Coll 5/25 ‘Air Route to India (Arab Coast): Landing ground at Bahrain; Bahrain Civil Air Agreement’ [‎42r] (83/1088)

CIVIL AIRPORTS IN THE UNION OP SOUTH AFRICA
Appendix F
A* General
• The policy of the Union of South Africa is to develop a major international
airport in the Pretoria-Johannesburg area., capable of accommodating the largest
landplanes so far envisaged and at the seme time to proceed pith somewhat less
ambitious projects at Capetown and Durban, in the shape of new civil airports
capable of accommodating aircra ft weighing up to approximately 150,000 lbs, gross.
2 . Until these new airports are ready the position will be as follows
(a) The South African Air Force airfield at Brooklyn will continue to
serve as Capetown's civil airport.
(b) The temporary civil landing ground at Palmeitfontein near Johannesburg
will be available for "York" aircraft operating between the United
Kingdom and the Union. South African Airways feeder services will
continue to use the Rand airport at Germistown for Johannesburg
traffic and Zwartkop airfield for Pretoria traffic, for the time
being.
B. Johannesburg/Pretoria
1 • Although the Rand civil airport at Germistown has been developed tremendously
during the war, notably as regards erection of hangars, Y/orkshops, etc., no paved
runways have been laid. The undulating nature of the grass surface and the
comparatively small dimensions of the landing area render it definitely unsuitable
for the commercial operation of York aircraft.
2 . Zwartkop airfield near Pretoria, which is operated by the South African
Air Force is not unlike Rand airport in chat it has plenty of buildings but no
paved runways. The landing area is very undulating os well as being strictly
limited in size by topographical features.
3. It is because of the unsuitability of these two aerodromes that the South
Africa State Railway authorities decided about a year ago to develop a temporary
civil landing ground on a new site about 10 miles from Johannesburgh, known as
Palmeitiontein. . ; Unfortunately it is badly situated to serve Pretoria being about
3A- miles distant. It is for this reason that it has been developed on a temporary
basis only.
4. At the end of March, there Y/ere three fairly level grass strips marked off
to give 2,200, 1,600 and 1,400 yards respectively. In course of construction
parallel to the 2,200 yards runway v’as a 2,000 yards paved runway (10 inches of
imported stone, surfaced v.lth a half-inch coating of Tarmac). A simple wooden
hut-type terminal building was nearly ready for occupation, as was a control
tower mounted on a standard water tank iron-girder support. A small paved apron
was being laid in front of the terminal building and the Bellman hangar site;
eventually it is to be linked with the near end of the 2,000 yard paved runway.
At a later stage a second paved runway 1,400 yards long is to beHaid at an angle
of about 50 ° to the primary one.
5. The site is, on the whole, a good one, although judging from reports of
,r York" aircraft sinking into the grass surface when manoeuvring on the ground
shortly after a period of heavy rain, there, is some doubt as to whether the sub
soil is really suitable for a major airport. It is not possible to say precisely
what are the limiting lengths of runways that could be provided; this 7 /ould
probably depend upon the amount of soil shifting that the proprietors were
prepared to undertake. There' are seemingly no abrupt slopes in the vicinity
of the site, that Y/ould render extensions uneconomical.
6 . _ It is proposed that the Union's new International Airoort should be
Oonstructed at Kempton Park which is a first rate site lying roughly between
Johannesburg and Pretoria, 11 miles from the former and about 23^fram the latter
town. Development plans were studied on the spot and appeared satisfactory,
G. 108092 . ■ /although ...