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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1958.PDF
724 FLIGHT, 8 December 1949 ENGLAND- AUSTRALIA ANNIVERSARY An Epic of Thirty Years Ago : Britain and. Australia First Linked by Air Richmond, New South Wales, was the scene of this photograph of the Vimy and its crew short!/ after arrival in Australia. NEXT Saturday, December 10th, is one of the mostsignificant dates in the early history of aviation—particularly within the British Commonwealth—for on that day, in the year 1919, four Australian airmen, flying a British aircraft, succeeded in making the first journey by air along the hazardous route from England to Australia. Their attempt was inspired by a £10,000 prize offered by the Commonwealth Government to the first Australian air- men to complete the flight within 28 days. More than one airman lost his life in competing. Leading the successful team was the late Captain Ross Smith, M.C., D.F.C., A.F.C.; his brother, Captain Keith Smith, flew as navigator and co-pilot; and their mechanics were the late Sgt. J. M. Bennett, M.S.M., A.F.M., and Sgt. W. H. Shiers, A.F.M. Five days after the conclusion of the historic 28-day flight, The Times published Captain Sir Ross Smith's own account of the journey. His story was factual and ungarnished, but its very modesty served to accentuate the greatness of the achievement, made pos- sible solely by the great determination of four airmen and the stout performance of their aircraft. The following sum- mary of Ross Smith's article indicates how complete was their faith in the Vickers Vimy and its Rolls-Royce engines. Aids to navigation, and servicing facilities, were practically non-existent; many airfields were rough improvisations. The Vimy took off from the old Hounslow Aerodrome on the morning of Tuesday, November 12th, 1919, and flew the Channel from Folkestone to Boulogne, where a snow- storm was encountered. " Just about frozen to death " (a thermometer in the Vimy's open cockpit was registering 25 deg of frost), Ross Smith took the Vimy to 3,000ft and flew above the clouds for three hours. Then, through a clear patch, he sighted and recognized Roanne, descended, and picked up the first stopping-place—Lyons—before dark. Next day, the aircraft flew south to Marseilles and turned eastward for the Riviera and Italy. The weather en route, said Ross Smith, "was splendid .... we wanted to stop a week." Unlooked-for part-fulfillment of the wish came at the next halt, Pisa, where the Vimy was bogged in air- field mud. Heavy rain came the following day, and the airmen spent the time sightseeing. On the Friday, the weather was clear and, after some hard labour, the aircraft was moved on to a dry patch. " Then Sgt. Bennett sat on the tail . . . Sgt. Shiers was in the back cockpit and we set off. The moment we got our engines going Sgt. Bennett jumped off the tailplane, as if he was running for a drink, and was nobly hauled off the ground by Sgt. Shiers." They next landed at Rome and, on the fifth day, flew on to Taranto. This journey was made in 2| hr, with the help of a tail-wind. On landing, the crew set to work overhauling the aircraft and preparing for the morrow's flight. This—their longest hop as yet—carried them from Taranto to Suda Bay in Crete, and occupied 7 hr 45 min. The Vimy flew through cloud and heavy rain to the Gulf of Corinth via Corfu. At this point the violence of the rain increased; the crew had to sit with heads down and cover their faces, taking occasional quick looks over the fuselage side to check their position. From the south end of the Morean coast they flew out across the Mediterranean to Crete, where they " stayed the night.... but did not get much sleep owing to the presence of unwelcome insect bed-companions." Crete, like many other points on the route, had just received the first rain of the season. So on the following day, despite the rain, Ross Smith decided to take off and avoid the danger of becoming bogged. He climbed through cloud to 7,000ft, and—through a pass—escaped the LEFT HOUNSLOW NOVEMBER 12 ANGOONINOV. 59] /_ BANGKOKFDEC IV"' ARRIVED PORT DARWIN DECEMBER K> A F R I C A The tortuous, 11,294-mile route followed on the first England-Australia flight. Dates of arrival at each point are indicated.
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