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By
Allan Jackson - 3 March 2004
Durban
was host to various military flying boats from around 1942
and a fulltime presence was established early in 1943 when
262 Squadron of the Royal Air Force moved into a base complete
with hangar and slipway adjacent to the BOAC facility at Bayhead.
The squadron flew reconnaissance patrols out to sea from here
and from lakes St. Lucia and Umsingazi in Zululand in their
American Consolidated PBY Catalinas.
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These
two pictures were taken during an air survey of Durban
in 1948. The one on the left shows the SAAF 35 Squadron
Flying Boat base at Bayhead. Marked with a 1
is the base junk heap on which can be seen the remains
of the Catalina aircraft which the squadron operated
during WWII. On the right is the mooring basin in
front of the SAAF base and, marked with a 2,
the deserted BOAC hangar and slipway which had been
used until the previous year by the aircraft plying
the passenger and mail route between South Africa
and the UK.
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Pictures
courtesy Director: Survey,
eThekwini Municipality.
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Click
pictures to view enlargements. |
The photograph of Catalina FP257F being
piloted by F/O Dick Lawson was supplied by the Bull family of Sydney, from
the Service Records of the late F/Lt Jack Bull (Pilot of Catalina FP288G)
Click image to view enlargement
Catalinas
going on anti-submarine patrol from Durban would take off
from here and land at Eastern Shores, Lake St Lucia, or later
at Umsingazi, to be loaded with depth charges before flying
their patrols. The Catalinas were usually prohibited from
taking off from Durban with depth charges aboard because of
the fearful consequences to the tightly-packed shipping in
the harbour if a flying boat packed with high explosive were
to crash on take-off.
Aircraft
from 262 Squadron attacked a surfaced U-boat (U-859) 300 miles
South West of Durban of Durban on July 5, 1944. It was later
found that the U- boat had been seriously damaged in the attack
with one crew member being killed and three wounded. So many
South African pilots joined the squadron that it was eventually
assimilated into the South African Air Force as 35 Squadron
with the Zulu motto Shaya Amanzi (Strike at the Water). The
squadron received the Short Sunderland V (a military version
of the Empire C-Class Flying Boat) in 1945 and continued to
fly out of Durban until 1957 when all maritime reconnaissance
duties were taken over by land-based Avro Shackletons at the
Cape.
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Picture
courtesy World Air News.
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This
picture was taken by Tom Chalmers on the last occasion
a Sunderland took off from Durban Bay.
<==
Click picture to view wallpaper-size enlargement. (1024x768px)
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My informant
Tom Chalmers took the picture above in 1957 on the day before
the last official Sunderland flight was to take place from
Durban. By coincidence he was to be a passenger on the last
flight but it never occurred because two of the engines failed
on take-off and the aircraft swung in towards the quay knocking
off the end of her wing on a bollard and making a number of
fishermen jump for their lives in to the bay. [Read
his story about the incident]
Added
12 October 2005: A close inspection of the book Flying
Boat by Ivan Spring reveals that the accident referred
to above took place on 28 August 1957, meaning that
the picture must have been taken on 27 August. The picture
probably does not show the last take-off from Durban
Bay after all, because Flying Boat records the last
Sunderland flight as having taken place on 8 November
1957.
Sunderland
news clipping
In a packet
of pictures and memorabilia I received from Barbara Le Grange
(see here), there was a news clipping
from the Natal Sunday Post of 3 August, 1947. The pictures
include one of a Sunderland of 35 Squadron, South African
Air Force, landing on Durban Bay. Other pics include a Sunderland
being towed out into the bay ready for take-off, the seaplane
tender and a view of the Sunderland's cockpit shortly after
take-off. In the cockpit are pilot Lieut. J.S. Montgomery,
left, and co-pilot Lieut. R. Richards D.F.C.; T-Jetty is clearly
visible through the aircraft's windscreen.
Pictures
courtesy Barbara le Grange
The
pictures are not great because they were scanned from an old
newspaper but the enlarged images are reasonably clear. Click
the images to view the enlargements.
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