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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 0715.PDF
FLIGHT, JULY 15, 1932 Do.X. by E. C. Gordon England Our contributor was one of the fortunate persons to make the journey from Calshot to Berlin in the Do.X., and his account gives our readers an excellent impression of this enormous flying boat AVE you ever got out of bed at 4 o'clock in the morning with the greatest reluctance and dubbed yourself a fool for weakly agreeing to embark on an enterprise at so unearthly an hour? Doubtless you have, and so did I on Tuesday, May 24, having lightheartedly agreed the night before, to go down the next morning from London by car with Dr. Dornier and his charming wife to Calshot, and there to see them off on the final stage of the Do.X's trip from New York. London at 5 o'clock on a pouring wet morning does not stimulate light or joyous thinking. How I wished that people would choose more agreeable hours for departure! Secretly, I think, we all felt that it was an unneces sarily early hour to start, because through the pouring rain on the trip down we kept assuring one another that visibility would doubtless improve shortly! As Calshot came in sight there was the Do.X, hardly visible against the grey sky and sea, dwarfing entirely the large Air Force flying-boats moored alongside her. Dr. Dornier and Capt. Christiansen had decided to leave at 8.30, but this was impossible. On board we were met on the stub wing by Capt. Christiansen, the pilots, officers and crew, who were each in turn warmly congratulated by Dr. Dornier on their splendid achievement. Fraulein Strassmann, who had made the trip from New York, was also introduced. She can hardly be termed a passenger as she appointed herself stewardess and general ministering angel to the needs of the captain, officers and crew. Everybody agreed that she was very efficient and indefatigable in her efforts. Historically, she will prob ably be able to claim that she acted as first stewardess in an air liner on a transatlantic flight. I was immediately impressed with the splendid con dition of the ship both externally and internally at the end of its 15 months' sojourn away from its native hangar. During the whole of this time the ship has not been under cover. Her condition gives the lie direct to those prophets who predicted corrosion and deterioration, for there is not the slightest evidence of this anywhere. Equally interesting is the fact that all the internal appointments are in first-class condition throughout, and, while some people may not appreciate the decorative schemes of the interior, these have retained entirely their freshness and are none the worse for wear. The impressiveness of the immense size and spaciousness of the Do.X was perhaps even more accentuated than on the previous occasion when I went on board this vast vessel as she set out from Calshot for her Atlantic adven ture. I found myself slipping into the same difficulty, that of realising that it was an aircraft and not a seacrait. It is extraordinary how what one may term the " aircraft sense " entirely disappears in the Do.X. On the way down in the car I had jokingly asked Dr. Dornier what was the law in connection with stowaways in aircraft, and I mentioned while we were waiting for the weather to clear how very much I envied them the experience of the trip they were then setting out on. The Master of Sempill, who had flown through the pour ing rain in the early morning from Hanworth in his " Puss Moth," was saying good-bye to Dr. Dornier. Presently came the cry, " All visitors ashore," and the many R.A.F. officers and others who had been inspecting the ship went ashore, when Dr. Dornier came up to me and said, " I hear from the Master of Sempill that unless I offer to take you to Berlin I am likely to have a stowaway on board, and therefore I am inviting you to accompany us." Without hesitation I accepted his very sporting offer. Items as lack of passport, luggage and opportunity of advising people of my departure were brushed aside, and I realised at that moment how fortunate I was to have been dug out at 4 o'clock that morning after all. The refuelling pontoon which was moored to the end of the port stub wing was cast off, the last motor-boat left the side of the ship, when a cry went up " Where is the coffee? " The tragic discovery having been made that two enormous thermos pails sent up to the R.A.F. mess to be filled with hot coffee were the only stores not safely on board. Good use was made of a megaphone to communicate this disastrous information to the shore. Meanwhile, the engines were started up one by one. On the first engine being started the moorings were slipped, and the ship started to cruise slowly round in a small circle off the Air Station. Gradually more engines were started, and soon the ship was cruising at about eight to ten knots. At this moment a small motor-boat dashed up bearing the thermos pails. A very sporting R.A.F. officer, holding a pail in each hand, leaped neatly on to the stub wing as the boat came alongside. Fraulein Strassmann seized the pails, obviously overjoyed at the recovery of these impor tant items of the galley's equipment. The transhipment of the R.A.F. officer back to the motor-boat was most neatly and skilfully accomplished. The motor-boat approached the Do.X from the stern, and its prow mounted the rear edge of the stub wing while the officer leaped on board, and then, although there was considerable suction holding the boat, it was backed off. All the engines were now running. We turned our nose down the Solent towards Cowes. As we came up to Cowes Point we turned round and faced towards Portsmouth, heading into wind. The engines were opened up, and within 56 sec. the 54£ tons of the Do.X were in the air and rising rapidly. Almost immediately the engines were throttled, and the ship began to lose height, and one was convinced that a 667
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