A vintage photograph of the aeroplane 'Southern Sky' (VH-UMH), one of several Avro 618 Ten aircraft operated by Australian National Airways, the short-lived airline of Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm

[KINGSFORD SMITH, Sir Charles]

About this Item

A gelatin silver photograph, 60 × 87 mm. Two unobtrusive light creases; in very good condition. The caption handwritten in ink on the verso reads 'Kingsford Smith plane "Southern Sky" day after opening of the Bridge'. We have handled another example of this photograph with a caption giving a slightly later date ('The Southern Sky. Monday March 28th 1932'). Either way, Kingsford Smith had participated in the celebrations for the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on 19 March 1932, and was advertising scenic flights in Sydney newspapers: 'Fly with Air-Commodore Kingsford Smith, in ANA 3-engined airliners similar to "Southern Cross". See the show and the bridge in comfort from the air. Flights daily from Mascot aerodrome. 10/- per passenger .' ('Sydney Morning Herald', 25 March 1932). 'Southern Cross', in which Kingsford Smith made his historic Trans-Pacific and Trans-Tasman flights, had been damaged in a night landing on 19 March, so it seems likely that some of these flights would have been in the 'Southern Sky'. While the detail is not sufficient to make out his face, the figure standing in front of the aircraft may well be the famous aviator himself.

Seller Inventory # 138549

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A vintage photograph of the aeroplane 'Southern Sky' (VH-UMH), one of several Avro 618 Ten aircraft operated by Australian National Airways, the short-lived airline of Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Australia
  • Aviation
  • Original Photographs