Romance of Aerophilately, Pt. 11

Yesterday in STAMPS: Romance of Aerophilately, Pt. 11 By an Unknown Author (From STAMPS Magazine, July, 18, 1942, with images added— final installment in the series) In our previous, February 2015, installment I noted that “For some reason, the author omitted the unsuccess- ful 1919 trans-Atlantic flight attempt of Lieutenant H. G. Hawker, pilot, and Lieutenant Commander K. M. Grieve, navigator. However, as the attempt had significant historic and philatelic significance, I will cover it here, then pick up with the 1942 series.” As it turns out, he covered it—in this final installment, after his Alcock-Brown article. So, I will place within our anonymous author’s final installment the illustrations that I used in my coverage of the Hawker flight. In addition, he writes about U.S. Navy attempts, which in fact resulted in the first successful trans-Atlantic flight, but not the first non-stop flight that was subsequently achieved by Alcock and Brown. So I also have added at the end of this article some information and images related to the U.S. Navy flights. JFD. * * * * * Transatlantic Flights of 1919 The World War of 1914-18 aroused a tremendous interest in flying, and when hostilities ceased, the impetus which the preceding four years had given to aviation was immediately directed into more constructive channels. In 1919 the London Daily Mail made an offer of £10,000 for the first successful non-stop crossing of the Atlantic by an aeroplane, and at the same time plans were brewing in Washington for an attempted crossing by Navy planes, but with a stop at the Azores. Early in the spring four British planes with pilots, navigators and ground crews, arrived in Newfoundland. Shortly afterwards three flying boats of the United States Navy appeared out of the sky and also made their head-

Issue 52 - April 3, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net If you enjoy this article, and are not already a subscriber, for $12 a year you can enjoy 60+ pages a month. To subscribe, email [email protected] quarters there. Thus the race to be the first across as- sumed an international flavor, and rivalry became keen as pilots and crews strove to complete preparations and steal a march on their competitors. On May 16th, the NC-1, 3, and 4 of the U.S. Navy, took off and set their course for the Azores. News of the departure of the American planes was phoned to the Brit- ish pilots; and the public, sensing that something was up, began to flock to the British camps. Preparations for the flight had not been completed, although the Sopwith plane, piloted by Harry Hawker, was nearly ready to go. Final preparations were frantically made, with Hawker keeping one eye on the progress of his American rivals, fully determined to take off himself as soon as it appeared absolutely necessary for him to do so in order to be the first across. Reports concerning the American planes gave him assurance that there was still a little time to spare, for only one of the three flying boats had reached the Azores in perfect condition, and a delay of a few days was planned, before completing the last leg of the flight. [See the end of this article for additional information on these U.S. Navy flights.]

The Sopwith Atlantic of H. G. Hawker and Lieut-Cdr. K. Mackenzie-Grieve at Glendenning’s Farm, before their take- off on the North Atlantic attempt of 18 May, 1919, from http://flyingmachines.ru/Site2/Crafts/Craft30094.htm

On Sunday, the 18th of May, Captain Raynham was supervising some alterations in his Martinsyde plane when he heard the familiar sound of Hawker’s motor. A few sec- onds later, the Sopwith plane appeared over Raynham’s camp, on what seemed to be just another test flight. As

Issue 52 - April 3, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net Hawker and Grieve taking off for their Transatlantic attempt Raynham stood by, idly watching, he was suddenly elec- trified to see the undercarriage of Hawker’s, plane detach itself, make a few lazy revolutions, and fall just beyond the boundaries of his own field. Dropping the undercarriage could mean but one thing. Hawker was off! Raynham, although caught by surprise, made arrangements to follow Hawker immediately, but as his heavily loaded plane surged down the runway the roughness of the ground caused the undercarriage to col- lapse, and Raynham and his navigator narrowly escaped serious injury. Neither the Handley Paige nor the Vickers Vimy planes were ready to start, and so as Hawker drifted out to sea and disappeared in the distance, he became the sole British contestant in the race to beat the Americans across. In spite of the fact that the weather was far from perfect and that his own preparations were not complete, Hawker felt that the time had come to start, for the NC-4 seemed ready to complete the flight from the Azores to the mainland at any moment. A hurried consultation had been held between Hawker and MacKenzie Grieve, the navigator, and they, agreed to go as they were. The weather ahead was characterized by Hawker as “Not good, but possible,” but the time was too short to permit them to wait for better conditions.

Issue 52 - April 3, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net On Monday morning the newspapers of the world gave praise to Hawker’s daring in headlines three inches high, for Hawker was flying a small land plane over a di- rect course, north of the usual shipping lanes, while the American planes, in contrast, were safeguarded by a fleet of warships, which had been stationed 100 miles apart (see page 11), from Newfoundland to the coast of Europe. Hawker had faith in himself, and his daring caught the fancy of the entire world. A typical cartoon which appeared in the newspapers at that time showed Hawker flying over an angry sea, led on by “Ambition,” pursued by “Death,” and dropping his undercarriage “Precaution.” While the world acclaimed Harry Hawker on Monday, by Tuesday they began to mourn him, for the newspaper headlines of that day had but one message: “HAWKER GIVEN UP AS LOST!” No word of any kind had been received from his wireless set, apparently no ship had seen his plane, and his gasoline supply would have been exhausted by Monday night, at the latest. Headlines of Wednesday and Thursday were the same: “ALL HOPE ABANDONED FOR HAWKER AND GRIEVE.” Newspapers on Friday gave a few lines to the telegram of condolence, which His Majesty the King had sent to Mrs. Hawker, but Saturday’s papers did not mention Hawker. Apparently the incident was closed. On Sunday, the 25th, a week after Hawker’s take-off, the small Danish steamer “Mary” appeared off the “Butt of Lewis,” the most northern point in the Hebrides, near Scotland, and an officer on a passing ship noticed that the Danish vessel was trying to attract his attention. He acknowledged their signals, and prepared to receive their message. The message came, consisting of just five words: “SAVED HANDS OF SOPWITH AIRPLANE.” Quickly he signaled back, “IS IT HAWKER?” The single word, “YES!” in reply left no further doubt. A wireless message was sent immediately to the Admi-

Issue 52 - April 3, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net The wreck of Hawker’s Sopwith Atlantic after being pulled from the sea. ralty. The Admiralty was skeptical, but dispatched destroy- ers to verify the astonishing news. The “Woolsun” was the first to arrive, and Hawker and Grieve were taken on board, to be transferred later to the Flagship “Revenge.” The “Hands of the Sopwith Airplane” landed the same day upon British soil, in triumph, and the Hawker home became the scene of an impromptu celebration, as the good news spread across England. Hawker carried the first official air mail over what was hoped might eventually prove to be a regular transatlantic air mail route from America to Europe. The mail bag received a thorough wetting, when motor trouble forced Hawker down, after covering 1,100 miles. The plane settled in the water, but fortunately remained afloat. The descent had been seen by lookouts on the “Mary,” which was some distance away, and the ship came alongside an hour and a half later, rescuing the fliers, as well as the mail bag. The first transatlantic air mail flight must ever remain a matter of historic interest, and it was felt that some arrangements should be made for the conveyance of at least a congratulatory mail from North America to Europe. The Sopwith machine was the only one on the island early in April, and it then seemed certain that the flight would be

Issue 52 - April 3, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net made during the month. As a matter of fact, attempts were made on April 11th and 12th. On April 5th, the following letter was sent to Capt. Fenn, of the Sopwith company: “On what terms will you carry a small official mail, the number of letters not to exceed ten, and the weight not to exceed one pound? “As an alternative proposition, and subject to such limitations as may be agreed upon, on what terms will you carry a general letter mail? “The above inquiries are made on the supposition that yours will be the first attempt to cross the Atlantic by Air- ship. “(Signed) J. ALEX ROBINSON, “Postmaster-General.” Capt. Fenn replied as follows: “With regard to your proposition for carrying an official mail of ten letters, weight not exceeding one pound, my Company will be prepared to accept this on the two following conditions:— “(1) That the Sopwith Aviation Co., Ltd., be allowed to carry a maximum of a hundred letters in excess of the ten mentioned above. “(2) That the Sopwith Aviation Co., Ltd., be paid the sum of one dollar, to be paid them by cheque, made pay- able to the Company. “It is clearly understood that in the event of the Sopwith aeroplane being subsidized by the Newfoundland Govern- ment, it must be the first to attempt the crossing of the Atlantic by air.” This arrangement was confirmed by the following letters to Capt. Fenn, dated April 10, 1919: “Referring to your letter of April 8, I now confirm the arrangement as follows:— “You agree on behalf of your Company to carry an official mail of ten letters, the total weight not to exceed one pound. On behalf of the postal service of Newfoundland, and in consideration of your so doing, I agree to allow you to carry a maximum of a hundred letters, in excess of the ten official letters, and to entrust you with a total

Issue 52 - April 3, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net of 110 letters, more or less, to be placed in sealed bag to be transferred to the care of Mr. Hawker, for transmission as the first transatlantic air mail. “It is, however, to be understood between us, that should the Martinsyde or any other airship get away before the Sopwith machine, you will agree on your part to promptly return the bag to my order, so that it may be sent by the first airship to leave. As a nominal consideration for carrying the official mail the Sopwith Aviation Co. will be paid the sum of $1 on the morning after the flight takes place. “J. ALEX ROBINSON, “Postmaster-General.” The mail carried by Hawker was frank- ed with a special air mail stamp, of which 200 were prepared by overprinting an or- dinary 3¢ postage stamp with the following inscription: “FIRST TRANSATLANTIC AIR POST, APRIL, 1919.” (right) Of this number 18 were damaged and subsequently destroyed in the presence of the

A cover that was carried on the Hawker trans-Atlantic flight with the 1919 issue, mailed from St. John’s and addressed to London. The stamp is slightly moved to the right from its original posi- tion, as it floated off into the sea when the plane was ditched at sea. It was re- placed by postal au- thorities. The cover also bears a scarce “Found Open and Officially Secured” label of the British Post Office, and is cancelled “London 30 MY 19”.

Issue 52 - April 3, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net Auditor-General. Two copies were sent to the Governor of Newfoundland, with the request that one be sent by him to the King. Five were presented to Capt. Fenn, representing the Sopwith Company; one copy was sent through Major Partridge to the Aero Club, and one was retained by him in his capacity as official sealer. Two more copies were sent to the Curator of the Museum at St. Johns and 95 copies were used on the mail carried, leaving 76 stamps to be disposed of. Many offers were made for the remaining stamps, rang- ing from 3¢ apiece and upwards, applications having come from collectors, dealers and speculators from all parts of the world. After giving the matter careful consideration it was decided that these historic stamps, commemorating the first attempted air mail flight across the Atlantic, should benefit, as far as possible, the people of the island, from whose shores the start was made. Consequently, the Postmaster-General purchased the 76 stamps at their face value on behalf of the Permanent Marine Disasters Fund, and as Secretary of that organization, offered them for sale at $25.00 each, on the principle of “first come, first served.” The last remaining copy was put up at auction in Lon- don. It was mounted in a specially designed album, and, as may be seen by the accompanying illustration (page 9), was autographed by Lord Northcliffe and all the aviators concerned in the transatlantic race. Bids were received by telegraph, telephone and cable, and on the morning of the day of the sale the highest bid stood at $350.00. The stamp was to go to the highest bid received by 12 o’clock noon, and as the hands of the clock approached the hour, the price rose by leaps and bounds, until it was sold amid loud applause, to Lieut.-Colonel Halford of the Air Ministry for $1,050.00. (Photo, page 9.)

Issue 52 - April 3, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net The “Hawker” mounted in specially designed album and auctioned in London as told in the accompanying story. This illustration started as a small and somewhat grainy photo in the original article in the July 18, 1942 STAMPS Magazine. The U.S. Navy Flights Per Wikipedia: The NC-4 was a Curtiss NC flying boat which was designed by Glenn Curtiss and his team, and manufactured by Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. In May 1919, the NC-4 became the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, starting in New York State and making the crossing as far as Lisbon, Portugal, in 19 days. This included time for stops of numerous repairs and for crewmen’s rest, with stops along the way in Massa- chusetts, Nova Scotia (on the mainland), Newfoundland, and twice in the Azores Islands. Then its flight from the Azores to Lisbon completed the first transatlantic flight

Issue 52 - April 3, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net The Curtiss NC-4 between North America and Europe, and two more flights from Lisbon to northwestern Spain to Plymouth, England, completed the first flight between North America and Great Britain.

The NC-3, one of the three hydroplanes commanded by Albert Cushing Read, in Ponta Delgada (19 May 1919). It was unable to complete its trans-Atlantic journey.

From http://www.aviation-history.com/navy/nc4.html : The NC-4 triumphantly arrives in Lisbon, Portugal May 28, 1919.

Issue 52 - April 3, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net 10 The flight paths of NC-3 and NC-4, showing the names and spacing of the Navy ships and the ultimate destinations of the two planes.

The accomplishment of the naval aviators of the NC-4 was somewhat eclipsed in the minds of the public by the first nonstop transatlantic flight, which took 15 hours, 57 minutes, and was made by the Royal Air Force pilots John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown, two weeks later.

Alcock and Brown on their landong approach over the coast of Ire- land

Issue 52 - April 3, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net 11 Newfoundland Sc. C2, the 1919, $1.00 on 50¢ Alcock-Brown flight issue. Above, a mint copy; right, on a cover to Derby, England tied by “St. Johns, Nfld. Jun. 9 5-PM 1919” machine cancel, also with a clear strike of “Harbour Grace Newfd. JU 14, 1919” datestamp and typed “Special ‘Air-Post Mail’ by ‘Handley-Page’ or ‘Vickers-Vimy Rolls’ Aeroplane. Posted June 9th/1919.”

Shown previously, in our February installment, Newfoundland Sc. C11 shows the early attempts to cross the Atlantic. The third from the top is the successful Alcock-Brown flight, just below that the Hawker “un- completed” flight, and the southernmost route on this map, the “U.S. Navy–Trepassey to Azores” without mention of the Portugal destina- tion. The second from the top is the most rememberable: “Lindbergh – New York to Paris – 1927.”

Issue 52 - April 3, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net 12 If you enjoyed this article, and are not already a subscriber, for $12 a year you can enjoy 60+ pages a month. To subscribe, email [email protected]