Daily Archives: July 6, 2023

6 July 1952

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Maryse Bastie
Maryse Bastié, circa 1938. (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale)

6 July 1952: Capitaine Maryse Bastié, l’Armée de l’air, was killed 6 July 1952 when the airplane she was aboard as a passneger, the second prototype Nord 2501 Noratlas, F-WFUN, was demonstrating single engine operation at an air show at the Lyon-Bron Airport (LYN). Approximately 100,000 spectators were present.

Nord 2501 Noratlas 01, F-WFUN.

The aircraft, the second prototype of the Noratlas, was taking part to the National Airshow at Lyon-Bron Airport (LYN), carrying six crew members and one passenger, the famous French aviator Maryse Bastié. After takeoff, the pilot-in-command completed a circuit around the airport and started the approach at low height, demonstrating flight with one engine one engine inoperative. The Noratlas passed over Runway 34 and the pilot attempted to perform a chandelle. The airplane climbed to a height of 200 meters (about 660 feet), then stalled and crashed in flames. All seven occupants were killed. The crew consisted of Georges Penninckx, pilot; Étienne Griès, radio navigator; Albert Tisseur, mechanic; Alcide Le Quien, technician; Pierre Landeau, technician; Jean-Louis Frignac, technician. Capitaine Bastié was a passenger.

Burning wreckage of Nord 2501 Noratlas F-WFUN. (Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives)

Woman Ace Dies In Crash With 7 Others

By Reuters News Agency

     LYONS, France—Eight persons were killed when a plane crashed yesterday during a Regatta at Bron Airfield.

The plane, a twin-engined Nord 2501, was demonstrating when the pilot cut one engine and went into a single-engine vertical climb. The plane flicked over, went into a spin, crashed and caught fire.

One of the persons killed was Maryse Bastie,woman aerobatic champion and France’s best known pre-war woman pilot.

The plane crashed into a wheat field. Both engines exploded and almost at once the machine burst into flames. When firemen arrived on the spot five minutes later the whole field was blazing.

The accident was seen by 100,000 spectators who had gathered to watch the display of stunt flying, jet fighter demonstrations and parachute drops.

—The Evening Citizen, Ottawa, Canada, Vol. 110, No. 5, 7 July 1952, Page 6, Column 5

Nord 2501 Noratlas F-WFUN. (Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives)

WOMAN PILOT AN PATRIOT

Death in Air Crash

From our own Correspondent

PARIS, JULY 7.

     France lost one of her most remarkable women pilots, Maryse Bastié, in the air crash which took place in the presence of 50,000 spectators near Bron aerodrome outside Lyons last night.

     A new type of military freight aircraft for carrying supplies or parachutists, the Nord 2,501 was being shown as a last-minute supplement to the programme of exhibition flights. Mme Bastié, who was to exhibit this aircraft in Brazil in a few weeks’ time, was on board.

     After shutting off one of the two engines the pilot took the aircraft up in a steep climb and then lost control of it. It crashed into the ground several hundred miles an hour and the engines were buried nearly ten feet deep.

     Maryse Bastié originally worked in a shoe factory. She married a demobilised air pilot and they ran a shoe shop together in the provinces for some time, but grew tired of this. M. Bastié found a job as an air instructor and Madame Bastié gained her pilot’s certificate in 1925. Her first distinction was to win the endurance championship for the longest flight in the air by a woman pilot She succeeded in remaining airborne for 27 hours. When another woman pilot pushed the record up to 36 hours, Madame Bastié carried it further to 37 hours. Not content with this she also won the record for a woman pilot for a long-distance flight. Setting out from Northern France she covered 3,000 kilometres and landed on the banks of the Volga. Later she crossed the South Atlantic in twelve hours during a solo flight.

     In recent years Madame Bastié seems to have devoted herself to the use of aircraft for the Red Cross, and especially for the care of wounded in battle. She recently went to Indo-China to form the first unit of airborne Vietnamian nurses. She took part in the Resistance movement during the occuption and was for some time arrested by the Germans, She held the military rank of captain and that of commander in the Legion of Honour for military services, an honour held by no other woman.

—The Manchester Guardian, No. 32,982, Tuesday, 8 July 1952, Page 7, Column 4

Woman Ace Dies In Crash With 7 Others

By Reuters News Agency

     LYONS, France—Eight persons were killed when a plane crashed yesterday during a Regatta at Bron Airfield.

     The plane, a twin-engined Nord 2501, was demonstrating when the pilot cut one engine and went into a single-engine vertical climb. The plane flicked over, went into a spin, crashed and caught fire.

     One of the persons killed was Maryse Bastie,woman aerobatic champion and France’s best known pre-war woman pilot.

     The plane crashed into a wheat field. Both engines exploded and almost at once the machine burst into flames. When firemen arrived on the spot five minutes later the whole field was blazing.

     The accident was seen by 100,000 spectators who had gathered to watch the display of stunt flying, jet fighter demonstrations and parachute drops.

—The Evening Citizen, Ottawa, Canada, Vol. 110, No. 5, 7 July 1952, Page 6, Column 5

Marie-Louise Bombec was born at Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France, 27 February 1898. She was the daughter of Joseph Bombec and Celine Filhoulaud. She married Babtiste Gourinchas at Limoges, 11 February 1915. Their son, Germain Gourinchas, was born 22 September 1915.

In 1918, Mme Gourinches was employed as a secretary-typist at the Limoges electric company.

Marie-Louise and her husband separated 29 May 1920, and divorced 24 December 1920. Germain died of typhoid fever, 6 June 1935, in Ferryville (now known as Manzil Būrgībah), Bizerte, Tunisia.

On 22 May 1922, Mme Gourinches married a pilot, M. Louis Bastié, at Limoges. With her husband, she ran a shoe store in Cognac.

After taking instruction from Guy Bart, she first soloed 8 September, 1925, at Bordeaux, Gironde, Aquitaine, France. Mme Bastié earned Brevet de Pilot N° 1036, 29 September 1925.

On 15 October 1926, she received a telegram informing her that her husband, Louis, had been killed.

In 1928, she officially changed her name from Marie-Louise to Maryse.

On 13 July 1928, she flew her Caudron C.109, F-AHFE, from Le Bourget Aerodrome, Paris, France, to Trzebiatów, Pomeranina, a distance of 1,058 kilometers (657 statute miles).

On 11 October 1928, she became to first woman in France to obtain a public transport license, N° 1136. She was only the second woman in France to earn a professional pilot’s license.

On 28 July 1929 Maryse Bastié, flying a Caudron C.109 parasol-winged, strut-braced monoplane, F-AHFE, to set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world record for duration of 26 hours, 47 minutes, 30 seconds, at Le Bourget. (FAI Record File Number 10446)

Maryse Bastié’s Caudron C.109, F-AHFE. (FAI)

On 10 June 1930, she set another FAI world record for duration, 22 hours, 24 minutes, flying a Klemm L 25 I monoplane powered by an air-cooled 2.979 liter (181.77 cubic inch displacement) Salmson AD.9 nine-cylinder radial direct-drive engine, which was rated at 50 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m. (FAI Record File Number 12337)

Maryse Bastié with her Klemm L 25 I monoplane. (Conservatoire Aéronautique du Limousin)

On 18 August 1930, she set another FAI world record for duration, 25 hours, 55 minutes, again flying the Klemm. (FAI Record File Number 12338)

At Le Bourget, 4 September 1930, she set two FAI world records for duration, 37 hours, 55 minutes, flying the Klemm monoplane. (FAI Record File Numbers 12339, 12341)

On 29 June 1931, Mme Bastié flew the Klemm from the Le Bourget airport, Paris, France, to Urino, Russia, U.S.S.R., to set three FAI world records for distance: 2,976,31 kilometers (1,849.39 statute miles). The duration of the flight was 30 hours, 30 minutes. (FAI Record File Numbers 12345, 12346, 14886). For this flight, she was awarded the Order of the Red Star by the Presidium of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

She was awarded the Harmon Aviatrix Trophy for 1931. On 20 March 1932, Bastié was appointed Femme Chevalier de la légion d’honneur.

On 30 December 1936, Maryse Bastié flew a Caudron C.635 Simoun, F-ANXO, from Dakar, French West Africa, across the South Atlantic Ocean to Natal, Brazil, solo, in 12 hours, 5 minutes.

Maryse Bastié flew this Caudron C.635 Simoun, F-ANXO, across the South Atlantic Ocean, solo, in 12 hours, 5 minutes, 30 December 1936. (Association des Amis di Musée de l’Air)

On 22 February 1937, France promoted her to Officier Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur.

During the German occupation of France, Mme Bastié was suspected of being a member of La Résistance française (the French Resistance). She was detained by the Gestapo at the Fresnes Prison, south of Paris, but was released after 15 days.

On 3 May 1944, she volunteered for l’Armee de l’air, the French air force, and was assigned as a pilot-journalist in the Minister’s office. On 24 November 1944, she was appointed a lieutenant of l’Armee de l’air. On 2 November 1945, she was assigned command of pilot schools.

On 17 April 1947, Mme Bastié was promoted to Commandeur Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur. The following month, 15 May 1947, she was promoted to Capitaine, l’Armee de l’air, with her rank retroactive to 25 May 1946.

Capitaine Maryse Bastie receiving the Legion of Honour. (Tallandier)

© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes

6 July 1944: Rose of York

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Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, with Colonel Claude Putnam, commanding officer, 306th Bombardment Group, Heavy, at the christening of Rose of York, R.A.F. Thurleigh, 6 July 1944. (American Air Museum in Britain)

6 July 1944: In honor of Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, a United States Army Air Forces heavy bomber, Boeing B-17G-55-BO Flying Fortress 42-102547, was christened Rose of York. The ceremony took place at R.A.F. Thurleigh (U.S.A.A.F. Station 111), 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.

Named for Princess Elizabeth Windsor (now, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II), 42-102547 was originally named Princess Elizabeth but that did not meet with any official approval. (There were concerns about the propaganda value to the enemy, and the effect on civilian morale, should the bomber named for a member of the Royal Family be lost in combat.) The aircraft was renamed Rose of York instead and was christened by the Princess on her royal visit to the airfield.

Rose of York. (American Air Museum in Britain)

Following the ceremony, the bomber was flown to RAF Molesworth, where a number of photographs were taken.

Rose of York at RAF Molesworth, 6 July 1944. (Vintage Wings)

42-102547 was built by the Boeing Airplane Company at its Plant 2, south of Seattle, Washington, in early 1944. The new bomber was not camouflaged, but left in its natural metal finish. It was flown to the Cheyenne Modification Center, Cheyenne, Wyoming, on 12 March 1944, for installation of the latest combat modifications. It was then taken to the B-17 training base at Grand Island Army Air Field in central Nebraska. From there, it flew to Dow Army Air Field, Bangor Maine, arriving 3 April 1944, and then ferried across the North Atlantic Ocean to England.

A Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress of the 306th Bombardment Group, England, 1944–1945. (American Air Museum in Britain)

The Flying Fortress arrived in England, and on 2 May 1944, was  assigned to the 401st Bombardment Group, Heavy, at R.A.F. Deenethorpe (A.A.F. Station 128). Three days later, though, 42-102547 was transferred to the 306th Bombardment Group, Heavy, at R.A.F. Thurleigh. It was assigned to Captain Perry E. Raster of the 367th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy. The group’s identification code, “Triangle H”—a white capital “H” centered on a black triangle—was painted on the vertical fin above the serial number. A black capital “F” was painted below, identifying the individual airplane within its squadron.

42-102547 had completed 13 combat missions by 6 July 1944.

The crew of Rose of York, 6 July 1944.  Front row, left to right: Engineer and Top Turret Gunner, Sergeant Eugene E. Kelley; Radio Operator and Top Gunner, Technical Sergeant George G. Roberts; Ball Turret Gunner, Sergeant Donald F. Urban; Waist Gunner, Sergeant Herman Shore; Ball Turret Gunner Sergeant William E. Landrum; and Tail Gunner, Sergeant Watson R. Vaughn. Standing, left to right: Unknown, possibly Master Sergeant Edward S.  Gregory, maintenance crew chief; Aircraft Commander, Captain Perry E. Raster; Co-Pilot, Lieutenant Talmadge E. McDonough; Navigator, Captain William E. Pleasant; Bombardier, Lieutenant Marion J. Northway; the crew’s previous bombardier, Captain Steven Tanella; and unknown, possibly assistant crew chief Mark Madsen.
B-17G 42-102547 with the name Princess Elizabeth.

On Saturday, 3 February 1945, the Eighth Air Force, under the command of Lieutenant General James Harold (“Jimmy”) Doolittle, executed Mission No. 817. 1,003 B-17 Flying Fortresses, 434 B-24 Liberators and 948 P-47 and P-51 fighters were sent to attack Berlin, the capital of the Third Reich. The B-17s’ primary target was the city’s railroad marshaling yards, while the B-24s attacked the Braunkohle Benzine A.G. synthetic oil refinery at Rothensee.

23 B-17s, 2 B-24s, 7 P-51s and 1 P-47 were lost. 6 B-17s and 2 P-51s were damaged beyond repair, and another 339 B-17s and 58 B-24s were damaged.

18 airmen were killed in action, with 11 wounded and 216 missing.

Rose of York was one of the B-17s on that 1,000-bomber mission to Berlin. On its sixty-third combat mission, and with a different crew, 42-102547 was hit by heavy and accurate anti-aircraft fire. The last contact indicated that one engine was out of operation and another was streaming gasoline. The Flying Fortress went down in the English Channel with all nine crew members and a civilian news reporter.¹

HRH The Princess Elizabeth; His Majesty King George VI, Marshal of the Royal Air Force; Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth; Lieutenant General James H. Doolittle, U.S. Army Air Forces, commanding Eighth Air Force. (American Air Museum in Britain)

The B-17G was the final production variant of the Flying Fortress. It entered service with the United States Army Air Forces in 1943.

The Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress was a four-engine heavy bomber operated by a combat crew of nine to ten men. It was 74 feet, 8.90 inches (22.781 meters) long with a wingspan of 103 feet, 9.38 inches (31.633 meters) and an overall height of 19 feet, 1.00 inch (5.187 meters). The wings have 3½° angle of incidence and 4½° dihedral. The leading edges are swept aft 8¾°. The total wing area is 1,426 square feet (132.48 square meters). The horizontal stabilizer has a span of 43 feet (13.106 meters) with 0° incidence and dihedral. Its total area, including elevators, is 331.1 square feet (12.18 square meters). The B-17G had an empty weight of 35,972 pounds (16,316.6 kilograms), and the maximum takeoff weight was 67,860 pounds (30,780.8 kilograms).

The B-17G was powered by four air-cooled, supercharged, 1,823.129-cubic-inch-displacement (29.876 liters) Wright Cyclone C9GC (R-1820-97) nine-cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.70:1. The engines were equipped with remote General Electric turbochargers capable of 24,000 r.p.m. The R-1820-97 had a Normal Power rating of 1,000 horsepower at 2,300 r.p.m. at 25,000 feet (7,620 meters), and 1,200 horsepower at 2,500 r.p.m. for Takeoff and Military Power. The engine could produce 1,380 horsepower at 2,500 r.p.m., War Emergency Power. 100-octane aviation gasoline was required. The Cyclones turned three-bladed, constant-speed, Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propellers with a diameter of 11 feet, 7 inches (3.835 meters) through a 0.5625:1 gear reduction. The R-1820-97 engine was 3 feet, 11.80 inches (1.214 meters) long and 4 feet, 7.10 inches (1.400 meters) in diameter, and weighed 1,315 pounds (596 kilograms).

The B-17G had a cruising speed of 172 knots (198 miles per hour/319 kilometers per hour) at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). The maximum speed was 285 knots (328 miles per hour/528 kilometers per hour) at 26,700 feet (8,138 meters). The service ceiling was 38,450 feet (11,720 meters) at maximum power.

The B-17G had a fuel capacity  of 2,780 gallons (10,523 liters) in twelve wing tanks. Two “Tokyo tanks” could be installed in the bomb bay, increasing capacity by 820 gallons (3,104 liters). The B-17G combat radius of 689 nautical miles (793 statute miles/1,276 kilometers) with max bomb load, and a maximum ferry range of 2,624 nautical miles (3,031 statute miles/4,878 kilometers).

The B-17G was armed with thirteen Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns for defense against enemy fighters. Power turrets mounting two guns each were located at the nose, dorsal, and ventral positions. Two guns could be installed in flexible mounts in the nose compartment, one in the radio compartment, two in the waist and two in the tail. 5,970 rounds of ammunition were carried.

The maximum bomb load of the B-17G was 12,800 pounds (5,806 kilograms). The internal bomb bay could be loaded with a maximum of six 1,000-pound general purpose bombs, or ten 1,000-pound armor piercing bombs; eight 1,600-pound (725.75 kilogram) armor piercing bombs; or two 2,000-pound general purpose bombs. The physical size of each type limited the number that could be carried in the bomb bay. A 4,000-pound bomb could be carried on each of the bombers two underwing bomb racks.

A B-17G Flying Fortress carrying two external bombs. (U.S. Air Force)

The B-17 Flying Fortress was in production from 1936 to 1945. 12,731 B-17s were built by Boeing, Douglas Aircraft Company and Lockheed-Vega. (The manufacturer codes -BO, -DL and -VE follows the Block Number in each airplane’s type designation.) 8,680 of these were B-17Gs, with 4,035 built by Boeing, 2,395 by Douglas and 2,250 by Lockheed-Vega.

Boeing B-17G-85-BO Flying Fortress 43-38412, 306th Bombardment Group, Heavy. This bomber survived the War and was placed in storage at Kingman, Arizona, 5 December 1945. (American Air Museum in Britain) FRE 005936

¹ Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 12283: Aircraft Commander, Lieutenant Vernon Daley; Co-pilot: 2nd Lieutenant Joseph Carbine; Navigator, 1st Lieutenant Paul Becker; Bombardier/Nose Gunner, Staff Sergeant Robert Crede; Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner, Technical Sergeant Reisel Horn; Radio Operator/Top Gunner, Technical Sergeant Porfirio Marquez; Ball Turret Gunner: Staff Sergeant George Petrillo; Waist gunner, Staff Sergeant Silvio DeZolt; Tail Gunner: Sergeant Okey Coplin; and British Broadcasting Company (BBC) war corresponent Guy Byam (civilian). 10 Killed in Action.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

6 July 1939

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Olga Vasil’yevna Klepikova

6 July 1939: Ольга Васильевна Клепикова (Olga Vasil’yevna Klepikova) flew an Antonov RF-7 glider from Tushino airport, Moscow, to Mikhaylovka, in the Stalingrad region of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. She set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for Distance at 749.203 kilometers (465.533 statute miles).¹

Klepikova’s glider was towed aloft by a Polikarpov P-5 biplane, and then released at an altitude of 1,000 meters (3,281 feet). She circled overhead for approximately an hour, gaining altitude, before heading toward Stalingrad. The total duration of the flight was 8 hours, 25 minutes.

Once she landed near Mikhaylovka, Tovarisch (Comrade) Klepikova was captured by “vigilant farmers” who presumed that she was a German spy. They turned her over to the NKVD (Narodnyy Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del), the infamous predecessor to the KGB.

Olga Vasil’yevna Klepikova was born at Tula, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) south of Moscow, on 10 October 1915.

Gospohzha Klepikova studied at the Tula FZU (Fabrichno-Zavodskoe Uchilishe), an industrial technical school, and she then worked as a lathe operator in an armaments factory.

Comrade Klepikova joined the Tula Aero Club in 1930, where she was taught to fly. In 1933, she was sent to Moscow as an instructor for the Central Aero Club at Tushino.

During the Great Patriotic War, Comrade Klepikova served as a flight instructor at Stalingrad. She worked as a test pilot at Kazan and then Rostov on Don from the end of the War until 1953.

Gospohzha Klepikova married a fellow test pilot, and they had two daughters. The family relocated to the area of Kiev, Ukraine. As of 2002, she lived in Vasiljena, Kiev, Ukraine, with a pension equivalent to $20 per month.

Olga Vasil’yevna Klepikova, an Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, died at Kiev, 27 July 2010, at the age of 95 years. Her remains were interred at the Baikove Cemetery in Kiev.

Ольга Васильевна Клепикова
Рот-Фронт-7 (Rot-Front 7)

Gospohzha Klepikova’s glider was a Рот-Фронт-7 (Rot-, or Roth-Front 7), designed by Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov. It was one of five built at the Moscow Glider Factory. The Rot-Front 7 was a single-place, high wing monoplane glider, constructed primarily of wood. It was covered with 1.5–3.5 millimeter thick plywood. Wing flaps allowed the glider to land in fairly small areas. The RF-7 was 5.00 meters (16 feet, 4.9 inches) long, with a wingspan of 16.24 meters (53 feet, 3.4 inches), and height of 1.55 meters (5 feet, 1.0 inches). The wings had a total area of 12.5 square meters (134.6 square feet), with an aspect ratio of 22.5. As much as 120 liters (31.7 gallons) of water ballast was carried in a tank behind the pilot. There was a single, retractable wheel under the ballast tank, which was enclosed by two aluminum doors.

The RF-7 had a best cruise speed of 85 kilometers per hour (52.8 miles per hour), and it had a maximum speed of 88 kilometers per hour (54.6 miles per hour).

The Rot-Front 7 was considered to be the best aerobatic glider of its time, and was designed to withstand a load factor of 8 gs.

Рот-Фронт-7 (Rot-Front 7)

¹ FAI Record File Number 4386: World Record for Distance, Class D, Feminine: 749.20 kilometers (465.53 statute miles); and FAI Record File Number 13606: World Record for Distance, Class D, General: 749.203 kilometers (465.533 statute miles).

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

2–6 July 1919

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The Royal Air Force rigid airship HMA R34 landing at Mineola, Long Island, New York, 6 July 1919.

2–6 July 1919: Two weeks after Alcock and Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic airplane flight, the Royal Air Force rigid airship R 34 landed at Mineola, Long Island, New York, completing the first east-to-west Atlantic crossing by air. The airship was under the command of Major George Herbert Scott, A.F.C., R.A.F. The total complement, including passengers, was 30 persons.

The 108 hour, 12 minute flight started from East Fortune Airship Station near Edinburgh, Scotland at 2:38 a.m., British Summer Time (1:38 a.m., Greenwich mean time) on Wednesday, 2 July. R 34 arrived at Mineola at 9:54 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (1:54 p.m. G.M.T.) on Sunday, 6 July. According to records of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the distance flown by R 34 was 5,797 kilometers (3,602 miles). On arrival, the airship had only 40 minutes of fuel remaining.

This chart of R34's flight was published in the Times, 7 July 1919.
This chart of R34’s flight was published in The Times, 7 July 1919.

R 34 was based on extensive study of the captured German Zeppelin, L-33. It was built for the Royal Naval Air Service ¹ by William Beardmore and Company, Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland. 643 feet long (196 meters), with a maximum diameter of 78 feet, 9 inches (24 meters), the dirigible had a total volume of 1,950,000 cubic feet (55,218 cubic meters). The airship had a light weight metal structure covered with doped fabric. Buoyancy was provided by 55,185 cubic meters (1,948,840 cubic feet) of gaseous hydrogen contained in 19 gas bags inside the airship’s envelope. R 34 had a gross lift capacity of 59 tons. Useful lift was 58,240 pounds (26,417 kilograms).

Crewmen working in the forward control car of R34 during the Atlantic crossing, July 1918. (National Museums Scotland)
Crewmen working in the forward control car of R 34 during the Atlantic crossing, July 1918. (National Museums Scotland)

The airship was powered by five water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 15.395-liter (989.483-cubic-inch-displacement) Sunbeam Maori Mk.IV dual overhead cam (DOHC) 60° V-12 engines with four valves per cylinder. The Mk.IV’s cylinder bore had been increased from 100 millimeters to 110 millimeters (3.94 to 4.33 inches), resulting in a larger displacement than previous Maori variants. The Maori Mk.IV was a direct-drive engine which produced 275 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m. Each engine turned a two-bladed, 17 foot diameter (5.182 meter) propeller through a remote gearbox with a 0.257:1 reduction. The two wing engines were equipped with reversible gearboxes. With the engines turning 1,800 r.p.m., the R 34 had a cruising speed of 47 knots (54 miles per hour/87 kilometers per hour) and consumed 65 gallons (246 liters) of fuel per hour.

R 34 made the return flight to England, 10–13 July 1919, in 75 hours, 3 minutes.

Major Scott was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

CENTRAL CHANCERY OF THE ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD.

St. James’s Palace, S.W. 1,

23rd August 1919.

     The KING has been graciously pleased to give orders for the following appointment to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, in recognition of distinguished services to Aviation. :—

To be a Commander of the Military Division of the Said Most Excellent Order :—

Major George Herbert Scott, A.F.C., Royal Air Force, Commander of H.M. Airship R/34 on the outward voyage to the United States of America and and also on the homeward journey.

R 34 at Long Island, New York. (Evening Times)

Colonel (A./Brig.-Genl.) Edwards Maitland Maitland, C.M.G., D.S.O., Capt. (A./Major) Gilbert George Herbert Cooke, D.S.C., Lieutenant Guy Harris and 2nd Lieutenant John Durham Shotter were each awarded the Air Force Cross.

The Air Force Medal was awarded to Flight-Sergeant William Rose Gent, Sergt.-Maj. II. Walter Robert Mayes, D.S.M., Flight-Sergeant Walter James Robinson, Flight-Sergeant Reginald William Ripley, Flight-Sergeant Norman Albert Scull, and Sergeant Herbert Murray Watson, D.S.M.

¹ On 1 April 1918, the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps were combined to form the Royal Air Force.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes