The chaser

When John Chapman and Frank Fischer arrived in San Diego to take delivery of TAA’s first Convair 240, Chapman also visited the Douglas Long Beach factory. He noticed four DC-6s being cocooned, with enquiries revealing they were intercontinental versions with elaborate sleeper accommodation.

Chapman asked about the aircraft’s background and was told the Scandinavian airlines of Sweden, Denmark and Norway had ordered DC-6 fleets but had decided to form a consortium known as SAS, Scandinavian Airlines System, then realising they had more DC-6s than needed as a group. The smallest order had been for ABA of Sweden for four DC-6s, and they were asked to dispose of their fleet. Chapman contacted Watkins who promptly visited Long Beach to investigate.

Watkins cabled Arthur Coles (BCPA’s Chairman) recommending he consider purchasing the DC-6s. Arthur Coles, a member of the Coles department store family was a respected businessman, sympathetic to both TAA and BCPA. Watkins received no reply and returned to Melbourne on September 7 1947 on the first Convair 240 delivery flight, somewhat disappointed at the silence.

Attending a celebratory luncheon for those on the flight, he sat next to Coles and related to this writer what transpired, “I plucked up courage and said I was a bit disappointed I didn’t get a reply to my cable about the DC-6s, I had thought they might be what BCPA needed. With a twinkle in Coles’s eye he said, ‘What makes you think we’ve lost them?’ I said I’d heard nothing to the contrary. Coles responded,’Well we’ve got them! I’ve got a file in my office I’m very proud of. There’s no letters, only cables. There’s your cable to me, I then talked to the Prime Minister and told him the situation, BCPA owned by three governments was in a slightly delicate field in making rapid decisions because it was 50% owned by the Governments of Australia, 30% New Zealand and 20% Britain. We really needed a top level meeting to decide on this type of matter.

‘What makes you think we’ve lost them?’

I explained to Ben Chifley (this was Arthur Coles speaking and this is roughly what he said) that I’d take personal responsibility for the order if he would put the money up and I’d guarantee that he would more than get his money back if the board turned it down and we had to resell them, as it was an opportunity to get aeroplanes that were state of the art with special interiors and I was quite sure we could easily sell them. Ben Chifley had sufficient trust in Arthur’s business judgement to say go ahead. But Arthur covered himself by sending cables to Clement Atlee, the England PM, and New Zealand PM, Walter Nash, outlining his proposal and asking for their concurrence. He got cables back saying yes, if you want to do it, go ahead.

Coles cabled ABA saying he understood the four aeroplanes were to be offered for sale, was it so, and at what price? He got a cable back saying yes they’d just reached the decision at board level to sell them at what they paid for then, US$820,000 each. Coles immediately cabled the price was acceptable and BCPA wanted to buy them. But the terms of payment would have to be negotiated because Australia had a very serious dollar difficulty, US dollars were very hard to come by and he was advised by Treasury that Australia couldn’t pay more than 25% of the purchase price in US dollars, the balance had to be in Sterling. Nothing happened for about a fortnight and he got another cable from ABA Chairman Per Norlin saying that he’d gone to the Swedish treasury, put the case and after moderate deliberation, they’d reluctantly decided that they’d accept this. Coles immediately cabled back and he greatly regretted that in view of the delay in their response the Australian dollar situation had meanwhile deteriorated still further and it would now be necessary to pay the whole amount in Sterling. He got a quick reply that if the whole amount in Sterling was paid into to ABA’s London bank within 24 hours, it was a deal. And it was done.”

When asked how the final decision eventuated, Watkins said, “I think it was the personal guarantee of Arthur Coles for the cheque or something similar. It couldn’t have happened unless the Prime Minister had total confidence in the BCPA chairman and if Coles hadn’t been a man of such integrity and innovative ideas. Coles in turn developed a most enormous respect for Per Norlin. Because it transpired that while these cables were going to and fro, Pan Am had learned what was afoot. They approached SAS and said they would immediately pay 100% in dollars. Norlin told them he had a contract with BCPA, sorry the aeroplanes were sold. Pan Am knew darn well that they hadn’t been paid for and they came back and offered a 15% premium in dollars. Norlin still said ‘I’ve got a contract with BCPA, you’re wasting your time.’ Arthur Coles made it his business to go over to Stockholm and meet Per Norlin and thank him for his business ethics.”

BCPA took delivery of the four DC-6s in late 1948, VH-BPE *Resolution**, VH-BPF *RMA Endeavour** , VH-BPG *Adventure** and VH-BPH *Discovery**. VH-BPE was lost in an accident in San Francisco on October 29 1953 with the other aircraft sold to New Zealand. Qantas took over trans-Pacific route to North America on April 1 1954 and absorbed BCPA.

The quotes from John Watkins are an abridged, edited version from part of an extended interview.