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G-AETX. Short S-23C Empire Class Flying Boat. c/n S.840.
This aircraft was the seventeenth Empire boat completed and flown by Short Bros at Rochester, Kent The order was placed by Imperial Airways, London - September 2, 1935 It was completed as a S-23 Empire Class flying boat having 920 h.p. Bristol Pegasus Xc engines The standard fuel capacity was 650 gallons It had an all-up weight of 40,500 lbs (18,380 kg) which was later increased to 53,000 lbs (24,200 kg) The cruising speed was 164 m.p.h. with a standard range of 760 miles / 1,245 km First flown as G-AETX - July 15, 1937 Certificate of Registration Issued - July 16, 1937 Delivered to Imperial Airways, London - July 17, 1937 The aircraft was named 'Ceres' Surveyed the Alexandria - Karachi route (Captain E. M. Gurney) - September 06, 1937 It became bogged in Lake Dingari, Tonk, India but it was refloated and flown out Acquired by British Airways when Imperial Airways merged - April 01, 1940 Isolated in the western sector when the Horseshoe route was broken Destroyed in the hangar at Congella, Durban when it caught fire and blew up - December 01, 1942 |
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G-AETX. Imperial Airways London - 'Ceres' in the all-metal livery on The Medway, Rochester, circa 1937. (P. Sheehan Collection Copyright Image 2545-875.) |
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G-AETX. Imperial Airways London - 'Ceres' in the all-metal livery at Follands Yard, Hamble, circa 1938. (P. Sheehan Collection Copyright Image 2545-876.) |
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G-AETX. Imperial Airways London - 'Ceres' in the all-metal livery at Sydney Rose Bay, circa 1938. (Qantas Heritage Collection Copyright Image 2545-654.) |
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G-AETX. Imperial Airways London - 'Ceres' in the all-metal livery at Sydney Rose Bay, circa 1938. (Qantas Heritage Collection Copyright Image 2545-655.) |