MOVIE IMPOSTERS

The movie Smithy was filmed in Australia by Cinesound Productions under the direction of Ken G. Hall on behalf of Columbia Pictures. A gala world premiere was held at the State Theatre in Sydney on 26 June 1946. For the American market, the film was released under the title Pacific Adventure and in the U.K. it was titled The Southern Cross.

The producers had the good fortune of being able to use the real Southern Cross for the flying sequences but representing the Lockheed Altair Lady Southern Cross was not so straightforward. In the absence of a real Altair, Cinesound had to source an aeroplane that resembled the Altair. The solution was provided by the RAAF which was already heavily involved in the movie having been tasked with returning the Fokker Southern Cross to airworthiness for the film. Air Board Agendum 6479 of 13 April 1945 outlines the assistance to be provided to Cinesound by the RAAF. The aircraft chosen to represent the Altair was CAC Boomerang A46-30. The aircraft was then with No. 83 Squadron which was operating from the Menangle Racecourse near Camden, NSW. In addition to painting the Boomerang to represent the Altair, the aircraft had its armament removed, its gun ports sealed and its propeller spinner removed. For the ground sequences it was fitted with a two-bladed propeller, curiously of reverse rotation, but it retained the standard three-bladed propeller for flying sequences. A mockup of the cockpit with an added second seat was used for close-up scenes. Lending authenticity to the production, P.G. Taylor appeared as himself in the movie.

THE BLUE ENIGMA

The clear implication of the photos of A46-30 on this page is that the Boomerang was painted two different shades of blue at different times during the filming, one light blue and one dark blue. Author Steve Dyer (Source: 10) speculates that the light scheme was a "preliminary mark-up" prior to painting but the fact that the aeroplane was flown in this scheme suggests that this is not the case. One theory is that the light scheme was used for night-time scenes. Another theory is that it was a result of the use of orthochromatic film which renders blues as lighter shades. However, Boomerang pilot, Brian Thompson, when interviewed by Richard Hourigan (Source: 9) in June 1976, stated that the colours were "powder blue with white stripe edged in dark blue, the VH-USB and VH in white outlined in dark blue."

The choice of light blue is hard to fathom from an historical standpoint. Although the Fokker Southern Cross was painted light blue for the 1928 Pacific crossing, it was subsequently repainted a darker shade of blue which was right there on the film set for all to see. On the other hand, the Altair had always been a dark blue that was almost black. This colour was defined as Consolidated Blue. The one person who knew the Altair better than anyone living was P.G. Taylor and, given that he appeared as himself in the movie, it is hard to understand how the fastidious Bill Taylor would have suffered such an inaccurate colour. In the absence of definitive evidence, we have to conclude that there must have been some technical imperative imposed by the movie makers, given that the movie was filmed in black and white..

Historian Richard Hourigan (Source: 9) relates the changeover from light blue to dark blue to his observation that A46-30 used two different types of tailwheel tyre during the movie. He cites "Boomerang Instruction No. 25", issued on 11 September 1945, which mandated a change from a pneumatic tyre to a solid tyre. Evidently this modification had been incorporated on A46-30 prior to this date as pilot Rex Mann recalled when interviewed by Richard Hourigan that his one flight in A46-30 during the filming on 11 September had given him the rougher ride that would have been expected from the solid tyre.

Following so far? Good, because only now is it about to get really complicated! Then came the following photo which appears to contradict everything that has come before.

With peeling and faded movie paint, this can only be A46-30 and clearly the aeroplane is not expected to be flown anytime soon. The dark paint on the engine cowling is re-emerging RAAF camouflage. Surprisingly, the aeroplane is still painted in the light blue colour scheme long after the film is in the can. The location can only be RAAF Richmond because that is where A56-30 ended her flying career when she went into storage at No. 2 Aircraft Depot. The aeroplane next appeared in the compound of the Australian Air League at Cabramatta but by then it was back in the dark blue scheme. A press report on 12 September 1946 (see below) indicates that the AAL was appealing for the donation of paint so that they could preserve the aircraft in the colours it wore in the Smithy movie. The AAL specifically asked for light blue, sky blue and red paint which is a clear indication that these were the colours on the aeroplane when it was received from the RAAF. The earliest available photos of the aircraft with the AAL show it painted dark blue so it is surmised that the AAL's appeal for light blue paint brought advice that dark blue would be more appropriate. The fact that the AAL took delivery of the aircraft on 28 August 1946 and were appealing for donations of paint on 12 September 1946 indicates that the aircraft was not painted by the RAAF at Richmond before handing the aeroplane over to the AAL.

The implication of all this is that the aeroplane went from light to dark, dark to light and back to dark again! Possible theories for this improbable situation are:

Much of the problem lies with the movie itself in that we can't be really sure what we are seeing. This is more so when forties celluloid is copied to seventies VHS and further copied to nineties DVD! We do not know what type of film Cinesound used for the movie but we do know that they were having great difficulty in obtaining any type of film. On 28 February 1945, Ken Hall wrote to the Director General of Civil Aviation, principally about the timing of the loan of the Southern Cross, but citing several difficulties including:

So it is possible that Cinesound may have had to settle for whatever film stock they could get. If Cinesound were forced to use a mixture of panchromatic and orthochromatic film, the switch might have forced a change of colour on the Boomerang. It is speculated that such a change from light blue to dark blue could have been done with washable paint to facilitate a return to light blue if required. Washable paint would have gradually disappeared while the aeroplane was in open storage at Richmond for nearly a year although one might expect to see some streaked remnants of dark blue paint.


POSSIBLE EXPLANATION

As will be seen from the chronology table above, the Boomerang that was initially offered to the Australian Air League on 29 May 1946 was A46-57 which was also located at Richmond at this time. It is speculated that the RAAF might have anticipated that the AAL would prefer to have an aeroplane in RAAF markings, hence their offer of A46-57. Just two days earlier, a representative of the AAL had visited Richmond and it is further speculated that he might have spotted A46-30 still painted as the Lady Southern Cross and expressed a preference for this aircraft. Perhaps this prompted the RAAF to give A46-30 a thorough wash thus removing the last traces of washable dark blue paint and indeed some of the light blue paint. It is known that A46-30 was delivered to the AAL in light blue paint because the AAL expressed a preference for the movie colour scheme and indeed publicly appealed for the donation of light blue paint to enable them to repaint the aircraft in the same colours it wore in the movie. However, when the AAL did eventually repaint the aircraft they did so in dark blue so presumably it had emerged that the light blue was historically incorrect. Unfortunately this is just theory and the Blue Enigma remains unresolved.

Although nominally allotted to Station Headquarters Richmond and No 2 Aircraft Depot, also at Richmond, Boomerang A46-30 receives scant mention in the Operations Record Book of 2AD apart from recording its arrival from 83SQN In October 1945 and its issue to the Australian Air League in August 1946. This is hardly surprising as 2AD were then struggling to cope with the influx of more than 200 other aircraft after the cessation of hostilities. It will be noted from the following chronology that the paperwork (Source: 1) was lagging well behind actual events.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE MOVIE CAREER OF BOOMERANG A46-30

SUMMARY OF FLYING BY A46-30
JULY - OCTOBER 1945

(Source: 6)

STILLS FROM THE MOVIE

The Boomerang in a flying sequence (1:25:37)

The Richmond set was disguised with the addition of a sign and a goat for the scene where the damaged cowling is discovered at Cloncurry. (1:23:16)

This scene represents the reassembly of the aircraft after repairs to the cowling which appears to have been painted in a mottled fashion to simulate new metal. The two-bladed propeller is being fitted. (1:24:15)

The cockpit mockup with actor Ron Randell in the front seat and the real P.G. Taylor in the rear seat. The mockup incorporated a real Boomerang windscreen and modified canopy. Note the kick step in the fuselage under the pilot's cockpit. This is the approximate location where the exhaust of the Boomerang would have exited. The real Altair had a foot peg on the port side. (1:25:43)

This scene with the mockup depicts the departure of the fateful flight from England. One lapse in authenticity has the Altair still bearing Australian registration. By this time the Altair was on the British Register as G-ADUS. (1:50:39)   BOOMERANG APPEARANCES IN THE MOVIE TIME REMARKS LIGHT DARK 1:22:57 First appearance at "Cloncurry". Wings are definitely light blue. Fuselage is in shadow. X 1:24:11 In hangar at Mascot having the propeller fitted. Definitely light blue. X 1:25:17 In flight over sea. Light blue. X 1:25:37 In flight from below. Appears dark blue. ? 1:25:45 Mockup. Definitely light blue. X 1:25:29 Arrival Oakland. Appears light blue. ? 1:50:33 Departure from the UK. Appears dark blue. ? 1:50:37 Mockup. Light blue. X 1:51:56 In flight. Appears dark blue. ? Note: Times relate to the video release which begins with newsreel footage of the world premiere.

BOOMERANG A46-30

Boomerang A46-30 painted in the light blue scheme as VH-USB at Menangle Racecourse in 1945. (Picture: Brian Thompson via Richard Hourigan)

Boomerang A46-30 painted in the light blue scheme as VH-USB at the Menangle Racecourse in 1945. (Picture: Brian Thompson via Richard Hourigan)

83 Squadron pilots (left to right) Paul Christensen, Frank Guymer and Paul Bash posing with Boomerang A46-30 at Menangle in 1945. (Picture: Matthew Denning)

Boomerang A46-30 seemingly painted in a darker shade of blue at Menangle, probably in September 1945. (Picture: Richard Holt via Richard Hourigan)

Boomerang A46-30 at the Australian Air League at Blacktown circa 1955. By this time the aircraft has been repainted in the dark blue scheme.(Picture: via Anthony Koch)

Having been repainted allover silver, Boomerang A46-30 became derelict in the Australian Air League compound at Blacktown. The aircraft still bears the name Lady Southern Cross. In the background is Firefly WD827 which was sold to the AAL Blacktown on 2 November 1956. (Picture: Matthew Denning)

Boomerang A46-30 derelict in the Australian Air League compound at Blacktown on 25 June 1961. The aircraft still bears the name Lady Southern Cross. (Picture: Eric Allen)

Boomerang A46-30 in the Australian Air League compound at Blacktown on 4 May 1962. The name Lady Southern Cross has been replaced by "Boomerang Fighter" and "Australian Air League" titles have been added to the fuselage. This is believed to be the second repaint in allover silver. (Picture: Richard Hourigan)

Some time after 4 May 1962 the Australian Air League at Blacktown repainted the aircraft in a simple allover silver scheme. The quality of workmanship on the fuselage, when compared with the photograph above, suggests that this is the third repaint in allover silver. The darker shade is probably red dope.(Picture: Matthew Denning)

During what is believed to be the third repaint in allover silver, the name Lady Southern Cross has been replaced by "Australian CAC Boomerang Fighter". (Picture: Matthew Denning)

Boomerang A46-30 after restoration by the RAAF at Williamtown in 1966. (Picture: Keith Isaacs)

Boomerang A46-30 on the gate at RAAF Williamtown on 7 April 1973. (Picture: Ron Cuskelly D390)

Fully restored, Boomerang A46-30 on static display at an airshow at RAAF Amberley on 5 April 1981. (Picture: Ron Cuskelly U087)

The role of the Fokker Southern Cross in the movie.

Purchase the film Smithy from the NFSA

The story of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith came to Australian television screens in 1985 with the release of the three-part mini series A Thousand Skies which was produced for the Seven Network. For this production, a non-flying but taxiable replica of the Southern Cross was constructed. To represent the Altair, Harvard N1363R was painted as the Lady Southern Cross. This former Italian Air Force T-6J was imported from the USA by William Waterton in 1985. The aircraft was painted as the Lady Southern Cross by the Old Aeroplane Company at Tyabb. The Harvard flew under its American registration until 26 April 1990 when it was added to the Australian Register as VH-USR. Subsequently it was painted in USAF markings. At the time of writing the aircraft is registered to Robert Kuru of Gateshead, NSW.

Harvard N1363R painted to represent the Altair VH-USB Lady Southern Cross. Location is believed to be Casey Field, Berwick, VIC circa May 1985. (Picture: Ron Cuskelly Collection AI672)

The Harvard still wearing the markings of the Lady Southern Cross but now flying as VH-USR. (Picture: AustAirData)

The Harvard VH-USR in USAF markings at Essendon on 10 Augist 1996. (Picture: AustAirData)