Horseshoe route
The Horseshoe route was a
This emergency route was necessitated by Italy entering the war in June 1940, which made it impossible for mail to be flown between Britain and Egypt (and thus on to Australia or Africa) via the Mediterranean.
Initial services
The first Durban - Sydney and Sydney - Durban flights both left on 19 June 1940 and arrived at their destination on 1 July.[3]: 85 The first mail for the UK was sent from Cape Town on 5 July on the Winchester Castle and arrived in Britain on 21 July. The first mail dispatch from London was on 19 June and was sent on the Arundel Castle which left Southampton on 20 June and arrived in Cape Town on 7 July. It connected with the fourth Horseshoe flight from Durban, leaving there on 10 July and arriving in Sydney on 24 July.[4]
Initially the Horseshoe service was weekly, but from 22 August 1940 its frequency was increased to twice a week.[3]: 86
Disruption in mid 1941
The route was disrupted in late April 1941 due to an
End of through route to Sydney
The entry of Japan into World War II in December 1941 was not unexpected and reserve routes between Rangoon and Batavia had been prepared. Reserve Route 1 avoided Bangkok, but due to the rapid Japanese advance, it was only used once on 8 December and Reserve Route 2 which also avoided Penang was used. It was via Port Blair in the Andaman Islands. After 30 December, Reserve Route 3 was used in which Singapore was also avoided although shuttle flights continued between Batavia and Singapore.[6]
In early February 1942, the Batavia - Darwin (Australia) section was changed from having an overnight stop at
A much shortened, twice-weekly, route from Durban to Calcutta was initiated in April.[3]: 89
References
- ^ R.Clark. "Early Horseshoe Route". Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ R.Clark. "End of Horseshoe Route". Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- ^ ISBN 90-809628-1-3.
- ^ W.H. Legg, "Aspects of the Horseshoe Route", Air Mail News, vol. 45, pp. 44 - 53, May 2002, Pub. British Air Mail Society
- OCLC 68987324.
- ^ a b P. Wingent (Editor), Extracts from the Air Ministry Civil Aviation Intelligence Reports Summaries, 2010, Pub. West Africa Study Circle
Further reading
- Entwistle, Charles R. Wartime Mails: The Horseshoe Route. Perth: Chavrill Press, 1992 ISBN 1-872744-06-024p.