TAA Engineering Manager & Later Director
John Watkins joined Trans-Australia Airlines from the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC), where he had been deeply involved in aircraft design and production during the Second World War. As TAA's Engineering Manager, he became responsible for evaluating and recommending virtually every new aircraft type the airline considered through the 1940s, 50s and 60s — adapting overseas designs to Australian conditions, including long sectors, high temperatures and remote operations.
1946 - 1948
In 1946, Watkins undertook an extensive tour of the American aircraft market on TAA's behalf. His research led him to the Consolidated Vultee Convair 240 — a pressurised, tricycle-gear airliner still in development at the time.
In 1947, Watkins travelled to the Consolidated Vultee plant in San Diego to evaluate the aircraft firsthand. Early prototypes had suffered engine and configuration problems, but by the time of his visit these had been resolved, and a demonstration flight left him deeply impressed by the aircraft's power, handling and refinements — full cabin pressurisation, individual passenger air vents, folding passenger stairways and dual nose wheels among them.
Recognising the opportunity, Watkins contacted TAA Chairman Arthur Coles by telephone and telegram to report that early delivery slots had become available following a cancellation by a major American airline. As a result, TAA was able to secure three Convair 240s by mid-1948, years ahead of the original 1951 timeline — becoming the first airline outside the United States to order the type. The fixed-price contract Watkins negotiated also saved TAA more than US$500,000 as post-war costs spiralled. TAA ultimately purchased five Convair 240s — VH-TAO, VH-TAP, VH-TAQ, VH-TAR and VH-TAS — with the type entering service in September 1948.
1954
Watkins undertook a further overseas study tour between June and October 1954, this time inspecting the Vickers Viscount and the new French Sud-Est Caravelle jet. In his report on returning, he described the Caravelle as "a most impressive design, using two Rolls-Royce Avon 26 jet engines mounted in lateral pods projecting from either side of the rear fuselage, aft of the pressure cabin."
On the strength of his assessment, TAA took an option on two Caravelles for its long Perth route — the airline's first serious move towards the pure jet age. The order was ultimately blocked by the Menzies Government in 1958, which directed both TAA and Ansett-ANA to standardise on turboprop equipment instead. Watkins had also played a central role in TAA's evaluation of the Vickers Viscount, introduced in 1954 as Australia's first turbine-powered airliner, and later the Fokker F27 Friendship.
