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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 1010.PDF
nient. Many had asked, Was the voyage oi K 34 worth while ? From a scientific standpoint the voyage, he claimed, was worth while a hundred times over. They had learned a most valuable lesson, especially from a meteorological point •f view. Such a voyage would often be done again. The peculiarity about an airship was that the bigger it got the simpler the voyage became. It was true we were on the threshold of a new era. They knew they could get into the north-east trades wind in going from the Eastern to the Western hemispheres, and that they could go up to 8,000 ft. or 10,000 ft. and find a favourable south-westerly wind to bring them back again. The other day, in the course of his duty, he flew to Ireland and called upon Messrs. Harland and Wolff, the well-known shipbuilders, who showed him a model of a ship which the ' built at the beginning of the War, and inset on the same board was a model of a vessel on almost identical lines that they had built fifty years ago which was just one-fiftieth the size. That advance in the navigation of the sea might also be the advance that would be made in the navigation of the air in the fifty years that lay before us. They had learnt that the stout hearts and the good comradeship of the men of our race were as good as ever they had been. When he asked one of the officers of R 34 what he should say on that occasion, he replied, " Crack up the crew. They are the finest fellows I have ever seen either on the sea or in the air." On behalf of the Government he congratulated the officers and crew on their splendid achievement. They were proud of what these men had done. Thev rejoiced that the crew had been able to bring us closer still to America, and, above all, they were proud to meet them safe and sound after an arduous and most successful voyage. Sir Hugh Trenchard, who also spoke to the toast, said the aviators had helped to keep the reputation of British airmen first among those of the world. There must have been the most cordial co-operation and confidence between all ranks to enable them to accomplish what they did. With such effort that reputation would remain first, both in the fighting service and, he sincerely hoped, in the paths of peace. This voyage was the keystone of the arch on which the future development of aircraft for peaceful work depended. The officers and crew of R 34 had worthily upheld and added to the best traditions of this country, and set an example and created a tradition for the new Royal Air Force. Mr. H. White Smith, Chairman of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors, in congratulating the guests, said the Atlantic trip of the R 34 would contribute greatly to the development of the future airship. He pictured how the future generation would look back 100 years hence and wonder at our present crude productions. We were not yet at the height of construction, because the R 34 was similar in character to the Zeppelin which was shot down in 1916, and very much of the same type as the German airships at the present time. There was great room and need for the de velopment not only of aircraft but also of the engines. We must strive to keep ahead. The R 34 had been to America, and he could not but believe that the Americans, having seen her, would not be satisfied till they had produced something better. All these voyages of aeroplanes and airship across the seas filled a place in the scheme of development of aviation. Brig.-Gen. Maitland, in reply, said their flight was carried out under service conditions. He was merely a passenger in the ship. The entire responsibility for the executive work rested on Maj. Scott and his gallant crew. Maj. Scott dis played very great skill in airmanship, and nothing worried him. The Air Ministry had three objectives in sending them on the voyage. First, they were to collect scientific data of use for commercial purposes in the air, to get in formation about the uncharted air over the Atlantic and the ever-changing weather conditions. The second objective was to demonstrate a rigid airship for future commercial possibilities, and the third objective was to pay a visit to H H British Flying Boats in Norway ON July 20 the two British flying boats, which left Felixstowe some days previously for Norway, set out from Dundee at 10.30 a.m. After flying about 300 miles east they suddenly ran into dense fog ; one boat, N 4044, piloted bv Maj. Galpin and Capt. Scott, went down below the fog bank and safely reached the Norwegian coast; the other machine went above the fog and returned to Dundee. Maj. Galpin on the following day continued his trip to Christiansand. and on July 22 flew along the south-east coast of Norway to Christiania. On Juh- 24 Queen Maud, a Lady-in-Waiting, and JULY 31, 1919 Newfoundland, Canada, and the United States. They had learned a great deal about electrical storms and the way they affected airships. Although they knew very little about them they were not afraid of them, but the Research De partment of the Air Ministry were now going to concentrate on those problems and try and find out all about them. In rough weather the ship behaved extraordinarily well, and there was no feeling of anxiety as to what would happen to her, thanks to the excellent work of the design staff of the Admiralty, and the makers of the engines. An airship liked travelling in fog unlike heavier-than-air machines, because it made the journey easier. As to meteorology, they certainly learnt a great deal of that, and it was the most important study of the immediate future. Curiously enough, they saw very little of the Atlantic Before they started they expected to see very little else, but the sea was blotted out by the fog or low-lying clouds. By wireless they were in touch with East Fortune for a distance of 1,100 miles, and thev were always in touch either with England, the Azores, or the New World. They heard— quite unofficially—the result of the Willard-Dempsey fight in the Atlantic, and were glad to hear it, while from the Marconi chart the - knew exactly where the big liners were, though they could not see them. They only saw a few trawlers off the coast of Ireland, a sailing vessel near America, two large unfriendly icebergs, and a fascinating icefield. In flying over Nova Scotia at a height of 800 ft. the ' could easily detect the types of the trees and appreciate the quality of the soil, and that suggested to him that the airship might prove to be of considerable use -in connection with forestrv and surveying work. They also discovered a complete cure for sea-sickness, for the motion was very slow and de liberate, and in the nature of a slight pitch. He predicted that that would prove of importance in future, and would cause people to select the airship in preference to the surface ship for oversea voyages. He had a letter from Mr. Rudyard Kipling, in one ol whose stories a night packet of the future was described as crossing the Atlantic, and it was curious that in that story- Mr. Kipling should have chosen Trinity Bay as one of his termini. Trinitv Bay was the first place of land they saw during the fog in Newfoundland. With regard to the commercial future of the airship, he was a great optimist. This was a fine opportunity for British enterprise to show a lead and see that Great Britain did not lose anything. The role of the airship was long-distance oversea flying, and long-distance non-stop overland flying. The role of the aeroplane and seaplane would not conflict with the role of the airship, and in commercial development the three would work together and be necessary the one to the other. Maj. G. H. Scott, in responding, gave a resutni of their experiences during the voyage ; he said it was a most fas cinating experience to fly over a new country, particularly if it was unexplored. The effect of a thunderstorm on the airship was to throw it about, but not so violently as, in his opinion, would frighten ordinary passengers. Maj. Scott paid a generous tribute to the hospitality of the Americans at the landing, and to the splendid help they gave in mooring the ship. The voyage home was very easy, and practically without incident. With regard to the navigation of the ship by Maj. Cook, it was extraordinary. When they reached Ireland they were only about five miles from the place they had marked out. The work of the whole crew was beyond praise, and he was backed up perfectly by the officers. Maj. Cook, R 34 navigation and log recorder, who also spoke, gave some details of his methods of navigation, and referred to the essential instruments besides the compass. Capt. G. Adam thought the upper air at present was like an unexplored land. The phenomena were very startling, and quite a lot of exploring work would have to be carried out before the upper air navigation could be considered safe. Gen. Brancker proposed the toast of "The Chairman," and the very successful evening closed. Ill H Mr. E. Ovey, Charge d'Affaires, went for a flight over the city. Negotiations are said to be going on between the Norsk Luftfartrederi and a British aviation company with a view- to opening up aerial communication between Great Britain and Norway this year or early next year. British Seaplane Over Baltic THE British seaplane E5-N 90, which flew from Felix stowe to Copenhagen on July 19 crossed the Baltic to Reval on the following day, and at 6 p.m. on July 21 safely arrived at Helsingfors, the destination of the Foreign Office official, who was a passenger. IOI2
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