When on April 1, 1913, English subscribers unfolded the pages of the “Daily Mail,” it seemed to them that the highlight of the issue—the speech by the British Lord of the Press, Northcliffe—was too far-fetched even for an April Fools’ joke.
On behalf of the newspaper, the distinguished gentleman offered 10,000 pounds sterling to anyone who would “within seventy-two hours cross the Atlantic Ocean from any point in the United States to any point in Great Britain or Ireland.”
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| 21. Vickers Vimy-Rolls bomber (England, 1918). Engines — 2× Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII, 375 hp each. Wingspan — 21.1 m. Length — 13.2 m. Wing area — 122.4 m². Takeoff weight — 6030 kg. Empty weight — 3174 kg. Maximum speed — 161 km/h. Fuel capacity — up to 3800 L. A bomber of this type was specially modified for the transatlantic flight of Alcock and Brown. |
Hardly had the world war ended and the “Daily Mail” reminded readers of the long-awaited 10,000 pounds when dozens of American and British pilots, hardened by the harsh school of aerial warfare, threw down a challenge to the ocean. On the Newfoundland Peninsula, which crowns the eastern extremity of the United States, three British and three American crews prepared for takeoff. Of all six crews, success fell to the British team consisting of professional military pilot John Alcock and his partner—engineer Arthur Whitten Brown, who had also served throughout the war in the Royal Air Force.
Holder of pilot’s license No. 368, issued by the Royal Aero Club in 1912, Alcock was an experienced aviator and managed to secure financial support from the Vickers company. He was provided with a twin-engine bomber—the Vimy biplane—along with additional equipment: a radio set, a wind generator, and electrically heated suits. In the very first hours of the flight on June 14, 1919, the pilots realized that the bulky radio set was nothing more than useless weight. The wind generator jammed, and the malfunction could only be fixed on the ground. The “miracle suits,” powered by autonomous batteries, proved only slightly more useful.
To stay on course, Brown navigated by the stars. Alcock had to climb above the clouds and then descend again, guiding the aircraft through thick cloud cover. To make matters worse, the wings began to ice up, and even more dangerously, the engine carburetors froze. Leaving the navigation instruments, Brown climbed out of the open cockpit and, walking along the wing while holding onto the struts, reached the engine. He scraped the ice off the carburetor with a knife. The night passed in extremely dangerous excursions along the wing at an altitude of 1,000 meters over the Atlantic. Early in the morning, after 16 hours and 12 minutes of flight, the Vimy nosed down onto the coast of Ireland. That same day, the “Daily Mail” announced to the world that the Atlantic had been conquered by the brave British pilots.
The “Transatlantic Airmail” stamp, prepared by the Postmaster General of Newfoundland before the flight of Alcock and Brown, had to wait a full 17 years before the first air route of the airline “Deutsche Luft Hansa” was established across the Atlantic...
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| 22. Fokker F-VII 3m (Netherlands, 1926). Engines — 3× Wright Whirlwind J5-C, 223 hp each. Wingspan — 21.71 m. Length — 14.5 m. Wing area — 67.6 m². Takeoff weight — 6964 kg. Empty weight — 2850 kg. Maximum speed — 207 km/h. On an aircraft of this type, American aviator Amelia Earhart crossed the Atlantic on July 17, 1928. |
A milestone in the long-standing contest with the Atlantic expanse came in 1927. On May 21, having departed the day before from New York, 25-year-old American Charles Lindbergh crossed the ocean in a light single-engine aircraft built by the Ryan company. Like his predecessors, Lindbergh was inspired by a generous prize of $25,000 established by millionaire Raymond Orteig. Securing financial backing, the pilot selected an aircraft and modified it according to his own designs. Lindbergh dispensed with many heavy instruments, reasonably believing that a navigation error would be easier to correct if there was a sufficient fuel reserve. In case of failure, he brought along equipment whose list is worth mentioning, as these items now form the basis of the emergency kit for any aviation expedition. Lindbergh loaded into the aircraft two electric flashlights, a spool of twine, a hunting knife, four flares, hermetically sealed matches, a large sewing needle, two small barrels of fresh water, five cans of preserved food, two inflatable cushions, and a combined axe-saw... Fortunately, none of these items were needed. The engine did not fail, the fuel supply was sufficient, and the navigation calculations proved accurate. Only once, in fog, failing to find beneath him the indented coastline of Ireland, Lindbergh descended and, throttling down the engine, asked the skipper of a fishing vessel for directions. Late in the evening of May 21, the lights of Paris appeared, and after 33 hours from departure on the American continent, Lindbergh found himself in the embrace of Parisians. “For almost half an hour I could not set foot on the ground,” the brave pilot recalled, “because the enthusiastic crowd passed me from hand to hand.”
For some reason, Lindbergh’s flight caused far greater excitement than the first victory over the Atlantic by Alcock and Brown. Most likely, the public was impressed by Lindbergh’s youth and his decision to undertake this difficult challenge alone.
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| 23. Junkers W-33L “Bremen” (Germany, 1927). Engine — Junkers L5, 310 hp. Wingspan — 17.6 m. Length — 10.6 m. Wing area — 44.0 m². Takeoff weight — 3700 kg. Empty weight — 1470 kg. Maximum speed — 191 km/h. On this aircraft, the first transatlantic flight from east to west was accomplished in 1927. |
Have you noticed: all successful and unsuccessful attempts to cross the Atlantic began in North America. Pilots were aided by winds that generally blow from west to east. Moreover, bad weather is frequent along the North American coast. It was considered better to take off in poor weather than to encounter it after thousands of kilometers of flight, nearly out of fuel and off course. A forced landing in densely populated Europe was less dangerous than a crash in the desolate tundra of Labrador...
After Lindbergh’s flight, the Germans entered the struggle for the Atlantic’s “Blue Riband” of the air. The Junkers company designed and built two aircraft of the W-33 type, one named “Bremen” and the other “Europa.” On March 26, 1928, the “Bremen,” piloted by Germans Hermann Köhl, E. G. von Hünefeld, and Irishman James Fitzmaurice, took off from Baldonnel airfield and, after 36 hours of flight, landed on Greenly Island near Labrador.
By July 1, 1929, pilots of many nationalities, flying a wide variety of aircraft, had made 48 attempts to overcome the thousand-mile expanses of the Atlantic. A total of 141 people risked confronting the elements, and 23 of them perished in the ocean waves. Only 11 attempts were successful. Regular airmail service across the Atlantic began only in 1936, and today it has become one of the busiest air routes between Europe and America. The ocean, which for many years served as a vast proving ground for testing the capabilities of aviation, was finally conquered by humanity.
Featured image: Ryan NYP “Spirit of St. Louis” (USA, 1927). Engine — Wright J-5-C, 223 hp. Wingspan — 14.021 m. Length — 8.43 m. Wing area — 29.2 m². Takeoff weight — 2381 kg. Fuel capacity — 1710 L. Maximum speed — 192 km/h. Cruising speed — 173.8 km/h.