ABC Western Queensland
15 September, 2011 10:48AM AEST
A Rare Catalina Flying Boat
By Chrissy Arthur and Julia Harris
A rare Catalina flying boat has touched down at its new home in Longreach.
The Catalina was purchased in Spain by the Qantas Founders Museum, but had to undergo a mammoth restoration to get it flying.
The museum wants to tell the story of the Catalinas involvement in the "Double Sunrise Service"; a top secret mission during World War Two.
Qantas pilots flew Catalinas to keep supply lines open between Australia and England; breaking the Japanese blockade over the Indian Ocean when Singapore fell.
After the war, Qantas also used Catalinas to open up the Pacific Islands.
Spokesman John Seccombe explained the plane's been at a military base in Thailand for the last 18 months, where it broke down in transit from Spain.
"It's very rare and of course there are times when we thought it would never arrive, we thought it would rot in Thailand.
"Fuel went missing out of it so you have to ask how secure it was.
"When the riots were going on in Thailand, we wondered whether it would turn into a civil war and whether in fact the aircraft would be safe.
"I am thrilled to see it here."
The Longreach museum hasn't decided yet whether to keep this vintage and rare Catalina in the air, or leave it on permanent display.
Warwick Tainton, the Museum's Chairman, said it's cost an awful lot of money.
"It will have cost us something like one-million dollars to get it back and I would like to see it keep flying but we haven't made those decisions.
"It's been such a long, ardous road you might say and we are really, really proud to get it here.
"The big story really is the engineers and the pilots who have actually bought the aeroplane out, it had been sitting idle for eight years I think."
Mr Seccombe said either way, it'll be some time before it goes on display because they plan to refurbish it in its war-time camouflage colours.
"The question is whether we take it to Wollongong where the Historical Restoration Society operate from and enlist their assistance with it to refurbish it, or whether we do it here.
"But we hope to have it back here by Easter."
A 91-year retired pilot was on hand to greet the plane when it flew in.
Rex Senior is the only surviving pilot of the "Double Sunrise service " and said it was an important part of Australia's war-time experience.
"It was a very secret business, when the Japanese came down through the Asian area; they interrupted the normal communication between England and Australia.
"It was a very necessary and very dangerous mission."
Mr Tainton said only a handful of Catalina's are still flying.
"I think there are probably four, or five or six still flying in the world."
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Rex Senior, what a legend!
His Catalina story as told by himself is here:
http://mastermariners.org.au/file/Double_Sunrise_service_docx_Compatibility_Mode.pdf
Photo taken in 1983
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