Flights across the Atlantic during World War II. Where does Aeroflot fly? Domestic, transatlantic and transcontinental directions. Which flight is more convenient - direct or with a change?

In the center of Rio de Janeiro on the embankment near the ultramodern Museum of tomorrow, a model of the world's first airplane 14-bis or “Oiseau de proie” (in French “bird of prey”) is installed.
Today, Brazil is one of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers. Brazilian Embraer (E-Jet) leads the world in the market for medium-haul (regional) aircraft.
Thanks to the dominance of the American media in the world, a conviction emerged about the priority of the Wright brothers who made their first flight on an airplane. In Brazil and France, the indisputable championship is given to the native of Brazil, the holder of the Order of the Legion of Honor, balloonist, pilot and inventor Albert Santos Dumont  (1873 - 1932), who lived in France for some time. The Brazilian was the first in the world to prove the possibility of regular, controlled flights. Santos Dumont made a public flight on an airplane in Paris on October 23, 1906. It was the first take-off, flying and landing vehicle heavier than air, which, unlike the Wright brothers, did not use catapults, strong winds, launch rails and other external devices. The inventor was against the use of aircraft for military purposes.

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The first transatlantic non-stop flight was made from the island of Newfoundland (Canada) to Ireland by British pilots John Alkon and Arthur Brown on June 14-15, 1919 in 16 hours and 28 minutes at an average speed of 190 km per hour. The effect of jet air flow in the Northern Hemisphere from west to east was used. In the opposite direction, more time would have been required, and then there were no aircraft with the corresponding resource yet. The first non-stop 36-hour flight across the Atlantic from Europe (Dublin) to North America took place only a decade later in April 1928.

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Today, the flight across the Atlantic to South America is a matter of routine and requires only patience (up to 14 hours of flight from Paris to Santiago). I first saw the monument to the first airplane (seaplane) and the crew that made the flight from Europe to South America many years ago in Lisbon.

The Portuguese pilots Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral made the first dramatic flight from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, dedicated to the centenary of Brazil's independence, on a Fairey 17 English seaplane. Airplanes of this type were produced from 1918 to 1941, and took an active part in the Second World War.

During the flight to South America, a new horizon indicator was tested, which allows you to control the position of the aircraft out of sight of the earth or sea surface.

On March 30, 1922, pilots took off from the naval base of Lisbon and reached the Canary Islands (Las Palmas) late in the evening for refueling. On April 5, another throw was made to the Cape Verde Islands (San Vicente), where engine repair was required. On April 17, pilots continued their journey to the rocky uninhabited island of Sao Paulo (St. Peter and Paul). Here, when splashed in a stormy sea, the airplane lost one of the floats and sank. Aviators were rescued by the Portuguese cruiser Republika, who participated in supporting the flight. The cruiser delivered the pilots to the port of the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha.

But the saga did not end there. Enthusiastic Brazilians and Portuguese watching the flight forced the government in Lisbon to poison another seaplane to the aviators.

A new plane was delivered to the island and on May 11, the pilots flew ... in the opposite direction to the island of Sao Paulo to resume the flight from the crash site. However, engine failure forced them to make an emergency landing in the ocean again. The seaplane again sank successfully, and the British cargo steamer picked up the pilots, delivered them back to Fernando de Noronha.

But this time, with the support of the Brazilian government, brave aviators get a third plane, on which they could finish the flight with landings in Recife, Salvador da Bahia and Vitoria. Finally, on June 17, the flight was completed in Rio de Janeiro, where the seaplane landed in Guanabara Bay. Brazil greeted the aviators as heroes, and air pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont delivered a welcoming speech at a rally of many thousands on the waterfront. The trip lasted 79 days, of which the actual flight time was 62 hours and 26 minutes. Aviators covered a distance of 8383 kilometers (5209 miles) through the air.

Flight map

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In 1930, a French pilot Jean Mermose  made the first non-stop flight in history across the South Atlantic.   From French Toulouse he flew to the African port of Saint Louis (Senegal) located on the Atlantic coast. From here, he carried out a transatlantic flight to Rio de Janeiro from 130 kg of mail on a converted aircraft in 21 hours. In 1936, a pilot with an airplane disappeared on a regular flight over the South Atlantic.

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Over time, regular passenger flights began from Europe to South America. On July 10, 1962, regular transatlantic flights of the Soviet Aeroflot began to Latin America in Cuba along the route Moscow - Conakry (technical landing) - Havana, and then through the North Pole with an intermediate landing in Murmansk. The specially upgraded Tu-114 accommodated only 60 passengers, but had a large fuel supply. The flight took over 20 hours.

On May 27, 1973, regular flights began to Peru and Chile along the route Moscow - Rabat - Havana - Lima (Peru) - Santiago (Chile). For that time, it was the longest passenger airline in the world (18,000 km), travel time - 23 hours. Today from Moscow they fly to South America by connecting flights via Paris, Amsterdam, Istanbul and other aviation hubs.

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On the air route between Europe and South America on June 1, 2009, one of the largest air crashes occurred. Air France Airbus A330-203 airliner operated flight AF447 on the route Rio de Janeiro - Paris, but 3 hours and 45 minutes after takeoff crashed into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and completely collapsed. Killed all 228 people on board (12 crew members and 216 passengers). This is the largest crash in the history of Air France and the largest crash of a passenger plane from 2001 until the crash of a Boeing 777 in the Donetsk region (July 17, 2014, 298 dead).

The causes of the disaster are the freezing of the Pitot tubes, the subsequent shutdown of the autopilot and the uncoordinated actions of the crew, which led to the stall of the aircraft, which the crew could not get out of. Inconsistency of action, poor preparation and panic of the crew (co-pilot and trainee, who were in the cockpit during the rest of the commander). The commander called out made the right decision and at an altitude of about 600 meters the aircraft began to gain speed, but failed to stop stalling in time. Experts point out flaws in the design of modern aircraft and in the training of crews. Computer systems control the aircraft overwhelming flight time, deprive pilots of direct piloting experience and reduce their preparedness for emergency situations.

Charles Lindbergh (1902 - 1974) was interested in aviation from an early age. When he was in Wisconsin, in his second year he realized that he wanted to do much more flying business. He decided to leave school and study as a pilot. After graduating from the courses, Lindberg entered service, and then began to work 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 flying equipment. After all, it was required to overcome more than 7 thousand km without landing, and, therefore, not having the opportunity 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, the interest in overcoming the Atlantic Ocean was huge, one major businessman even appointed a prize of 25 thousand dollars to someone who can do it. There were many attempts, but not one was successful.

Lindbergh simply could not help but accept the challenge and not get involved in this fascinating, albeit dangerous, adventure. He placed an order with Ryan Aeronautical for the manufacture of a motor-plan, which he independently developed, which, according to 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 lantern for viewing, all in order to take on board as much fuel as possible.

Training

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

In New York, it turned out that the weather could force the pilot to postpone the flight for several days. Nevertheless, relying on a forecast that promised a little clarification, Charles bravely decides to fly out on May 20.

He arrived at the airport 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 the media in America, the whole country was worried about the hero. A lot of people went out to spend it.

Due to the fact that on May 20 due to rains the land on the take-off field was a little soft, the plane gained speed very slowly. He even nearly hit the power line at. But the situation in the air leveled off, and Lindsberg slowed down to save fuel.

Flight

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

In the evening, Lindbergh was already flying over Nova Scotia. He soon met bad weather. Thunderstorm clouds, when hit in which the plane iced up and threatened to fall into the water, forced Charles to maneuver, sometimes he flew a few meters from the water.

Numerous awards were awaited for the daredevil not only from his own country; many European states also awarded him orders and honors.

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

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Tip 2: Who was the first to fly across the Atlantic

In the spring of 1913, an English newspaper Daily Mail published an announcement informing about the appointment of a reward of 10 thousand pounds to the first person to cross the Atlantic within 72 hours.

The text of the announcement read: “We will pay 10 thousand pounds to anyone who crosses the Atlantic Ocean from anywhere in the United States to anywhere in the United Kingdom or Ireland. This implies that the flight over the Atlantic can be completed in any direction. The fee will be assigned to any pilot. The plane on which he will fly can be either British-made or made in any other country in the world. ”

First attempts to cross the Atlantic

In preparation for the flight, several well-known at that time aviation companies joined at once - Marinsins, Vickers, Sopwith and Handley Page. Each of the companies decided to construct its own aircraft designed for these purposes. Due to the prevalence of east wind over the Atlantic Ocean, the flight was decided from the American continent, since flying against the wind could significantly increase fuel consumption, the supply of which was difficult to place on board the aircraft.

May 18, 1913 from the Canadian island of Newfoundland launched two crews of pioneers. The first Spwith crew flew with pilot Harry Hauker and navigator Kenneth Mackenzie-Mane. Their attempt cannot be considered successful, since, before reaching 850 miles to the coast, due to malfunctions, their plane crashed into the water. Fortunately, the Danish steamship “Mary” sailed past. The next starting crew of the Marinsins company represented by pilot Fred R. Reichem and navigator S.U.F. Morgan was even less fortunate. Their plane crashed during takeoff, and the pilots were immediately taken to hospital. A similar fate befell the crew of the Handley Page company, which started 2 months after the tragedy.

The first conquerors of the Atlantic

Almost a month after the first two attempts to cross the ocean, luck smiled at the crew of the Vickers aircraft, consisting of pilot John Alcock and navigator Arthur Witten Brown. Their heroic team also met with a number of difficulties that they, however, were able to overcome. The first of these was the problem of choosing a suitable take-off site, which they had been looking for several days. Only on June 14, pilots were able to take off. Their plane for a long time could not gain the necessary speed in order to take off the ground. Then the pilots drove blindly for almost seven hours due to heavy cloud cover. After that, they landed in a severe thunderstorm, but, having successfully passed it, the plane approached the shores of Ireland by the 15th. During the landing, another unforeseen situation happened with the machine - the wheels got stuck in the dirt of the landing strip, and the nose of the plane buried itself in the swamps. Pilots escaped with a slight startle.

So, flying 3040 kilometers in 16 hours 28 minutes, the crew of John Alcock and Arthur Witten Brown became the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean by air. The Atlantic was finally and undoubtedly conquered!

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 aircraft, 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 retired lieutenant of the British Navy John Port (John Cyrill Porte, 1883-1919), and 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 the creation of the Curtiss N-1 America aircraft was a 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 United States to any destination 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 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 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 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. Shortly afterwards, 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 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."

  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 glory to the crew of a plane or a single pilot who was the first in 72 hours to make a nonstop flight across the Atlantic in any direction from America to the shores of Ireland or Britain.

At that time, flying over such long distances seemed fantastic, because the planes were just beginning to master the sky, and their structural elements were often destroyed even when trying to take 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 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 Ocean 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 from the shores 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 the scratched nose of Brown).

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.

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, 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 went 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 ...