Non-stop transatlantic flight. My first transatlantic flight. Advantages of connecting flights

Ask any person: “Who was the first to fly over the Atlantic?” And 90 out of a hundred people will answer: “Charles Lindbergh.” Lindberg is an incredibly popular character in the 30s, the hero of numerous newspaper publications, films, historical studies and 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 flight through the Atlantic Ocean. The prize aroused great interest, and several aviators and engineers began to build their plans for its conquest. But in 1914 the First World War began, and put an end to all plans. In 1918, the war ended, and the competition for the prize resumed with renewed vigor. The acuteness of the competition was given by the fact that during the First World War aviation took a quantum 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 developers good advertising, so aircraft manufacturing companies did not stand aside.

In May 1919, pilot Hawker (H.G. Hawker) and navigator Grieve (Mackenzie Grieve) launched on the Atlantic Sopwich airplane. The attempt was unsuccessful - the plane crashed into the Ocean, fortunately, both pilots were saved. At about the same time, several US Navy flying boats flew from Newfoundland to Portugal through the Azores. The purpose of the flight (initiated not by anyone, but by Richard Byrd) was to develop flights over sea spaces. 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 Vimi aircraft was delivered to Newfowland. The airplane was unpacked and assembled in a couple of days without any troubles and delays. The expectation of suitable weather began. In the meantime, it rained, interspersed with wet snow. The crew consisted of two people - the pilot Captain John Alcock and the navigator of Lieutenant Arthur Brown. Both officers were assigned to Royal Firing Corps (prototype of Royal Air Force). The goal is a direct flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
The fates of these people were largely similar - both fought in the World War, both knew the severity of captivity: Alcock in Turkey, and Brown in Germany, both after the war returned to their busy people, both were fired up by the idea of \u200b\u200ba direct flight across the ocean. Captain John Alcock was born in 1892 in Seymour (Seymour, Old Trafford, England). Interest in flying nn began to show interest in flying at the age of seventeen, during the war he became an experienced pilot. Lt. Arthur Whitten Brown was born in Glasgow in 1886. He worked as an engineer in the development of aeronautical instruments. Hearing about the upcoming flight across the Atlantic, he expressed a desire to take part in it and was selected to partner with John Alcock.

By that time, the Vickers company had already managed to occupy 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 shipbuilding. In 1908, His Majesty's Fleet turned to his long-time partner with an unusual order - the Admiralty needed an airship. Thus, the Vickers company moved from the sea to the air. In the next few years, French mines were licensed at the company's factories, and in 1913 its own development arrived - the F.B.I. At the same time, a Vickers flight school was opened in Brookland. By 1918, the number of Vickers military aircraft reached 4,500.

Vickers Wimi 4

At the end of the war in Great Britain, the development of a twin-engine bomber began, designed to bomb German fortifications at the front and factories in the rear. The aircraft (by the standards of those years - heavy), developed by engineer Pearson (R.K. Pierson) and built by Vickers, was called Vickers Vimy 4 (Vickers Vimy IV). To control the aircraft required a crew of two people. The aircraft is 13 meters (43 feet) long and has a wingspan of 21 meters (69 feet). Power plant - two 12-cylinder Rolls-Royce engines (Rolls Royce Eagle) with a capacity of 350 horsepower each. Like all aircraft of those years, Vickers Vimi was made of wood, and three-meter screws were wooden. Maximum speed - 160 km / h, cruising - 145 km / h. The maximum flight height is 2100 m. At Vickers it was decided that this aircraft was the best suited for the flight.
The aircraft was built at the Weybridge factory in Surrey (Weybridge, Surrey). The cost of a production copy was 3 thousand pounds. He did not have time to participate in the First World War, and was never used for its intended purpose. For the transatlantic flight, the aircraft was slightly modified. 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 cockpit was slightly expanded. Pilots sat side by side on a narrow wooden bench on which thin litter was laid.

Finally, on June 14, the long-awaited improvement came, and at 16.12 GMT Vickers Vimy 4 started from a pasture near St. John's on Fr. Newfoundland. The fuel supply was 4,000 liters (1,050 gallons), which gave a theoretical opportunity to fly 2,500 miles (4,000 km). When fully equipped, the aircraft weighed 6,000 kilograms (13,300 pounds).

Takeoff from newfoundland

There were enough problems during the flight, the danger of an emergency landing (which in their situation meant almost one hundred percent death) did not leave the pilots during the entire flight. Radio communication failed immediately after take-off; engines occasionally crashed. The fog that enveloped the plane did not allow the pilots to see at least anything for most of the flight. At some point, the plane ceased to obey control and, randomly spinning, began to fall. Having fallen out of the fog, the pilots saw that the surface of the ocean was already very close. Fortunately, at this moment, Alcock managed to regain control of the control, and the aircraft began to slowly gain altitude. Orientation in the fog was almost impossible, and throughout the journey Brown very roughly represented their whereabouts. An undoubted success was a brief clarification, during which Brown was able to determine the stars.

Landing in Ireland

The next morning - June 15, 1919 at 8.25 a.m. - 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 pretty tough, the plane was damaged, but the pilots were safe and sound. Behind was 15 hours 57 minutes of flight and a journey of 3,000 kilometers. The landing site was next to the Clifden Wireless Station, from where Alcock sent the news of the successful completion of the first transatlantic flight.

Brown and Alcock were honored as national heroes. The Daily Mail hosted an incredibly solemn celebration at the Savoy Restaurant, where guests were served Oeufs Poches Alcock and Poulet de Printemps a la Vickers Vimy dishes specially designed for this occasion. The pilots and the Vickers company received a special prize of 10 thousand pounds. The aircraft was delivered to the London Museum of Science, where it is exhibited to this day.

In addition to the Dale Mail prize, participants received 2,000 guineas from Ardath Tobacco and 1,000 pounds from Lawrence R. Phillips. Both Alcock and Brown were promoted to knighthood. Already 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, when he flew to the Vickers Viking at the Paris Air Show - in Normandy his plane crashed into fog and crashed into a forest. Brown continued his work at the company and lived until October 4, 1948, but never again took to the air.

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

The historic flight of the British fell into the shadows after Charles Lindbergh made his solo flight on a single-engine Spirit of St. plane in 1927. Louis Lindberg was the first to fly from the mainland to the mainland, which caused an immeasurably greater excitement among the public. Well, and it should be noted that with PR he was much better.
The flight of Alcock and Brown ushered in the golden era of propeller aviation, when the desire of romantics for adventure and the interest of the general public in their achievements were successfully combined with the desire of the air forces to create and demonstrate aircraft with ever greater speeds, carrying capacity and range.

Used sources.

This happened about 5.5 years ago, in May 2008. I was finishing the second year of university and preparing for, probably, the most fateful vacation of my life.
As soon as I got rid of the early surrender of the session, I was preparing with my girlfriends to fly towards our American summer.

Once again, having checked all the documents and having said goodbye to my dad, who was accompanying me to Sheremetyevo, I wandered into the customs control zone with my friends. First we got boarding passes and checked in our luggage. We had to fly with a change in Paris, but with baggage we said goodbye to the final destination, which was New York.

But all this was ahead, and we still had to go through passport control and security control. Either a lot of planes flew out, or airport employees worked unproductive, but we got stuck in the passport control zone for a couple of hours, as a result of which we were already running to the security control, along with the other passengers flying our flight. Here they allowed us out of turn, and we quickly and successfully skipped it.

It so happened that we were separated from the girlfriends on a flight to Paris, and I had to sit with a rather gloomy-looking Frenchman about 50 years old. In general, the flight to Paris turned out to be rather boring, and the dinner served on the plane was cold and tasteless. The flight attendants were sophisticated in French, but also not very smiling.
We arrived in Paris already in the dark, and all that was visible through the window was the lights of the airport.
In addition to us, other students from Russia flew by plane, but with the same goal: spend the summer in America under the Work and Travel program. In a large group, we approached the first racks at the airport. Charles de Gaulle, for we had absolutely no idea what to do next. We were told that, as night was approaching, everything was closed at the airport, and all that was left for us was to wait for the morning and our flight. At our disposal was a small piece of the terminal with hard chairs and a toilet. At first we tried to sleep on hard chairs, but after a couple of hours we realized that this venture was not the most successful.

Apparently, other students from Russia also visited similar thoughts, so soon we all got to know each other and, in order to kill time, we started playing a game that is called differently in different places: somewhere “Crocodile”, somewhere “American student, "or just Charades." The deserted corridors of the Paris airport were torn apart by laughter of about 20 people ..

By 4-5 in the morning we were almost completely exhausted, but then the airport began to come to life gradually. Soon our flight, departing at 9 a.m. (or something like that), appeared on the board. First we needed to move to another terminal. What we did in the company about 5-6 more students, leaving the rest to wait for their later flights. The train took us to the desired terminal in just a minute. We were one of the first in security control, so here everything went quickly and painlessly. There was about 2-3 hours left before boarding, so we first walked around the Teminal, glancing at the shiny windows of duty-free shops, but not buying anything, since there was only $ 650 in our pocket, for which we had to last the first 2-3, and that’s all 4 weeks in America.

In the end, we settled down in the chairs at our exit to the plane and swept in patient waiting. What I really learned on that trip was the ability to wait. While we waited, we enjoyed the view of the runway and a series of take-off aircraft. It seems to me that it was then that I fell in love with airports.

After some time, boarding on our plane began. Here we were met not by strict French women, but by smiling American stewardesses and stewards. Here, by the way, my stereotype that stewardesses are always very young, up to 30 years old, also broke. These were clearly older.

And finally, the long-awaited take-off. After which we accidentally remembered that we were terribly hungry, because we had not eaten anything since last night’s flight to Paris. Very timely breakfast arrived. I don’t remember what they gave, but I remember that we pretty quickly “destroyed” it. In this plane, we were already sitting in a row by the window, so we could freely chat / joke / laugh. But we were terribly tired by that time, and not the most comfortable economy-class seats were much more convenient than the hard seats of the airport, so we just overslept most of the flight. With the exception of those moments when we were fed (and for plane food, we were fed for slaughter and in the American way: either pizza, then ice cream ....), or the moment when we needed to fill out a declaration and form i-94 (which something like our immigration card) - in my opinion, we messed up 5 cards each and got the questions of our steward in order (to this day he is sorry, poor :)).

Our last awakening on board took place shortly before landing. Almost lying on top of each other, we clung to the porthole, bewitchingly looking at the place where the shore meets the ocean. At some point, the city itself appeared. These were simply indescribable sensations: enticing suspense, excitement, delight (Oh God, can I really see all this with my own eyes ???). And now the airport turrets are growing in front of us, the plane is touching the ground, and before us and the United States there remains one unfulfilled stage: passport control. Usually in NY he can take a lot of time, but we were lucky that day, everything went very quickly. Immigration officers practiced with us in their knowledge of the Russian language (minimal, but still), and very soon, hearing the cherished "Welcome to the USA", we set off to pick up our luggage. Having collected the luggage and giving the declaration to the customs officers, we passed the last frontier.

Very soon we were already in a taxi on the way to Manhattan. The roads were greeted with green signs, like in a movie, the city was greeted by the bright sun, the rays of which played on the windows of skyscrapers towering above the city. At this moment, there was a sense of peace and confidence that everything would be fine.

We had no idea what summer would bring us. That we learn a lot, learn a lot and change a lot. And I certainly did not know that 3 years after my first visit to this country, I would move here to live. And, despite the fact that this city is not my home, it is not my character, spirit ... Despite the fact that my "one-story America" \u200b\u200bis much closer to me, and now, flying to New York, I experience that the same sense of peace and confidence that everything will be fine ...

In the 20s of the XX century, the planet literally froze in anticipation of the first transatlantic flight. French aviators Charles E.J. M. Nangesser and Francois Coley began to prepare for flight. For the first time, it was decided to fly from Europe to America, from east to west, against the rotation of the Earth.

The commander was Nangesser. One of the best aces in France, according to the results of the First World War, he had on his account 45 downed enemy aircraft. The "Brand Name" on board his combat vehicle - an ace of hearts with a coffin and a skull with two crossbones - terrified the German pilots.

Flight preparation
  The “White Bird”, the plane the pilots were about to fly on, was, in the words of one French journalist, a “flying tank” —the ship weighed a total of five tons, four of which were fuel in tanks. In order to make the car as light as possible, the pilots refused even a walkie-talkie. In addition, immediately after take-off, it was necessary to get rid of the wheeled chassis. What obliged the aircraft, not intended for landing on water, to land on the sea surface in the gulf of New York. And, nevertheless, in spite of all these tricks, the fuel was scarce.

Flight from Le Bourget to New York  On May 8, 1927, an enthusiastic crowd gathered at the Le Bourget airfield (a suburb of Paris). Everyone wanted to take part in the event of the century. At 5 o’clock in the morning, the “White Bird” with the Nangessera brand name on board began to take off. The heavy machine did not want to obey the will of the pilots and climb into the sky. Finally, as if reluctantly, she took off the ground and disappeared into the sky under the escort of several military aircraft.

Sensation from the Press
Since there was no radio on board. Messages could be expected only from the ground. The "white bird" was seen over Ile de France, Normandy, and there the ocean began ... The next message came a little more than a day after the start of the flight. Hooray, they are already in America! They are telegraphing from Boston: they were seen, they flew by, they were sent to New York! All France held its breath. Only an hour later, at 17 hours and 15 minutes, the Parisians were able to take a breath. Fueled by a long wait, they literally pulled out a new press number, still smelling of printing ink, from the hands of newspaper deliverymen. The first page was full of different headings:

“Glory to the masters of French aviation!” “Nangesser and Cole took the gold!” “Incredible details of a perfect raid!” Then the newspaper reported the very details of the splashdown of French aviators in the Gulf of New York. A Nangesser plane flew off to meet a whole squadron of fighters led by Major Fulua. Accompanied by American combat aircraft, the White Bird landed on the water. The ships in the bay raised welcome flags, sirens howled. Some New Yorkers, not believing their eyes, got into their boats and went out into the bay. Civilian planes hired by various members of the press flooded the sky. The White Bird landed incredibly lightly, after which the ship was immediately surrounded by several large ships. Four seaplanes were allocated, which circled over the triumph at the lowest possible height, acting as insurance. Watering themselves, Nangesser and Cole hesitated, as if their victory over the ocean was a trifle, not worthy of universal rejoicing. But after a few minutes they appeared from the plane and hugged. To the applause of the audience, the howl of motors and the howling of sirens, the pilots descended to land. Yes, it was a great day of French glory!

"White Bird"

Tragic mistake
Clouds of enthusiastic telegrams flew after the White Bird across the ocean. And - not a word in reply ... No, two Frenchmen failed to become the first to cross the ocean by plane. They flew over, they waved their wings to the Bostonians ... but they did not appear to meet the New Yorkers who were waiting for them. They went missing, Nangesser and Coley. They were expected, they were sought. When all the deadlines had already passed, it became clear that they had died. A few minutes, a few kilometers before its triumph, the White Bird with an ace of hearts, a coffin and a skull fell into the ocean. This is probably the greatest disappointment, the most impressive failure in the history of aviation. They would sit near Boston and become winners, go down in history. But it was set in advance: a triumph in front of the multimillion-dollar New York, from there it will be visible and audible to the whole world!

A whole squad of police restrained the crowds of offended Parisians who tried at all costs to break into the offices of the Press and smash it to smithereens. But the reason for this incomprehensible and senseless newspaper deception then remained a mystery. The whole world, despite the grief over the two pilots, who almost accomplished the almost impossible, could not help sarcastically grinning: too much, they say, “in French” it all happened. It was as if the poor guys themselves — Nanjesser and Kohli — were boasting. Even their grief was somehow stained by this scandal. The greatness of heroic death turned into a laughing stock. All that's left  More than 30 years have passed since the disappearance of the White Bird. On a wintry cold morning, Cliff Iceland (an American lobster catcher) went on a boat at sea. Raising the anchor of his boat, he felt that he had hooked some thing from the bottom. When the anchor emerged from the water, on it hung some sheets similar to the skin of an airplane ... It was all that was left of the proud and mighty “White Bird”, which had once decided on an unprecedented feat.

"Eyes to see" And three years later, in 1964, the mystery of newspaper deception, the most striking in the history of world press, was revealed. The famous French journalist Georges Raven published a book, “Eyes to See,” in which he talked about how everything happened on that ill-fated day in the newspaper's editorial office, since he himself was one of the main characters in this ugly story. After it was reported that the pilots were seen over Boston and, therefore, the main barrier, the Atlantic Ocean, was overcome, the editor-in-chief made a decision that led to the collapse of the Press. “We need our newspaper to be the first to report a successful flight across the Atlantic!” He told staff. Nobody dared to voluntarily come up with the details of an as yet incomplete feat, and then the editor-in-chief appointed Raven as the youngest on this matter.

“I need fifty live lines” - “Maybe we should wait for more specific news?” - the young employee tried to object. “To share profits with competitors and get only small crumbs from that, could you get? You just don’t feel the situation, my dear! They won over the whole ocean, which means we can win our victory! ”This is such a sad story. In fact, the White Bird crew was successful, the first to make a transatlantic flight, but died due to the tragic thirst for fame. And another vice of the human soul - greed - influenced the Press, which led to widespread indignation and hatred. Of which the White Bird did not deserve.

  NON-JUST FLIGHT THROUGH THE ATLANTIC

Turning to historical events that glorified the beginning of the last century with legendary air travel, the question naturally arises: who was the first to fly non-stop across the Atlantic alone?

One hundred years ago (in 1913), a popular English print publication announced a reward of £ 10,000 for a flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The newspaper Daily Mail prophesied fame to the crew of a plane or a single pilot who was the first to fly nonstop across the Atlantic in 72 hours in any direction from America to the shores of Ireland or Great Britain.

At that time, flying over such long distances seemed fantastic, because airplanes were just starting to master the sky, and their structural elements were often destroyed even when trying to get off the ground.

Attempts to conquer the sky of the Atlantic

The Martinsyd Raymore crew was preparing to conquer the distance of three thousand, but the plane did not take off. The cause of the failure was a landing gear failure, in which the nose of the aircraft buried itself in the ground.

In the same way, when taking off, another plane broke its nose (“Handley Page”).

Almost successful was the attempt by the crew of the Sopwith Atlantic - they did not have the strength to overcome the last 850 miles to the coast.

The first pilots who made a non-stop flight across the Atlantic (they hadn’t flown alone then) were the British crew of the Vickers Vimi winged aircraft. The pilot, John Alcock, and the navigator, Arthur Whitten Brown, received a well-deserved cash prize in 1919.
Another pilot is much more famous, namely the one who was the first to fly non-stop across the Atlantic alone. But this flight took place already in 1927.

Flight of Charles Lindbergh

In 1926, the wealthy owner of a New York hotel, Raymond Orteig, awarded a prize of $ 25,000 for a non-stop flight from New York to Paris.

Charles Lindbergh was 25 years old, he served as a pilot in an airmail company. Lindberg decided that the existing models are not suitable for such flights and a special aircraft is needed. According to his calculations, such an aircraft should be a monoplane containing the required amount of kerosene. Maybe someone would doubt it, but Charles Lindbergh decided to fly alone and a year later he was the first to fly nonstop across the Atlantic.

The plane ("Spirit of St. Louis" - Spirit of St. Louis), named after St. Lewis, was fully loaded, with all 1,700 liters of fuel, and barely defeated the takeoff on May 19, 1927. They say that when climbing, telegraph wires were torn off, so low above the ground this flight began.


The pilot had to determine the course, performing calculations in the mind, based on the flight time in any direction, and he estimated the wind speed from the waves! To do this, Lindbergh had to go down to get out of the clouds and fog. On top of that, the plane became very icy and became much heavier. Flying in these conditions, struggling with sleep, was incredibly difficult and dangerous.

However, luck was with the brave pilot, and after 28 hours, Charles Lindbergh's plane was next to Valentine's Island, which is located near Ireland. It is simply amazing that the deviation from the chosen course was within 5 km!

And after six hours, Lindbergh received the Paris Bourget Airport. In Paris, more than 200,000 Frenchmen welcomed him as a hero, and about 4 million compatriots expected him to return to New York. We can compare this event with the meeting of our fellow countrymen of the first cosmonauts.

There was no end to the enthusiastic reviews of contemporaries: someone admired the courage and courage of the first single pilot who made a non-stop flight across the Atlantic; someone carefully analyzed the modernization of the aircraft, commissioned by Lindberg.

Lindbergh's innovation was that he preferred a single-engine aircraft, although multi-engine devices were considered safer. He also demanded to increase the wingspan and provide the aircraft with additional fuel tanks. It was important for him to minimize the weight of the aircraft, so he fought for every gram. Eyewitnesses claimed that Lindberg refused to take a parachute and a walkie-talkie aboard, replaced the massive leather seat with a wicker one, made special lightweight boots to order, and even the card lost the “unnecessary” part.

The flight of Charles Lindbergh forever made him a legendary pilot, and for society he marked a breakthrough into previously inaccessible spheres. He gave aviation strategic importance, bringing the distance between the European and American continents closer.

FIRST FLIGHT THROUGH THE ATLANTIC PERFORMED BY AIRCRAFT CREW

The first flight across the Atlantic Ocean was made by a brave British crew. The first non-stop flight across the Atlantic on June 14, 1919 was carried out by British Air Force crew members of the Vickers Vimi. Their names are Captain John Alcock (pilot) and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown (navigator).

There were other daredevils who flew over the Atlantic Ocean. Eight years after the flight of the British, everyone was talking about the American pilot Charles Lindbergh, the one who was the first to fly non-stop across the Atlantic alone. People liked Lindberg's youth and courage. In 1927, the public was already able to appreciate such a flight. However, the pilots Alcock and Brown were ahead of everyone.

Overcoming obstacles and difficulties

It was decided to fly from Canada to the shores of Ireland. First, I had to look for a suitable place for take-off for a long time. They carefully approached the site selection - after the accident of other Britons (the Martinsayd Raymore crew) it was clear what it was worth risking by raising a bomber overloaded with fuel.

When an airfield near the Canadian city of St. John's was found, Alcock called it the first transatlantic airfield. They were waiting for the weather to come, and they were very nervous, because they were afraid that others might get ahead of them.

Once, on the first fine day, a military plane flew right above them toward the ocean. John and Arthur only later learned that it was a test flight. And at first it seemed to them that they were having a terrible dream - another plane had already taken off the first to fly across the Atlantic before anyone else.

The pilots were nervous, because everything was ready for the flight, but had to postpone the start due to a heavy wind. Added a commotion and a telegram from England accused of indecision.

Finally, on June 13, a favorable weather situation was established. At the command of Captain Alcock, aircraft refueling began. First, the fuel was filtered through a sieve, and then it was pumped using a manual pump into aircraft tanks. It was a tedious and lengthy process. Toward noon, a shock absorber in one of the chassis was found to be broken. He could not stand such a heavy load, and the plane began to roll on its side.

To eliminate the defect, it was necessary to raise the plane, and for this it was necessary to drain all the fuel that was previously filled in. People worked all the rest of the day until midnight, then again poured fuel into the tanks, working without interruption with the car headlights on and lighting the site with paraffin lamps.

The weather report received on the morning of June 14 promised a strong westerly wind, which will increase in the coming hours. Arriving at the airport, the pilots decided that if they did not take off now, then they would have to give priority to someone else who would make a flight across the Atlantic earlier than they did.

Brown and Alcock climbed into the cockpit, warmed up the engines, brought them to full power, and Alcock signaled to the mechanics to let go of the wings of the plane. The bomber slowly rolled along the runway, not gaining sufficient speed and not taking off the ground. The long-awaited start came at the end of the strip, when the plane with great difficulty climbed over the fence and trees, and then disappeared from view beyond the hills.

All observers decided that an accident had occurred and ran towards the alleged crash of the aircraft. People were worried, and most of all the doctor shouted, asking him to give way to him for first aid. The panic subsided when the silhouette of an airplane, gradually gaining height, again became visible in the sky.

The crew survived excruciatingly intense moments, it seemed that the car would crash down, so hard it was gaining altitude. But now St. John was left behind. Ships whistled off the departing plane, which roared over the four-hundred-meter mark and left the coastline. The navigator headed for Ireland.

Incredibly challenging flight

They walked in continuous clouds, and barely visible ice accumulations floated below. It became incredibly cold, even special suits with heating could not save from the lowered temperature. At first, Brown received radio messages on the earth about following the route, but then the wind generator broke and they remained with a useless radio station.


About seven o'clock the pilot drove the bomber blindly. Of course, they had to fly in dense clouds before, but not for such a long time, besides, problems with the right engine started. First, frequent pops were heard, the sounds of which resembled machine-gun bursts, and then the unit “spat out” some part of its structure. The exhaust pipe quickly heated up: first it turned red, then turned white and was torn off by a stream of air. The exhaust flame of a running engine reached a wire stretch, which glowed, but withstood the temperature and did not change its shape.

At seven o’clock the pilots decided to have a snack, their dinner consisted of sandwiches and coffee. Now they could navigate the starry sky, so Brown wrote to Captain Alcock a note about the need to see the stars. The pilot took the plane out of the clouds only at an altitude of 1800 meters. The navigator was able to determine their location: after eight hours of flight, the Vickers Vimi retreated almost a thousand and a half kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland. The first half of the journey was completed. It turned out that their ground speed was slightly higher than calculated. It was decided to go down and continue to go below the edge of the clouds at an altitude of 1200 meters.

At about three in the morning, their car began to be thrown with strong gusts of wind, and a thunderous front appeared on the plane's path. In conditions of poor visibility, orientation was lost, the speed of the aircraft dropped sharply. The bomber went into a tailspin. Lightning flashes prevented the pilot from determining the position of the machine in a raging space and leveling the plane. Alcock tried to put the steering wheels in a neutral position - nothing worked. The only thing he could see was the readings of the altimeter, which showed an ever smaller distance to the ground: first 900, then 600, 300, now 150 ...

Nothing was yet visible, but Alcock heard the sound of the ocean raging beneath them, and at that moment a low sky cleared around the plane. They flew up the wheels, incredibly close to the surface of the ocean, huge ramparts rolled over their heads. There were fractions of a second to make decisions.

In this critical situation, the pilot talent of captain John Alcock passed the most stringent test. An experienced pilot instantly restored spatial orientation and in the last seconds leveled the plane, giving the engines full throttle. It seemed to both aviators that they could reach foamy ridges from their cockpit. Moving away from the ocean waves, which were at a distance of some fifteen meters, the car was gaining saving speed.

Heavy rain continued, and it climbed snow. The weight of the aircraft grew rapidly - dangerous icing began, which caused interruptions in the operation of the right engine. Its carburetor was clogged with snow, and the aircraft began to lose altitude due to a lack of power when using one engine. The situation was becoming critical.

Alcock looked at his navigator, but he was not there. It turned out that Brown went on a wing to the failed engine. He clung to the racks with all his might and cleaned the ice with a knife. In their position, this was the only saving solution. After a while, the left engine began to fail. Brown had to repeat his feat on the left wing. His courageous actions saved the engines and saved the life of both pilots. In total, Lieutenant Brown made 5 such exits.

On June 15, the Vickers Vimi jumped out of the cloud in the morning, and after another half an hour the crew saw two small islands beyond which the Irish coast was already guessed. They flew along the coast, and found a green field for planting. Not far from this place was the radio station Clifden. They were noticed by people and began to wave their hands, indicating that it is impossible to sit on the field - it was swampy.

However, the pilots seemed to be greeted, they waved back and continued to land. As a result, the plane buried its nose in the swamp and got stuck in the ground, but the guys were lucky: the damage to the plane was minor, and they themselves were not injured (except for Brown’s scratched nose).

Their legendary flight lasted 16 hours and 28 minutes. Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown were the first to conquer the skies of the Atlantic, having covered 3040 kilometers. The average speed of the Vickers Vimi was about 190 km / h. Interestingly, after landing, the fuel supply in the tanks remained quite impressive, they could reach the English coast.

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

The flight of Bleriot stimulated a further storm of the water area. September 11, 1910 Robert Lorraine (Robert Loraine) on an airplane Farman first flew over the Irish Sea. True, due to engine malfunctions, he did not reach the Irish coast 60 m. His case was completed by Denys Corbett Wilson in April 1912. A year later, on September 23rd, 1913, Roland Garros on a company monoplane Morane-Saulnier first crossed the Mediterranean Sea, its path was 730 km. Then came the turn of the Atlantic.

However, several aviators in the UK, USA, Denmark and other countries began to prepare for a transatlantic flight back in 1910 - 1912. After the failure of Welman’s airship, the pilot Harry Grahame Carter decided to challenge the ocean. He set a start date for March 19, 1911. On a plane of his own design, Carter was planning 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 skeleton and a lining made of material, which the author called parchment. As the power plant, two engines of 30 hp were used. unspecified model with two-bladed metal screws. Engine life was only 27 hours, but Carter hoped to bring it to 54 hours. He believed that 136 liters of gasoline would be enough for him to overcome the 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. Nothing is even known about what happened next, perhaps, to the most comprehensive guide to US planes, but the available description of the design makes one doubt very much that Carter's plane could fly long distances.

Hugh Armstrong Robinson, 1881-1963, a former chief pilot of Curtiss, turned out to be a more serious contender. He began preparing for the transatlantic expedition in September 1911. But after making preliminary calculations, Robinson came to the conclusion that the available technologies did not yet allow the realization of such a project. In 1912, Robinson switched to the development of the Benoist XIII flying boat, on the basis of which the Benoist XIV aircraft then emerged, the first in the world to launch regular passenger flights in January 1914.

Robinson’s refusal to storm the Atlantic did not prevent his former chief Glenn Hammond Curtiss (1878-1930) from completing the case. More precisely, almost to the end. In August 1913, he began building the Curtiss N. twin-engine flying boat. 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 be carried out in the summer of 1914.

The flying boat, dubbed America, was a classic wooden three-post biplane. Ailerons were located only on the upper wing. The aircraft had two Curtiss OH 90 hp engines. between wings with pushing two-blade propellers. The boat is weakly keel. The cockpit, designed for two pilots and a flight engineer, was closed. The fuel reserve allowed to make a non-stop flight at a distance of 1770 km.

The prototype Curtiss N-1 was launched on June 22, 1914, the first flight took place the next day. In the process of intensive testing, a number of shortcomings were identified that required refinement of the design. But even after that, the car could not raise the necessary fuel supply. Therefore, a third engine with a pulling screw was installed on the upper wing.

Having solved technical problems, the flight organizers scheduled the start for August 5, 1914 (the sources also include the date of 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 supposed to fly to Portugal, then cross the Bay of Biscay, the English Channel and reach the coast of Britain near the city of Plymouth.

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

Then the commander of the crew, Weinamaker appointed the retired lieutenant of the British Navy, John Port (John Cyrill Porte, 1883-1919), and the co-pilot of the American George Hallet (George Hallett). But the First World War began, and the flight was canceled. The port went to serve in the Royal Navy, and there he persuaded the Lords of the Admiralty to acquire "America" \u200b\u200band its understudy. On the basis of these machines, more powerful flying boats were developed, which were being built in a large series, but this is another story.

One of the incentives for creating the Curtiss N-1 America plane was the prize established on April 1, 1913 by British newspaper tycoon Alfred Harmsworth, Lord Northcliffe. The owner of the Daily Mail promised to pay £ 10,000 to the first who crosses 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 both an Englishman and a foreigner. The high prize amount intensified the work of many designers, most of whom turned out to be fellow countrymen of Lord Northcliffe.

Photo by Curtiss H-1 America.

One of the main contenders was Samuel Franklin Cody, the creator of the first British real flying airplane. He developed a project for the float monoplane Cody monoplane No.VII with a gigantic wing span of 36.58 m and a cockpit for three crew members. Such an aircraft required a 400 hp engine, which then did not exist in nature. Cody issued an order to an unnamed French company to develop a motor. But the death of an aviator on August 7, 1913 stopped work on the project. In the aviation press of 1913 - 1914, you can also find reports on the construction of transatlantic aircraft by British companies, the brothers James (James Bros.) and A. V. Roe and Co. (Avro), however, no details are given.

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

Specifications aircraftunsuccessfully trying 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 (E. Mackay Edgar). The wooden monoplane with a trapezoidal wing got the understandable name of Martin-Handasyde Transatlantic. The flight across the Atlantic was planned to be carried out from Newfoundland to Ireland. Gustav Hamel (1889-1914), who had previously made the first official postal flight in the UK, was appointed a pilot.

A 215 hp Sunbeam engine was selected for the aircraft. - 12-cylinder V-shaped liquid cooling with a pulling 4-blade propeller Lang with a diameter of 3.66 m.

Although the Transatlantic had a wheeled chassis, the design allowed it to safely splash onto the surface of the ocean. The triangular cross-section fuselage had waterproof bulkheads. In the front of the fuselage was a fuel tank 2.74 m long and 0.91 m in diameter. Behind it was a two-seat pilot cabin with side-by-side seats. After takeoff, the chassis detached, reducing the weight of the structure. Regular landing was provided for water.

The construction of the aircraft began in May 1914. Soon after, on May 23, 1914, Hamel disappeared without a trace when flying on 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. At the same time, it stimulated the development of aircraft designs. Strength and reliability have increased, the resource of engines, the speed of airplanes have grown. The flight range has increased, especially among 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 realization of the idea was the involvement of the main aviation powers in the hostilities. But in industrialized countries that did not take part in the war, or were removed from the theaters of operations, flight attempts resumed in 1917.

In August 1917, the 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 in 1918 to make a transatlantic flight. This was not destined to come true - on May 16, 1918, Resnati was killed in the disaster of his Caproni Sa.3 near Hampstead, New York.

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

Sources: V.O. Bulls. "The Conquest of the North Atlantic."