This
book was published in 1979 on behalf of the Aviation Historical
Society of Australia.
It was the story of the Qantas Empire Airways secret wartime flights
from Perth to Ceylon and Karachi, conducted in radio silence through
Japanese controlled airspace. The service commenced in 1943 using
Consolidated Catalinas transferred from BOAC, which took an average
of 29 hours between Perth and Lake Koggala in Ceylon, although
one trip was airborne for 32 hours. The few high priority passengers
on each flight were awarded a certificate The Secret Order of
the Double Sunrise, which is reproduced in colour in the book.
Consolidated Liberators and Avro Lancastrians were later introduced
on the route.
This book was the result of a joint research between Geoff Goodall
and Barry Pattison, which proved to be an enjoyable and productive
project. A number of surviving Qantas pilots and engineers were
interviewed and their first-hand recollections and logbooks were
invaluable to document an authoritative history.
The book sold out within a few years.
I have commenced on a long-term project to publish a revised edition,
to incorporate the significant additional detailed information
collected over the intervening years.
Geoff
Goodall
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