(Artwork by Balázs Bálint)

VH-UVK Puck             Type: DL-1A Vega Special MSN: 155 Previous Identities: NC372E G-ABFE G-ABGK Subsequent Identities: A42-1 History: NC372E   30 Built by Detroit-Lockheed, with a metal fuselage and Pratt and Whitney Wasp SC1 engine as a Vega DL-1A Special with extra fuel tanks and other customer modifications. It was later registered NC372E. G-ABFE   30SEP30 Registered as G-ABFE to Lieutenant Commander Glen Kidston of London. Kidston intended to build Vegas under licence in the U.K.   The previous year, on 06NOV29, Lt Cdr G.P.G. Kidston was a passenger on the Deutsche Lufthansa Junkers G.24 D-903 which crashed soon after take-off from Croydon bound for Amsterdam. Of the four crew and four passengers, Glen Kidston was the sole survivor. Remarkably, he suffered only minor injuries after managing to disembark from the aircraft immediately before impact! JAN31 Shipped to the U.K. G-ABGK   03JAN31 Re-registered G-ABGK at the request of the owner to incorporate his initials. 07JAN31 See Visitors Book 17JAN31 British CofA No V45 issued. 20JAN31 See Visitors Book 22JAN31 See Visitors Book 31JAN31 Test-flown by Kidston from Croydon Aerodrome, London. 04FEB31 See Visitors Book 12FEB31 See Visitors Book 14FEB31 A local training flight was made from Croydon by Kidston and his partner Lieutenant Owen Cathcart-Jones along with two other crew. 20FEB31 Another local training flight was made from Croydon. 21FEB31 Flown from Croydon to Le Bourget, Paris in the record time of 1 hour 12 minutes with one passenger believed to be W.C. Sykes who is noted in the Visitors Book as "1st passenger across country". See Visitors Book 23FEB31 Flown from le Bourget, Paris to Croydon with the same passenger from the inbound flight plus one other passenger. See Visitors Book 06MAR31 See Visitors Book 17MAR31 See Visitors Book 19MAR31 Test-flown at Croydon after installation of long range tanks. 26MAR31 See Visitors Book 28MAR31 The aircraft was positioned from Croydon to Netheravon RAF Station to take advantage of its long runway.. 31MAR31 Kidston and Cathcart-Jones departed Netheravon on an attempt to break the Cape Town record. Routing was Naples, Malta, Cairo, Kosti, Malakal, Kisumu, Salisbury, Bulawayo and Pretoria. A wireless operator, T.A. Vallette on loan from the Marconi Company, joined the flight as far as Cairo. At Cairo his place was taken by an engineer, G.W. Hills. The flown cover shows the routing as: Dep England March 30th Arr Cairo April 1st Arr Kisumi (sic Kisumu) April 3rd Arr Bulawayo April 4th Arr Pretoria April 5th Arr Capetown April 6th 7500 miles in 6 days 11 hours. 05APR31 Forced landing at Lichtenburg, Pretoria due engine trouble. The propeller was damaged when the aircraft ran through wire fences. The aircraft later departed for Cape Town. 06APR31 Arrived Cape Town in the record time of 6 days 11 hours at an average speed of 134 mph.   Read Owen Cathcart-Jones' detailed account of the Cape Town flight. 10APR31 See Visitors Book 05MAY31 Lt Cdr Kidston and Capt T.A. Gladstone were killed in the crash of Puss Moth ZS-ACC in the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa. The aircraft was caught in a dust storm and lost a wing in flight. 05DEC31 The aircraft was test-flown at Hamble, U.K. having been shipped back from South Africa. The aeroplane was flown to Hanworth by Cathcart-Jones the same day. The Vega was administered by a trust set up by the Kidston family. 12APR32 Cathcart-Jones flew the Vega during Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Day Display at Hanworth and later toured various air pageants throughout the U.K. 28MAY32 The aircraft attended the Guild of Air Pilots Civil Air Day. 19JUN32 The aircraft was demonstrated at the Royal Aeronautical Society's Garden Party. 17JUL32 Cathcart-Jones flew the Vega from Hanworth to Stoke and return to attend the Aero Club display. 08AUG32 The aircraft was flown from Hanworth to Belfast. 10AUG32 Flew Hanworth-Brooklands-Hanworth to visit the Kings Cup Air Races. 17AUG32 Flew Hanworth-Belfast breaking the speed record. 22AUG32 The aircraft returned from Belfast to Hanworth via Dublin. 05OCT32 The aircraft visited Dublin. 25OCT32 Cathcart-Jones demonstrated the Vega at Heston to His Highness the Maharajah of Jodhpur and to Sir Frank Spickwell of Imperial Chemical Industries with a view to selling the aeroplane, but no sale was concluded. 06FEB33 Flew Hanworth-Croydon-Liverpool-Hanworth to visit the Grand National Steeplechase. On return to Hanworth the aircraft was hangared awaiting sale.   H.C. Horrie Miller who was setting up the MacRobertson Miller Aviation Company in Western Australia saw the Vega advertised for sale and submitted an offer which was accepted after some negotiations. Miller intended to enter the Vega in the Centenary Air Race in the hope that the prize money would help to finance his new airline. 27JUN34 Captain James Woods, formerly of West Australian Airways but now employed by Horrie Miller, sailed from Sydney on the Monterey bound for California to familiarise himself with the Vega at Lockheed Burbank. Woods sailed from New York to England on 28JUL34. On arrival in London, Woods went to inspect the Vega at Hanworth but found that the tail unit and ailerons had been removed. Woods set about making the aircraft airworthy. It is reported that he was assisted by Australian designer and pilot Geoffrey Wikner. 15AUG34 Test-flown at Hanworth by Capt James Woods. 16AUG34 Woods flew the aircraft from Hanworth to Heston and Rotterdam where the engine was to be overhauled and a new propeller fitted by KLM at Waalhaven. 14SEP34 The aircraft returned to Heston where it was repainted overall cream with red trim. 15OCT34 Woods and Bennett departed Hanworth for Mildenhall via Heston having received approval to arrive at Mildenhall one day after the deadline for the race. However, on landing at Heston the starboard undercarriage strut became jammed. Repairs consumed the rest of the day and it was dusk when the aircraft eventually landed at Mildenhall. 20OCT34 At the commencement of the Centenary Air Race, the Vega departed Mildenhall at 0639 crewed by Jimmy Woods and Don Bennett and carrying the race number 36. (Australian D.C.T. Bennett later founded the famed "Pathfinder Force" and eventually rose to the rank of Air Vice-Marshal). The Vega was named "Puck" in honour of the late Hugh "Puck" Grosvenor, Aide-de-Camp to the South Australian Governor and a personal friend of Horrie Miller. The aircraft flew from Mildenhall to Marseilles, Rome and Athens where it overnighted. 21OCT34 Departed Athens for Aleppo, Syria. On landing at Aleppo, the previously troublesome starboard undercarriage strut collapsed and the aircraft overturned. Although injured, both pilots walked away from the wreck. With no hope of completing the race, Bennett returned to the U.K. and Woods stayed with the aircraft pending receipt of funds to ship it to Australia. 21NOV34 Woods and the crated Vega sailed from Port Said, Egypt on the SS Oronsay. Earlier, the aircraft had been shipped from Aleppo to Port Said. 11DEC34 The SS Oronsay docked at Perth and the five crates containing the Vega were trucked to the MacRobertson Miller Aviation Company's workshops at Maylands Aerodrome in Perth for repairs which lasted eight months. 22AUG35 The Vega was test-flown at Maylands, W.A. by Horrie Miller. As the aircraft was not a British aircraft, there ensued a long dispute regarding the aeroplane's CofA. In the interim, the Vega was approved to operate under its British CofA. 05OCT35 Horrie Miller flew the Vega in the Perth Aerial Derby beating an RAAF Hawker Demon! 13OCT35 The aircraft departed Perth for Adelaide via Kalgoorlie, Forrest and Ceduna under the command of Capt Woods on its first commercial service, a charter with two passengers. 20OCT35 The aircraft departed Adelaide on its return flight to Maylands but was delayed for two days at Forrest while the airstrip dried out. The aircraft was not flown again for eight months while Miller fought the Civil Aviation Board over Australian certification. 19JUN36 The aircraft was test flown by Horrie Miller prior to formal issue of an Australian CofA. VH-UVK   23JUN36 Registered VH-UVK to H.C. Miller of Perth, W.A. (CofR No 540). (Horrie Miller had earlier requested the out-of-sequence registration VH-BGK to minimise repainting but his request was denied.) The Vega was used for charter flights and for communications between MMA bases at Perth and Adelaide. It was occasionally used to pickup mails from delayed flights. The Vega was flown only by Miller and Woods. 05OCT36 Captain Woods flew the aircraft from Perth to Adelaide via Kalgoorlie, Forrest and Ceduna. 09OCT36 Captain Woods returned from Adelaide to Perth via the same stops. 14OCT36 Captain Woods operated a charter flight to Kalgoorlie for D. Dalton and party. 17NOV36 Captain Woods operated a charter flight from Kalgoorlie to Adelaide for Mr & Mrs Newburn in 7 hrs 25 mins. 18NOV36 Captain Woods operated a charter flight from Adelaide to Perth for Mrs T. Boeri in 9 hrs 35 mins. 09JAN38 Horrie Miller flew the aircraft in the Aerial Derby at Maylands. 05MAY38 Horrie Miller flew the aircraft to the newly built RAAF Base at Bullsbrook (later RAAF Pearce). 28AUG38 Captain Woods flew the aircraft Perth-Carnarvon-Port Hedland to collect the mail from a delayed MMA DH.86 and deliver it to Perth. 10NOV38 Capt Woods flew the aircraft to Darwin on a tour of 19 MMA ports returning three days later. 13APR40 Horrie Miller flew the aircraft on joy flights. 02JUN41 Horrie Miller flew the Vega to Geraldton, returning the following day. This was the aircraft's first long distance flight since returning from Darwin in November 1938, the aeroplane having been hangared for much of this time. AUG41 MMA applied to have the Vega included on their airline licence as wartime impressments by the RAAF had depleted the MMA fleet. However, the Vega was destined never to enter airline service with MMA, for it too was about to be impressed. 17OCT41 Test flown by Horrie Miller. NOV41 The Vega was taken over by the RAAF under Impressment Requisition No 9020. Prior to being released to the RAAF, the aircraft was given a CofA overhaul by MMA at Maylands. At this stage, the aeroplane had only 246 hours 20 minutes in its logbook. 11NOV41 Horrie Miller ferried the Vega from Perth to Laverton, Victoria where it was reluctantly handed over to the RAAF. A42-1     The following entries are sourced from the RAAF Form E/E.88 for A42-1. 12NOV41 The Vega was accepted by the RAAF at No 1 Aircraft Depot, Laverton as A42-1. 16DEC41 Allotted to Northern Area HQ Townsville for communications duties. 20DEC41 The aircraft was painted in camouflage at 1AD and fitted with a Verey pistol however radio and Aldis lamp were not fitted. 24DEC41 Issued to Northern Area HQ ex 1AD. 28JAN42 The aircraft ground-looped on landing at Cairns, Queensland and incurred serious damage to rear spar, aileron and ribs. The aircraft was trucked to Townsville where its storage alternated between No 24 Squadron and No 33 Squadron. 03SEP42 Held at No 12 Repair and Salvage Unit Townsville awaiting technical report. 18SEP42 Issued to No 3 Aircraft Depot at Amberley ex 12RSU. 22SEP42 Received at 3AD ex 12RSU. 12OCT42 Issued to Aircrafts Pty Ltd at Archerfield, Brisbane ex 3AD Amberley for repair under contract to the RAAF. 04DEC42 Repairs progressing slowly. 22JAN43 Mainplane doped ready for spraying. Fuselage repairs proceeding. 11NOV43 Received at 3AD Amberley ex APL Archerfield. 24NOV43 Issued to No 3 Communication Unit Mascot ex 3AD. 09MAR44 The aircraft was allotted to the Department of Civil Aviation for disposal having been declared surplus by the RAAF. DCA had intended to issue the aeroplane to Ansett Airways for evaluation by one of their experienced pilots, but as a result of reports by RAAF pilots that the Vega had longitudinal instability issues, the DCA decided that the aeroplane should remain in storage with 3CU at Mascot. 23OCT44 Acceptance by DCA deferred pending installation of Wasp engine s/n 2883. The aircraft was still stored at 3CU. 24JUL45 DCA strongly recommended to the RAAF that the aeroplane be scrapped as it was 15 years old and yet the status card states that "Civil Aviation pressing for return of this a/c." The RAAF was awaiting a survey by 2RSU Mount Druitt.   Butler Air Transport and Captain James Woods both expressed interest in acquiring the Vega but DCA advised that the aircraft would not be available for civil dispoal because of instability issues and would be broken up. 10SEP45 The RAAF submitted the aircraft for approval to convert to components. 17SEP45 Conversion to components approved. 12OCT45 The aircraft was allotted to No 2 Central Recovery Depot at Richmond, NSW ex 3CU for conversion to components. The aeroplane was broken up at Mascot and any salvaged components trucked to Richmond. 15OCT45 Capt James Woods repeated his advice to DCA that he wished to purchase the Vega while protesting that he had flown the aeroplane more than anyone else in Australia and was fully aware of its capabilities. Sadly his protests fell on deaf ears as the fate of the Vega was already sealed. 30JAN73 Horrie Miller wrote to the Department of Defence in Canberra indicating that he had no record of having received any acknowledgement of the military impressment of the Vega nor was he ever compensated for the loss of the aircraft. Horrie Miller's letter was evidently prompted by an erroneous press report that the Vega was held by the RAAF Museum at Point Cook (It would appear, furthermore, that the aeroplane was never offered back to Horrie Miller!)   Read Geoff Goodall's excellent narrative history of the Vega. Published by the AHSA in June 2024, this would have been one of Geoff's last articles.   Issue Date Remarks 6 09SEP24 Added two images of G-ABGK. Image 1 Image 2 Also added a General Electric advertisement featuring the G-ABGK. Also added Owen Cathcart-Jones' account of the Cape Town flight. All thanks to Tim Kalina. 5 06SEP24 Major expansion of this page. Added no fewer than twenty-four (24) images of the Vega as G-ABGK thanks to Simon Kidston and Tim Kalina. See the top four rows of the thumbnail table. Also added scans of several remarkable items from Simon Kidston's collection: Glen Kidston's Visitors Book. A flown cover from the Capetown flight. Glen Kidston's telegraph message advising of his arrival in Capetown. 4 22FEB22 Added a second image of G-ABGK after its crash at Aleppo. Also corrected the attribution for the first image. Both images are by James Woods via the Frank Colquhoun Collection via Ted Fletcher and Geoff Goodall. 3 20SEP19 Added a superb colour painting of the aircraft as G-ABGK thanks to Balázs Bálint. 2 31MAR16 Refreshed layout. No change to data. 1 13AUG99 Original issue Special thanks to the late Geoff Goodall, whose research predominates on this page. Special thanks to Glen Kidston's nephew Simon for sharing many treasures from the family collection. Thanks also to Ted Fletcher for supplying photographs of VH-UVK.   REFERENCES Geoff Goodall, Vega VH-UVK The Story of a Unique Aeroplane, Journal of the Aviation Historical Society of Australia Vol 17 No 4. John Appleton, The Civil Aircraft Registers of Great Britain 1919-1985, TAHS 1986. Bert Cookson, The Historic Civil Aircraft Register of Australia (Pre War) G-AUAA to VH-UZZ, AustAirData 1996. Richard Sanders Allen, Revolution in the Sky, The Stephen Greene Press 1967. Rene J. Francillon, Lockheed Aircraft since 1913, Putnam 1987. James Ritchie Grant, A Rich Man's Toy - The Log of a Lockheed Vega, Classic Wings Downunder No 19. Aviation Heritage - The Centenary Air Race Vol 24 No 1 & 2, Aviation Historical Society of Australia 1985. NAA, Form E/E.88, Record Card A42-1   Return to The Lockheed File