
September 1960 to December 1969
ANSETT-ANA
VH-RMK - c/n 355 - a V.812 series Viscount
Australia registered
2 September 1960
Purchased from Continental Airlines.
16 September 1960
Departed Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado to Omaha Airport, Nebraska, USA with both N241V and VH-RMK registrations in basic Continental Airlines livery less titles flown by a Continental crew.
After completing the financial agreement and removal of the US registration the aircraft departed with an Ansett-ANA crew consisting of Captains Bull and Charles G Lister, First Officer James (Jim) Farrell, Navigator William (Bill) C Kennedy and Engineer Howard.
The route to Australia took them via Chicago, Montreal, Goose Bay, Sondrestrom, Keflavik, Prestwick, London, Naples, Ellinikon - Athens, Damascus, Bahrein, Karachi, Delhi, Calcutta, Bangkok, Saigon, Zamboanga, Biak, Darwin and Alice Springs.
18 September 1960
Noted at London Airport (Heathrow), Middlesex, England during the delivery to Australia.
September 1960
Arrived at Essendon Airport, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
At the time this was the worlds longest ferry flight until Viscount VH-RML (C/N 319) was delivered from Cuba in March 1962.
Initially operated in 52 seat configuration with a 4 seat rear lounge that was later removed and the seating increased to 63.
A later livery variation
May 1961
Overshot the runway when landing at Kingsford Smith Airport, Mascot, Sydney, New South Wales in heavy rain on a service from West Beach Airport, Adelaide, South Australia.
The undercarriage sank into soft sand resulting in propeller damage.
19 September 1961
Total time 8,444:12 hours.
29 May 1962
Total time 10,178:35 hours.
14 June 1964
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and the groups manager Brian Epstein travelled from Sydney to Melbourne, Australia having arrived two hours earlier from London via San Francisco!
They were catching up with the rest of the group, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison, who were two weeks into a world music tour and used a stand-in drummer named Jimmie Nicol until Ringo returned from the UK. Ringo had to be left behind, as he was suffering from tonsillitis and pharyngitis. Meanwhile, the other three Beatles travelled from their last gig in Adelaide, South Australia on a chartered Ansett-ANA Fokker F27 Friendship.
Ringo Starr arrives in Melbourne, Australia
20 November 1964
Total time 6,096:07 hours.
9 July 1965
Total time 7,731:40 hours.
15 January 1966
Total time 9,038:31 hours.
21 July 1966
Total time 10,228:59 hours.
28 March 1967
Total time 12,083:05 hours.
10 August 1969
Withdrawn from service and stored at Essendon Airport, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
18 December 1969
Transferred to Ansett Transport Industries (Operations) Pty Ltd.
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