July, powered by a Siddeley Puma engine, but further attempts were delayed until the afternoon because the water was too rough. At 3:30pm the aircraft was christened by Mrs. Wackett. There were rainstorms reported in the area and during an attempted takeoff in the afternoon, the Widgeon was observed to "swerve suddenly and hit a sandbank". A subsequent attempt ended in disaster when a heavy swell caused the aircraft to become airborne too early and stall, nosediving into the bay. The four occupants, Squadron Leader Wackett, Colonel H. Brinsmead (Controller of Civil Aviation), Sergeant Harry Becker and Sergeant T.L. "Jack" Cropp did not suffer any injuries. Upon first inspection, Col. Brinsmead suggested it would take about two weeks to repair the damage to the aircraft. Repairs actually took much longer and modifications to improve the craft's handling were also made including a deeper step further aft, cutting away the side windscreens and new centre-section tanks faired into the airfoil instead of above the wings. Just under five months later on 3 December 1925 the Widgeon successfully completed its first flight from Botany Bay piloted by Squadron Leader Wackett, lasting ten minutes and reaching a height of about . Following a series of trials carried out by the Civil Aviation Branch, it was agreed that the Widgeon could be tested by the RAAF to assess its suitability as a training aircraft. Prior to its handover in June 1927 another series of modifications were carried out to convert the Widgeon for amphibious operation (able to land and take off from both water and land). These included the addition of retractable landing gear, tailskid, dual controls, extra fuel tanks, an increase in dihedral from 3.5° to 4.75°, new deeper floats with less aileron interference, a wider windscreen, a gun-mount above the rear cabin entry, cabin side windows below the wing and a more powerful ADC Nimbus engine. At the same time as these modifications were being carried out work commenced on a larger and improved aircraft, the Widgeon II. Taxiing tests of the Widgeon II were commenced on 16 February 1928 at Mascot aerodrome and it flew for the first time on 21 February following a one-day delay due to engine problems. Following an extended flight from Melbourne to Darwin and back in 1928 to accompany flying boats of the RAF Far East Flight, a final series of improvements were made to the