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Aviation History
1926
1926 - 0841.PDF
NOVEMBER 18, 1926 EAST AFRICAN AIR LINE BY way of celebrating the " birth " of the first CommercialFlying Service between Khartoum and East Africa, organised by the North Sea Aerial & General Transport Co., Ltd., adistinguished party travelled, on November 15, to Messrs. Short Bros'. Aeronautical Works at Rochester, on the banksof the Medway, to attend the christening and launching of the first seaplane to be used in the service. The actual•ceremony of naming " The Pelican " was performed by Lady Beatrice Ormsby-Gore, the wife of the Under-Secretaryof State for the Colonies, Mrs. T. H. Gladstone, mother of •Capt. T. A. Gladstone, afterwards presenting Lady Beatricewith a silver salver on which a map of Africa was engraved, showing the air route along the White Nile. The pilotingupon the occasion was in the hands of Capt. H. S. Broad, -who, after " slithering " the graceful little craft off the rivermud, gave a short and convincing exhibition of the manoeuvr- ability and wonderful efficiency of the machine. " The Pelican " is a four-seated D.H. 50, fitted with a420 h.p. Radial Bristol Jupiter, a Fairey-Reed metal airscrew, and special Duralumin floats by Short Bros., and built to theorder of the North Sea Aerial Transport Co., who are allied with the Blackburn Aeroplane Co. The enterprise is mainlydue to the work and organisation of Capt. Gladstone, whose long view is likely to bear a rich harvest, not only we hopefor the Company, but for Imperial inter-communication. At a subsequent luncheon at the old Bull Hotel, of CharlesDickens' fame, at which Mr. R. Blackburn presided, the Rt. Hon. Ormsby-Gore read a letter from Sir Samuel Hoare,who was unavoidably, through illness, prevented from being present, in which Sir Samuel said :— " This project is one which seems to me to be of the mostfar-reaching importance alike to the Air Ministry and the Colonial Office. From the broad aspect of Imperial aircommunications, this service is the first link in what will [" FLIGHT " Photographs "A WONDERFUL BIRD IS THE PELICAN": Intended for use on the Khartum-Kenya air route, the firstD.H.50 seaplane, with Bristol " Jupiter VI " engine, was tested on Monday last at Rochester by Capt. Broad. In the lower picture Broad is seen taking off from the mud, while above the machine is seen alighting and in flight.The inset shows Capt. Broad. The floats, made of Vickers Duralumin, were designed and built by Short Brothers. 749
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