VT-CQA de Havilland D.H.104 Dove
(c/n 4077)
Airways (India) Ltd was founded in September
1945 (a month after VJ-day) and flew non scheduled
services from Calcutta to Assam and
into Burma. In late 1946 they decided to augment their fleet of
D.H.89A Rapides with a single Dove. Seen above is the aircraft in
a D.H. publicity photo showing
that it
could maintain height on just the starboard engine. It was very
common in that era for manufact-
urers to photograph their aircraft with one
feathered. Unfortunately, on its way out to
join the AIL
fleet in
January 0f 1947, VT-CQA crashed into Mount Urbanu in
Italy. It was replaced by VT-CQY
which went on to become Airlines
of Western Australia's first Dove, VH-AWA.