade Australian
airlines that the Comet was the solution to
their jet needs. The British manufacturer was
justifiably proud that Hatfield to Sydney had
taken a flying time of just 24hr 53min, of which
30min had been spent circling Sydney.
People walked and ran to Kingsford Smith
Airport in the Sydney suburb of Mascot that
December day. Many drove and got stuck in
traffic jams. One group of teenagers incurred
the wrath of their parents when they walked
more than six miles (9·5km) just to see the Comet
land — and got home late for tea. These were
just a few stories from the huge crowd — reports
vary between 20,000 and 35,000 people — that
thronged the airport that Australian summer’s
day. Indeed, when the aircraft was on finals for
landing, air traffic control asked Cunningham to
go round again while thousands of people were
cleared from the runway.
As the Comet taxied in, spectators surged
round and the airport staff were given
permission to use high-pressure water hoses to
clear a path for the crew and passengers to get
out. In its December 5, 1955, issue, Melbourne’s
Argus newspaper led its commentary on theABOVE & RIGHT If it’s Saturday it must be Bombay
— with a Burmah-Shell refuelling truck alongside,
G-ANLO is prepared at the former RAF base at
Santacruz for its onward journey to Singapore.
Throughout the tour John Cunningham (right, wearing
tie) undertook numerous interviews with journalists
eager to know what the Comet was like to fly.
BAE SYSTEMS CP
BAE SYSTEMS CN