VH-EAW (1) Boeing PB2B-2
Catalina
(c/n 61159)
Historic shot from the E.A. Crome collection, courtesy of
the National Library of Australia, show-
ing a
Qantas Catalina at Lord Howe island, circa 1947. This
Boeing-built 'boat was acquired under
a US Navy contract
with BuAer number 44253 although served with the RAF as JX635 before
going
to the RAAF as
A24-378 . It was loaned to Qantas after the war to develop their
services to New
Caledonia and Lord
Howe Island. VH-EAW was destroyed by a mysterious explosion in
the early
hours of Saturday 27
August 1949 whilst at anchor off Rose Bay Flying Boat Base in Sydney
Harbour.
It appears as it a bomb had
been planted aboard the aircraft in a fruit case, since pieces of
wiring, a
10 volt battery and a
vibrator coil were discovered in the salvaged wreckage.. The
machine had arrived
from Noumea the day
before. Oddly, sister ship VH-EAX had been lost at Lord
Howe Island only two
months previously
under equally suspicious circumstances, A
seemingly stout mooring hawser had
suddenly parted. leaving
the machine to drift onto the rocks. The only competitor to
their services at
the time was
P.G. Taylor's Trans Oceanic Airways. In fact, the manager
of that outfit in Sydney, a
Mr. Bryan Monkton was
actually charged by authorities with arson in regard to the explosion
aboard
-EAW.! However, P.G. Taylor himself provided the
strongest of alibis and Judge Curlewis acquitted
Monkton of all
charges. Seems very circumstantial to me and I suspect today
firmer evidence would be
necessary to bring
charges!