Tag Archives: Britannia Trophy of the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain

16 January 1929

The Honorable Mary Bailey DBE (1890–1960) (Monash University)
The Honorable Mary Bailey D.B.E. (1890–1960) (Monash University)

16 January 1929: After a 10-month, 18,000-mile (29,000-kilometer) solo flight from Croydon Aerodrome, London, England, to Cape Town, South Africa, Mary, Lady Bailey, arrived back at the Stag Lane Aerodrome at Edgeware, London, flying a de Havilland DH.60X Cirrus II Moth, G-EBTG.

A contemporary newspaper reported the event:

LADY BAILEY’S FLIGHT.

(British Official Wireless.)

LONDON, Jan. 16.

     Lady Bailey landed at Croydon this afternoon in her De Havilland Moth aeroplane, thus completing a flight from London to Capetown and back. She was greeted at Croydon by a large and cheering crowd.

Lady Bailey is the first woman to fly from London to Capetown and back. She has made the longest flight ever accomplished by a woman, and her 18,000 miles journey is the longest solo flight by either a man or a woman. She is the first woman to have flown over the Congo and the Sahara.

The Royal Aeronautical Society, in congratulating Lady Bailey, pays tribute to her as one of the gallant pioneers of Aeronautics.

— The Sydney Morning Herald, No. 28,405. Friday, 18 January 1929, Page 13, Column 1.

A contemporary cigarette card with an illustration of Lady Bailey’s DH.60X Cirrus II Moth, G-EBTG. (Monash University)
A contemporary cigarette card with an illustration of Lady Bailey’s DH.60X Cirrus II Moth, G-EBTG. (Monash University)

Flight offered the following commentary:

A Great Little Lady

Exactly how many miles she has covered during her long flight is difficult to estimate; nor is this necessary for a full appreciation of the merits of Lady Bailey’s flight from London through Africa to the Cape, around Africa and home again. The general press has made much of the fact that Lady Bailey’s flight is the longest ever accomplished by a woman, and the longest solo flight ever undertaken, thus establishing two “records.” To us that is of very minor importance. What matters is that an Englishwoman should have chosen to see Africa from the air, and should have been prepared to rely entirely on her own resourcefulness in making the tour. Everyone who knows Lady Bailey at all well realises that personal “advertisement” is the last thing she would desire; she is the most modest and unassuming of women. But her great achievement must unavoidably bring her into the “limelight.” From her point of view the whole thing resolved itself into this: She wanted to tour Africa; she was already a private owner-pilot. What more natural, then, than that she should make the tour by air? Only those who have a fairly good knowledge of Africa, with its variety of country and climate, can realise the sort of task Lady Bailey set herself. That she should have completed the tour, as far as Paris, there to be held up by fogs, is but the irony of fate, and is an experience which has befallen many air travelers. Her great flight was in any case a tour and not a spectacular “stunt” flight intended to break records, so we should not let the delay on the final stage be regarded as other than one of many incidents on a tour that must have been full of surprises and disappointments. Through tropical heat, in rain or snow, across mountains, deserts and seas, Lady Bailey carried on with a quiet determination which is, we like to think, a characteristic of our race, and her de Havilland “Moth” and “Cirrus” engine did not let her down. England is proud of the trio and its achievements.

— FLIGHT, The Aircraft Engineer & Airships, No. 1046. (No. 2. Vol. XXI.) 10 January 1929, at Page 20.

The Royal Aero Club (R.Ae.C.) awarded its Britannia Trophy for 1929 to Lady Bailey for the “most meritorious flight of the year.”

Mary (née Westenra), Lady Bailey, 1 September 1911. (Bassano Ltd., Royal Photographers. © National Portrait Gallery, London)
Mary (née Westenra), Lady Bailey, 1 September 1911. (Bassano Ltd., Royal Photographers. © National Portrait Gallery, London)

Lady Bailey was born The Hon. Mary Westenra, 1 December 1890, the daughter of the 5th Baron Rossmore. She married Colonel Sir Abe Bailey, 1st Bt., 5 September 1911 at the age of 20.

The Britannia Trophy of the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain.
The Britannia Trophy of the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain.

Soon after becoming a licensed pilot in early 1927 (Royal Aero Club Aviator’s Certificate 8067), she flew across the Irish Sea, the first woman to do so. She set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Altitude, 5,268 meters (17,283 feet), 5 July 1927.¹ She set several long distance solo flight records, including an 8,000-mile flight from Croydon, South London, England, to Cape Town, South Africa, with her DH.60X Cirrus II Moth, G-EBSF, and an 10,000-mile return flight made with another DH.60 (after G-EBSF was damaged). These were the longest solo flight and the longest flight by a woman to that time.

Harmon Aviatrix Trophy
Harmon Aviatrix Trophy

Lady Bailey was twice awarded the Harmon Trophy (1927, 1928). In 1930, she was invested Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. During World War II, The Hon. Dame Mary Bailey, D.B.E., served with the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force with the rank Section Officer, equivalent to a Royal Air Force sergeant.

Lady Mary died 29 July 1960 at the age of 70.

G-EBTG (s/n 469) was a de Havilland DH.60X Cirrus II Moth which had been sold to Lady Bailey by Commander Lionel Mansfield Robinson of Nairobi, Kenya, as a replacement for her own Moth, G-EBSF (s/n 415), which had been damaged at Tabora, Tanganyika, 4 October 1928.

G-EBTG was reconditioned by de Havilland’s and a more powerful engine was installed. The airplane changed ownership several times, and was finally written off as damaged beyond repair after a collision with a furniture van in 1938.

De Havilland DH.60 Cirrus Moth G-EBLV at Stag Lane Aerodrome. (BAE Systems)
De Havilland DH.60 Cirrus Moth G-EBLV at Stag Lane Aerodrome. (BAE Systems)

The de Havilland DH.60X Cirrus II Moth was a two-place, single-engine light biplane with a wooden airframe which was covered with plywood, with sheet metal panels around the engine. The wings and tail surfaces were fabric-covered, and the wings could be folded to fit inside a small hangar. The “X” in the type designation indicates that the airplane has a split-axle main landing gear, which forms an X when seen from the front of the airplane.

The DH.60X Cirrus II Moth (also referred to as the Moth Type X) was 23 feet, 8½ inches (7.226 meters) long with a wingspan of 30 feet, 0 inches (9.144 meters). Its height was 8 feet, 9½ inches (2.680 meters). The airplane was designed so that the wings could be folded parallel to the fuselage, giving it a width of 9 feet, 10 inches (2.997 meters). The wings had a chord of 4 feet, 4⅜ inches (1.330 meters). The vertical gap between the wings was 4 feet, 10 inches (1.473 meters) and lower wing was staggered 3 inches (7.62 centimeters) behind the upper. Both wings had 3.5° angle of incidence and 3.5° dihedral. There was no sweep. The airplane had an empty weight of 885 pounds (401 kilograms) and gross weight of 1,550 pounds (703 kilograms).

An A.D.C. Cirrus aircraft engine at the Science Museum, London. (Wikipedia)
An A.D.C. Cirrus aircraft engine at the Science Museum, London. (Wikipedia)

The Cirrus II Moth was powered by an air-cooled, normally-aspirated 4.942 liter (301.563-cubic-inch-displacement) A.D.C. (Aircraft Disposal Corporation, Ltd.) Cirrus Mark II four-cylinder vertical inline engine. This was a right-hand tractor, direct-drive, overhead-valve engine with two valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 4.9:1. It had a normal power rating of 78.5 horsepower at 1,800 r.p.m. and a maximum power rating of 84 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m. The engine drove a two-bladed, fixed-pitch propeller. The Cirrus Mk.II was 1.165 meters (3 feet, 9.87 inches) long, 0.482 meters (1 foot, 6.98 inches) wide and 0.904 meters (2 feet, 11.59 inches) high. It weighed 268 pounds (121.56 kilograms).

The DH.60X Cirrus II Moth had a cruise speed of 80–85 miles per hour (129–137 kilometers per hour) at 1,000 feet (305 meters). Its maximum speed at Sea Level was 102 miles per hour (164 kilometers per hour), and  97 miles per hour (156 kilometers per hour) at 5,000 feet (1,524 meters). It could climb to 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) in 14 minutes, and to 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) in 37 minutes. Its absolute ceiling was 14,000–15,000 feet (4,267–4,572 meters). The airplane’s maximum range was 410 miles (660 kilometers).

In 1929, de Havilland offered the Moth Type X at a price of £650 (approximately £41,000, or $52,100, in 2019). The de Havilland Aircraft Co., Ltd., built 32 of the DH.60 Cirrus II Moth variant. Nearly 900 of all DH.60 Moth models were built at the company’s factory at Stag Lane, and another 90 were built under license in Australia, France, and the United States.

This de Havilland DH.60 Cirrus Moth, G-EBLV, in The Shuttleworth Collection, is similar to the airplanes flown by Lady Bailey, from London to Cape Town and return, 1928. It is the only flying example of the Cirrus Moth.
This de Havilland DH.60 Cirrus Moth, G-EBLV, in The Shuttleworth Collection, is the same airplane shown in the photograph above. It is similar to the airplanes flown by Lady Bailey, from London to Cape Town and return, 1928. It is the only flying example of the Cirrus Moth. (www.airmuseumsuk.org)

¹ FAI Record File Number 8221

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

22 November 1913

C.A.H. Longcroft, circa 1913 (R.A.F.)

22 November 1913: Captain Charles Alexander Holcombe Longcroft, Welsh Regiment, British Army, attached to No. 2 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, as a flight commander, flies a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2.a from Montrose, Scotland, non-stop to Farnborough, Hampshire, England. The distance covered was approximately 630 miles (1,014 kilometers).¹

Captain Longcroft, accompanied by Colonel Frederick Hugh Sykes, Commandant of the Military Wing, departed Montrose Aerodrome at 8:55 a.m., flying B.E.2.a number 218. He passed York at 11:55 a.m., then continued on to Portsmouth, and next to Farnborough, where he landed at 4:10 p.m. The total duration of the flight was 7 hours, 15 minutes, at an average speed of approximately 86.9 miles per hour (139.9 kilometers per hour).

At the time, British newspapers speculated as to whether Captain Longcroft had established a new world record (or at least, a British national record), but the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale does not recognize any records attributed to Longcroft. On 13 October 1913, Auguste Seguin of France had established an FAI world record for distance of 1021,20 kilometers (634.54 statute miles) at Korobcheevo, Russia.²

For this flight, Captain Longcroft was awarded the first Britannia Trophy of the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain.

The Britannia Trophy of the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom. (RAeC)

Number 2 Squadron is the most senior of all Royal Air Force squadrons, having been founded at Farnborough, Hampshire, England, 13 May 1912. At the time the squadron was also known as No. II (Army Co-operation) Squadron.

Montrose Aerodrome, now known as RAF Montrose, was the first of twelve planned stations for the Royal Flying Corps. It was originally located at Upper Dysart Farm in Forfarshire, on the eastern shoreline of Scotland.

Captain Longcroft’s Bristol & Colonial Aeroplane Company B.E.2.a, number 218. (Montrose Air Station Heritage Cenre)

Captain Longcroft’s B.E.2.a., number 218, was built by British & Colonial Aeroplane Company (later, Bristol) at Filton, South Goucestershire, under order number A1147. It was delivered to the R.F.C. on 2 November 2013.

The B.E.2.a was slightly modified with the addition of a windscreen and a fuel tank with a capacity of 54 Imperial gallons (245 liters), “and special oiling arrangements.”

The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2.a (which stands for Blériot Experimental, meaning that it was a tractor-type airplane, which had been developed by Louis Blériot) was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. It was a two-place, single-engine, two-bay biplane which was used as a trainer, reconnaissance aircraft, artillery spotter or bomber. An observer occupied the forward cockpit and the pilot was aft.

The fuselage was constructed of a wooden framework, cross-braced with wires. The wings had wood spars and ribs. The airframe was covered in doped fabric. The B.E.2.a used wing-warping for roll control.This would be changed to ailerons for the B.E.2.b.

The wings of the 2.a and 2.b were straight with no dihedral. Both upper and lower wings had the same span and chord, and were not staggered. (The B.E.2.c added both dihedral and stagger.) The lower wing spars were connected through the fuselage with steel tubing. The landing gear had both wheels and tires, but also wood-covered steel tube skids extending forward to protect the propeller from contacting the ground.

The B.E.2.a–2.b was 29 feet, 6½ inches (9.004 meters) long with a wingspan of 38 feet, 7½ inches (11.773 meters). The wings’ chord was 6 feet, 4 inches (1.930 meters). It had an empty weight of 1,274 pounds (578 kilograms) and gross weight of 1,600 pounds (726 kilograms).

The B.E.2, B.E.2.a and B.E.2.b were powered by an air-cooled, normally-aspirated 6.949 liter (424.036 cubic inch) Renault Type WB side-valve 90° V-8 engine with two valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 4.12:1. The WB was rated at 70 horsepower at 1,750 r.p.m. The engine drove a four-bladed, fixed-pitch wooden propeller at one-half crankshaft speed. The Renault WB was 3 feet, 9.5 inches (1.556 meters) long, 2 feet, 8.8 inches (0.833 meters) high and 2 feet, 5.8 inches (0.757 meters) wide. It weighed 396 pounds (180 kilograms).

The airplane had a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour (113 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level and 65 miles per hour (105 kilometers per hour) at 6,500 feet (1,981 meters). It could climb to 3,000 feet (914 meters) in 9 minutes and to 7,000 feet (2,134 meters) in 35 minutes. The service ceiling was 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). Maximum endurance was 3 hours.

Although designed by the Royal Aircraft Factory, Farnborough, only 6 B.E.2s were built there. The remainder were built by Armstong Whitworth, British and Colonial Airplane Co., Coventry Ordnance Works, Handley Page, Hewlett and Blondeau, and Vickers.

Air Vice-Marshal Sir Charles Alexander Holcombe Longcroft, C.M.G., D.S.O., A.F.C., Royal Air Force,1930. (Walter Stoneman/National Portrait Gallery NPG x186018)

Air Vice-Marshal Sir Charles Alexander Holcombe Longcroft, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., A.F.C., Royal Air Force, was born Llanarth, Cardiganshire, Wales, 13 May 1883. He was the third of four children of Charles Edward Longcroft and Catherine Alicia Holcombe Longcroft. Charles was educated at Charterhouse, a private boarding school (for some incomprehensible reason, known in England as a “public school”) in Goldalming, Surrey, England. He then attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

C.A.H. Longcroft was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Welsh Regiment of the British Army, 2 May 1903. From 1904 to 1906, he served in India. Returning to the United Kingdom, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, 13 December 1906. He then deployed to South Africa until 1909.

On 5 March 1912, Lieutenant Longcroft was issued an aviator’s certificate (H192) by the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom.

After volunteering, on 10 April 1912 Lieutenant Longcroft was assigned to the Air Battalion, Royal Engineers. The unit operated lighter-than-air craft. The following month, 13 May 1912, he was “seconded” (temporarily transferred for duties outside of his normal unit) to the newly established Royal Flying Corps. On 1 July 1912, Lieutenant Longcroft was appointed a Flying Officer, R.F.C. On 20 November 1912, he was assigned as a flight commander, No. 2 Squadron, at Farnborough and Montrose. On that same day, he was promoted to the temporary rank of captain. That rank became permanent 13 August 1913.

Captain Longcroft was promoted to the temporary rank of major, 1 May 1914, and assigned as the commanding officer No. 1 Squadron at Farnborough, which, after the start of World War I, served on the Western Front. His new rank became permanent two months later (22 June). On 19 October 1914, Longcroft was Mentioned in Dispatches.

Major Longcroft became the commanding officer of No. 4 Squadron 29 January 1915. On 18 August 1915 he was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was reassigned to command the Training Wing.

The Imperial House of Romanov (the reigning house of Imperial Russia) awarded Major Longcroft the Order of St. Staninslas (Орденъ Св. Станислава), 3rd Class with Swords, 25 August 1915.

Brigadier-General Charles A. H. Longcroft, Royal Flying Corps, ca. 1917 (Wikipedia)

On 28 August 1916, Colonel Longcourt was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier-general. He was placed in command of 2nd (Corps) Wing, R.F.C. (His permanent rank of lieutenant-colonel was effective 1 January 1917.) Next, on 18 October 1917, Longcroft was promoted to temporary major-general. He was next assigned as General Officer Commanding, Training Division.

France appointed him an Officier de la Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur in 1917.

On 1 April 1918, the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service were combined to form the Royal Air Force (R.A.F.). Major-General Longcroft was transferred from the British Army to the R.A.F. and attached to III Brigade. While retaining that temporary rank, his permanent rank of lieutenant-colonel was confirmed and he was immediately promoted to the permanent rank of colonel. On 29 April, he was advanced once again to the temporary rank of brigadier-general, and assigned as General Officer Commanding, III Brigade.

In the New Year’s Honours List, 1 January 1918, Brigadier-General Longcroft was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.) for service under fire.

For his service during World War I, Brigadier-General Longcroft was awarded the Distinguished Service Order; the Air Force Cross; the 1914 Star with Clasp; the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal. He was also appointed a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (C.M.G.) by King George V.

On 1 May 1919, Temporary Brigadier-General Longcroft was promoted to the rank of acting brigadier-general.

The new R.A.F. changed to a new system of officer ranks. On 1 August 1919, Longcroft resigned his commission in the Welsh Brigade to accept a commission in the R.A.F. Acting Brigadier-General Longcroft became Group Captain Longcroft. Four days later, 5 August, he was promoted to Air Commodore.

The first class of cadets at RAF Cranwell, 1920. (Royal Air Force)

Air Commodore Longroft became the first commandant of the newly established R.A.F. College at Cranwell. The first cadets arrived 5 February 1920. His command consisted of 56 officers, 516 airmen, 200 cadets, 1 headmaster and 8 schoolmasters.

Air Commodore Longcroft married Mrs. William Duncan Hepburn (née Marjory McKerrell-Brown) at St. Paul’s Church, Portman Square, London, 27 April 1921. The ceremony was officiated by Squadron Leader the Reverend Bernard William Keymer, O.B.E., R.A.F. Mrs. Hepburn was the widow of Captain W. D. Hepburn, Seaforth Highlanders, British Army. The Longcrofts would have a son, Charles McKerrell Longcroft, born in 1926. (Squadron Leader Keymer was one of the first chaplains at RAF Cranwell, and is credited with creating the school’s motto, Superna Petimus—”We seek things that are above.”)

King George V appointed Air Commodore Charles Alexander Holcombe Longcroft, C.M.G., D.S.O., A.F.C., Royal Air Force, to be an Ordinary Member of the Military Division of the Third Class, of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (C.B.), 2 June 1923.³

On 9 October 1923, Air-Commodore Longcroft was placed on the Half-Pay List. Shortly after, 10 December, he was appointed Director of Personal Services.

Air Commodore Longcroft was advanced to the rank of air vice-marshal, 1 July 1925.

On 1 November 1926, Air Vice-Marshal Longcroft became Air Officer Commanding, Inland Area.

Longcroft retired from the Royal Air Force at his own request, 2 November 1929.

On 15 November 1932, King George V appointed Air Vice-Marshal Longcroft, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., A.F.C. (retired) to be Gentleman Usher of the Scarlet Rod of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.³ In 1948, he became Secretary and Registrar of the Order.⁴

On 9 June 1938, King George VI invested him Knight Commander of the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (K.C.B.).

Air Vice Marshal Sir Charles Alexander Holcombe Longcroft, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., A.F.C., Royal Air Force, died 20 February 1958 at London. He was 74 years of age.

Air Vice Marshal Sir Charles Alexander Holcombe Longcroft, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., A.F.C., Royal Air Force.

¹ Lincolnshire Echo, No. 6431, Monday, 24 November 1913, Page 3, Column 5. Some sources state the distance was 445 miles (716 kilometers) in 7 hours, 20 minutes.

² FAI Record File Number 15378

³ Supplement 32830 to the London Gazette, 2 June 1923, Page 3945

⁴ Supplement 33883 of the London Gazette, 15 November 1932 at Page 7260.

© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes

11 November 1935

Jean Gardner Batten, C.B.E., 16 October 1936, photographed by Leo Lemuel White. (Whites Aviation Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library)

11 November 1935: During a record-setting flight from England to Brazil, Jean Gardner Batten ¹ became the first woman to fly solo across the South Atlantic Ocean, flying her Percival D.3 Gull Six, G-ADPR, from Dakar, Afrique occidentale française (French West Africa, now, Senegal) to Natal, Brazil. Her elapsed time of 13¼ hours was the fastest for the Atlantic crossing up to that time.

Straight line distance between Dakar and Natal: 1,865.71 miles (3,002.57 kilometers). (Google Maps)

On 7 May 1935, Jean Batten was honored with the distinction of Chevalier de la légion d’honneur at Paris, France. At Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 21 November 1935, Getúlio Dornelles Varga, the President of the Republic of Brazil, conferred upon her its Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul (Order of the Southern Cross). The following year, Jean Gardner Batten of the Dominion of New Zealand was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) in the King’s Birthday Honours List, 19 June 1936, for general services to aviation. Twice Batten was awarded the Britannia Trophy of the Royal Aero Club, and three times she won the Harmon Trophy of the International League of Aviators. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) awarded her its Gold Medal.

Jean Gardner Batten C.B.E. with the Britannia Trophy of the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain.

“This young woman, gifted with the finest of qualities, has made a great contribution, both through her daring and her patience, to the progress of aviation in the world. This year, she is worthy of receiving the Gold Medal, very few holders of which are still alive,” said George Valentin, Prince Bibescu, the president and one of the founders of the FAI, when awarding Jean Batten the medal.

A biographical article about Jean Batten can be seen at:

https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4b13/batten-jean-gardner

Jean Batten in the cockpit of her Percival Gull. (Unattributed)
Jean Batten in the cockpit of her Percival Gull. (National Library of New Zealand)

Batten’s Percival D.3 Gull Six, c/n D55, was a single-engine, low-wing monoplane, with fixed landing gear. It was flown by a single pilot and could carry two passengers. On 29 August 1935, the airplane was assigned Great Britain civil registration G-ADPR (Certificate of Registration 6242).

The airplane was 25 feet, 0 inches (7.62 meters) long with a wingspan of 36 feet, 0 inches (10.973 meters) and height of 7 feet, 3 inches (2.210 meters). The D.3 had an empty weight of 1,632 pounds (740.26 kilograms) and gross weight of 2,450 pounds (1,111.30 kilograms).

The Gull’s fuselage was constructed of spruce stringers and struts, covered with a three-ply skin. The wings were designed to be able to fold back alongside the fuselage. The resulting width of 12 feet, 10 inches (3.912 meters) required considerably less storage space.

Jean Batten standing on the wing of her Percival Gull at Gravesend Air Port. (Archives  New Zealand)

The Gull Six was powered by an air-cooled, normally-aspirated 9.186 liter (560.573-cubic-inch-displacement) de Havilland Gypsy Six I, an inverted inline six-cylinder engine which produced 184 horsepower at 2,100 r.p.m., and 205 horsepower at 2,350 r.p.m. for takeoff. The engine turned a two-bladed fixed-pitch metal propeller via direct drive. The engine weighed 432 pounds (196 kilograms).

The Gull Six was capable of reaching 178 miles per hour (286.5 kilometers per hour). Its service ceiling was 16,000 feet (4,876.8 meters) and range was 700 miles (1,126.5 kilometers).

On 17 July 1940, Batten’s Percival Gull was impressed into military service and assigned a military identification of AX866. The airplane was returned to the civil register in 1946. It is now on display at the Jean Batten International Terminal, Auckland Airport, New Zealand.

Jean Batten's Percival D.3 Gull Six, G-ADPR, photographed 19 June 1954. (RuthAS)
Jean Batten’s Percival D.3 Gull Six, G-ADPR, photographed 19 June 1954. (RuthAS)

¹ née Jane Gardner Batten

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

20 October 1934: MacRobertson International Air Race

Poster by Percival Alerbert Trompf (Australian National Travel Association/State Library of new South Wales a928613)

20 October 1934: As a part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the city of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia, Sir Macpherson Robertson sponsored the MacRobertson International Air Races ¹ from the newly-opened Royal Air Force station, Mildenhall Aerodrome, in Suffolk, England, to the Flemington Racecourse at Melbourne, Victoria,  Australia. The distance was approximately 11,300 miles (18,185 kilometers). The winner of the race would receive a prize of £10,000 (Australian), which was approximately £7,500 (British Pounds Sterling) or $5,700 U.S. dollars. All competitors who finished the course within the 14-day race would receive an 18-carat gold medallion.

The course included five mandatory stops: at Baghdad, Kingdom of Iraq; Allahabad, Indian Empire; Singapore, Straits Settlements; Darwin, Northern Territory, and Charlevile, Queensland, both in the Commonwealth of Australia. Fuel was provided at these and more than 20 other locations along the route.

Map of MacRobertson International Air Races from Pilot’s Brochure. (State Library of NSW, call number 93/889)

The race was scheduled to start at 6:30 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time, 1 minute before sunrise on Saturday, 20 October. Competitors were scheduled to depart at 45-second intervals. There had been “more than seventy” airplanes entered, but only 20 actually started the race.

Two de Havilland DH.88 Comets and a Gee Bee at Mildenhall Aerodrome prior to the 1934 MacRobertson Race. The airfield had opened 4 days earlier. In the foreground is the Mollisons’ “Black Magic.” (BAE Systems)

The first to take off were James Allen Mollison and Amy Johnson Mollision, C.B.E., in their black and gold de Havilland DH.88 Comet racer, Black Magic (#63, registered G-ACSP). The race included three airliners: a modified Boeing 247D, Warner Brothers Comet, flown by Roscoe Turner and Clyde Pangborn; a Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (KLM) Douglas DC-2 named Ulver (Stork), with a flight crew of 4 and 3 passengers; and a De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide.

Turner and Pangborn’s Boeing 247D, “Warner Brothers Comet.”
KLM Douglas DC-2 PH-AJU (National Library of Australia 144684167)
De Havilland DH.88 Comet G-ACSR on a compass rose prior to the Race. (De Havilland Aircraft Co.)
O. Cathcart Jones and K.F. Waller, de Havilland DH.88 Comet G-ACSR, .

Jackie Cochran and Wesley L. Smith flew the “Lucky Strike Green” Granville Miller DeLackner Gee Bee R-6H, Q.E.D., race number 46. Difficulties with the airplane forced the pair to abandon the race at Budapest.

Jim and Amy Mollison with their DH.88 Comet.
Flight Lieutenant C.W.A. Scott, A.F.C., circa 1931 (Scott Family Collection)

First place went to Flight Lieutenant Charles William Anderson Scott, A.F.C., and Captain Tom Campbell Black in the DH.88 Grosvenor House. Their elapsed time was 2 days, 23 hours, 18 seconds, with a total 71 hours, 0 minutes flight time. Placing second was the KLM Douglas DC-2 at 81 hours 10 minutes air time, and in third place were Turner and Pangborn’s Boeing 247D. Only nine of the competitors finished the race, with the final finisher, the Dragon Rapide, arriving on 3 November.

In 1941, the MacRobertson Trophy was donated to the Red Cross “to be melted down for the war effort.”

¹ The race was named after Sir Macpherson’s business, MacRobertson’s Steam Confectionary Works at Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia. The race is also known as the “MacRobertson Trophy Race,” the “1934 MacRobertson London-to-Melbourne Air Race,” or “The Melbourne Centenary Air Race.”

The MacRobertson Trophy.

© 2020, Bryan R. Swopes

28 August 1957

English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163 climbing under rocket power. (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)
English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163 climbing under rocket power. (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)

28 August 1957: Michael Randrup, Chief Test Pilot of D. Napier and Son, Ltd., and Walter Shirley, Deputy Chief Engineer, fly this Royal Air Force/English Electric Canberra B Mk.2, WK163, to an altitude of 21,430 meters (70,308 feet) over southern England.  This set a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for altitude.¹

WK163 with rocket engine installed in its bomb bay. (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)
WK163 with rocket engine installed in its bomb bay. (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)

The Canberra was being used to test Napier’s Double Scorpion NSc D1-2 rocket engine, which was used to drive the airplane far beyond its normal service ceiling of 48,000 feet (14,630 meters).

After taking off from Luton, Bedfordshire, at 5:26 p.m., Mike Randrup used the Canberra’s two 6,500-pounds-thrust (28.91 kilonewtons) Rolls-Royce Avon RA.3 Mk. 101 turbojet engines to climb to 44,000 feet (13,411 meters), where he throttled the engines back to cruising r.p.m. and then ignited the Double Scorpion. The Canberra climbed at a very steep angle until reaching the peak altitude.

English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163. (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)
English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163. (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)

At this high altitude, there is an extremely narrow margin between the airplane’s stall speed and it’s critical Mach number—the point at which supersonic shock waves start to form on the wings and fuselage. On an Airspeed Limitations Chart, this area is known as “Coffin Corner.” Aerodynamicists had calculated that Randrup needed to keep the Canberra within a 15-knot range of airspeed.

Though the Canberra’s cockpit was pressurized, both Mike Randrup and Walter Shirley wore pressure suits in case of emergency.

WK163 landed back at Luton at 6:12 p.m.

Flight of Canberra WK163, 27 August 1957. (Flight)

In 1958, the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain awarded the Britannia Trophy to Randrup and Shirley.

The English Electric Canberra B.2 was the first production variant of a twin-engine, turbojet powered light bomber. The bomber was operated by a pilot, navigator and bombardier. It was designed to operate at very high altitudes. The Canberra B.2 was 65 feet, 6 inches (19.964 meters) long with a wingspan of 64 feet, 0 inches (19.507 meters) and height of 15 feet, 7 inches (4.750 meters). The wing used a symmetrical airfoil and had 2° angle of incidence. The inner wing had 2° dihedral, and the outer wing, 4° 21′. The total wing area was 960 square feet (89.2 square meters). The variable-incidence tail plane ad 10° dihedral. The airplane’s maximum takeoff weight was 46,000 pounds ( kilograms).

The Canberra B.2 was powered by two Rolls-Royce Avon RA.3 Mk. 101 engines. The RA.3 was a single-spool axial-flow turbojet with a 12-stage compressor section and single-stage turbine. It was rated at 6,500-pounds-thrust (28.91 kilonewtons).

The B.2 had a maximum speed of 450 knots (518 miles per hour/833 kilometers per hour). It was restricted to a maximum 0.75 Mach from Sea Level to 15,000 feet (4,572 meters), and 0.79 Mach from 15,000 to 25,000 feet (7.620 meters). Above that altitude the speed was not restricted, but pilots were warned that they could expect compressibility effects at 0.82 Mach or higher.

The Canberra was produced in bomber, intruder, photo reconnaissance, electronic countermeasures and trainer variants by English Electric, Handley Page, A.V. Roe, and Short Brothers and Harland. In the United States, a licensed version, the B-57A Canberra, was built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. The various versions were operated by nearly 20 nations. The Canberra was the United Kingdom’s only jet-powered bomber for four years. The last one in RAF service, a Canberra PR.9, made its final flight on 28 July 2006.

WK163 was built under license by A.V. Roe at Woodford, Cheshire, in 1954, and accepted by the Royal Air Force 28 January 1955. Having spent its entire career as a research test bed, WK163 was declared surplus in 1994 and sold at auction to Classic Air Projects Ltd. It was assigned civil registration G-BVWC.

English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163, 1997. (Mike Freer/Wikipedia)

G-BVWC last flew in 2007. As of December 2016, the record-setting Canberra was undergoing a full restoration at Robin Hood Airport, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

English Electric Canberra B2 WK163 (G-BVWC). (Tony Hisgett, via Wikipedia)
English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163, civil registration G-BVWC. The record-setting airplane has been painted in the standard Bomber Command scheme with markings of No. 617 Squadron. (Tony Hisgett, via Wikipedia)

Michael Randrup was born in Moscow, Imperial Russia, 20 April 1913. He was one of four children of Søren Revsgaard Randrup and Alexandra Pyatkova Randrup. He held Danish citizenship through his father, who had emigrated to Russia in 1899. Following the Russian revolution, the Randrup family relocated to England.

Michael was educated at The King’s School in Canterbury, Kent. He became interested in aviation in his early teens, and took his first flight as a passenger aboard an Avro 504K biplane. He began flight lessons at Bekesbourne Aerodrome in 1935, and soloed in June 1936. Randrup applied to join the Royal Air Force but was turned down because of his Danish citizenship. He then went to the Automobile Engineering College in Chelsea, West London, to study aeronautical engineering.

Randrup graduated in 1939, and along with a cousin, Ivan Christian Randrup, formed a small air charter company, AllFlights Ltd., at Heston Aerodrome, west of London. They operated a de Havilland DH.85 Leopard Moth, de Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly, and a Heston Type I Phoenix II (G-AEYX). The Phoenix was impressed into service by the R.A.F., 5 March 1940.

World War II bought their fledgling company to a close. (Ivan Randrup briefly flew for B.O.A.C. before going on to the Air Transport Auxiliary. First Officer Randrup died 29 January 1941.)

After Denmark fell to Nazi Germany in April 1940, Michael Randrup was accepted by the R.A.F. He received a commission as a Pilot Officer on probation, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 4 September 1940. One year later he was promoted to Flying Officer.

On completion of his military flight training, Pilot Officer Randrup was sent to a flying instructors school. For the next two years, he served as a military flight instructor in England and Southern Rhodesia. In 1942, Flying Officer Randrup was transferred from Training Command to Fighter Command and on 6 October, was assigned to No. 234 Squadron, then stationed at RAF Perranporth, flying the Supermarine Spitfire Vc. A number of Danish pilots had been assigned to No. 234. On 1 January 1943, Randrup was seconded to Air Service Training, Ltd., at Hamble, just southeast of Southampton, where he flight-tested new-production, repaired and overhauled Spitfire fighters.

In 1944, Randrup was assigned as a test pilot at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. Among other assignments, he flight-tested a captured Heinkel He 177 A-5/R-6 twin-engine heavy bomber. In 1945, Randrup was appointed Officer Commanding, Engine Research and Development Flight. By the end of the war, he had been promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader.

Following the war, Randrup went to work for D. Napier and Son Ltd. In 1946, he became the company’s Chief Test Pilot. The following year, he became a naturalized subject of the United Kingdom and the British Empire.

From 1966 until 1973, Randrup served as manager for the British Aircraft Corporation in Saudi Arabia. BAC provided aircraft and missiles to the Royal Saudi Air Force.

Michael Randrup was twice married, first to Florence May Dryden, and then to Betty Perry. They would have two children.

Michael Randrup died in February 1984 at the age of 70 years.

Walter Shirley, Napier Chief Development Engineer (left), and Michael Randrup, Chief Test Pilot, D. Napier and Son Ltd. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test & Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)

Walter Shirley was educated at the Blackpool Grammar School, a private boarding school in Blackpool, Lancashire, and St. Catherine’s College, University of Cambridge.

Shirley was employed as a scientific officer at RAE Farnborough from 1942 to 1946. It was while there that he first flew as a flight test engineer with Squadron Leader Randrup. Shirley was sent to an R.A.F. flight school for pilot training. In 1946, he was assigned to rocket engine development.

Shirley joined Napier in 1947, working on turbine engines. In 1952, he was appointed Chief Technician. In 1956, Shirley was made the Chief Development Engineer for the Scorpion engine. He later became the company’s Deputy Chief Engineer.

Walter Shirley died in 1993.

The Britannia Trophy of the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain.

¹ FAI Record File Number 9843

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes