1953 London to Christchurch air race

Canterbury International Air Race Council was formed in Christchurch in 1948 to plan the race, together with the British Royal Aero Club.^[3]: 4–5 It was divided into an outright Speed Section, and a Handicap Section for commercial-type transport aircraft. Each plane was allowed to select its own route, as long as it was generally south-east, and any necessary intermediate stops.^[4] Several planes dropped out before it began; this left five military turbojet bombers and three propeller-driven transport planes.

The race started on Thursday 8 October at 16:30 GMT.^[5] The time in New Zealand was 12 hours ahead, as British Summer Time had ended four days earlier,^[6] and New Zealand didn't use daylight saving time then.^[A] The three transport planes took off at five-minute intervals. The military jets followed, again at five-minute intervals, starting at 17:35;^[7] they were delayed by an hour, to avoid a photo finish in the dark about 24 hours later.^[8] Each plane was allowed 168 hours of elapsed time from the final plane's takeoff.^[3]: 22

The planes flew direct from London to the Middle East, except the DC-6A (via Italy) and the Hastings (via Greece). After that, most of the routes were broadly similar, flying in almost a straight line via Ceylon, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and southern Australia. Canberra number "1" even managed to fly past Cocos without stopping.^[9] However, the DC-6A flew further north, via Pakistan (West), Burma, Indonesia and northern Australia. A great circle route would have been a few hundred miles shorter, over Finland and Japan.^[10]

The prizes for each Section were the same: 1st £10,000; 2nd £3000; 3rd £1000; 4th £500.^[3]: 22 These are New Zealand pounds, which matched UK pounds at the time. The Handicap Section, rather than a race, was intended to be a trial based on a formula aimed at rewarding commercial efficiency over a long-haul route.^[3]: 7

The Speed Section was won by a Royal Air Force English Electric Canberra PR3 flown by Flight Lieutenant Roland (Monty) Burton and navigated by Flight Lieutenant Don Gannon. The plane touched down at Christchurch (Harewood) Airport at 05:37 local time during a heavy storm, 40 minutes quicker than its closest rival, after 23 h 52 min, including 83 minutes on the ground. This record still held in 2025, and is equivalent to 494 mph (795 km/h) around a great circle separation of 11,791 mi (18,976 km).^[11] The Harewood Gold Cup was awarded to the winners, and the prize of £10,000 was paid to the RAF Benevolent Fund.^[12] Second in the Speed Section was Squadron Leader Peter Raw of No. 1 Long Range Flight RAAF in an Australian-built Canberra. The distance, by the route followed, was quoted as 12,270 mi (19,750 km),^[13] so that the speed in the air for all five jets was 544–548 miles per hour (875–882 km/h), with an average overall speed (including intermediate stops) of 402 mph (647 km/h).

The Canberras were all fitted with extra fuel tanks in the bomb bays.^{[14]: 1st [5]} To deal with the extra weight, the two PR3 planes' engines were tweaked to give more thrust, and larger main-wheel hubs and brakes fitted.^[14]: 1st Any wingtip fuel tanks or pods seen on the Canberras were absent during the race.^[1] The three RAF Canberras were built as photo-reconnaissance planes. The Canberras flew with a pilot and navigator; the RAAF planes also included a co-pilot.^[15]

In the transport Handicap Section, a BEA Vickers Viscount finished first, followed by a Douglas DC-6A of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines which was declared the winner on handicap. A Royal New Zealand Air Force Handley Page Hastings also took part. The Viscount was fitted with extra fuel tanks in place of seats,^[16] enabling it to fly in five stages, as opposed to eight for the DC-6A; the Hastings had also expected to fly in eight stages.^[4] The handicap deductions were well-known before leaving London, meaning the Viscount was almost bound to lose, but BEA and Vickers welcomed the publicity from the race.^[17] The DC-6A's adjusted time was 49:57 − 44:30 = 5:27^[18] (this is often misquoted as 37:30, but that was the elapsed time to Darwin^[19]).

The Douglas DC-6A, "21", carried 64 passengers, including many Dutch women emigrating to marry or join their husbands. The same passengers left Schiphol (Amsterdam) for London on the day before, on a KLM Douglas DC-6B, PH-TFN "Abel Tasman". The race plane was labelled "DC-6A", built as a dual-purpose or convertible plane, with some seats, and cargo doors. It carried the name "Dr. Ir. M.H. Damme", plus "Trade Wings". Dokter Ingenieur Marinus Hendricus Damme [nl] was a Dutch engineer, aviation businessman and politician. DC-6A planes were also called "Liftmaster". A Dutch "bride flight" in July 1952 is sometimes confused with this one.

The Handley Page Hastings, "22", carried cargo for the New Zealand Air Force. After stopping at Athens (Greece), Shaibah (near Basra, Iraq) and Masirah Island (Oman), an engine was ruined by a storm near Ceylon, then the flaps were damaged while landing at Negombo (Ceylon), causing the plane to withdraw from the race. It remained stranded there for ten days.^[1] The Hastings has been described as the world's last four-engine tail-wheel transport giant.^[20]

The Vickers Viscount, "23", was loaned from the British Ministry of Supply to BEA,^[17] with BEA livery applied, and named "RMA Endeavour", for "Royal Mail Aircraft"^[21] and Captain James Cook's ship HMS Endeavour. Among the crew was John Profumo, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It made four stops, averaging only 18 minutes each, at Bahrein, Negombo, Cocos and Melbourne (Australia).^[B] At Melbourne, after flying non-stop for 3,530 mi (5,680 km), it had to be towed from the runway, having run out of fuel.^[17] Its lack of passengers and cargo led to it being declared second for this Section, behind the DC-6A. The Viscount was the world's first turboprop-powered airliner.

During the race, the time of arrival and departure of each plane at each airport was logged on a pair of "tally boards", located at the headquarters of Australia's Department of Civil Aviation in Melbourne. The press and public were present to witness the progress. Unfortunately the boards omitted five of the times.^[7]

The transport planes being displayed at London Airport before the race

KLM's Douglas DC-6A was competitor "21" and carried a group of emigrants to New Zealand

Competitor "22", RNZAF Handley Page Hastings

Vickers Viscount in BEA markings as competitor "23"

^[7][18][26]

The drama film Bride Flight was released in 2008.^[36]