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Aviation History
1927
1927 - 0387.PDF
JUNE 2, 1927 grudged. Indeed, one could not grudge it when the man who had performed it had displayed in his success so much modesty and so much consideration for others, and had paid a human tribute to the gallant Frenchmen who failed where he succeeded. The flight was more than a triumph for an American airman and American engine, it was also a triumph for world-wide civil aviation. Marshal of the R.A.F., Sir Hugh Trenchard, said that the R.A.F. had been tremendously interested in the great flight. They knew what it meant to him. The determination, endurance and true air instinct had commanded their admira- tion. A pilot had said to him, speaking of Captain Lindbergh, that he stood in the front rank of born airmen. They of the Royal Air Force took off their hats to Captain Lindbergh. Capt. Charles Lindbergh then rose amid applause. He has his country's accent but without those American colloquialisms which we always assume is part of the American language. He is entirely unaffected, and, indeed, lacks self-consciousness to an extraordinary degree. He said that he would make no attempt to thank them for his reception—it would be impos- sible to do so. He had learned much about his flight and himself from the papers, and he noticed in particular the interest in the navigation. Three and a half months ago a group of business men of St. Louis, who were interested in the promotion of aviation, decided to construct an aeroplane for a flight between New York and Paris non-stop. It was built in about two months and tested. They had decided to have a single-engine ship because of its greater cruising range : it could carry 300 miles more gasoline. The fact that he safely reached the coast of Europe was not due in any way to what might be called luck in navigation. If the winds had drifted him 300 miles off his course he would still have had enough gasoline to reach Paris. Had he been driven as far north as the northern coast of Scandinavia or as far south as the northern coast of Spain, though it would not have been possible to reach L.e Bourget, there would have been no danger either to himself or to the aeroplane. These were the principles upon which he based his navigation without carrying an observer. The weather conditions on his flight were not altogether as predicted. He had expected a clear area over the Atlantic. He left in a haze and up to Newfoundland the conditions were better than predicted, but then he went through cloud bursts for ten minutes at a time, and also rain. North of Nova Scotia the water was mostly covered with ice, but on the whole the conditions were better. One hundred miles out from St. John's he ran into haze, and he climbed to 8,000 ft. to get above a storm area, but the planes were covered with sleet and he had to turn back. For the first two hours of the night there was no moon and the sky was hazy, and there were no stars. He could not see beyond the windows of his cabin. 'When he was hundreds of miles off Ireland the fog cleared. He only saw the lights of one boat through the fog after leaving Newfoundland, and he saw no shipping during the day until he was 75 to 100 miles off Ireland, when he sighted several fishing boats. From then he experienced conditions which he could describe by saying that the clouds appeared like a mirage. He would see a shore line or island ahead but no buildings, and he was certain it was land several times, but when he reached the area he found only clouds of varying colours, black, purple and white. It 'was clear weather and very easy flying after the crossing and on the final stages of his flight to Paris. In conclusion, Capt. Lindbergh said that questions had cropped up from time to time about secrecy. He said they had no secret to hide as far as his flight was concerned. Everything about it was open to every country and if there was anything concerning the flight or the 'plane which he couldjexplain he would be very pleased to do so. C5 Lord Thomson rose again and said that it was his pleasant task to present to Captain Lindbergh a gold cup, which was the gift of the directors of The Daily Mail. Before doing so, he would remind them of certain facts in regard to the develop- ment of aircraft. He would go back to 19 years ago. When the late Lord Northcliffe returned from France, having seen the performance of Wilbur Wright in 1908, he was convinced, as far as the mechanical side of aviation was concerned, that it had a great future, and with characteristic energy and vision, Lord Northcliffe decided to do all that in him lay to encourage British aviation. At that time there were many doubters. For every one to-day there were a hundred then. " Neons " were thick upon the ground. First a £1,000 was offered for the first Channel flight, a feat which many people regarded as ridiculous, but Bleriot proved them wrong. In the end, the Daily Mail gave ^50,000 in prizes, and had consistently acted up to its old course of action. It gave to the man who had confuted the pessimists and made the critics look so foolish a gold cup to commemorate his triumph. He hoped the hero of the hour would take the cup away just as a sign of the esteem in which a great London newspaper holds him. Lord Thomson then presented the gold cup to Captain Lindbergh. In reply, Captain Lindbergh said that he found himself unable to discover words to express his appreciation of that and all the honours that he had received since he came to London. When the toast for Captain Lindbergh was given, prolonged cheers were raised, and everyone sang " For he's a jolly good fellow," followed by further cheers for his mother. The Swedish Minister for London, Baron Palmstierna, in a humorous opening to his speech, said that he approached his friend the American Ambassador and asked him to whom Captain Lindbergh belonged. America had former claims on him, but by law of nature he was more of a Swede. The Swedes joined in the congratulations to him. He felt proud of him, not only for his pluck and skill, but for the simplicity of his nature and the manner in which he had received his reception. He set an example which warmed their hearts and endeared him to them. The Swedes wished him to go to Sweden. He would get there a reception which would bear witness that the people of Sweden regarded him as another bond strengthening the friendship between the Swedish and English-speaking world. Amongst those present were :— Capt. H. E. P. D. Acland ; Mr. C. V. Allen ; Maj. R. Harrison Archbald ;Prof. L. Bairstow ; Messrs. O. H. Baldwin (Vice-President, American Club) ; A. J. A. Wallace Barr ; F. G. L. Bertram ; Comdr. J. Bird ; Mr. RobertBlackburn ; Air Vice-Marshal Sir \V. S. Brancker, K.C.B. ; Mr. Griffith Brewer ; Lieut.-Col. \V. A. Bristow : Capt. H. S. Broad ; Sir A. VV. Brown ;Mr. A. E. L. Chorlton ; Sir Alan J. Cobham : Lieut.-Col. M. O. Darby; Maj. G. Dennison ; Lieut.-Col. J. D. Dunville, C.B.E. ; Messrs. C. R. Fairey ;A. H. R. Fedden ; Capt. T. A. Gladstone ; Gen. P. C. R. Groves ; Gen. A. Guidoni ; Sqdn.-Ldr. R. A. de H. Haig ; Maj. F. B. Halford ; Maj. Harmon ;Capt. G. de Havilland ; Maj. H. Hemming; Air Vice-Marshal Sir John Higgins ; VVing-Comdr. T. O'B. Hubbard; Sir Samuel Instone; Mr. L.Leroy Irvin ; Lieut.-Col. K. A. Joyce ; Admiral Mark Kerr ; Comdr. Kirk- patrick; Capt. A. G. Lamplugh ; Mr. W. Lappin ; Col. F. Lindsay Lloyd,C.M.G., C.B.E. ; Air Commodore A. M. Longmore ; Mr. John Lord ; Lieut.- Col. Robert Loraine ; H.S.H. Princess Ludwig Lowenstein-Wertheim ;Lieut.-Col. Sir F. K. McClean, A.F.C. ; Maj. R. H. Mayo ; Lieut.-Col. J. T. C. Moore-Brabazon, M.C., M.P. ; Mr. F. Handley Page : Baron E. K. Palmstierna(Swedish Minister); Messrs. George PariialT; R. J. Parrott ; H. E. Perrin ; H. J. Preston ; Lieut.-Col. C. E. C. Rabagliati : Mr. F. P. Raynham ;Dr. E. D. VV'hitehead Reid ; Mr. A. V. Roe ; Sir Philip Sassoon, Bart., G.B.E.; Air Vice-Marshal F. R. Scarlett ; Col. the Master of Sempill ; Messrs. H. O.Short; F. Sigrist, T. O. M. Sopwith, C.B.E.: Capt. T. N. Stack; Rear- Admiral Murray F. Sueter ; Sir George Sutton. Bart. ; Mr. G. Holt Thomas ;Brig -Gen. the Lord Thomson, P.C., C.B.E., D.S.O. ; Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir H. M. Trenchard, Bart.; Messrs. H. T. Vane, C.B.E.; M. H.Volk; Sir Charles C. Wakeneld, Bart. ; Mr. Howard T. Wright. AIR DISARMAMENT ON May 23 a conference on the limitation and reduction of armaments, organised by the League of Nations Union, was opened at the London School of Economics, Aldwych. .Maj. J. W. Hills, M.P., presided, and was supported by Lord Cecil of Chelwood, 1 ord Parmoor, Lord Thomson, Sir Samuel Hoarc, Maj .-Gen. Sir F. Sykes and M. Louis de Brouckere. Sir Samuel Hoare (Secretary of State for Air) speaking on the question of the air arm, said that the Government realised the great danger of competition in air armaments, which almost day by day became more formidable as instruments of destruction.' He pointed out, however, that it was well to^realise the peculiar position Great Britain found herself from the point of view of air defence. Compared with all the great countries in Europe, Great Britain was the most vulnerable of any to air attack, and it was the recognition of this fact which made the Government in 1922 embark on a policy of strengthening their air defence, a policy in which each of the succeeding governments had taken a share. That policy was today about half completed, but even so, if they compared the strength of the greatest air force within striking distance of this country, we were still only in the proportion of one to two. No Government, said Sir Samuel, could allow that state of affairs to continue, or could agree to a status quo of that kind being the basis of any international agreement. If, however, the striking force of the nearest Great Power, within reach could be reduced, for example, to 300 first-line machines, there would then be no need for any further extension on our part. In fact, if this striking force could be reduced to a still lower figure, then there would be justification for our reducing the small force which we possessed at the present moment. We might, Sir Samuel added, as a step restrict what had been called the Metropolitan Air Forces, which were within easy distance of large centres of population. 349 D 2
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