The first non-stop transatlantic flight. First transatlantic flight. Triumph of the flying machine

Ask any person: “Who was the first to fly across the Atlantic?”, and 90 out of a hundred people will answer: “Charles Lindbergh.” Lindbergh was an incredibly popular character in the 1930s, the hero of numerous newspaper publications, films, historical studies and fiction novels. However, he was not the first to fly across the Atlantic.

In 1913, the British newspaper Daily Mail established a special prize of 10 thousand pounds for the first air flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The prize aroused great interest, and several aviators and engineers began to make plans to win it. But in 1914, the First World War began, and put an end to all plans. In 1918 the war ended and competition for the prize resumed with renewed vigor. The competition was made more intense by the fact that during the First World War, aviation made a qualitative leap, turning from an exotic toy into a real fighting force. The design and production of airplanes has ceased to be the lot of eccentric enthusiasts, and has become a powerful industry with serious engineering teams, large production capacities and considerable cash flows. In addition to money, the first transatlantic flight promised good advertising for the developers, so aircraft manufacturing companies did not stand aside.

In May 1919, pilot H.G. Hawker and navigator Mackenzie Grieve took off on the Sopwith Atlantic airplane. The attempt was unsuccessful - the plane fell into the Ocean, fortunately, both pilots were saved. Around the same time, several US Navy flying boats flew from Newfoundland to Portugal via the Azores. The purpose of the flight (initiated by none other than Richard Bird) was to practice flying over seas. There was no record, since the flight lasted 19 days, and the planes had a large number of landings.

On May 26, 1919, a container with a Vickers Vimy aircraft was delivered to Newfoundland. The airplane was unpacked and assembled in a couple of days without any troubles or delays. The wait for suitable weather began. In the meantime, it was raining, interspersed with sleet. The crew consisted of two people - the pilot, Captain John Alcock, and the navigator, Lieutenant Arthur Brown. Both officers were assigned to the Royal Firing Corps (the prototype of the Royal Air Force). The goal is a direct flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
The fates of these people were in many ways similar - both fought in the World War, both experienced the severity of captivity: Alcock in Turkey, and Brown in Germany, both returned to their jobs after the war, both were inspired by the idea of ​​​​a direct flight across the ocean. Captain John Alcock was born in 1892 in Seymour, Old Trafford, England. He began to show an interest in flying at the age of seventeen, and during the War he became an experienced pilot. Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown was born in Glasgow in 1886. He worked as an engineer in the development of aeronautical instruments. Having heard about the upcoming flight across the Atlantic, he expressed a desire to take part in it and was chosen to be John Alcock's partner.

By that time, the Vickers company had already taken one of the leading positions not only in Britain, but also in Europe. By the beginning of the twentieth century, this company was well known as a shipbuilder. In 1908, His Majesty's Navy turned to its long-time partner with an unusual order - the Admiralty needed an airship. Thus, the Vickers company moved from the sea element to the air element. Over the next few years, the company's factories produced French airplanes under license, and in 1913 they also produced their own design - the F.B.I. At the same time, the Vickers flying school was opened in Brookland. By 1918, the number of Vickers military airplanes reached 4,500 copies.

Vickers Vimy 4

At the end of the war, Great Britain began developing a twin-engine bomber designed to bomb German fortifications at the front and factories in the rear. The aircraft (heavy by the standards of those years), designed by engineer R.K. Pierson and built by Vickers, was named Vickers Vimy IV. A crew of two was required to operate the aircraft. The length of the aircraft is 13 meters (43 feet), the wingspan is 21 meters (69 feet). The power plant is two 12-cylinder Rolls Royce Eagle engines with a power of 350 horsepower each. Like all aircraft of those years, the Vickers Vimy was made of wood, and the three-meter propellers were also made of wood. Maximum speed - 160 km/h, cruising speed - 145 km/h. The maximum flight altitude is 2100 m. Vickers decided that this aircraft was the best suited for the flight.
The aircraft was built at the Weybridge plant in Surrey (Weybridge, Surrey). The cost of a production copy was 3 thousand pounds. It did not have time to take part in the First World War, and was never used for its intended purpose. The aircraft was slightly modified for the transatlantic flight. Firstly, all military equipment was removed from it, and secondly, additional fuel tanks were installed. In order for both pilots to feel a little more comfortable during a long flight, the cabin was slightly expanded. The pilots sat side by side on a narrow wooden bench, on which a thin bedding was laid.

Finally, on June 14, the long-awaited improvement came, and at 16.12 GMT Vickers Vimy 4 took off from a pasture near St. John's on the island. Newfoundland. The fuel capacity was 4,000 liters (1,050 gallons), giving a theoretical range of 2,500 miles (4,000 km). When fully loaded, the aircraft weighed 6 thousand kilograms (13,300 pounds).

Taking off from Newfoundland

There were enough problems during the flight; the danger of a forced landing (which in their situation meant almost one hundred percent death) did not leave the pilots during the entire flight. Radio communications failed immediately after takeoff, and the engines periodically failed. The fog that shrouded the plane prevented the pilots from seeing anything for most of the flight. At some point, the plane stopped obeying the controls and, spinning randomly, began to fall. Falling out of the fog, the pilots saw that the surface of the ocean was already very close. Fortunately, at this moment Alcock was able to regain control of the controls, and the plane began to slowly gain altitude. Orientation in the fog was almost impossible, and throughout the entire journey Brown had a very rough idea of ​​their location. An undoubted success was the brief clearing, during which Brown was able to decide by the stars.

Landing in Ireland

The next morning - June 15, 1919 at 8.25 am - Alcock and Brown crossed the coast of Ireland. The fog stretched all the way to the ground, but the pilots managed to find a suitable clearing and land. The landing was quite hard, the plane was damaged, but the pilots remained safe and sound. Behind us was 15 hours 57 minutes of flight and a journey of 3000 kilometers. The landing site turned out to be next to the Clifden Wireless Station, from where Alcock sent news of the successful completion of the first transatlantic flight.

Brown and Alcock were celebrated as national heroes. The Daily Mail hosted an incredibly grand celebration at the Savoy restaurant, with guests served Oeufs Poches Alcock and Poulet de Printemps a la Vickers Vimy, specially created for the occasion. The pilots and the Vickers company received a special prize of 10 thousand pounds. The plane was taken to the London Science Museum, where it is on display to this day.

In addition to the prize from the Daily Mail, participants received 2,000 guineas from Ardath Tobacco and £1,000 from Lawrence R. Phillips. Both Alcock and Brown were knighted. Much later, in 1954, a monument was erected at Heathrow Airport in honor of their flight. A memorial sign was also installed at the landing site.

John Alcock and Arthur Brown

John Alcock died on December 18, 1919, while flying a Vickers Viking to the Paris Air Show - in Normandy his plane fell into fog and crashed into a forest. Brown continued his work for the company and lived until October 4, 1948, but never flew again.

In 30-40 Vickers was a leading company in the British aircraft industry. Suffice it to say that bombers such as the Wellington and Lancaster and fighters such as the Spitfire were developed by this company. And the production of Vickers military aircraft in World War II already amounted to tens of thousands of units.

The historic British flight fell into obscurity after Charles Lindbergh made his solo flight in the single-engine Spirit of St. in 1927. Louis Lindbergh was the first to fly from continent to continent, which caused an immeasurably greater stir among the public. Well, it should be noted that his PR situation was much better.
The flight of Alcock and Brown ushered in the golden era of propeller-driven aviation, when the romantics' desire for adventure and the general public's interest in their achievements was successfully combined with the desire of the air force to create and demonstrate aircraft with ever greater speeds, payload capacity and range.

Sources used.

This was my first flight over such a long distance and across the ocean. It was somehow scary and uneasy. I heard stories that there might be turbulence and everything would fly around the cabin, that towards the end you persistently want to take a walk, and not sit in cramped chairs. We flew there on KLM and back on AirFrance. The fears were not justified. The flight is very comfortable. I would even say that a similar time travel by bus, for example, from St. Petersburg to Tallinn is much more tiring.

I liked KLM better - the plane is new, they serve food 2 times, drinks are served 4 times. There is a multimedia screen for each passenger, which is controlled by a remote control similar to a regular TV remote, only with a wire that ends in the seat handle. There are even several films in Russian, toys and a lot of music. The waiters, even if you ask for tea, offer cognac, whiskey and similar drinks (apparently so that the passengers do not row, but sleep).

On AirFrance they served less food (although it used to be the other way around), perhaps due to the night flight. The multimedia screen is ancient and very small. The entire multimedia system froze during takeoff and had to be rebooted for half an hour.

In general, the impression is that such long flights are equipped with planes with larger seats than on intra-European routes. Blankets, pillows and headphones are provided on both flights.

AirFrance showed a special performance on the last segment from Paris to St. Petersburg. Departure was scheduled for 9:25. At 9 the plane did not appear at the jet bridge. It became clear that we would not fly out on time. An announcement sounds that the departure is delayed by half an hour due to the late arrival of the plane from Budapest.

But even after half an hour the plane had not begun to be loaded. A black man and some other Arab appear and begin to tear apart some structures and make incredible noise. Well, they also did some renovations here, I thought. And what would you think? They unfurl a huge poster at the reception desks that says “Happy New Year”, “Happy New Year” and “Obviously, the same inscription is in French”. The picture is completed by a huge red nesting doll under this congratulation. Apparently, according to the French, matryoshka is a mandatory attribute of the New Year celebration in Russia. What are they smoking there - I think.

But that is not all! Even after passing through control, they arranged for the “happy” passengers to be photographed and each of them was given either a bookmark or just an advertisement with congratulations from AirFrance. Meanwhile, most of the passengers on the flight were from similar overnight transfers from Tenerife, Madagascar and other remote corners of the Earth. And we didn’t want any useless pieces of paper at all, but rather wanted to quickly go home or at least to a cozy chair. Preferably with wine, which is what Air France is so famous for.

Meanwhile, the departure was already delayed by 1.5 hours. We sat in the second to last row. And now the plane was almost on the runway and then a rumble and a draft began behind us. It turned out that they opened the back door and started loading groceries. For another twenty minutes the plane crew did not want to accept what was being loaded on board. After takeoff, it became clear: there was no wine or other alcoholic drinks. There is only tea, coffee and orange juice (only orange!!!). The flight attendants said it was “breakfast”, although it was already 12 o’clock. I wonder if they also had breakfast on the return flight from St. Petersburg? Overall, AirFrance was a disappointment this time.

Overall, the impression of the flight was positive. It's not as tedious as it seems. Food, drinks and entertainment brighten up the time. By the way, there are USB connectors for charging devices if you want to use your own.

Across the English Channel

On July 25, 1909, French aviator Louis Bleriot became the first person to fly across the English Channel and received a prize of one thousand pounds sterling from the British newspaper "Daily Mail". Blériot made the historic flight in a small monoplane with a 24 horsepower engine. He did not take a compass with him; a safe landing place near Dover was indicated to him by a French journalist, who began waving the French tricolor as soon as Blériot crossed the British coastline.

A week earlier, on July 19, 1909, Hubert Latham (England-France) attempted to fly across the English Channel, but was forced to splash down after covering only 11 km. A week later he was preparing to try again, but Louis Bleriot beat him to it.

Just 10 years after Blériot's 49.8 km flight, English pilot John W. Alcock and navigator Arthur Whitten Brown (a son of Americans born in Scotland) traveled 60 times longer and three times faster to complete the very first non-stop transatlantic flight. flight. This time the prize offered by the Daily Mail increased tenfold to £10,000. On June 14, 1919, Alcock and Brown took off from Newfoundland, Canada, in a Vickers-Vimy biplane, and 16 hours and 27 minutes later made an emergency landing in a swamp near Clifden, Ireland, having traveled 3,057 km to claim the prize.

Soon after, both participants in the flight were knighted, but Alcock, a test pilot for Vickers Aircraft, was rather indifferent about his achievement and said that the flight, which took place in bad weather, was “terrible.” By the way, poor Alcock died in a plane crash in France the same year he flew across the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1919, the airship R-34 flew across the Atlantic

By the way, in 1919, the airship R-34 flew across the Atlantic; upon arrival in New York, one of the crew members had to jump with a parachute to help anchor the airship.

Another goal in the field of transatlantic flights was achieved by the American aviator Charles Lindbergh, who made a solo flight, received a prize of 25 thousand dollars and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Congressional Medal of Honor. On May 20, 1927, Lindbergh took off from New York in the now legendary Ryan monoplane, called the Spirit of St. Louis, and landed in Paris 33 hours and 39 minutes later, covering 5,792 km on a course plotted by dead reckoning.

On May 21, 1932, American Amelia Earhart landed in Londonderry and became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Dmitry Demyanov, Samogo.Net (

The Wright brothers made their first airplane flight in December 1903. But it took another five years before airplanes actually began to fly. An important psychological barrier was overcome on July 25, 1909, when Louis Blériot crossed the English Channel for the first time. Conquering a significant water obstacle showed that the plane is capable of being not only a new circus attraction, but also a serious vehicle. Many private aviation schools provided flight training to everyone, and airplanes were continuously improved.

Bleriot's flight stimulated a further assault on the water area. On September 11, 1910, Robert Loraine flew the Irish Sea for the first time in a Farman airplane. True, due to problems with the engine, he did not reach the Irish coast 60 m. His work was completed by Denys Corbett Wilson in April 1912. A year later - September 23, 1913, Roland Garros on the company's monoplane Morane-Saulnier crossed the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, his journey was 730 km. Then it was Atlantic's turn.

However, several aviators from Great Britain, the USA, Denmark and other countries began to prepare for a transatlantic flight back in 1910 - 1912. After the failure of Wellman's airship, pilot Harry Grahame Carter decided to challenge the ocean. He set the launch date for March 19, 1911. On a plane of his own design, Carter was going to fly from Sandy Hook, USA, to Queenstown (now Cove), Ireland. The aviator expected to cross the Atlantic in 49 hours.

According to the project, Carter's plane had an all-metal frame and a covering made of material, which the author called parchment. Two 30 hp engines were used as a power plant. unspecified model with two-blade metal propellers. The engine life was only 27 hours, but Carter hoped to increase it to 54 hours. He believed that 136 liters of gasoline would be enough for him to cover a distance of 3860 km.

Hollow tubular frame structures served as gas tanks. To build the car, Carter rented a garage in Jamaica Plain, a suburb of Boston. Even perhaps the most complete reference book on US aircraft knows nothing about what happened next, but the available description of the design makes us strongly doubt that Carter’s plane could fly long distances.

A more serious contender was Hugh Armstrong Robinson (1881-1963), a former chief pilot at Curtiss. He began preparing for the transatlantic expedition in September 1911. But having made preliminary calculations, Robinson came to the conclusion that existing technologies did not yet allow such a project to be implemented. In 1912, Robinson switched to developing the Benoist XIII flying boat, on the basis of which the Benoist XIV aircraft then emerged, which was the first in the world to begin regular passenger air transportation in January 1914.

Robinson's refusal to storm the Atlantic did not prevent his former boss Glenn Curtiss (Glenn Hammond Curtiss, 1878-1930) from completing the job. More precisely, almost to the end. In August 1913, he began building a twin-engine flying boat, the Curtiss N. The project was sponsored by Rodman Wanamaker, owner of a chain of department stores in New York and Philadelphia. The transatlantic flight was planned to take place in the summer of 1914.

The flying boat, named "America", was a wooden three-post biplane of the classical design. Ailerons were located only on the upper wing. The aircraft had two Curtiss OX 90 hp engines. between the wings with pushing two-blade propellers. The boat has a slight keel. The cockpit, designed for two pilots and a flight mechanic, was closed. The fuel supply allowed for a non-stop flight over a distance of 1770 km.

The Curtiss H-1 prototype was launched on June 22, 1914, with its first flight the next day. During intensive testing, a number of shortcomings were identified that required modification of the design. But even after this, the car could not raise the required fuel supply. Therefore, a third engine with a pulling propeller was installed on the upper wing.

Having solved the technical problems, the flight organizers scheduled the launch for August 5, 1914 (the sources also give the date August 15). The expedition was supposed to start from St. John's, Newfoundland. The further route passed through the islands of the Azores archipelago Faial and San Miguel, where intermediate landings were planned. From there, America was to fly to Portugal, then cross the Bay of Biscay, the English Channel and reach the British coast near the city of Plymouth.

The crew included the aircraft's designer and his friend, naval pilot John Henry Towers. But Curtiss’ flight was categorically opposed by his wife, and Towers’ flight by the command of the US Navy (five years later, he still took part in the transatlantic expedition).

Then Weinamaker appointed retired British Navy lieutenant John Cyrill Porte (1883-1919) as crew commander, and American George Hallett as co-pilot. But the First World War began, and the flight was cancelled. Port went to serve in the Royal Navy, and there he persuaded the Lords of the Admiralty to purchase the America and her backup. On the basis of these machines, more powerful flying boats were developed, which were built in large series, but that’s another story.

One of the incentives for the creation of the Curtiss H-1 "America" ​​aircraft was a prize established on April 1, 1913 by the British newspaper magnate Alfred Harmsworth, Lord Northcliffe. The owner of the Daily Mail promised to pay £10,000 to the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean from anywhere in the US to anywhere in the UK or Ireland on any aircraft without landing in 72 hours. The winner of the prize could be either an Englishman or a foreigner. The high prize amount stimulated the work of many designers, most of whom turned out to be fellow countrymen of Lord Northcliffe.

Photo of Curtiss H-1 America.

One of the main contenders was Samuel Cody, creator of the first British actually flying aircraft. He developed a project for the float-mounted monoplane Cody monoplane No.VII with a gigantic wingspan of 36.58 m for that time and a cabin designed for three crew members. Such an aircraft required a 400 hp engine, which did not exist in nature at that time. Cody issued an order to an unnamed French company to develop the motor. But the death of an aviator on August 7, 1913 stopped work on the project. In the aviation press of 1913 - 1914 one can find reports about the construction of transatlantic aircraft by the British firms of the James Bros. and A. V. Roe and Co. (Avro), however, no details are provided.

Another applicant for the prize was Handley Page. In December 1913, the company's chief designer, George Rudolph Volkert (1891-1978), developed a design for a single-engine biplane L/200 - in the 1920s it was retrospectively designated HP.8, in which a woman first decided to conquer the Atlantic. Lady Anne Savile, married Princess of Lowenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (Lady Anne Savile/ Anne Prinzessin zu Lowenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg, 1864-1927) was going to fly with William Rowland Ding (1885-1917). The pilot and air attendant were to be seated side by side in the cockpit. Powerplant - 14-cylinder liquid-cooled Salmson (Canton-Unne) engine with 200 hp. with tension screw. The fuel supply is designed for a 23-hour flight. But before the outbreak of the First World War, the aircraft was never completed, and later the company was fully loaded with military orders.

Characteristics airplaneswho unsuccessfully tried to cross Atlantic by air

The transatlantic aircraft was also created by the British company Martin-Handasyde Ltd.. The sponsor of this project was the Canadian financier Mackay Edgar. The wooden monoplane with a trapezoidal wing received the understandable name Martin-Handasyde Transatlantic. The flight across the Atlantic was planned to take place from Newfoundland to Ireland. The pilot was Gustav Hamel (1889-1914), who had previously completed the first official postal flight in Great Britain.

The Sunbeam 215 hp engine was chosen for the aircraft. — 12-cylinder V-shaped liquid-cooled engine with a Lang pulling 4-blade propeller with a diameter of 3.66 m.

Although Transatlantic had a wheeled chassis, the design allowed it to splash down safely on the ocean surface. The triangular fuselage had watertight bulkheads. In the front part of the fuselage there was a fuel tank 2.74 m long and 0.91 m in diameter. Behind it was a two-seat pilot's cabin with side-by-side seats. The landing gear was separated after takeoff, reducing the weight of the structure. A standard landing was planned on water.

Construction of the aircraft began in May 1914. Shortly thereafter, on May 23, 1914, Hamel disappeared without a trace while flying another airplane over the English Channel. Nevertheless, the construction of the aircraft and the search for a new pilot continued until the outbreak of the First World War.

The outbreak of war did not allow a number of projects to conquer the Atlantic to be carried out. At the same time, it stimulated the development of aircraft designs. Strength and reliability have increased, the service life of engines and the speed of airplanes have increased. The flight range has increased, especially for bombers. The latter could already, with sufficient fuel reserves, cover a distance of more than 4000 km without landing. This was enough for a non-stop flight from Newfoundland to Ireland. The only obstacle to the implementation of the idea was the involvement of the main aviation powers in hostilities. But in industrialized countries that did not take part in the war, or remote from the theaters of war, flight attempts resumed already in 1917.

In August 1917, Italian pilot Silvio Resnati arrived in the United States. The main purpose of his visit was to prepare serial production in the USA and train American pilots to fly it. On the same machine, equipped with three Isotta-Fraschini engines, the Italian pilot planned to make a transatlantic flight in 1918. This was not destined to come true - on May 16, 1918, Resnati died in the crash of his Caproni Sa.3 near Hampstead, New York.

Two months later, on July 15, 1918, forty American military pilots immediately submitted a petition on command with a proposal to carry out a transatlantic flight on an American-made Caproni or Handley-Page bomber. The idea was supported by US Secretary of Defense Baker. At the military airfield in Elizabeth, New Jersey, preparations began for the expedition that was to take place that same year on the Handley-Page bomber. The expedition was prepared thoroughly. It was planned to station ships at intervals of 200 nautical miles along the entire route from Newfoundland to Ireland to quickly assist pilots in the event of an emergency. However, the land pilots were ahead of the sailors on the Curtiss NC flying boats.

Sources: V.O. Bykov. "The Conquest of the Northern Atlantic."

Charles Lindbergh (1902 – 1974) was interested in aviation from an early age. While he was studying at Wisconsin, in his second year he realized that he wanted to be a pilot much more. He decided to leave his studies and study to become a pilot. After completing the courses, Lindbergh entered the military service and then began working in airmail.

Many daredevils before Linberg had already tried to make transatlantic flights, but no one had succeeded until then, largely due to the imperfection of flight technology. After all, it was necessary to cover more than 7 thousand km without making landings, and, therefore, without being able to refuel. The problem was that it was impossible to take too much fuel on board; light aircraft of that time simply could not take off with such a load. Nevertheless, there was enormous interest in crossing the Atlantic Ocean; one large businessman even awarded a prize of 25 thousand dollars to anyone who could do it. There were many attempts, but not one was successful.

Lindbergh simply could not help but accept the challenge and get involved in this exciting, albeit dangerous, adventure. He placed an order with Ryan Aeronautical for the production of a motorplane, which he had independently developed, which, in the opinion of the pilot, was capable of this flight. The resulting car was called the "Spirit of St. Louis."

The pilot had to sacrifice brakes, a parachute, a radio and even a vision light, all in order to take on board as much fuel as possible.

Preparation

To test the aircraft, Lindbergh flew from San Diego to New York in May 1927, but made one landing in St. Louis. However, the flight time was 21 hours 45 minutes, and this was already a transcontinental record.

In New York, it turned out that the weather might force the pilot to postpone the flight for several days. However, relying on the forecast, which promised a little clearing, Charles bravely decides to fly out on May 20th.

He arrived at the airfield before dawn. At 7:40 a.m. the engine was started, and at 7:52 a.m. the Spirit of St. Louis took off from Roosevelt Airfield. The event was widely covered by all media in America, the whole country was worried about the hero. A lot of people came out to see him off.

Due to the fact that on May 20, due to rains, the ground on the takeoff field was a little soft, the plane picked up speed very slowly. He even nearly hit a power line while... But in the air the situation leveled out, and Lindsberg slowed down to save fuel.

Flight

The difficulty was created by the fact that the additional tank changed the center of gravity of the monoplane, because of which the aircraft could easily fly away. Lindsberg was escorted to Long Island by plane, which included a photographer. But soon he too left the pilot, turning back.

In the evening, Lindbergh was already flying over Nova Scotia. Soon he encountered bad weather. Thunderclouds, when hit by them, the plane became icy and threatened to fall into the water, forced Charles to maneuver, sometimes flying several meters from the water.

The daredevil received numerous awards not only from his own country; many European countries also awarded him orders and honors.

Soon Lindbergh saw the coast of Ireland in the distance. The weather improved noticeably, and by the evening of the second day the pilot was already crossing France. At about 10 p.m., the pilot spotted Paris and soon passed the Eiffel Tower. At 22:22 Charles Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget airfield. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean, covering 5809 km in 33 hours 30 minutes.