VH-ANN
Douglas DC-3CG202A 'Morobe'
(c/n
3272)
There was a "close business
association" between
Australian National Airways and Guinea
Airways of Adelaide, although Guinea
was not a subsidiary of ANA, even though their aircraft
had almost identical
liveries. Since
Guinea were limited to services within South Australia and the
Northern Territory, the airline
posed no threat to ANA's intra-state services. Many of Guinea's
DC-3s were either leased from, or sold
to them, by ANA. -ANN was one of them. Subtle livery
changes were made. In addition to
the cabin titles (and generally a renaming) the 'Guinea Airways'
fin flash was also added. I do not
possess a photograph of -ANN in ANA livery. It was leased
to GAL in
1953. I was living in Tasmania at the time and, since -ANN was
never used on the
Tassie run, I do not have a photograph
of it in ANA markings. However, it did a stint with Ansett-
ANA division Airlines of South Australia and a nice shot of it in that
livery appears below, courtesy
of
Peter Gates.
VH-ANN began life as a DC-3-384
destined for TWA as NC1947. In the event it was diverted
on the production line to become
a C-48-DO for the (then) USAAC as 41-7687. Assigned to the
5th Air Force it wound up in
Australia and was seconded to the RAAF with the call sign VHCDB
and nose name of 'Lady
Eve'. In the final months of the war ANA operated it on
military courier
duties with the civl-looking call
sign VH-CDB. It was civilianized, along with the rest of
ANA's DC-3s
in 1946. As indicated
above, it was leased to Guinea in 1953. It returned to Ansett-ANA
owner-
ship in 1960 as part of the Airlines of
South Australia fleet. It did a 2-month stint with Queensland
Airlines in 1965 and was scrapped
at Essendon in 1966. The nose of this aircraft was, until
recently,
on display in the Moorabbin
Air Museum.