G-AUEB
Bristol Fighter F.2B
(c/n 4965)
Records indicate that this old bird was originally a Bristol Fighter
when first registered. Formerly
H1248 with the RAF, it was converted to
Bristol Tourer standard
somewhere around October of
1924, after having been exported
to Australia. The photo above is from Qantas'
archives. The
shot immediately below is from
the John Oxley Library,
State Library of Queensland collection
and shows the Bristol, circa 1924,
when used by Qantas as
an air ambulance. The two photos at
the foot of the page are from the
John Hopton collection and depict (upper, from a photo taken
by early Australian airline pilot Jason Hassard) G-AUEB at the Larkin
Aircraft Supply Coimpany
at Coode Island, Melbourne
carryong the name 'Storm Bird' and (lower) the same machine being
assembled at Port Moresby,
circa 1927 after it had been acquired by Bulolo Goldfields
Aeroplane
Service
Ltd. The ancient aircraft was written off in a crash
at Wau, New
Guinea on 17 April 1928.