Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Three-engine commercial airliner

Power Plant:

Three 160 kw (215 hp) Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC seven-cylinder un-supercharged single-row air-cooled radial engines

Specifications:

History:

The Avro Ten was a British-built variant of the very successful Fokker F.VIIB/3m airliner produced in the 1920s in The Netherlands, a licence to build and supply the type through the British Empire, excluding Canada, having been obtained by AV Roe and Co Ltd in 1928. Known as the Avro 618 Ten, which related to its crew of two and eight passengers, its fuselage was of metal steel tube construction with fabric covering, the wing being a one-piece all-wood plywood-covered cantilever unit. Externally it was similar to the Fokker built aircraft but some detail changes were made to meet British airworthiness requirements.

Total production of the type was 14 units, of which eight came to Australia, five being for the newly formed Australian National Airways, the airline set up and operated by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. Other operators included Imperial Airways, which used one G-AASP (c/n 384)) for general charter work, and a second machine G-ABLU (c/n 528) which crashed at Ruysselede in West Flanders in Belgium o  30 December 1933 on a flight from Brussels to Croydon in Surrey, UK. Another (K2682) was operated by the Royal Aeronautical Establishment (RAE) at Farnborough in Hampshire.

Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Thomas Philippe Ulm formed Australian National Airways (ANA). They decided to place an order for an Avro Ten and on 31 March 1929 left Sydney in the Fokker F.VII/3m ‘Southern Cross’ VH-USU in an attempt to break the Australia to England record. However, they became lost and force landed in the Glenelg River area in northern Australia due to fuel shortage. This event became known as ‘The Coffee Royal Affair’ and has been dealt with at length in the media over the years. They then placed an order for four Avro Tens, the aircraft being delivered by ship to Sydney, NSW in 1929 and 1930.

ANA commenced regular services on 1 January 1930 when VH-UMF flew from Sydney to Brisbane, QLD. By April that year 184 trips had been made between Sydney and Brisbane. At that time a further aircraft VH-UNA was added to the fleet. However, with the loss of VH-UMF on 21 March 1931, and the Great Depression, services were suspended on 26 June 1931 and for a period the fleet was used for charter flights and joy riding. Later they were used to fly Christmas mail to England. Further problems arose and the aircraft were sold.

Australian operated aircraft were: VH-UMH (c/n 229) ‘Southern Sky’ registered in November 1929 to Australian National Airways, flying routes between the capital cities on the east coast of Australia. Ownership was transferred to New England Airways as ‘City of Grafton’ on 25 August 1933 with which it operated on the Brisbane, to Narromine, NSW section of the Empire air route alongside similar aircraft. It later operated with Airlines of Australia in December 1935. It was retired and struck off the register in January 1936.

VH-UMG (c/n 230) ‘Southern Star’ also operated with ANA from November 1929. It later went to the Hart Aircraft Co as ‘Tasman’ on 23 March 1922 and Australian Transcontinental Airways Ltd on 3 September 1935. It crashed at Mascot Aerodrome, NSW on 21 November 1936.

VH-UMI (c/n 231) was named ‘Southern Moon’ with ANA from February 1930. After the closure of that Company it was withdawn from service. It became VH-UXX ‘Faith in Australia’ with Charles T P Ulm of Sydney on 10 June 1933. At one stage it was re-engined with 246 kw (330 hp) Wright Whirlwind engines. It operated with Charles Ulm’s Eastern Air Transport Ltd from 16 August 1935 and went to Kingsford Smith Air Service Ltd on 11 June 1938. From 21 May 1941 it was owned by E J Stephens of Stephens Aviation Ltd of Wau, PNG and was used for casualty evacuation from New Guinea in the early days of World War II. It was eventually stored in a hangar at Townsville, QLD until it was burnt at Garbutt, Townsville, in 1945.

VH-UMF (c/n 241 – ex G-AADM) was displayed at the Olympia Aero Show in 1929 before coming to ANA as ‘Southern Cloud’ on 26 August 1929. It crashed in the Toolong Range in the Snowy Mountains near Cooma, NSW on 21 March 1931 on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne, VIC, the wreckage not being located until 26 October 1958. There is a memorial to the aircraft and those lost in the accident in Cooma.

VH-UNJ (c/n 371) was registered to Queensland Air Navigation Co on 8 February 1930.  However that Company did not survive, having been based at Eagle Farm with other aircraft in the Company’s fleet. On 18 January 1932 ownership was transferred to New England Airways as ‘City of Brisbane’. It went to Airlines of Australia in January 1937. It was withdrawn from service in June 1941 and was dismantled at Mascot.

VH-UNA (c/n 388) was registered to ANA as ‘Southern Sun’ in April 1930 but it was lost in a take-off accident from Alor Star in Malaya on 26 November 1931.

VH-UPI (c/n 468) was registered to Queensland Air Navigation Co Ltd on 31 October 1930, ownership being transferred to New England Airways of Lismore, NSW as ‘City of Sydney’ on 16 December 1932. It later went to Airlines of Australia Ltd and was eventually dismantled at Mascot after being withrawn from service.

Accommodation in the Avro Ten was provided for two pilots, side-by-side, with dual controls, and seating for eight passengers. At the rear of the cabin was a lavatory, and aft of that a luggage compartment. As noted above, the type is well known for the loss of the ‘Southern Cloud’ VH-UMF on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne on 21 March 1931 which instigated the eventual demise of ANA.