Aviation Inaugural Sydney Hong Kong 1949

Another recent acquisition to my aerophilately collection. Perhaps interesting for some of you to see.

This first flight cover was flown on the inaugural Qantas Empire Airways (QEA) flight from Sydney to Hong Kong on 26 June 1949. The aircraft used was a Douglas DC-4 Skymaster, Tail number VH-EBM, named Pacific Trader. The total flight time was 23 hours, 45 minutes. The cover is signed by Captain J M Hampshire. The flight arrived Hong Kong via Labuan (now a federal territory of Malaysia) on 27th June.

The blue/grey vignette was produced for the flight by QEA. The QEA logo was printed on the reverse, this envelope being QEA company stationery. see image below

A little bit of trivia: In 1938, the Douglas Aircraft Co. decided to produce a four-engine transport about twice the size of the DC-3. It developed the single DC-4E to carry 42 passengers by day or 30 by night. The DC-4E had complete sleeping accommodations, including a private bridal room.

It proved too expensive to maintain, so airlines agreed to suspend development in favor of the less complex DC-4, which was not put into commercial service until 1946. Its military derivative was the C-54 "Skymaster" transport, ordered by the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1942. After World War II, commercial airlines placed more than 300 civilian DC-4 transports into service. Airlines to fly the DC4 included United, Pan Am, Northwest, KLM, SAS, Swissair, Air France, Sabena, Iberia and SAA as well as QEA.

Douglas built 1,241 of the DC-4s and its military counterparts.

Enjoy your aerophilately Michael

Hi Michael,

"Francis J Field" your addressee, was hugely prominent in Aerophilately.

This may be of Interest
My enquiry in 2007

Author : (My mentor) Mr. Blair Stannard (Canada)

(Any links will now be dead)

Hi Rodney:

FIELD, Francis John 1895-1992.
For seventy years a student of airpost history and aerophilately. In
1921
he founded the firm of Francis J Field Ltd, dealing specially in air
stamps.
At Birmingham, in May 1923, he gave the first British philatelic talk
on
radio. He compiled 'A Commercial and Historical Atlas of the World's
Airways' [1925], and was co-author, with NC Baldwin, of 'The
Coronation
Aerial Post 1911' [1934].
http://www.thamesweb.co.uk/aviation...tJubilee.jpg

Works published by his firm included: 'British Air Mails - A
Chronology of
the Air Posts of Great Britain and Ireland' [1935], 'Air Mail Labels
(Etiquettes)',
'The Blitz Book' [1942], 'Great Britain and Ireland - Catalogue of
Internal
Air Mails 1910-41' compiled by NC Baldwin [1942], 'World Air Posts -
A concise priced summary of the Air Post and Aviation Souvenirs
of about 200 countries' [1948], 'British Air Mail Society Souvenir'
[1971], and from 1926 the house magazine 'The Aero Field'.
President Aerophilatelic Federation and Streetly P.S.
Named in Roll of Honour of Birmingham P.S. RDP 1968.


1957 Scout Jamboree Francis J Field FDC;Sutton.Coldfield Slogan
http://i23.ebayimg.com/08/i/000/bf/b3/c74d_1.JPG


>From a US dealer's list.

Francis J. Field Airmail Booklets

These small booklets were originally published by Field and are
similar in
nature to the series by Philip Cockrill, in essence they give the
essence
of the subject which is often all that is needed. For the most part
the
below are reprints by M.S. Todd with full royalties being paid to the
family.
In a few cases we can supply the original printing at the market
price.
Stock and prices revised April 15,2004.

* Artic Air Mails: Field, 1968, 20 pages, card, =A34.00, $9.00
* Atlantic Mail FLIGHTS, Fifty Years of by Baldwin, 20 pages,
card, =A33.50, $8.00
* Australia: External Air Mails of: Baldwin, 1965, 62 pages, card,
=A38.00, $18.00
* Australia & New Zealand to Great Britain (War time services
1939-45): O. R. J. Lee.
13 pages, card, =A33.50, $8.00
* Qantas Empire Airways Comes of Age, 20 pages, card, =A34.00, $9.00
* Austria; An Air Mail Digest: Field, 16 pages, card, =A34.00, $9.00
* Bermuda, Air Mails of: Baldwin, 16 pages, card, =A34.00, $9.00
* B.E.A. Helicopter Mails: 20 Years of by Baldwin, 11 pages, card,
=A33.00, $6.75
* B.O.A.C.'s. Silver Jubilee: Baldwin, 20 pages, card, =A34.00,
$9.00
* Bridging the South Atlantic by Air Mail: A.L.Leon, 9 pages,
card, =A35.00, $11.50
* Post-War Bridging the Atlantic, 1945-50: Baldwin, 48 pages,
card, =A36.50, $14.50
* British Commonwealth Air Mail Digest 1-10: Field (updated
information), 1953,
48 pages, card, =A35.50, $12.50
* Ceylon 1873-1950: Field, 12 pages, card, =A33.00, $6.75
* COMET-1: Baldwin (List of Flights), 12 pages, card, =A33.00, not
available
* COMET-4: Baldwin, 20 pages, card, =A34.00, not available
* East Africa Governors Conference Report of a Committee Appointed
to Prepare
a Scheme for Post-War Local Air Services in East Africa
1943.
(Routes, Mileage, Tariffs), 24 pages, card, =A311.00, $27.50
* Ethiopia Air Mail Flights to 1934: N.Cape, 48 pages, card,
=A35.50, not available
* Air France, History of the Development of the Air Mail Services:
Baldwin, 2968,
20 pages, card, =A34.00, $9.00
* Deutsche Luft Hansa and Luft Hansa: Field, 14 pages, card,
=A34.50, $10.25
* Fanco-German War 1870-71, Balloon Builders Cachets on Letters
Entrusted
to Aeronauts: H.Cappart, 5 pages, card, =A32.00,
not available
* British Mails of The Graf Zeppelin: Field, 1987, 15 pages, card,
=A32.00, $4.50
* Great Britain, Air Letter Stamps and Services: Baldwin, 1966,
21pages, card, =A35.00, $11.50
* Great Britain and Ireland, Catalogue of Internal Air Mails
1910-1941: Baldwin,
38 pages, card, =A36.00,
$13.50
* British Air Mails 1946-1951: Baldwin (Priced supplement), 1955,
21 pages, card, =A35.00,
$11.50
* Fifty Years of British Air Mails 1911-1960: Baldwin, 47 pages,
card, =A38.00, $18.00
* British Inland Air Mail April 1933-April 35: Phillips, 15 pages,
card, =A33.50, $8.00
* Railway Air Services, British Inland Air Posts: Baldwin, 8
pages, card, =A33.00, $7.00
* Hong Kong Air Post History, Priced Check List: Baldwin & Field,
8 pages, card, =A33.50,
$8.00
* Imperial Airways & Subsidiary Companies, History and Price Check
List of Empire
Air Mails: Baldwin, 79+ pages, card, =A310.00,
$22.50
* Japan Overseas and International Flights: Field (Valuation
guide),
20 pages, card, =A34.00,
$9.00
* Libya, Air Mail Postal History of the Fezzan: N.Davies, 3
pages, card, =A31.50, not
available.
* Malaya, Air Mails of: Baldwin, 19 pages, card, =A34.00, $9.00
* New Guinea, Air Mail In, Includes Papua: Gisburn, 11, pages,
card, =A34.00, $9.00
* Norwegian Air Mails, A Check List of: Baldwin, 12pages, card,
=A33.00, $7.00
* Bridging the Pacific, Priced Chronology of Projected, Attempted,
and Successful
Pacific Flights 1919-1951: Field, 52 pages, card,
=A38.00, $18.00
* Pan American Airways: Baldwin, 21 pages, card, =A34.50, $10.50
* Royal Air Force Covers of: Field, 22 pages, card, =A35.00, $11.25
* Rhodesia's and Nyasaland, Air Mail History of: Baldwin, 16
pages, card, =A34.00, $9.00
* Rocket & Jet Posts History of: Field, 41 pages, card, =A36.50,
$14.50
* British Africa, Air Mails of 1925-32: Baldwin, 69 pages, card,
=A38.50, $19.25
* South Africa, Air Posts of: Check List 1911-1956: Baldwin &
Stern,
24 pages, card, =A36.00, $13.50
* Royal Air Force Reconnaissance Flights, Delhi to Singapore
1930:
A.H.Frost, 12 pages, card, =A35.00, not
available

Baldwin, N.C. "British Turbo-Prop Aircraft, Commerative Covers
Carried on Flights."
Francis J Field Ltd, Sutton Coldfield, U.K., 1960s?, 14pp.

Field, John C.W. "The Unlucky Giant - Flugschiff DOX - 1929 to
1933."
Sutton Coldfield, U.K.: Francis J. Field Ltd, 19??,
12pp.

Baldwin, N.C. Bahamas: History of Air Mail Service 1919 to
1957.
Sutton Coldfield, U.K.: Francis J. Field Ltd.,
undated [1950s?]; 4pp.

Poole, Bertram W.H. The Postage Stamps of Bermuda. West End
Philatelist
Philatelic Handbook no. 7. London: Francis J. Field Ltd,
1911; 37pp.

Baldwin, N.C. The Aviation History of Trinidad and Tobago.
Sutton Coldfield, U.K: Francis J. Field Ltd, 1950s?; 12pp.

There are scores more.

Blair

Rod, Many thanks... some excellent and very interesting material to add to the collection re provenance Will show another in a few days, you might also enjoy.

Many thanks Michael

Hello, one more Sydney Hong Kong cover. This from 1949 and for the survey flight in March before the opening of the commercial route in June. The aircraft was a Skymaster,  a Douglas DC4,  tail VH-BPA.   

However, having written that I should say I have read conflicting information because according to the DC4 Association of South Africa, this aircraft was registered after purchase by Qantas Empire Airways in February 1949 as VH-EBL, and named "Hong Kong Trader"   

The Association says the Survey flight operated on 3rd March  Sydney Darwin Labuan Hong Kong.  As you can see this cover is dated 15th March  and clearly backstamped 17th March.

The Australia Air Mail catalogue quotes the pilot as Captain E C Sims and that the flight flew via Manila and reached Hong Kong on 17th March after leaving Sydney on 15th March.   The Associate quotes the pilot as being Captain E Simms.  I wonder which is correct spelling and why the Association has a 3rd March date?  Perhaps a reader will know.

One final piece of trivia, this aircraft, I believe, had the distinction of being owned and operated by all four Australian airlines. Trans Australia Airlines, British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines, Qantas Empire Airways, and Ansett ANA.

Enjoy your aerophilately and your flying   Michael     cddstamps.com   cddstamps@gmail.com

Hong Kong to San Fran.

https://goscf.com/t/22482#22482 br /