Evacuating the royal family - ironic titbit

[Guest Mike]

I was reading a copy of "Aeroplane" magazine today & in it they had a little snippet about a Danish Fw-200 Condor that flew to the UK in 1940, and was going to be used to evacuate the Royal family should it come to that - since it was the only a/c in the country capable of lying hte Atlantic in one hop.

it briefly carried a civil registration G-AGAY before being taken over by the military as DX177, and was written off after an accident in 1941 left its undercarriage unrepairable.

Wiki has a brief mention of it in hte Fw-200 page, saying it was operated by BOAC.

the following mentions its possible civil operations, but nothign about any emergency use to evacuate TRH's.

[jon_j_rambo]

Okay, sounds cool...if you're the Royal Family & the Buntas are coming.

[Lars]

Actually, there's one other German plane that could have done it that the Allies had.

Dornier DO-24.

Bit of an odd article really, think the Short Sunderland could do it too.

[Guest Mike]

sundeland had long endurance, but mainly 'cos it was slow - 1800-odd miles range. flying-boars were fuel hogs due to their unaerodynamic hulls.

Fw-200 has a 2200 mile range, 2800 miles in ferry config. the article mentioned that it's interior was stripped and canvas seats and extra fuel tanks installed, so the later sems more likely.

Being a landplane it had more flexibility in terms of where it could take off and land - you might think a flying boat has the whole ocean, but it requires relatively calm waters.

[Lars]

Yeah, but who cares when you're on the run.

Sorry Queenie, you might just get your feet wet.

[Desert Dave]

Sorry Queenie, you might just get your feet wet.

Better that

Than being royally insulted

By a bad-seed Boy-King

All dressed up in faux

Cowboy clothes.

Well,

Maybe better them - Dude duds

Than twirling about with a go

Mighty Ivy! - go!

Megaphone.

Some are ever intended,

It seems - to be a cheer-leader

Though,

Never... enny prime-time player.

[Lars]

Originally posted by Desert Dave:

Better that

Than being royally insulted

By a bad-seed Boy-King

Er, since she's a royal, wouldn't any insult qualify?

Something to ponder.

[jon_j_rambo]

Question: How did the Buntas get to Brazil?

[Lars]

ODESSA

[Ottosmops]

Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:

Question: How did the Buntas get to Brazil?

With an aircraft from the Vatican.

[Desert Dave]

Originally posted by Ottosmops:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:

Question: How did the Buntas get to Brazil?

With an aircraft from the Vatican. </font>

[jon_j_rambo]

Vicarivs Filii Dei !!!

Look out,

-Legend

[Guest Mike]

Originally posted by Lars:

Yeah, but who cares when you're on the run.

Sorry Queenie, you might just get your feet wet.

getting feet wet isn't a problem - getting the plane somewhere near the royals is the problem - where's the nearest spot of water suitable for a Sunderland to wherever they lived, viz where's the nearest aerodrome?

tehre are more land-aerodromes around London than suitable stretches of water for flying boats!

Aside from which you seem to have missed the point thathe Sunderland has the shorter range in hte first place....

[Bromley]

Originally posted by Stalin's Organist:

where's the nearest spot of water suitable for a Sunderland to wherever they lived, viz where's the nearest aerodrome?[/QB]

Couldn't resist .

AllPosters.com

(Actually, for all I know they might have towed it there)

[ May 09, 2007, 03:23 PM: Message edited by: Bromley ]

[Guest Mike]

Or taxied it under the bridge - the thing would never be able to get high enough pass the bridges in the available distance!!

AFAIK all Sunderland bases were in the Shettlands, Wales, Ireland and Cornwall.

Having the Thames there means they could land and possibly take off, but doesn't make it an airbase capable of maintaining the aircraft.

[Lars]

You don't need to maintain it. You just need to fly it in, fill the tanks, and go.

Great photo btw, Bromley.

[Guest Mike]

You have to have it there ready.

You don't want the delay of finding that the nearest base doesn't have a Sunderland handy.