This aircraft was built by the Boeing Aircraft Company at Vancouver - 1944

It was allocated the 'Construction Number 28023'

It was intended for the Royal Air Force under the 'Lend/Lease' program as 'JX287'

First flown at Vancouver - January 1944

Departed Vancouver on the ferry flight to the United Kingdom - March 16, 1944

This aircraft was not taken-up by the Royal Air Force but reallocated to British Overseas Airways Corporation

Entered onto the British Aircraft Register as G-AGKS (CofR 9523/1) - April 06, 1944

Registered to British Overseas Airways Corporation, London

Ferried Poole - Hythe to undergo modifications prior to transfer to Indian Ocean services with Q.E.A. - April 1944

The Certificate of Airworthiness (CofA No. 7061) issued - May 02, 1944

Ferried Hythe - Pembroke Dock - May 07, 1944

Departed Pembroke Dock on the ferry flight to Australia - May 08, 1944

It arrived at Perth on completion of the ferry flight - May 17, 1944

Ferry route: Pembroke Dock - Gibraltar - Cairo - Habbaniyah - Basra - Karachi - Koggala - Perth

This aircraft was operated by Qantas Empire Airways on the Indian Ocean services from Perth

The aircraft was named 'Spica Star' and allocated the Fleet Number '5'

Operated its first service with Qantas Empire Airways Perth - Koggala as 2Q61 - May 31 - June 01, 1944

Operated its final Qantas Empire Airways service Koggala - Perth as 1Q107 - January 09 / 10, 1945

It was withdrawn from service and stored at Nedlands, Crawley Bay, Perth - January 10, 1945

Ferried Perth - Sydney (Rose Bay) for storage - date unknown

Cancelled from the British Aircraft Register - March 12, 1946

Under the Lend / Lease agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, this aircraft had to

be returned to the United Kingdom or destroyed once it had been withdrawn from service

The Royal Air Force representatives in Australia at that time deemed that the aircraft must be destroyed

It was intended to scuttle the aircraft off the N.S.W. coastline near Sydney

The aircraft was towed out of Sydney Harbour and subsequently scuttled in the Tasman Sea - May 1946

After the scuttling, the General Manager of Qantas Empire Airways, Hudson Fysh, was scathing that a decision was

made to scuttle a perfectly good Catalina, that had been used on the Indian Ocean service, when the

airline was critically short of capacity following the end of World War II

To view the Operational Record of this aircraft please click 'HERE'