London to Christchurch air race October 1953

[snaphead]

The longest and last contest in the era of great international air races ended in Christchurch 60 years ago this October. Being organised by Dave Laughlin (Air NZ Tech instructor-I've worked with him), Phil Brazier (Air NZ Tech Services) and Denys Jones (Ferrymead Historical Park. The winning RAF Canberra flew from London to Christchurch in 23 hours and 52 minutes a record NOT yet broken!! It was also the occassion of a mid-air collision between two RNZAF Devon aircraft returning to Wigram post the flypast. The RNZAF also lost a new Hastings in Ceylon.

There was more information in the article but the main thing seems to be displays of memorabilia at Ferrymead Park in October this year.

[JamesStokes]

Maybe time for another such event? Would be excellent to host something like that down in little old NZ.

[avenger]

[The RNZAF also lost a new Hastings in Ceylon.]

RNZAF Hastings NZ 5804 withdrew from the Air Race due engine failure - landed at RAF Negombo, Ceylon.
But the aircraft was lost at RAAF Darwin, 09 September 1955 following birdstrikes and multiple engine loss.

[tony]

I couldn't help my self and went back to Hendon today, i'v spent 2 whole days there and still not seen everything.
The have the winner of this race on display, here is a couple of photos of the nose art.

[denysjones]

Our preparations for the display are moving along apace. On the back of the article running in The Press the other Saturday we've had several items of memorabilia turn up.

One very nice one is a souvenir programme from the event at Harewood signed by F/Lt Burton the winning pilot, and with an inserted piece of paper signed by the first RAAF crew to arrive.

We've also received a copy of a film made covering the event. It was organised by the Christchurch Movie Club who got kindred organisations along the route to cover events in their areas. The film was publicly shown and there were hopes to market it. However funds were not available and things lapsed. Then, as such things are known to happen, the film was lost for 30 years until one of the club members went on a hunt for it. Fortunately she located it sadly in poor condition but it was recovered and digitised with some additional material provided by one of the RAAF navigators Bill Kerr.

A member of ours who is now overseas responded with images of paperwork held in a file at the Smithsonian Institute. These cover letters and forms from the Royal Aero Club which were sent to prospective participants. So we conclude from the SI having them that the USAF must have been invited to join in, but obviously they didn't.

We are also about to take delivery of the commemorative sculpture that used to hang on the mezzanine floor of the terminal at CIAL but which has no such home in the new one.

Any other items are of course welcomed. (Scrapbooks prepared by school children at the time are seemingly pretty common).

[Dave Homewood]

A report on preparations for the London to Christchurch air race in 1953. This consists of theme music, narration and interviews on location by Ulric Williams.

London airport is one of the busiest in the world and is where the race will start. Mr R.C. Pugh is the airport manager and is interviewed by Ulric Williams about preparations for the race.

New Zealand quarantine officers will be inspecting aircraft for any plant or animal material. Mr D.B. Crozier, a quarantine officer talks about the procedure and the danger of foot and mouth disease.

Ulric Williams interviews Flight Lieutenant S.W. Pattinson inside an RAF Canberra at the Royal Air Force station at Wyton in Huntingdonshire. this is where the aircraft are being prepared for the race. He explains the cramped conditions for the crew.

Arnold Wall of 3YA talks about the stopover point in Ceylon, where race participants will stop at an RAF station at Negombo. Conditions will be very hot and humid in the aircraft but the free tea provided by Ceylon tea planters will be very welcome.

Listen Here
www.ngataonga.org.nz/collections/catalogue/catalogue-item?record_id=222873

[Dave Homewood]

This comes from the Cairns Post, dated Saturday 19th of December 1953:

TO AMERICA

ROYAL AIR FORCE GESTURE

AVIATION ANNIVERSARY

NEW YORK, Dec. 1 (A.A.P.)

The Canberra bomber that won the recent England-New Zealand race, flew the Atlantic to-day and landed at Kittyhawk, North Carolina as a Royal Air Force gesture in celebration of the golden anniversary of aviation. 

The pilot and navigator laid a wreath from the R.A.F. at the foot of the 60-foot high Wright Memorial, honouring the Wright Brothers, aviation pioneers and inventors. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Burton, and the navigator Flight Lieutenant Gannon, were the winners of the England-New Zealand race.

In Washington, Mr. Glenn Martin, pioneer manufacturer of aircraft, predicted that the next 50 years would bring space planes with speeds of 25,000 m.p.h. Mr. Martin, in a talk to a meeting of aviation scientists, said be had no hesitancy in forecasting for the second half-century of flight: (1), Fully automatic airlines, the flight operating through electronic guidance and control equipment; (2), flying boats with speeds matching those of land planes, but with a greater capacity for cargo, passengers or weapons; (3), reductions to bring the cost of air travel well below that of any other form of transportation.

[jcardno]

Is there anyway to find out who died in the 1953 Air Race on the RNZAF Hastings? which crashed in Darwin.. thank you Judy

[Dave Homewood]

Hi Judy, no-one died in that crash. All 25 onboard survived.

[Dave Homewood]

Unless you count the birds they hit.

[davidd]

Some confusion has sneaked into this thread re the story of the Hasting (NZ5804, the last, and best of these aircraft) used during the October 1953 London to Christchurch Air Race. As already pointed out, NO DEATHS occurred in the rather exciting landing at Negombo in the pouring rain, but the aircraft was now out of the race because of the rules about changing engines. The only major accident suffered by an RNZAF Hastings was not in 1953, but in 1955 at Darwin, and this was NZ5804 again, date 9th September, 1955. Although there were no deaths involved, there was a dead man in a coffin aboard, containing the remains of a NZ soldier, killed in a motor car accident I think, being returned to his own country for burial.