The aircraft flown were split into two main categories made up of the speed section which ultimately was made of Canberras of the RAF and RAAF, and the Handicap section made up of a motley array of transports and civilian airliners from 3 countries. Ultimately only 8 aircraft made it to the start.
Racing between London and Christchurch was more than just sport – it was a chance to prove the Canberra’s long reach
There were great expectations for the 1953 England to New Zealand air race, with hopes that it would create the atmosphere and endeavour of the famous 1934 MacRobertson Trophy race to Australia. In the end, just eight aircraft took part, five of them Canberras, but a string of records were smashed.
Two categories of competitor traversed Europe, Asia and Australia, covering around 12,350 miles (19,880km). There were no compulsory rest stops, just iron-willed men and their machines striving for the prize. For both sections, the award was a glittering £10,000 – while that might not sound much, the average value of a house in Britain in 1952 was £2,750!
Although the London to Christchurch race took place in October 1953 it had originally been announced on September 1, 1949. It was held to celebrate both the centenary of the foundation of Christchurch and the 50th anniversary of powered flight.
Initially there was considerable interest from potential participants and on February 18, 1953, two weeks after the application list was closed, it was announced that 25 groups and individuals had registered their intent to take part. By the beginning of March this number had dropped to 19 and by the start, on October 8, it was down to eight contestants. The second prototype Vickers Valiant B.1 WB215, which was to have been flown by Brian Trubshaw, was withdrawn almost at the last minute as it was too factory fresh to make the start. (See the panels for the entrants and the RAF Canberras.)
The Melbourne-based Government Aircraft Factory (GAF) was building its version of the Canberra B.2, the Mk.20, under licence. The race would be an ideal opportunity to fully test the new bomber and alert the world to Australia’s aviation industry.
On February 7, 1953, William McMahon, Australian Minister for Air (and future Prime Minister) announced that Wg Cdr D R Cuming AFC*, then CO of the Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU), would manage the participating RAAF Canberras. A temporary unit, 1 Long Range Flight (LRF) was formed at Laverton, Victoria, in February with Sqn Ldr P F Raw DFC in command.
On April 13, English Electric-built A84-125 (formerly WD983) became the first Canberra for the LRF, landing at Laverton at 1705hrs. In May A84-307 arrived for use as a trainer and before long the unit’s Canberras were flying day and night.
Distance measuring equipment was installed in A84-307 early in June and a trial flight took place on June 8. Meanwhile, A84-125 carried out performance measuring at 25,000ft, 35,000ft and 46,000ft.
On June 13, A84-125 was flown to check single-engine performance and to practise engine restarts at 20,000ft. There was considerable excitement at LRF on July 1 when specially modified A84-201 was flown in from Avalon, New South Wales, by Sqn Ldr Peter Raw. The jet was allocated VNZIPA as its radio call-sign.
On August 13, long-range navigation flights began, using A84-307. These commenced with a sortie from Laverton which proceeded to Darwin, Northern Territory, at 40,000ft in 4 hours 15 minutes, and then continued to Singapore at 45,000ft in 4 hours 10 minutes. Singapore to Negombo, Sri Lanka, was flown at 35,000ft in 3 hours 15 minutes, before returning by the same route as far as Darwin, from there flying to Amberley, Queensland, at 40,000ft in 3 hours 5 minutes.
Good news was received on August 25 when the Australian unit was notified that its second race machine A84-202, call-sign VNZIPB, had made a successful first flight. It was delivered to 1 LRF three days later. The pace of preparations quickened, and by the first week in September the RAAF teams were eager to go. Flying A84-202, Wg Cdr D R Cuming, Fg Off R J Atkinson and Sqn Ldr C G Harvey took off at 1015hrs on September 10, bound for the UK. They were followed five minutes later by A84-201 flown by Sqn Ldr Raw with Fg Off F N Davis and Flt Lt W D Kerr.
They flew by way of Pearce and Guildford (both in Western Australia), Cocos Island, Sri Lanka, Bahrain and Malta to Lyneham in Wiltshire, effectively following the race route in reverse, arriving on the 16th. Refuelling detachments, aboard Douglas Dakota A65-96, also reached their various destinations in September.
While in the UK, both Australian Canberras were flown to the English Electric factory at Salmesbury, Lancashire. On October 3 they positioned to London’s Heathrow Airport, where they remained on display until the start of the race. Members of the public were allowed to see the jets up close and even look inside the cockpits.
Finally the long-awaited day dawned. Just before 1500hrs on October 8, the Duke of Gloucester and officials from the Royal Aero Club arrived to start the race. All five Canberras were towed to the start line where their tanks were topped up.
Beginning at 1735, and at five-minute intervals, the three RAF Canberras took off in race order followed by the two RAAF aircraft. Most money was on the RAF PR.7 as it had, on paper at least, a marginally better performance.
At 1750 Wg Cdr Cuming lifted A84-202 off from Heathrow and a dash to Bahrain saw it land there at 0950 the following morning. Ten minutes later it was on its way to Ratmalana, Sri Lanka, where it touched down at 1415. The turn-around time at this transit point was 15 minutes, the slowest RAAF time of the race. The Canberra was airborne again at around 1430 and heading for Cocos Island where it arrived at 1745. Sadly, on arrival its port tyre burst.
Having been in the lead up to this point, the jet was now out of contention. It was 52 hours before it would be able to continue. The RAAF had considered the possibility of a tyre burst, but it had not been practical to move the heavy lifting gear required to all the transit points. It was also thought that the time required to replace a tyre and repair any collateral damage to the wheel, would almost certainly incur elimination from the race.