I have this original photograph of a British registered Gipsy Moth at Zwartkop Air Station – the home of the South African Air Force in the 1920s and 1930s.
As is so often the case an unthinking individual has walked in front of the registration as the photographer took the photograph ………. 🙁 and only the G-AA** portion is visible.
I have gone through many records of foreign aircraft visiting South Africa during this time and come up with only one real possibility – that of G-AABK which supposedly made the UK/SA flight in late 1928/early 1929 (or at least applied to – the records I have access to are vague on this).
Other DH60s which visited seem to have different appearances.
Can anyone help me ID the aircraft and hopefully even the rather slender lady in white?
By: antiqueaviation - 27th June 2017 at 17:49
Many thanks for this detailed reply – I think you have nailed it. G-AAYJ was a visitor I had no record of and certainly fits the bill.
Going by the description of Ms Sale-Barker it may very well be her.
By: Arabella-Cox - 17th June 2017 at 16:42
Yes Mark, well done a great find. I too am an A/B member and also have a down load of the deH 60 production list. My bits of info in msg # 03 came from an AB publication 1981 African Registers.
By: John Aeroclub - 17th June 2017 at 10:37
I would say Mark has. Game, Set and Match. Doh! As an Air Britain member I forgot to look there especially as I have the download in this computer.
John
By: Arabella-Cox - 17th June 2017 at 09:10
Another line of enquiry for you, and certainly a colourful one!
See here: http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh60.pdf
In particular, G-AAYJ:
1248 DH.60G [Gipsy I] regd G-AAYJ [CofR 2570] 5.30 to The De Havilland Aircraft Co Ltd, Stag Lane (and used
by DH School of Flying; later at Hatfield). CofA 2496 issued 29.5.30. Sold (unconfirmed & not regd) to Capt
Summers. Regd [CofR 3338] 7.31 to National Flying Services Ltd, Hanworth. Sold .31 to Mr Horden
(unconfirmed, possibly Hordern?). Regd [CofR 3533] 24.12.31 to Miss Audrey FDD Sale-Barker, Hanworth.
Miss Sale-Barker and Miss Joan Page departed Heston en route South Africa 26.10.32. Damaged on
landing Cairo 2.11.32, repaired but delayed because of lack of permission to overfly Sudan, eventually
arriving Johannesburg 29.11.32. Return flight left Cape Town 11.1.33 but after departing Moshi, Tanganyika,
they crashed in bad weather into a hilltop 15 mls N of Lake Majadi (Magadi/Magai?) and 40 mls SW of
Nairobi 14.1.33; both injured. Regn cld 5.33.
Read up on physique of Miss Sale-Barker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Sale-Barker
And, if you have Spitfire Women by Giles Whittell, see the excellent summary of her 1930s flying and adventure trip to South Africa, including a close-up photo of the Gipsy Moth used. There are some good tie-ups with the lovely photo posted above – the approx. colour shade, high pressure tyres, sharp leading edge type fuel tank, etc. Maybe the figure preparing at left is Joan Page?
Given the publicity accorded these fliers, and their misadventures, there should be plenty of contemporary press coverage to research. If this leads nowhere, John Illsley in South Africa would probably be able to shed some light.
Mark
By: John Aeroclub - 16th June 2017 at 10:28
AAAJ was at one time owned by Malcolm Campbell It was used for a record survey flight in 1928 to Africa which culminated on it’s return flight with it’s landing in the sea off Morocco. It was repaired and then sold abroad.
AAGZ. UK use then sold to Southern Rhodesia in 1930 as VP-YAL. Then to South Africa as ZS-AOL, later impressed by the SAAF.
AAZZ UK use until 1930 sold abroad becoming ZS-ADA. Marks cancelled in 1932.
Source Air Britain Civil registers.
John
By: Arabella-Cox - 15th June 2017 at 12:35
Have found three more candidates……….G-AAAJ, G-AAGZ and G-AAZZ, all three are deH60Gs which later appeared on the SA Register:
-AAAJ = ZS-ABN C/n 803
-AAGZ = ZS-ABW C/n 1007
-AAZZ = ZS-ADA C/n 1255
By: John Aeroclub - 14th June 2017 at 21:57
BK was a DH 60G constructors number 811 first registered 1928 and later it was converted into a DH 60 GIII Moth Major and later in 1940 it was impressed as X5031. In July 1938 it was registered to Norfolk and Norwich Aero Club presumably as a Moth major.
That’s all I can help with at the moment.
John
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June 14, 2017 at 7:35 pm