Qantas Double Sunrise "Altair Star" deparats Perth for Ceylon, 1943

From 1943 until 1945, Qantas Catalina flying boats carried out some of the most remarkable flights of the Second World War. One of these aircraft, “Altair Star”, is depicted leaving Perth at dawn for its long and hazardous 3,513 miles flight across the Indian Ocean to Lake Koggala in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) is the subject of this painting. The Catalinas retained their British registrations because they had been delivered under the American Lend-Lease scheme from Britain. Each was named after the stars often used by navigators; Altair, Vega, Rigel, Antares and Spica.

The man behind the extraordinary Qantas flights was the founder of Qantas, Sir Hudson Fysh. Fysh called the flights “Double Sunrise” because they started at dawn in Australia and saw the sun rise before they alighted in Ceylon, often over thirty hours later.

The Consolidated Catalina, designed as a maritime patrol flying boat, was first flown in 1935. She was powered by two Pratt and Whitney 14 cylinder, two-row air-cooled radial engines of 1,200hp each. She was large for her day with a wingspan of 104ft (31.7m) and had a range of 3,100m (4,960km) at 100mph (161kph). Catalinas of the Allied forces carried out sterling work protecting convoys in the Atlantic in WWII. The RAAF operated Catalinas; known as ‘The Black Cats’ they were famously used in hazardous mine-laying operations at night.

The Catalinas employed on the Double Sunrise run carried secret documents, war priority cargo and VIPs at a time when the Indian Ocean was blockaded by the Japanese. They were Australia’s vital link to Europe for such communications at that time. All flights were carried out in radio silence and were masterly exercises in navigation. At the time of writing, there are two examples of wartime Catalinas in flying condition in Australia.

Three of the leading captains of the ‘Double Sunrise’ flights, Qantas Captains Crowther, Tapp, and Ambrose were awarded the Johnston Memorial Trophy for their fine efforts on these important flights. The trophy is one of the most prized navigational awards in Australia. While there were incidents on these long flights, the Catalinas operated without loss and with an amazing serviceability record. During their operations from 1943 until 1945 they flew 271 crossings, carried 858 passengers, hauled 90,793 lb (41,182kg) of priority cargo and 207,260lb (94,038kg) of mail over 1,380,119 miles (2,220,610km) over the Indian Ocean.

After the war, the aircraft, unlike their splendid crews, received no accolades, no awards; they were flown out to sea off Perth and sunk.

Wilmot Hudson Fysh shown in this sketch as a young man when he helped survey an air-route from Darwin to the Southern States of Australia during 1919.

Another famous Catalina was “Frigate Bird II”, flown from Australia to South America via Easter Island on a proving route by Sir Gordon Taylor and crew in 1951. The actual aircraft has been preserved and is on display in Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum. The painting of it above, also available as a David Marshall print, makes a fine companion piece to the “Altair Star”.