De Havilland DH-66 Hercules

[sixtiesrelic]

 

This was one of two DH-66 Stephens bought for the New Guinea gold rush in the mid 1930's.

 

Major Norman Brearely of West Australia Airways dumped them onto the New Guinea operators. These were fairly tired aircraft when they arrived and were hardly suitable to the sort of loads required for mining in the tropics.

 

Both crashed... one in the jungle and couldn't be found for four days.

 

It was left apart from the engines

 

The other crashed into the sea at the edge of the Salamaua Isthmus.

 

It was rebuilt and operated for two more years to end up destroyed by the Japs.

 

 

This is the only frame in a sixteen second clip that came out. The film must have jumped off the sprocket or something and all we see of the clip is a ghosty negative something going backwards. As he released the trigger on the movie camera the iris must have closed rapidly and this frame came out right.

 

They lost the wings in the impact by the looks.

 

 

[Guest Chainsaw]

Nice pics 60's

 

How interesting is that tail design.