DeHavilland DH88 Comet
Part 2
The Great 1934 London - Melbourne Air Race

by Clive Paling

The first Comet to arrive at Mildenhall , in gusty conditions, was G-ACSR flown by Cathcart-Jones shortly followed by Scott and Black in Grosvenor House.  Finally the Mollisons arrived and made a successful landing after their third attempt.  Work continued on the aircraft, tuning them for the race. 

With only 36 hours before the start Cathcart-Jones landed with the wheels partly retracted.  With both propeller tips and undercarriage damaged the aircraft was considered to be out of the race.  The undercarriage was fixed, but only one spare prop was available.  Fairey's were asked to straighten the bent blades, and when a propeller specialist was sent from France, by Ratiers, the last prop was set right and a final test flight made with only12 hours to the start.

At the final weigh in all three Comets were found to be overweight.  Since no equipment could be left off and no fuel spared, a lower specific gravity fuel of the same octane rating was found.  All three Comets were out before daybreak on 20th October with engines warmed up and the aircraft polished by Hatfield apprentices ready for a 6:30 a.m. take off.  Although 70 aircraft had been entered for the race, only 20 made the start line.

Black Magic was first away and made a non-stop 2,530 mile trip to Baghdad in 12hr 40min. After a quick bath they took off again as the second placed Grosvenor House came in to land, followed closely by the American challenge, a Douglas DC-2 flown by a KLM crew and carrying passengers.  Due to overcast conditions over Europe both the second two Comets had been virtually lost until they crossed the Black Sea.  Scott and Black had luckily found the RAF emergency station at Kirkuk and 20 gallons of fuel taken on saved them on this first leg.  Heavy storms over the Taurus Mountains and impending darkness had put Jones and Waller off course.  The situation was so bad that they even contemplated suicide. Fortunately they saw some lights and made a landing at Dizful in Persia where they slept the night and crept into Baghdad in the early morning light.

The Mollisons pushed on to Karachi, Jubbulpore and Allahabad before being forced to retire with piston trouble due to being supplied with unsuitable fuel.  Scott and Black pressed on making a stop at Allahabad, then had to battle storms over Malaya, with all four feet on the rudder bars and all hands on the dual controls, before arriving at Singapore.  While crossing the Timor Sea the oil pressure had dropped on one engine and rumours spread that they had withdrawn due to damaged pistons.  On arrival at Darwin the trouble was found to be clogged filters which caused a 21/2 hr delay.  They pressed on to Charleville, to which they had to return after their first departure as the maps had been left behind.  They arrived first over Melbourne after an elapsed time of 70hr, 54min and 18sec.  They were followed 19hrs later by the DC-2.

Jones and Waller also had some doubts about lubrication and, on reaching Darwin, believed they had no chance of being in the first three to finish and so continued at a more leisurely pace. They rested at Mt. Isa before continuing on to Melbourne, arriving in a total time of 108hr, 13min and 45sec.  Believing they had not won a prize they decided to immediately turn around and fly straight back to the UK with film of the winning aircraft.  Not only was this an attempt to set up a new Australia-England time, but also an attempt to beat the record for the round trip. Engine trouble was experienced at Allahabad, but the still stranded Mollisons lent the necessary parts from their aircraft.  On 2nd November they landed on the south coast of England having completed the 23,000 mile trip in a record time of 13day, 6hrs and 43min.

As well as Scott and Black winning the first prize of £10,000 and the trophy, Jones and Waller were third in the speed section winning £500.  Second place in the handicap section went to a de Havilland Puss Moth and a De Havilland Dragon Six had a place in both the speed and handicap sections.

Comets went on to set many more speed records. G-ACSS 'Grosvenor House' was returned from Melbourne by sea and was acquired by the Air Ministry for trials.  On the 2nd September 1936 the undercarriage failed on landing and the aircraft was disposed of as scrap.  Fortunately the person who acquired it had it rebuilt, which included the fitting of a pair of Gypsy Six Series 2 engines driving the more effective Hamilton variable pitch propellers.  The aircraft took place in many more air races and record attempts.  In 1938 it set up a new record time for the England to New Zealand return trip also attaining ten more records in the process.

Its last recorded flight (with Geoffrey de Havilland at the controls) was in 1938 after which an engine was removed for use in another plane and it was left outside covered in tarpaulins.  It was rediscovered, rotting in the long grass, in 1943 and retrieved by de Havillands.  It was restored for display at the 1951 Festival of Britain and then put on display at the de Havilland Engine Co showroom until closure in 1965.  It was then returned to Hatfield and donated to the Shuttleworth Trust.  The policy of the trust is always to have its exhibits in working order, but with the conditions in which the Comet had been stored this was expected to be almost impossible.  However an appeal was launched, in 1975, to restore the aircraft and many companies have helped with parts and aid in restoration  When the airframe was stripped down it was found to be in better condition than expected due to the high standard of workmanship and the original protective varnish.

If you're visiting England and are lucky enough to attend a flying day at the Old Warden airfield you may have the chance to see this remarkable plane in action.

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