Everything tagged "Hastings" | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Everything tagged "Hastings"

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Kai Tak RAF Hastings.

Submitted by Andrew Suddaby on Mon, 2018-12-10 17:28
Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1957

Quite a few R.A.F. personnel flew between the U.K. and Kai Tak in Transport Command's Hastings aircraft.  The three or four day journey was sometimes extended to several weeks on account of mechanical problems with the Hastings fleet.  The Hastings was the R.A.F's version of the Hermes that was flown for a short time by B.O.A.C., before being replaced by the more reliable Argonauts - DC4s built by Canadair, but powered by the same superb and versatile Rolls Royce Merlin engines as used in the R.A.F.'s Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancasters.

RAF Hastings arrived in Hong Kong.

Submitted by Andrew Suddaby on Wed, 2018-11-14 04:18
Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1952

The Hastings, the miitary version of the Hermes civilian plane differed in that it had a rear wheel instead of the tricycle undercarriage of the Hermes.  In those days all the passenger seats in military aircraft faced backwards, but this safety feature never caught on with civilian planes.  According to some members of the 367 Association, trooping flights to Hong Kong in Hastings planes often seemed to be disrupted by mechanical faults - sometimes enabling the passengers to enjoy unscheduled stopovers in Singapore or Manilla.

An account of Hong Kong leading up to the Japanese invasion in 1941

Submitted by Hugh Dulley on Sun, 2017-02-19 18:30

"A Voyage to War: An Englishmans's Account of Hong Kong 1936-41" by Hugh Dulley

A brief description of the book:-

Hugh Dulley’s father (Peter Dulley) and mother (Therese Sander) met in Hong Kong on New Year’s Eve 1935. Four years later at the outbreak of war, Peter, a weekend sailor, was called up in the Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He eventually graduated to command an ocean-going tug of 500 tons from Hong Kong to Aden. En route he called at islands still enjoying pre-war peacetime and navigated across the Indian Ocean using a sextant.

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