Originally Posted by
WHBM
Since we started this discussion I have found a wide variety of references to how many Lancastrians Qantas had, from one (my original opinion from two separate sources, both hitherto reliable) to nine, with various numbers in between as well. I presume they were not all in the fleet at the same time.
Here's the BOAC timetable from September 1947 which shows the thrice-weekly Lancastrian service to Australia, with just a note that the sectors beyond Karachi are operated by Qantas, which takes a minimum of four aircraft, I presume all BOAC, to hold down the schedule, and doubtless several more with the extended maintenance and unserviceability that was standard at the time. The implication is through aircraft. Presumably with all those crew slips that would be needed (unlike the flying boat services which stopped overnight and kept the same crew for several days) it was better to crew from both ends.
Looking at Jackson (which I should have done originally
) and answering my own question from earlier, he confirms that BOAC's 21 Lancastrians
"were for joint use with Qantas on the Kangaroo service, British crews being relieved by Australians at Karachi"
AJJ also confirms that there were only 4 VH-registered Lancastrians, with no mention of whether they were also used on the Kangaroo route.