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Aviation History
1929
1929 - 0073.PDF
JANUARY 10, 1929 LONDON TO BERLIN NON-STOP By COLONEL L. A. STRANGE, D.S.O., M.C., D.F.C. AT Croydon Aerodrome, October 24, 06.30, a high southerly wind was blowing, which reached almost gale force with gusts of hard rain storms, when the " Spartan " was being run up on the tarmac. Mr. H. W. R. Banting, late 58 Squadron, and myself, late No. 5 Squadron, soon packed our suit cases (an extra 56 lbs.) into the luggage locker, and oft we went, hoping to reach Berlin non-stop in about six hours. With 48 gallons of petrol we estimated to have at least 18 gallons reserve, or 3J to 4 extra flying hours in case of bad head wind. The take-off was extremely good, except for a very soft spot just off the tarmac which pulled us up a bit and put our tail well up." This came down again when we met the down draught from the hills and trees in the south-west corner of the aerodrome. A few minutes later we were well up and just under the clouds at 800 ft, Lympne was reached m fairly good time, in spite of the cross winds and hard rain. The " Spartan " with her heavy load, was flying perfectly, with the "Cirrus," Mark III, well throttled back to 1,800. Our compass crossing to Calais, allowing for the southerly wind, was only a few points off due sauth, and the crossing took about 20 mins. In view of the low visibility and clouds, this bit of our trip was only pleasant to reflect upon when Deutsche frontier at Oldenzaal it became necessary to stick right on the railway to Bentheim. Our altimeter showing minus 100 ft. from Croydon aerodrome, and there being nothing to see between the clouds and house-tops, it occurred to us that a canal, perhaps, would Vie less likely to have entered a tunnel suddenly than the railway. As our interest in the countryside would have been inter- fered with by the pleasant pastime of cloud flying, we turned back and bore north into more low-lying country, and soon got back on to the Amsterdam-Hanover air route. Our course now being due E, took us N. of Rheine and Osnabruck, where the weather began to clear and improve rapidly, until at Minden, somewhere about 10.30 we were flying at 3,000 ft. in beautiful weather, with a grand view of the Hartz moun- tains ahead to the S.E.. and busy towns of Bnckebg and Schaumg beneath us, the big Stcinhuder Meer with its island that looks like a boat in the middle down on our left, and the Fms-Weser Kanal stretching in a blue ribbon from om' horizon to the other. This is good flying country, with the names of towns plainly written on the aerodromes, and smoke fires in the circle, and other things comforting to a pilot's eye, and by the increasing number of machines passed and seen, aviation M Lieut .-Col. L. A. Strange, D.S.O.. M.C., D.F.C. Tight) and Mr. H.W.R Banting, at the Tempelhof aerodrome. Ber- lin, with the Cirrus- Spartan in which they flew no n- stop from London in 7 hrs. 10 mins. and back in 6 hrs. comparing it with the far more unpleasant experience of those people who seemed to prefer the high seas. Our course then lay up the coast to Bray Dunes, the point where aircraft must cross the Franco-Belgian frontier on this route. With the wind helping rather than otherwise, we made very good time to Ostcnd, but with the clouds getting very much lower, about 200 ft. I his height enabled us to watch very clearly our friends the Belgians just waking up and taking their morning milk bottles from the doorstep. A little later, when we began to bear eastward, the business people in Bruges were off to their work. And then Holland, the lowest-lying country in the world, the land of windmills and canals. Strips of tulip bed and black and white cows. Banting described this country as " unprintable " from 100 ft., but to me it was of vast interest in noting the method of the production of bulbs, the growing of what appeared to be willows in very narrow strips for miles on end in wet-looking country, and the particular care and selection of the small herds of black and white Fresian cattle and the various methods of agriculture. I also noted that most of the small farms jiossessed a large brown dog, which appeared to greet us, either joyfully or as a noisy intruder on his slumbers. By 09.30 most of the high ground was beginning to connect with the clouds, and so on at 100 ft. past Hertogenbosch, Nigmegen on our left, Arnhem on our right, then Zutphen, until on reaching the German si W. seemed, indeed, to be taken seriously round about Hanover, which we were over about 11.00. Then came large tracts of forest country. Hereabouts the farmers seemed to be particularly efficient, their corn stacks being beautifully thatched and in line, their cattle well cared for, indeed, agriculture appeared to be in a far better state than here at home. On we go over most interesting countryside and many large forests ; across the F.lbe running down past Magdeburg, we were soon close to Berlin, over the lake country, with Potsdam just down on our right, and "Berlin " in large white lettering showing up plainly on the Templehof aerodrome. This appeared to be almost in the middle of Berlin, and looked about a mile long and nearly as wide, with lines of large hangars, and dozens of machines on the vast stretches of tarmac. As we loaded, just down on our left, were the flags and bunting showing us the position of the Inter- nationale Luftfahrt Ausstellung I.L.A. (Aero Show). I will not endeavour to describe the Show, as you have already read of this in various aeronautical papers some time since, but of our short stay in Berlin my impressions and recollec- tions are extremely pleasant. Particularly do I remember Kauptman Bolle, whom we met on the ground for the first time at a delightful little party arranged bv Group-Captain Christie, C.M.G., our previous acquaintance having been solely in the air, particularly during the summer of 1918. 31
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