1919 England to Australia Vimy Flight- first Airmail?

[Mark_pilkington]

Gents,

In 1919 Ross and Keith Smith flew their Vickers Vimy in the first flight from England to Australia, and carried some flight covers/mail with them, this being the first airmail between the two country's and the first international mail into Australia.

Does anyone knwo how many items of airmail were sent on that trip??

regards

Mark Pilkington

[SteveYoung]

And 86 years on, it's probably still just as quick and accurate as today's Royal Mail.

Sorry Mark, I have no idea about the answer. But what an astounding feat it was, just sixteen years after man's first powered flight...

[Andy in Beds]

Originally Posted by Mark_pilkington

Gents,

In 1919 Ross and Keith Smith flew their Vickers Vimy in the first flight from England to Australia, and carried some flight covers/mail with them, this being the first airmail between the two country's and the first international mail into Australia.

Does anyone knwo how many items of airmail were sent on that trip??

regards

Mark Pilkington

Mark
I'll have a look later to see if I can find out.
Cheers
Andy

[STORMBIRD262]

Well Mark,
After going through all my book's close by to reach(about six different type's), covering this sort of thing,
I have seen everything BUT the Amount of mail carried.

Lot's of great net site's around to Mark, But NONE I have seen so far have the answer.

I will hit the HEAVY book stuff, in my collection tomorrow, as I am too Knackered now.

Seen a few bit's of it(the first mail) for sale ere and there on the net, but not how much arrived on that first flight.

If know one else beat's me to it Mark, I will check back soon with what I can find out mate,

[Andy in Beds]

Mark,
I've drawn a blank too on how much mail was carried to Australia.
However, I've been reading about the flight this evening in several different books and like much else in aviation from that era it is largely forgotten today.
I never realised that four men flew down to Australia on board G-EAOU, Ross and Keith Smith but also mechanics Sgts. J.M. Bennett and W.H. Shiers.
The flight took 28 days of which 135 hours and 55 minutes was spent in the air.
Vickers subsequently presented G-EAOU to the Australian Government and it is currently preserved I believe in Adelaide.
Sadly much of the original structure of the aeroplane was destroyed by a fire in November 1957 it was restored to close to original condition and remains (I hope) on display there.
I must apologise to the Australian members of our little congregation about my ignorance of this flight but I know more after today!
Also James, get your sorry butt down there to Adelaide and get the forum a picture.
Cheers
Andy

[Andy in Beds]

Rob
well done for that.
Also on the National Geographic site there were a couple of 1969 commemorative stamps illustrated.
They were released for the fiftieth aniversary of the flight of Alcock and Brown in 1969.
My sister was a stamp collector and I remember she had those two in her collection along with a set released to commemorate The Battle of Britain.
I wish I'd got them now.
Probably not worth too much but nice to have.
Cheers
Andy

[Mark_pilkington]

Robbo,

excellent work, thankyou very much for that great detective work.

Andy,
thanks also for your efforts to look up this information,

Yes, it was an outstanding flight to undertake, and the Vimy does still exist on display in its own little glass box at Adelaide airport, unknown to most Australians, and unware by most who travel through the nearby airport terminal (THe same is true of Kingsford Smiths "Southern Cross" which is similarly displayed at Brisbane Airport but out of main stream passenger view).

I am not aware of how badly the Vimy was damaged in the 1957 fire, I believe its mentioned at the display in Adelaide and detailed in its restoration, I do not recall being given the impression the damage that extensive? to destroy its originality.

As I said its existance is largely unknown by the average Australian, nor the men and historic flight it undertook, which is really sad for a nation which played such a role in pioneering long distance flight.

I have always envied the way the US takes such pride in its aviation achievements, with the quality of its National Air and Space Museum, USAFM and National Museum of Naval Aviation.

I have always admired the way the UK has had such a strong movement to preserve its aviation heritage, the efforts of Richard Shuttleworth and others like Nash, pre WW2, and the rise of the volunteer museums, and then the belated creation of a wonderful RAFM and other National Collections - "DUXFORD" one word says it all.

I was surprised when reading the recent book on the British Aircraft Preservation Council (Vampires and Fleas) that the Smith Brothers Vimy (a joint heritage relic of the UK and Australia) was recorded in the book as no longer surviving - a measure of how forgotten, and well hidden Australia's aviation heritage has become.

Duigan, Houdini, Ross and Keith Smith, Hinkler, Kingsford Smith, Ulm, Scott, Wilkins, Mollison and Amy Johnson are all relatively unknown to the average Australian, there is little of such taught in our schools, there is little presented by our public institutions, other than State government run Museums which tried to save what they could at the time.

There have been numerous attempts to get a National Aviation Museum off the ground in Australia - at least $10M was wasted in the last "NASMA" effort, the Vimy and Southen Cross will never dwell in a common place and be truelly presented as they should be, and it appears Australia may never fully protect or present its wonderful civil aviation heritage, while Government money focuses purely on the military and service collections.

Interestingly on paper in Australia we also have a privately owned National Aviation Museum, National Air Museum, NASMA, and a public proposal to waste $25M to $40M on a building for a Government National Aerospace Centre stranded on the banks of a lake in Canberra with no runway access, and the hope of a National Aviation Museum at Point Cook is still only that.(and none of these have any civil aeroplanes to display!)

The Australian volunteer museums will continue to have to carry the load of preserving Australia's civil aviation heritage on the back of volunteers and on the smell of an oily rag, while being derided along the way for doing so.

The Moorabbin Air Museum is the only existing collection that is broad and comprehensive enough to fill that gap, yet the deriders take great exception to its use of the "Australian National" Aviation Museum title. (even though its collection policy is not just preserving and displaying the heritage of "Moorabbin" as the name implied)

This is why I donate so much of my time to that particular Museum.

I do wish my Nation, my Government, and my fellow aviation enthusiasts would all work together before Australia looses more of its rich aviation heritage, and misses the opporthunity to present it as it should be.


(woops - theres my soap box again)

regards

Mark Pilkington

[Andy in Beds]

Mark
thanks for your well thought out post.
It's sad that two such important aircraft are left so isolated and are not displayed together.

At least while they still exist there's always hope things might improve in the future.
Thanks for posting--any pictures of of G-EAOU or Southern Cross?
Cheers
Andy

[Mark_pilkington]

Robbo,

could you please re-post the link for national geographic it appears to have lsot something in the middle??

regards

Mark P

[STORMBIRD262]

Cool the Answer, well done Robbo mate!

I had just started digging though my Heavy book's(The Illustrated Encyclopedia of AIRCRAFT stuff,
My book just shelf's let's out a sigh, and moan, but has not thrown the towel in just YET , I nearly did getting them . .

Great thead Mark ,
Shall I spice it up a bit with a few er borrowed Picture's for education purpose's, and put some great link's to site's, about this trip, seen some great pic's of the crew and plane around .

The Moorabbin's site's is a good one mate! .

[STORMBIRD262]

p.s. the Chevy powered Vimy had slipped my mind!!!!

[JDK]

Sorry AIB,
I've not been to Adelade (yet) it's on a list...

I broadly agree with Mark's post above - another note on which is that Canada, a country in aviation terms is similar to Australia (lots of inhospitable bu@@er all brought together by aircraft) has a number of great museums, No.1 being the Canada Aviation Museum (and for our Quebeckers that's Musée de l'aviation du Canada) www.aviation.technomuses.ca which is a sample of what Australia should have, and is IMHO one of the world's great collections - they've even got an ex RAAF Maurice Farman!

However Rockliffe is in Ottawa, the nation's captial, so a number of things came together to make it possible - in Australia, Point Cook, Australia's Rockliffe equivalent is near Melbourne, and Canberra is a long way away as is Sydney. Rather like some of the pointless bitching on the forum, there's too many involved who'd rather stop anyone else having the toys than accept a great toyshop / museum off their patch.

I attach a couple of pics of the Southern Cross in Brisvegas below, with some of the usual suspects in the way. JDK, some Sea Fury driver from the USA and Setter. The Southern Cross is one of two amazing a/c I saw that morning, the other one is going to be a unique flyer and quite shipshape and Bristol fashion. Hoping it's not too long now.

Andy, if I told you what W.W.I aircraft the Australian War Memorial destroyed in the inter war period you'd cry.

Cheers!

[STORMBIRD262]

Right on JDK Mate!! .

Glad you told us who the Goon's are , spoil's the plane shot a bit though! .

I thought it was just two security bouncer's , one LARGE and the other rather skinny, removing a small gremlin found hiding in the Aircraft display .

[Andy in Beds]

Originally Posted by STORMBIRD262

I thought it was just two security bouncer's, one LARGE and the other rather skinny, removing a small gremlin found hiding in the Aircraft display

The prospect of Steve Patterson as a small gremlin has just lifted my morning.
I shall insist on calling him that when I see him.
Cheers
Andy

[JDK]

Ees quite big, for a Gremlin.