World · East Asia & Pacific · 19 hrs ago
How a Catalina flight from Hawaii helped launch Qantas’ wartime Double Sunrise route
A Consolidated PBY Catalina flew from San Diego to Hawaii on January 27, 1941, covering 4,392 kilometres in almost a day.
A Qantas crew was waiting in Honolulu to take delivery of the aircraft, while the United States was still neutral and Australia was already at war.
The plane, registered VH-AFA, reached Sydney on February 2 after a stop at Canton Island; its flight from Hawaii was only the third time the Pacific had been crossed by air.
The long-range Catalina later helped Qantas keep communication between Australia and the United Kingdom during World War II.
In 1943, Qantas began Double Sunrise flights from Perth to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, a route described as the world’s longest scheduled passenger service by elapsed time.
Japanese forces targeted Catalinas during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Qantas’ planned Project Sunrise is presented as a modern legacy of those wartime flights.
A Qantas Catalina that arrived in Honolulu in January 1941 helped open a route that later supported the airline’s wartime Double Sunrise flights.
The aircraft had flown 4,392 kilometres from San Diego, spending almost a full day in the air.
After Qantas took delivery in Honolulu, the plane reached Sydney on February 2, 1941, via Canton Island.
The Double Sunrise service began in 1943, connecting Perth with Ceylon and helping maintain communications between Australia and the United Kingdom.
- Who
- Qantas and the crews who operated its Catalina aircraft.
- What
- A Catalina delivery flight from Hawaii to Sydney helped establish the aircraft’s role in Qantas’ wartime Double Sunrise service.
- When
- The Catalina landed in Hawaii on January 27, 1941, and arrived in Sydney on February 2. Double Sunrise flights began in 1943.
- Where
- The flight went from San Diego to Honolulu, then via Canton Island to Sydney; the later service connected Perth and Ceylon.
- Why
- The Catalina helped Qantas maintain communications between Australia and the United Kingdom during World War II.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
had to be flown by an American crew and that legal title would be transferred to Qantas in Honolulu
the aircraft also had to be marked with civilian registration
The Catalina landed in Honolulu after flying 4,392 kilometres from San Diego.
The aircraft left Hawaii for Canton Island.
The Catalina arrived at Rose Bay, Sydney.
Japanese forces targeted PBY Catalinas during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The first Double Sunrise Catalina flight departed Perth for Ceylon.
- Aircraft
- Consolidated PBY Catalina
- Flight to Hawaii
- 4,392 kilometres from San Diego
- Arrival in Sydney
- February 2, 1941
- Wartime service
- Double Sunrise flights began in 1943
- Route
- 6,480 kilometres between Perth and Ceylon
Sources
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