Historical photos

[sixtiesrelic]

My uncle and father took photos from 1035 to 1942 as well as 16mm colour movies 1940 to 1942.

 

Here's a couple of cut and pasted frames from panned shots.

 

Quality is BAD because I started off from a video ... resolution is lousy in video form and was further degraded converting it to digital.

 

I'll drive the six hour journey to my cousin's to get the original reels and bring 'em back to Brissy to have converted direct to DVD and start again when I've completed an imminent DC-3 project.

 

 

This one is a Junkers G31. (The later JU-52 was larger) It was modified for Guinea Airways by cutting an eleven foot by six foot hole in the roof to make a loading hatch.

 

The cover over the hole was slightly domed for strength and held in place by wing nuts. When taken off for loading a native just held it on the wing. It was quite light.

 

Part of the incredible strength of the Junkers design was demonstrated when Guinea Airways asked about this mod and suggested the sides of the aircraft would need strengthening. Junkers checked and said NO! there was no weakening of the structure requiring any corresponding strengthening.

 

They also mounted the three engines a foot forward to make the aircraft nose heavy to allow for the stowage of heavy loads directly beneath the hole in the roof.

 

The loads were lowered by crane and tied down in the place they arrived at rather than try and move them forward... the heaviest single parts loaded being over seven thousand pounds.

 

When flown empty they required aft ballast which was usually large river rocks.

 

 

A Ford 5 AT and the Catholic Church's Klem Swallow at Mt Hagen.

 

The strip later became part of the town.

 

The Swallow landed up at Port Macquarie for many years. I saw it there in the late 1970s.

 

The Ford was a bigger version of the 4 AT.

 

The skinny bloke in the shorts was a cadet. They got to fly the cruise in the Fords and G31s and were as young as sixteen.

 

This bloke flew regularly with my uncle... features in the movie clips often.

 

Some of the Fords also had the hole in the roof... this was one but it can't be seen from this angle. There is a black and white shot demonstrating it... later.

 

 

[sixtiesrelic]

Old photos

 

Couple more... These are probably the first colour photos shown from these years as there wasn't colour film only movies back then.

 

It seems that there was a fad for home movie taking in 1940 to 1942.

 

hopefully they weren't lost and people are going to digitise them and find each other on the net to make a collection.

 

 

This is a composite of a panned shot of the Cadet flying the Junkers G31. Note NO roof and not easily seen here is the fact he has no shoulder harness.

 

Obviously they're fairly high and he's put his coat on. Another shot of him has him flying in a singlet.

 

The tennis shades they wore seems to be a New Guinea fashion... most photos of pilots up there have them on.

 

 

A Junkers F13 passenger aircraft. They had many of the cargo version which was the same plane but was designated a W34.

 

Two pilots for four passengers.

 

I'd say someone was going "finish" or maybe just home on leave from Bulolo and the population came out to see them off.

 

 

This is a W34. Not sure where.

 

Note the bit of a palm roofing to shade the native fire boi who'd wait for the plane to arrive and light a smoky fire for the wind indicator.The "Goal post" the bike is leaning against would be to hang a "Sail" over to provide cover for cargo.

 

 

[Guest The Hammer]

My uncle and father took photos from 1035 to 1942

Could we see a few from say, 1035 through to 1600? :P

 

 

[sixtiesrelic]

Yeah Hammer... Was going to fix that!

 

 

[Guest Glenn]

I knew what you meant