Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown, in a modified Vimy IV, made the first non-stop aerial crossing of the Atlantic. They took off from Lesters Field, near St. Johns, Newfoundland on June 14,1919, and landed June 15,1919, at Clifden in Ireland. The time for the crossing was sixteen hours, twenty-seven minutes. The news of the adventure spead like wildfire and the two men were received as heroes in London. For their accomplishment, they were presented with Lord Northcliffes Daily Mail prize of £10,000 by Winston Churchill, who was then Britains Secretary of State. A few days later, both men were knighted at Buckingham Palace by King George V, for recognition of their pioneering achievment. The Journey Begins John Alcock and Arthur Whitten-Brown pushed their way through an excited crowd which had gathered at the entrance of the London Royal Aero Club. Alcock carried a small linen bag in his hand, and after greeting General Holden, Vice-President of the Club, he handed over the bundle of 197 letters that Dr. Robinson, Postmaster in Newfoundland, had entrusted to the fliers. These were then rushed to the nearest post office, where they were franked and forwarded (airmail stamps not yet having been invented). The letters had made the long journey from Lesters Field near St. Johns, Newfoundland, to London in record time. Vickers Vimy being assembled at St. Johns, Newfoundland, 1919. At Lesters Field, Alcock and Brown had climbed into their Vimy flying crate, to prove as Alcock put it, there are possibilities of flying non-stop from the New World to the Old. Like Kohl, Fitzmaurice, and von Hunefeld, who were to fly in the opposite direction nine years later, Alcock and Brown had wanted to take off on a Friday the 13th. But the two Englishmen actually set out in their converted World War I Vickers bomber on June 14. After three weeks of exhaustive preparation, they had finally made their start. Some of their efforts had been spent in attempting to find a smoother takeoff point than Lesters Field, but after a week of combing the rough terrain, they gave up the search. The sky was overcast, even though the latest meteorological report from United States Lieutenant Clements had forecast good weather conditions. It was 1:40 p.m. as the Vimy, with the throttle wide open, and both engines at full power, taxied over the bumpy ground at Lesters Field. Alcock headed his aircraft into the west wind. Depressingly slowly the Vimy taxied toward a dark pine forest at the end of the airfield, Brown reported. The echo of the roaring motors must have struck quite hard against the hills around St. Johns. Almost at the last second Alcock gained height. We were only inches above the top of the trees. Alcocks recollections were rather more brief: At 1:45 p.m. we were airborne, he said. 1,890 nautical miles of open sea and sixteen hours of flying time lay ahead of the Englishmen. Only fifteen and a half years after the Wright Brothers powered flight, they had now set off on what turned out to be one of the most breathtaking flights in the history of aviation. The sirens of vessels in St. Johns Harbor blew a final farewell as the Vimy passed overhead at a height of 1,083 ft. Alcock turned the aircraft eastwards, in the direction of Ireland. The biplane gained height, and the coast of Newfoundland was left behind.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 00:12:02 +0000
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