G-AASJ, the Calcutta in which the author flew out to rescue G-EBVH. This boat was lost in December 1935 when it ran out of fuel at night and sank after a forced landing just off Alexandria.

The author poses in front of a Calcutta's Bristol Jupiter radial.

Capt Lumsden judged his take-off superbly, and went on to make Malakal in 50min, a trip which had taken the author nearly 50hr by boat.

VH’s sister ship, G-EBVG, named Calcutta, seen at her moorings at Alexandria in October 1930. On August 1, 1928, this boat was flown from Rochester and landed on the Thames between Vauxhall and Lambeth bridges, taking off from the same stretch of the river on August 5. ’VG was scrapped after a freak storm at Mirabella caused her to capsize in January 1937.

The steamer’s dinghy, loaded with three crew and ’VH’s half-ton Bristol Jupiter XIF engine.