The unique Walraven W-2 was designed by Dutch engineer Laurens Walraven and built by army air force personnel at Bandung, in the then Netherlands East Indies. It was commissioned by Mr Khouw Khe Hien, whose initials are in the registration. Apparently, it was little flown after its owner died in an air crash in 1938. The aircraft was destroyed during the Japanese invasion of 1942. Its paint job was blue and natural metal finish. Photo from: Walraven family album

The Osprey was a navalised Hawker Hart, with interchangeable wheels or floats and strengthened for catapulting. 140 Ospreys were built, with Sweden buying six Bristol Pegasus-engined machines to equip the seaplane carrier Gotland. Aircraft 403 wears a lead 2 to indicate F2 wing at Stockholm - Hägernäs. 403 to SE-AYR in 1946. Sank at Saltoluokta in northern Sweden in 1948. Wreck salvaged in 1985. Photo from: Sjöhistoriska Museet

Crashed at Darwin on October 9, 1944 while on loan to Qantas by the RAAF. The RAAF had impressed it in 1940. Photo from: Archerfield Jet Base

A little mishap on the Prague - Zürich - Geneva - Marseille route. ČLS was Czechoslovakia's international airline while ČSA focussed on domestic services. Photo from: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich

The blue Morris Streamline car looks much faster than the aeroplane, but was a one-off vehicle used for promotional purposes by the Royal Mail Air Service. Photo from: General Post Office

Sold in Panama in 1938. 1940s Delta Air Lines photo. Photo from: Civil Aviation Historical Society, Melbourne, Australia

The Butler hangar at Cootamundra with the West Cootamundra railway station looming in the background. Cootamundra as an attempt to emulate the rail-air interchange of Port Columbus in the US but for the benefit of UK air mail, not passengers. Cootamundra was between Sydney and Melbourne. The mail was picked up Qantas aircraft at Charleville, Queensland. The Sydney and Melbourne sections were by train.

Abandoned at Allahabad, Pakistan, on December 26, 1946 while being ferried to the UK. Crew feared imminent failure of the tail. Between the time of the photo and being abandoned, VH-USW had served with the RAAF as an ambulance. It suffered a couple of significant accidents with Holyman's before the war. Postwar Qantas rejected -USW due to its poor condition and it went to MMA in Western Australia.

The largest Fokker aircraft ever in terms of wing area, the F.XXXVI (F.36) could accomodate four crew and 32 passengers, or 16 with pairs of seats converted to couches. Still of mixed construction with man-sized non-retractable mainwheels, it was not ordered in quantity by KLM president Albert Plesman who turned to the Douglas DC-2 for the Holland - Java route. The sole F.36, named Arend (eagle) was used on KLM's European network. Sold to Scottish Aviation in 1939 as G-AFZR, it crashed at Prestwick on 21 May 1940. Photo from: Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie

The Fairey Fox was used mainly by Belgium. The Fox VIR was a Hispano Suiza-powered reconnaissance model of which Avions Fairey at Gosselies built 24 for the Belgian air arm and two for Switzerland. However, the Swiss preferred the EKW C-35. The two Foxes were used as target tugs until 1945. Photo from: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich

Unsuccesfully flown by Jim and Amy Mollison during the London to Melbourne Air Race, G-ASCP Black Magic was sold to the Portuguese government in December 1934 for a planned flight to Brazil. Rediscovered in Portugal in 1979, the aircraft was brought to the UK for restoration but a fire has consumed most of the original airframe. Photo from: BAE Systems

The copper-coloured Crusader prototype in its original form with fixed landing gear. Photo from the collection of Ryan's Ed Morrow who noted that Douglas 'Wrong Way' Corrigan's Curtiss Robin is on the right. A United Air Lines Boeing 247 is heading for take-off position. Photo from: San Diego Air & Space Museum

Delivered to Qantas in 1930 and used for outback air services and charter. Grounded in September 1932 over concerns at the integrity of Puss Moth wings but back in the air in March 1933 with more frequent inspections (in 1942 Australia mandated a third wing strut following a further wing failure). VH-UPQ sold to McDonald Air Service in September 1933. Crashed into the sea near Cairns, Queensland, on January 19, 1937, after the pilot fell asleep. One passenger, a child, drowned but the pilot and a second passenger rescued. Photo from: State Library of Queensland

First flown on 17 november 1933. First registration D-2624. Requisitioned by the Luftwaffe September 1939. Crashed Crete 1941 and struck from the Lufthansa inventory as a total loss. Photo from: SLUB / Deutsche Fotothek

Built in 1934. Photo by: Willem van de Poll / Nationaal Archief (Netherlands)

The first of four ten-seat Model 91 amphibians built in 1935/36. This example served with Pan American on feeder services on the Amazon and had retractable floats - as shown. Sometimes referred to as the "Baby Clipper". From Fairchild 60 years ago.