Page 55 - Aviation News (February 2020)

logos and were operated by SAA crews. Eight Vickers Vikings were used on regional routes between 1947 and 1951.
The carrier’s first jet service was operated Viking 1B, ZS-BNL, was named Mount Prospect. SAA Museum Society Archives
from London to Johannesburg on October
4, 1953. On the same date, tourist class
travel was introduced using a 58-seat
Constellation on the London route. The
airline was then running two Comet and
three Constellation flights per week on the
Springbok service. On October 10, 1954
SAA Comet, G-ALYY, broke up in the air
near the Italian island of Stromboli, killing
all 35 persons on board. Other Comets
had previously crashed under similar
circumstances and after the SAA tragedy
the type was grounded. Investigations
revealed that structural failure had caused
the disasters. While modifications would
see the Comet fly again, the type never
again served SAA.
In 1956, SAA added the Douglas DC-7B
and put it on the Springbok service. The
type – of which SAA ordered four – was
at that time the fastest piston-engined
airliner in the world and would remain
in service until 1967. To take advantage
of the performance of the DC-7B, SAA
introduced a fast one-stop service from In 1956 SAA became the first non-American airline to place the DC-7B in service. SAA Museum
Johannesburg to London via Khartoum, Society Archives
known as the East Coast Express, which
had a flying time of around 21 hours. This delivered on July 1, 1960. These were 1960s. The airline purchased six 727-100s in
service was rerouted to transit the other the first of 11 that SAA would fly between 1965 (which remained in service until 1982)
side of Africa and renamed the West Coast 1960 and 1980. Three months after its and three 727-100Cs in 1967, which also
Express (with a technical stop in Kano in arrival, the aircraft was deployed on the remained in the fleet until 1982.
Nigeria). The best time for the run was Springbok service, trimming the flying On March 16, 1968, SAA ordered five
under 18 hours. In November 1957, the time to 13 hours. SAA brought the airliner Boeing 747-200Bs, the first of which was
airline started its Wallaby service using the into service in a mixed first class/economy handed over on October 22, 1971, entering
DC-7B, which routed from Johannesburg class configuration. In 1967, a 707 was service the following December. Later
via Mauritius and Cocos Island to Perth in introduced on the Wallaby route, replacing on, additional Jumbos were acquired:
Australia. In November 1958, SAA added the DC-7B. The Cocos Island stopover was a 747-200F freighter (delivered in 1980
the Vickers Viscount on domestic and dropped, while Sydney became the final and destroyed in a crash in 1987), a
regional services. destination. Boeing 707 services to Athens 747-200M (in service from 1980 until
started in October 1961 and flights to New 2000), a 747-300 (delivered in 1983 and
EXPANSION York via Rio de Janeiro began on February in use up to 2004) and another 747-
After the Comet grounding, South 23, 1969. 200F (in the fleet 1988-1999). Most of
African ordered three Boeing 707-320 Boeing 727s replaced the Skymasters, these jets arrived during a period when
Intercontinentals, the first of which was Constellations and DC-7Bs in the mid- most African countries, except South

Four Lockheed L-749A Constellations were used on
services to Europe between 1950 and 1964, before being
sold to ACE Freighters. AirTeamImages.com/ATI Collection

WWW.AVIATION-NEWS.CO.UK 53

50-57_south_african_airwaysDC.mfDC.mf.indd 53 13/01/2020 12:40