86 FLYPAST August 2018
SPOT FACT The French Navy and Royal Australian Air
Force were among its operatorsThree engines
Yet another role was to convey VIPs,
as we were the only direct flight
that could get to Hong Kong in
12 hours. We took the Air Officer
Commanding RAF Singapore and
wife for a shopping trip. We took
the best silver from the Officers’
Mess, dressed up the wardroom and
gave them a first-class dinner.
In June 1953 we took part in an
evening flypast over Singapore to
celebrate the Queen’s birthday. A
trio of Sunderlands were rigged out
with coloured lights strung between
the wings and tail and floodlightsferry crossings to allow us to touch
down and get to our moorings.
Our task was to cover for both
military and civilian aircraft. Kai Tak
had only one short, runway with
a steep approach – with a gap just
wide enough between two housing
blocks. There were no diversion
airfields within reach for the
long-haul civilian aircraft, mainly
American Lockheed Constellations,
so they had to land regardless of
weather problems.
Fortunately we never had to help
them. It was good entertainment
to watch and admire the skill of thepilots threading their way in.
I remember an amazing
coincidence: I was by the harbour
when a de Havilland Hornet [F.3
WB906 of 80 Squadron; on January
17, 1954] took off and immediately
suffered engine failure and had to
ditch. Our marine craft on standby
set off to the rescue and I just
managed to jump in.
The aircraft was afloat, and
the pilot was scrambling out of
the cockpit as we arrived. To my
amazement I knew him from our
cadet days in the Isle of Man, so I
was able to say: “Welcome, Jeff!”Above
‘F-for-Fox’ and
another Sunderland
escorting the liner
SS ‘Gothic’, which
acted as the royal
yacht during the
Queen’s 1952 visit to
the Far East.