VH-AKZ  Fairchild 24W41A Argus II                               (c/n   854)

                          

                               Another former Lend Lease aircraft, this Fairchild began life as Argus II HB617 with the RAF.
                               It actually had a USAAC serial (41-38840) but did not serve with stars on the fuselage.  After
                               WW II it became G-AJSO, and was exported to Australia in 1950, going to KSAS at Banks-
                               town.  It was later sold on to Jim Packer of Tamair Pty Ltd, Tamworth who use it on charters
                               until 1961 when it went to nearby Grafton Air Taxis, and later to Simpson Motors of Brisbane*.
                               Geoff Goodall's shot (above) was taken at Camden, NSW in February 1965 after it had been
                               freshly repainted in a red, white and black finish for new owners Voice of  Deliverance Ministry,
                               a Sydney evangelical group.     Despite their slogan "God is Able" painted on the Fairchild, later
                               that year an engine failure caused a forced landing in a mangrove swamp near Tin Can Bay, Qld
                               (on 22 December 1965) while flying from Maryborough to Brisbane. The wing was torn away
                               and the rear fuselage broken open, with injuries sustained by the pilot and 3 passengers. The pilot,
                               who was the leader of the Ministry, had not submitted a flight plan so he knew no search would
                               be underway. He detached a fuel tank from the wing to use as a float and crossed a creek then
                               walked 6 miles until he found a fisherman.   Many years later a party from the Caboolture War
                               plane Museum located the wreck but it had been destroyed by scrub fires, so only the Warner
                               Scarab engine was retrieved and is today displayed in their museum.   My shot (immediately
                               below), shows it in earlier days at Bankstown (circa 1953) wearing the more or less "standard"
                               livery for Arguses of that era, in this case light blue and white. 
                               * Finally, at the foot of the page is a shot from the album of Paul Simpson, whose father acquired
                               -AKZ in 1963 for his Brisbane based car dealership.  Painted in blue, yellow and white when he
                               bought it, Simpson had it repainted it in the red, black and white scheme seen here before selling
                               it to Voice of Deliverance Ministry.       That's Paul with his brother, although he doesn't say who
                               was which!