VH-API (2) de Havilland D.H.82A Tiger
Moth
(c/n T113)
This shot was taken at by David Johnson (via Geoff Goodall) at
Boldercombe, Queensland in
September 1963 during an
agricultural field day. The Tiger was operated by Queensland Air-
planters Pty Ltd, of
Bundaberg. Its identity is a bit of a mystery and the only
number quoted
is its wartime deHavilland
Aircraft overhaul number of T.113. This number was
assigned by
DHA to RAAF Tiger Moths
that were issued back to them for overhauls while still in RAAF
service.<> The
"T"
number was stamped on a small plate affixed to the port side of the
fuselage
between the two cockpits, so when
the Tigers were sold off to civil owners postwar, the T
number was often quoted on the
Registration Application forms and stayed with the aircraft for
their civil lives - despite
a perfectly good original DH plate inside the cockpit.
A tie-up
list
linking the T series to
their RAAF serials has never been found. Not even Tiger experts
such
as Mel Davis in
Adelaide have been able to truly identify VH-WPK/API. It
was originally
registered VH-WPK and
did not become the second VH-API
until 1960. It was withdrawn
from use at the end of 1964.