The Double Sunrise

"Double sunrise" redirects here. For the astro-geographical phenomenon, see Double sunset.

A map of Qantas' "Double Sunrise" route as operated by Consolidated PBY Catalinas from June 1943 - June 1945.[1][2]
Double Sunrise Catalina G-AGKS at Nedlands in 1943
The Qantas Catalina Memorial in Crawley, Western Australia[3][1]
The Qantas Catalina Memorial in Crawley, Western Australia[3][1]

The Double Sunrise service was formed in July 1943 to re-establish the Australia–England air link that had been cut due to the fall of Singapore in February 1942. The service initially operated from its base in Nedlands, Western Australia near Perth,[4] to the Royal Air Force base at Lake Koggala near Galle in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). It was later extended to Karachi in British India (now part of Pakistan), which was the terminus for the BOAC service from England. The name of the service was derived from the crew and passengers observing two sunrises on the westbound flight from Australia.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Senior was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Smythe, Kevin (February 2022). Perth's Wartime Catalinas, 1942–1945: How the United States Navy and Qantas Catalina Flying Boats Protected Western Australia, Broke the Japanese Air Blockade, and Created a Post-War Legacy.
  3. ^ Two things of note:
    • The memorial plaque is at Crawley Bay where the USAF seaplane base was, however Qantas was not allowed to use the military base and was given a dedicated site at Nedlands, 3 miles downriver.
    • The plaque has an error stating the first flight was June 29 when it was actually July 29 as supported by many sources
  4. ^ Note that some references to the flying boat service use Pelican Point, and Crawley as the location, rather than Nedlands see "MILITARY UNITS BASED AT CRAWLEY (PELICAN POINT) US NAVY SEAPLANE BASE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA".