The Shorts Empire Boats In Australian Service, Pt 11

There were three flying boats moored in the harbour at that time and four others arrived before dusk to be joined by nine more during the night.

At about 9. 20am on 3 March a force of Zeros attacked Broome and caused substantial damage. They made a furious attack on the flying boats moored or anchored in an area approximately 1 1/2 miles long by 3/4 miles wide. All 16 flying boats, including the Empire Boats G-AEUC “Corinna” and the RMF aircraft A18-10, were destroyed. To compound the destruction, an additional seven aircraft (two Flying Fortresses, • two Liberators, two Hudsons and one DC-3) were at Broome Aerodrome. One of the Liberators took off but was shot down about eight miles out to sea and the remaining six aircraft at the field were destroyed. A US Army Sergeant survived the crash of the Liberator into the ocean and in a notable feat of endurance, swam ashore 30 hours later. To cap it all off the Zeros encountered aDutch DC-3 en route from Java with a consignment of diamonds, about 60 miles north of Broome. It was intercepted and shot down over the ocean. It was a black day indeed. About 70 lives were lost including 32 men on the downed Liberator. Total aircraft losses amounted to 24.

It the midst of all this carnage one bright note came about as the result of Qantas’ customary attention to detail. On 2 March, the day before the Broome attack, Captain E. C. Sims was in command of “Camilla”. While “Camilla” was at Wyndham on her way to Broome a message was received by the Broome radio station that the coastal vessel “Koolama” had gone ashore to the west of Wyndham after having been bombed. Sims waited to pick up 25 passengers from the ship and delayed the remainder of the flight to Broome until the following morning. Because of the likelihood of further air attacks along the coast, Captain Brain instructed Captain Sims to time his arrival at Broome after 11am. By that time “Corinna” would have departed and Captain Brain wished to avoid having both Empire Boats at Broome simultaneously.

It was a far-sighted move that undoubtedly saved “Camilla” from a fate similar to that met by her sister aircraft. When “Camilla” did arrive at Broome, less than one hour had elapsed since the “all clear” had been sounded after the attack. The flying boat moored off the end of the jetty as the moorings had been destroyed by the other burning aircraft. Captain Brain was anxious to avoid any further loss and an urgent message was sent to Sims instructing him to move to a remote area. Because very little fuel remained on board “Camilla”, Sims arranged to follow a lugger up the tidal creek where a transfer of much-needed fuel was carried out. During this operation, while getting into position to refuel, “Camilla” had approximately one foot of one wing tip torn off by the lugger’s mast. As the damage was considered slight, several flights were made before “Camilla” returned to Sydney for repairs. After being refuelled, the aircraft left for Port Hedland where there were no facilities for handling flying boats. Not to be daunted, Sims persevered and eventually tied up to the jetty after having waited after arrival until the full flood tide rose at 2am. Fuel drums were rolled along the jetty and the contents were transferred to “Camilla” by hand pump. The versatility of flying boats to be refuelled and deployed under such makeshift conditions was quite remarkable and certainly most welcome in those trying times.

The attack on Broome had compounded an already serious problem. It now meant that Qantas and the RAAF had lost five large flying boats during a five week period in early 1942. Some aircraft of course remained, but the heavy loss rate meant that the surviving Empire Boats needed to be worked mercilessly. However the bad luck continued and G-AEUF “Corinthian” broke up while alighting at Darwin a few weeks later on 22 March. It is believed that some submerged wreckage tore open the hull causing this serious accident in which two passengers were killed. Many injuries were suffered by the survivors and Captain LR. Ambrose was seriously injured.

Apart from the services to Singapore which had now ceased and the various shuttles, other areas were served. Operations to Dili in Portuguese Timar commenced on 16 January 1941 when “Coriolanus” flown by Captain Hussey left Rose Bay and arrived in Dili on the 19th. Dili was used as an alternative stop for Koepang on the Empire Route.

It was served once a week until 9 December 1941 when it ceased to be used as a port of call. In September 1942. “Coriolanus” started a daily return service from Townsville to Port Moresby via Cairns. The route was later extended to Milne Bay. On occasion, the flights were carried through to Sydney to allow maintenance to be carried out. On some days both aircraft operated the route. Considerable loads were shifted during this period and both flying-boats achieved an annual utilisation figure of 4,900 hours per aircraft. Over a one-year period, 564 flights were made carrying 12,744 passengers and 200 tons of freight, which was a most impressive performance.

Various other types of flights were also carried out by the Empire Boats. Some were charter operations to locations around Australia and also to overseas destinations such as Noumea, Vila and New Guinea. They were also at times diverted to carry out rescue missions. Typical of these was the pick up of survivors from an 8-17 shot down off the eastern Papuan coast on 6 January 1943. “Coriolanus” flown by Captain Hussey was summoned from Port Moresby to assist. With some fighters providing top cover to guard against an air attack, the flying boat eventually landed in the open sea near Urasi Island. The crew were then taken on board and flown to Milne Bay.

The demanding conditions under which the flying boats were sometimes forced to battle with continued and “Camilla” which had rendered such valuable service in so many areas, was lost. With Captain A. A. Koch in command, “Camilla” departed from Townsville at 12. 45 pm on 22 April 1943 for Port Moresby. Although the meteorological forecast had been favourable, as the flying boat approached its destination, there was a marked deterioration in weather conditions. Captain Koch had felt, based on his past experience, that the storm encountered was of a short duration. However it persisted and as darkness fell, a message was received advising that a flare path was being prepared at Port Moresby.

Koch later received a further message that visibility in the harbour was nil and he then decided to investigate alighting areas in the open sea. This proved fruitless and after flying for some time on a variety of headings Koch headed again for Port Moresby. “Camilla” had been airborne for almost seven hours and only 90 gallons of fuel remained which was sufficient for a maximum 45 minutes of flying time. The decision was made to use half of the fuel for an approach, the other half to be kept in reserve for a second attempt should it prove necessary. This was notified to Port Moresby at approximately 7. 55pm.

A plan for the alighting at Port Moresby was then devised by Koch after a discussion with First Officer Peak. They would fly over the Port Moresby beacon then head due south for ten minutes descending to 1,500 feet. A turn would then be made back to Port Moresby to the north for a final approach taking eight minutes. These times were precisely measured with a stopwatch and after the ten-minute interval had elapsed Koch turned “Camilla” around and engaged the automatic pilot. The flaps were partially lowered and a descent rate of 200 feet per minute was set up at about 105mph. The intention was to cover the last minute at a descent rate of 10Ofpm and to disengage the automatic pilot on alighting. If the visibility improved prior to that point, manual control was to be taken over earlier.

After the eight minutes had nearly passed the first officer saw the water come into view and Captain Koch then took over the controls manually. Although the altimeter now read zero the first officer said the surface was still beneath them. Captain Koch applied power but felt “Camilla” go into a stall. With the instruments showing minus 30 feet on the altimeter and a descent rate of 400fpm, the flying boat hit the water. Koch had his legs caught in the wreckage and found himself going under. He broke free and came to the surface and eventually joined some of the other survivors. Not long after the flying boat sank. As the aircraft had come down in the open sea the survivors had a formidable task ahead of them. Koch in company with four others swam through the night and were finally rescued by a small steamer towing a schooner at 3. 00pm the following day. Additional survivors were picked up by other vessels and when the final count was taken, 18 people had reached safety but unfortunately, two crew and 11 passengers were lost. Following the “Camilla” accident, Qantas obtained two Empire Boats from the RAAF. These were A18-13 and A18-14 which became VH-ABB “Coolangatta” and VH-ACD “Clifton” during July 1943. Their careers were comparatively brief as both were lost in accidents at Rose Bay the following year. On 18 January Captain Ashley had been carrying out a night landing under instruction from Captain Hussey on VH-ACD. The aircraft bounced on alighting, stalled and was destroyed by the subsequent impact and water damage. Some months later on 11 October, Captain Brain was flying VH-ABB. An oil pressure drop on the starboard inner engine about 20 minutes after take-off made a return to Rose Bay necessary. On arrival the aircraft stalled approximately 10 feet above the water and was destroyed on impact. One passenger was killed and several crew members and passengers were injured.

The steady loss of the Empire Boats meant that the stage had been reached where only one remained in the Qantas fleet. This was the seemingly indestructible “Coriolanus”, the sole survivor of all those other proud aircraft. At the war’s end, she had carried more than 10,000 troops and had been involved in many other exploits. Fittingly on 8 October 1945 “Coriolanus” became the first Qantas aircraft to re-enter Singapore after her liberation. Taking on more mundane tasks “Coriolanus” inaugurated the Sydney-Brisbane-Noumea-Fiji route on 19 November and operated the service until 20 December 1947. She was the last Empire Boat in operation anywhere and on retirement had an impressive 18,500 flying hours to her credit. “Coriolanus” was broken up at Rose Bay during 1948.

The careers of the flying-boats involved much heroism and drama. They were regularly flown in such adverse conditions that at times, their chances of survival must have seemed perilously slim. Their loss rate was partly due to the multitude of extreme situations with which they were confronted. These aircraft were versatile machines flown by dedicated men. The manner in which their operations could be adapted to meet the boldest gauntlet of challenges was quite remarkable. We will not see their like again.