Lofty writes:
When you look at old photographs and postcards of Shoreham Airport, do you ever wonder what happened to the aeroplanes that are featured in them ? This article focuses on two aeroplanes that were regular visitors to the airport in the 1930s and would have appeared in many photos taken at the time. Indeed, both of the illustrations included here were photographed at Shoreham Airport, and were taken from original 1930s postcards. Both of the planes featured were initially operated by Railway Air Services between 1935 and 1939.
The single aeroplane depicted standing on the apron is a DH Dragon 2, registered G-ADDI. This plane was first registered and delivered to Railway Air Services in March 1935 and was named ‘City of Cardiff’. On 6th March 1938 the plane was renamed as ‘Island Maid’, before it launched a new Shoreham-Ryde-Southampton service on the next day. This is the name that appears in the photograph.
In January 1939 the aircraft changed hands and was acquired by Great Western & Southern Air Lines, who based it at St Just (Lands End) Airport. The following 30 years found it having a number of different owners, the most notably being Chrisair who re-painted it in a stunning red and white livery and operated it from April 1963 to November 1970 for joy-rides, parachuting and air displays etc.
In February 1971 the plane was re-registered as N34DH and flown to Rotterdam from where it was shipped by sea to the Perlitch Transport Museum at Morgan Hill, California, USA.
In May 1981 the plane was acquired from the museum by American aviator Mike Kimbrell who restored it to flying condition, this work being completed in May 1984.
Today the plane is still flying, and in the red and white Chrisair colours, and is based at Mr Kimbrell’s private airstrip at Oakville, Washington State, USA.
The two aeroplanes pictured in front of the hangars are a pair of DH89A Dragon Rapides. Both of these were new when they joined the Railway Air Services fleet together in February 1935.
The one nearest the camera is G-ACPR ‘City of Birmingham’. This particular aircraft was later damaged beyond repair when it was force landed and overturned during a snowstorm at Burford, Shropshire in February 1940.
The plane nearest the hangar is G-ACPP ‘City of Bristol’, and this is the aircraft that we are interested in. After Railway Air Services, this plane joined the Great Western & Southern Air Lines (Shoreham) fleet in January 1939, and continued to have a number of various operators until May 1961 when it was transported to Canada.
In Canada, now re-registered as CF-PTK, it was originally intended to convert it to floatplane operation. This scheme was abandoned, and the aeroplane changed hands a couple of times more before ending up at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum at Wetaskiwin, Alberta, in January 2002. The plane was then subjected to a lengthy and comprehensive rebuild which was eventually completed in August 2012.
Today, this aeroplane can be seen at the museum, resplendent in the original Railway Air Services colours and still named ‘City of Bristol’.
Footnote:-
There is a charming video of the Dragon flying at its current home on
Doug writes:
G-ECAN – This one was built in 1943 by DH Australia for the RAAF. It was later converted to civilian standards & flew for Marshall Airways from September 1946 & used for air ambulance, charter and passenger charter flights. It was restored in the 90’s following an accident before being imported into the UK in 2001. At the time of my photo it was in immaculate Railway Air Services livery with the previously unissued period registration G-ECAN.
Lofty adds:
I have just come across the photo of the ex-Railway Air Services Dragon G-ADDI as described in the opening paras above. It is depicted in the colour scheme that it wore from 1963 to 1971 before it was transferred to the USA. These are the colours that it is still in today, as can be seen in the video of it flying at its present home.
