A77-959 was destroyed in a midair collision with Meteor A77-587 near Kimpo, South Korea, during the Korean War. The pilot of -959 was killed. The other pilot ejected. However his abandoned aircraft killed a child on the ground. Photo from: State Library of Victoria

VH-UVQ on the Cooks River mudflats next to the airport. A few days later it was flown to Brisbane where it operated for a short while from the Brisbane River. By the end of 1939 it was stored, vandalised and caught up in the liquidation of Aerial Transport and Training. -UVQ never flew again and was cancelled from the register in 1946. Photo from: State Library of Queensland

VH-UJN soon after its registration was changed from the superseded G-AUJN. At the time it was owned by Moxon Motors, an agent for de Havilland aircraft and Graham-Paige cars, hence the aircraft's name. -UJN passed through many hands until it was impressed by the RAAF as A7-116 in August 1940. It did not return to the register. Photo from: State Library of Queensland

Security restrictions imposed by Mussolini's regime meant passengers' cameras had to be sealed in a bag while Imperial Airways flights were refuelling at Brindisi. So photos of Brindisi as a Imperial AW port are rare. From contemporary reports passengers were taken ashore by boat because there was no flying boat dock. G-ABFA was the first of three Kents and was lost when it sank at Mirabella Bay, Crete on August 22, 1936. Photo from: Hudson Fysh Collection/State Library of New South Wales

TG617 struck off charge in 1959. Photo from: National Library of Australia

Beaches were handy areas of flat firm ground at a time when aerodromes were scarce. Initially G-EAIY (registered August, 1919) and shipped to Australia for assembly by Australian Aircraft and Engineering Co. It became G-AUBE in June 1921 and struck off in June 1923. Returned as G-AUEO in October 1928 with a Sunbeam Dyak engine in place of the original Clerget. Crashed in February 1929 and struck off the register a year later. Repaired and flew again in January 1932 (crashed soon after) but not formally registered after March 1930. Photo from: State Library of Queensland

Fokker's last fighter, the tandem-engined D.XXIII (D.23). The sole prototype was powered by two 523-hp Walter Sagittas with which it was capable of about 520 km/h (323 mph). Offered with similar engines it may have had some appeal to Fokker's minor country customers. Apparently the installation of two RR Merlins or Daimlers was also planned, with which it might have been pretty fast but also very expensive. The pusher engine was asking for cooling problems which did occur, and a hazard for the pilot when bailing out. Photo from: San Diego Air & Space Museum

The prototype of the Fokker G.I, a two-seat fighter powered by Hispano-Suiza 14 engines and first flown from Eindhoven - Welschap on 16 March 1937. At the insistence of the Dutch army air force the design was completely reworked as a three-seat multirole aircraft. This was rather counter-productive since the resulting G.I/Mercury served as a two-seat fighter. A batch of the smaller variant with R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior engines was ordered by the Spanish Republicans, but eventually taken over by the Dutch government. The G.I/Wasp aircraft were not yet operational on 10 May 1940 and saw little action during the German invasion of Holland. Photo from: San Diego Air & Space Museum

MAL purchased this C-47 from the Indian Government which had received it from the peacetime disposal of aircraft used by the South-East Asia Command in World War II. Registered in March 1948. Reregistered as VH-MAC in August 1951. Sold in Taiwan as B-251 in 1967. Photo from: State Library of Queensland

Became G-AUBF, one of about 50 aircraft placed on the British-Australian G-AU** register on its first day, June 28, 1921. It served with Qantas until 1926 when its Certificate of Airworthiness expired. From its base in Longreach, C6986 undertook joy flights at many towns in western Queensland as the fledgling airline prepared to start regular services. Photo from: Hudson Fysh Collection/State Library of New South Wales

A news photo, an aviation photo and a superb photo of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (left from centre, holding his hat) returning from talks with Adolf Hitler in Bad Godesberg, near Bonn. Chamberlain's declaration of 'peace for our time' after flying home in the same BA Super Electra from the summit in Munich happened six days later on 30 September 1938. Photo from: Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe

The Challenge International de Tourisme was a European touring aircraft contest. The fourth and last edition was organised by the Polish Aero Club in 1934. Nationalism ran high and new aircraft were designed specially for the event, including the Fi 97. Its wing had high-lift devices similar to those of the Fi 156 Storch. Five Fi 97s, perhaps the total production, took part in the Challenge. Argus As 17-powered D-IPOS / 19, on the left , took third place behind two Polish RWD-9 aircraft. D-IVIF / 17 had a Hirth HM 8U. It was flown by the engine maker's brother, Wolf Hirth, a well known glider pilot and builder. Number 24 is a Klemm Kl 36. Photo from: Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe

The first Qantas service through Bangkok enroute to London. VH-EAC also operated the first service to South Africa (December 1952) and Frankfurt (October 1952). Sold in Mexico as XA-LIO in October 1955 as Super Constellations were delivered. Photo from: Hudson Fysh Collection/State Library of New South Wales

Registered as G-AUIG in December 1928. Became VH-UIG when Australia adopted the VH- prefix. Crashed at Goodna, Queensland, October 19, 1939. Photo from: State Library of Queensland

Nine or ten examples were built of the ANT-6-4/M-34RD, a special variant of the TB-3 heavy bomber for flag-waving flights. Flights of three aircraft visited Warsaw, Paris and Rome in 1934. This machine in Cracow was probably bound for Rome. Photo from: Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe

Registered in Australia in February 1938, ex G-ACGG. Impressed by RAAF in World War II as A34-10. Restored to the register for APL in August 1944. APL sold -AAC in Papua New Guinea in June 1948. Crashed Slate Creek, PNG, on January 29, 1951. Not repaired but remained on the register until 1954. Photo from: State Library of Queensland

Qantas was coerced into buying two 8-passenger Vickers Vulcans. Nicknamed the Flying Pig, it turned out it flew like one. G-EBET was assembled at Point Cook, Victoria, and flown to Longreach, Queensland, for Qantas to test. It failed dismally, unable to reach the promised altitude even when the payload was halved. Qantas cancelled its order. What happened to -EBET is not recorded. Photo from: National Library of Australia

A6-5 arrived in Australia in December 1935 as part of a shipment of six Cadets from an initial order for 12. Further orders increased this to 34. A6-5 was assembled at RAAF Laverton and delivered to nearby Point Cook. It served the RAAF until early 1945 when it was placed on the disposal list. Became VH-AEG in August 1945. Crashed near Kempsey, NSW, on January 11, 1952. Hangar 104 dates from World War I and is still in existence today. Photo from: State Library of Queensland

Ex G-ADEA. Registered in Australia as VH-UZX in July 1940 and impressed by the RAAF in December that year. Was intended to be used by the air observer school but instead converted to an air ambulance. Flown to Egypt for use in the North African and later Italian campaigns. Withdrawn from use at Heliopolis, Egypt in February 1944 and scrapped. Photo from: State Library of Victoria

Four-seat twin-boom metal aircraft designed by Thomas Shelton as the Shelton Flying Wing, although it was not what we call a flying wing today. First flown in Denver, Colorado in 1935 with fixed landing gear which was made retractable later that year. In 1936 the design was sold to the Timm Aircraft Company here at Glendale, but no production ensued. Photo by: John Underwood / Glendale Public Library