The Short Sandringham series was a conversion of the Short Sunderland to meet requirements of airlines for a four-engine flying boat to carry passengers, luggage and freight. The Sandringham I (G-AGKX – ex ML788 - Himalaya) was a former BOAC Sunderland III fitted with Pegasus engines,

The DH-86 (known as the Express Air Liner) was designed and built in four months in 1933 to meet a specification produced by the Australian Government for a fast, economical ten-passenger airliner to serve the route from Australia to Singapore.

Air Bus Industrie recognised the need for a aircraft operating what was described as ‘long-thin’ routes and set about designing an aircraft capable of carrying 295 passengers in a three-class configuration over a distance of 13,250 km (8,233 miles), this being a four-engine wide-body which made its first flight in