Submitted by Brian Roulston
When initially reported on September 1, 1937, that the Cambria – a ‘Giant’ flying boat would be landing on Hamilton Harbour, aviation enthusiasts in Hamilton and the Golden Horseshoe area were ecstatic. These behemoths of the sky fascinated aviation lovers of the day the world over, much as the Boeing 747 or Airbus A380 do now. Flying boats were some of the largest aircraft of the first half of the 20th century, exceeded in size only by World War II bombers like the Lancaster. Flying boats, such as maritime patrol, air-sea rescue, and fire-fighting aerial bombers, were developed for military use. However, they soon found their way into passenger service, particularly for long-distance travel over water.
Flying boats differ from float planes of today because they have a purpose-designed fuselage for flotation, similar to water-based boats. Floatplanes or seaplanes rely on fuselage-mounted pontoons for buoyancy. Both have played significant roles in aviation history in Canada.
The 1930s was a decade of change in aviation. Most land-based airplanes were made of wood and fabrics. They used grass runways and limited to moderate weights, particularly during rainy or snowy weather. There were very few gravel or paved runways because they were simply too costly to build. The move to all metal or aluminum airframes increased their weight significantly. This necessitated the move to water. There were other land-based aircraft challenges, such as fueling, loading and unloading, particularly for passengers. Flying boats’ advantages were that they had larger fuel tanks, which allowed them to fly longer distances without refuelling. Another is that they could locate a lake, river, or sea to land safely in an emergency.
The first passenger-carrying flying boat was the Dornier Do X, built by the Dornier Company of Germany in 1929. It was the largest powered airplane in the world at the time and could carry up to 100 passengers. Passenger service was in its infancy, and flying boats were gaining popularity. Imperial Airways became BOAC in 1937. It is more famously known today as British Airways, which operated 31 of these planes built by the Short Bros of Belfast, N. Ireland, between 1936 and 1947. The Cambria was the first flying boat acquired by the airline. Often called a flying whale, it could carry 24 passengers and a crew of five. The four-engine propeller-driven 18-ton aircraft could fly 200 mp/h or 322 km/h. The Cambria had a wingspan wider than the length of a professional regulation tennis court and was slightly longer than three full-size school buses parked bumper to bumper. Imperial Airways was considering one of the boldest experiments in airline history by launching a flying boat passenger service from Britain and Ireland to Canada and the United States. The Cambria and her sister ship, the Caledonia, had already made several trips across the Atlantic doing feasibility, overseas worthiness and communications testing.
On August 28, 1937, the Cambria (Reg # ADUV) flew the 1,993-mile (3,207-kilometer) route from Foynes, Ireland, to Botwood in the Bay of Exploits in Newfoundland under Captain Griffith J. Powell and his First Officer Capt. E.M. Gurney. This was to be a goodwill trip to announce their new overseas routes. The Cambria flew to Montreal, and from there, they were to fly over several cities in Southwestern and Eastern Ontario and eventually land in Toronto and Hamilton. Radio stations across the province agreed to announce the plane’s arrival and takeoff timings in Toronto and Hamilton and fly-over times in South Western Ontario well in advance, allowing people time to travel to each spot to observe the aircraft. The Cambria started its Ontario tour by flying over Windsor, then Sarnia and flew over London for 15 minutes. Then on to Woodstock, Brantford and Buffalo. It was to land in Toronto and Hamilton.
It was a hot, sweaty day; temperatures were in the low 90s on the Fahrenheit scale, and thousands attended the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto. But many thousands more came to see the Cambria on Friday, September 3, 1937. To announce Cambria’s arrival, factory and CNR locomotives sitting idle in the shops and train stations were instructed to blow their whistles. Just as the Cambria entered Toronto airspace, those whistles blew simultaneously across the city at 4:56 pm. Special arrangements were made by the president of Trans Canada Airlines (Air Canada) for the Cambria to fly over Toronto for 20 minutes before landing so that every child in the city could view the silver flying boat. The crowd gasped as the gigantic flying boat came into view and approached Toronto Harbour. There was another gasp as the Cambria suddenly entered a crab-like position and hit the water, breaking off its port side (left side) stabilization pontoon, a wing tip and other minor damage to the vessel. Fortunately, there were no injuries and Capt. G.J. Powell blamed a sudden crosswind and a log floating in the water.
Hamilton would have to wait almost two weeks for its Cambria visit while new parts were shipped to New York City and then to Toronto. Finally, the big day was here, September 23, 1937; CKOC and CHML radio stations promoted the event heavily. The Hamilton Harbour patrol took a lesson from Toronto’s mishap. They meticulously combed the bay, searching for logs and potential obstacles that might threaten the flying boat. However, their surprise came when they encountered numerous boats of varying sizes packed with curious onlookers eager to get a close-up view of the Cambria. They worked diligently throughout the afternoon to maintain a clear waterway. The Cambria flew over Hamilton for several minutes before landing without incident. The Harbour patrol got another surprise when they were escorting the Cambria from the mouth of the Burlington Canal to its berthing spot. They could barely stay ahead of Cambria at full throttle as they escorted it to its mooring place. The Cambria was moored just off Wellington Street, where the HMCS Haida typically docks. Visitors were in awe as they were allowed to go inside and look around.
Captain Powell was greeted by Hamilton’s 50th mayor (1936-1943), William Robert Morrison, and several council members. That night, Captain Powell and his crew enjoyed a quiet little dinner at the Hamilton Club on Main and James Streets. The Cambria took off the next day for Toronto, Rochester, and other US cities and then onto Botwood.
On the way home, the Cambria broke the all-type aircraft flying record crossing the Atlantic set by a Pan Am Clipper, another type of flying boat a month earlier, slightly over 12 hours to Foynes. The Cambria did it in 10 hours 36 minutes; it would have been much shorter if it had not been for a storm as they approached Ireland.
The popularity of flying boats declined after World War II due to more runways and aircraft supports being built inland. Pan Am (Pan American World Airways) operated the last commercial flying boat service in 1946.
One of the last two operational flying boats, the water bomber owned by the Coulson Group in Hawaii, fought its last forest fire in British Columbia in 2016. Named Martin Hawaii, it was built just after WW II and became the largest flying boat in the world at the length of two full-sized semi-trucks and with a wingspan slightly less than a 747.
Negotiations between Coulson Group and the BC Aviation Museum in 2023 are underway to bring this aircraft to its North Saanich, BC, museum.
