It's a shame amos, I'd mostly admired your posts for the experiences that you articulated and your point of view forthrightly put forward. You're right though, I am out of my depth. I should never have admired you opinions.
I may not have been alive in the '60s amos but that doesn't mean that I don't know some of the history of Qantas during WWII. It doesn't take much research to turn up this:
Japanese Zeros shot down Captain Aub Koch's flying boat while he was evacuating women and children from Surabaya. Shot through the arm and leg, he swam 8km ashore. Later when another of his aircraft was lost near Port Moresby, he gave his lifebelt to a passenger and swam unaided for 19 hours. There were many similar acts of heroism.
Or this.....
Qantas crews later served in the battle zones of New Guinea. Combined Qantas and RAAF personnel flew Empire flying boats and Lockheed Lodestars, dropping supplies to Australian troops fighting their way along the famous Kokoda Trail. A Lockheed 10 and two Qantas DH86s later joined the New Guinea supply operations.
Or this.....
Qantas aircraft did a considerable amount of work evacuating civilians and wounded from New Guinea and later carried the first troops back into the area. Throughout the war Qantas maintained tenuous services to Britain, via South Africa at first, then through Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and India. Radio silence was a feature of most of the wartime flights, which included ferrying troops and supplies in extremely hazardous conditions.
Most significantly is this:
The disappearance of the 'Circe'
Early in the morning of 28 February 1942, the last two Qantas Empire flying boats on the regular service between Java and Australia taxied from their moorings at Tjilatjap. The two pilots, Captain Stephen Howard in 'Corinthian' and Captain William Purton in 'Circe' had received instructions from Qantas Airways that they were to evacuate as many persons as possible from Tjilatjap to Broome in Western Australia. 'Corinthian' flew off first at 8.38 am AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time) and Howard observed 'Circe' leaving its moorings for take-off, just two minutes later.
On board 'Circe' were 16 Dutch nationals and the four crew members:
Captain William Bloxham Purton
First Officer Mervyn William Bateman
Radio Operator Herbert George Anzac Oates
Purser James Lionel Hogan.
All were employees of Qantas,
Qantas alerted Allied aircraft flying over the area to keep a look out for the 'Circe' and also conducted an extensive search for the missing aircraft. No wreckage or bodies have ever been recovered and the mystery of the disappearance of the 'Circe' has never been solved.
What was that about research and being out of my depth pops?
