G-AUFO Wackett Widgeon I
This registration was never used.
There was only one Wackett Widgeon Mk I and this
ultimately
became G-AUKB (although it was painted
G-AEKB - q.v.). The page in the
Civil Aircraft Register ledger at
Henty House in Melbourne when I transcribed the VH-
civil register back in 1952 or 53
(can't remember exactly) merely stated that G-AUFO
was "transferred to the
RAAF". When the Widgeon was finally put on the civil
register
(it was, after all, basically a military
machine) instead of retaining the already assigned
G-AUFO it assumed the identity of G-AEKB, for
the then Minister of Defence, (which
also included Civil Aviation), E.
K. Bowden, even though this rego which was completely
out of sequence for either the
U.K.or Australian registers at the time. (To somewhat
compensate for this it was
offically given the allocation G-AUKB).