In Australian Service

The maiden flight of the Convair 240 took place on March 16, 1947. The results of the redesign were evident as flight testing progressed. Maximum speed had increased from 314 mph to 347 mph and continuous cruise had improved from 260 mph to 270 mph. The range leapt from 970 miles to 1800 miles. As American Airlines had placed a substantial order for 75 Convair 240 airliners its future seemed assured. American Airlines put the Convair 240 into service on June 1, 1948. When production ceased in 1950 a total of 176 Convair 240s had been produced.

The next development in the family was the emergence of the Convair 340. This had a fuselage stretch of 54 inches to 79′ 2″ and a wingspan increase to 105′ 4″. Passenger capacity grew to 44. The powerplant was the P & W R-2800-CB16 developing 2500 hp. The first flight was on October 5, 1951, and deliveries commenced on March 28, 1952. A total of 209 Convair 340s were produced.

The ultimate piston-engined development of the series was the Convair 440. This version incorporated a further fuselage stretch to 81′ 6″ which increased passenger capacity to 44/52 seats depending on the internal configuration. The first flight of the Convair 440 was on October 6, 1955. A total of 180 were produced by the time production ceased in 1959.

In addition to the various civil models delivered, a total of 472 military examples of the 240/340/440 family were delivered to the United States Air Force. A further 39 were obtained by the United States Navy/United States Marines. Many examples of all models are still in service. In addition, the longevity of the series has been enhanced by the large-scale re-engining of many aircraft with Allison turboprop powerplants.

The fledgling Trans-Australia Airlines pioneered the Convair series into service in Australia. The first TAA flight took place on September 9, 1946, with DC-3 VH-AES. However, TAA was well aware of the Convair twin-engined airliner project under way at San Diego and saw in it a fine modern aircraft to expand their services. TAA signed a contract in 1946 to purchase five Convair 240 aircraft at a price of US $295,000 each. Their foresight in signing the contract in 1946 turned out to be quite a financial windfall. By the time the first Convair 240 arrived in Melbourne on September 7, 1948, the actual going price had risen to US $500,000 per aircraft. This was certainly a tidy saving on the cost of the whole fleet and showed good commercial judgment on TAA’s part. The delivery flight to Australia was made via England. As it was the first Convair 240 to be seen in England keen interest was shown in the aircraft. The ferry flight from London to Melbourne took 4½ days.

The first TAA Convair was the pioneer of many technical innovations to the Australian commercial aviation scene. Amongst them were cabin pressurisation, thermal de-icing equipment, hollow steel reversible pitch propellers and heated windshields. One of the TAA Convairs was the first to log 10,000 flying hours worldwide notching up 2,000,000 air miles to achieve this milestone. A fine trouble free record ensued with the Convair 240s in TAA service. They were extremely popular with the passengers as they represented quite an advance over other airliners in service in Australia at the time.

Details of the TAA Convair 240 fleet with dates of delivery are;

VH-TAO “George Bass”, delivered August 25, 1948;
VH-TAP “Matthew Flinders”, delivered October 8, 1948;
VH-TAQ “John Forrest”, delivered October 8, 1948;
VH-TAR ‘Thomas Mitchell” delivered December 21, 1948;
VH-TAS “James Cook” delivered December 30, 1948.

As the Vickers Viscounts were introduced into service the Convairs were progressively sold overseas between 1956 and 1960. VH-TAO was sold to the Beldex Corporation as N931K, VH-TAP and VH-TAS both went to Pakistan International Airlines as AP-AHO and AP-AHS, VH-TAQ was acquired by Sheikh Al Subah as N9853F and VH-TAR was sold to Monsanto Chemicals Corporation as N2007.

The next generation of the series was the Convair 340 aircraft operated by Ansett Airways Pty Ltd. These were VH-BZD ex N3430 purchased from Braniff on June 10, 1954, VH-BZE ex XB-TUQ originally delivered to P. Pasquale, on February 24, 1955, and VH-BZG ex N5507K. This latter aircraft was actually operated under charter from Hawaiian Airlines. It flew in Australia with Hawaiian Airlines markings but with Australian registration. The Ansett Convair 340s had a comparatively short career and were withdrawn from service by mid-1959. VH-BZD was sold to Schenley Industries as N440W and VH-BZE was acquired by Hawaiian Airlines as N5511K.

The mainstay of Convair operations with Ansett was their fleet of six Convair 440 aircraft. These aircraft were seen around Australia in various guises. Some of them at different times appeared in the markings of Airlines of South Australia, Butler Air Transport and Airlines of New South Wales.

Deliveries were made during 1957 as follows. VH-BZF in May, VH-BZH in September, VH-BZI and VH-BZM in October, VH-BZN in November and VH-BZO in December. The cost of each aircraft was US $750,000.

In the midst of the acquisition of these aircraft, the takeover of Australian National Airways was taking place. When Ansett-ANA commenced operations late in 1957 the combined fleet in part consisted of 4 DC-6Bs, 2 DC-6s, 3 Convair 440s and 2 Convair 340s. Ansett was therefore in the happy position of having his two main aircraft types, the Convairs and DC-6s powered by the same type of engine, the Pratt and Whitney R-2800. Because of the Douglas’ larger passenger carrying; capacity it tended to dominate Ansett’s operations on the main trunk routes. The Convairs were destined to be used more on intra-state services. Some of them went to Airlines of South Australia, Butler, and Airlines of New South Wales. At various times, VH-BZ: F, BZH, BZI and BZN were noted in service with Airlines of South Australia. To illustrate the interchangeability of aircraft amongst the Ansett subsidiaries, VH-BZF also served with Butler and Airlines of New South Wales. As the Fokker Friendships entered service, the Convairs were gradually phased out of operations during the 1960s.

The Royal Australian Air Force purchased two Convair 440 aircraft for VIP duties. They were allocated RAAF serials A96-313 and A96-353. These aircraft were delivered new to the RAAF during April and November 1956. Both aircraft became familiar sights at airfields around Australia as they undertook their RAAF transport duties. After an uneventful career, they were sold overseas in 1969.

Considering their age both aircraft had accumulated moderately low flying hours at the time of their disposal. A96-313 had flown 7723 hours and A96-353 6954 hours.

So ended the career of the Convair airliners in Australia. Spanning 21 years of trouble-free service they are fondly remembered as a comfortable, reliable aircraft. Many Convairs are of course still in service today. Particularly the re-engined turboprop versions.

For a design that is 35 years old, it is a tribute to the soundness of Convair’s planning that the aircraft is still so much in demand today.

Specifications of the different versions are as follows: