Alcock & Brown’s Competitors

Peter Elliott

Curator Emeritus

Daily Mail prizes

• 1906 London to Manchester (Paulhan 1910)

• 1908 Cross-Channel (Blériot 1909)

• First circular flight of a mile or more by a British pilot in a British-built machine (Moore-Brabazon)

• 1911 1000 mile Circuit of Britain (Conneau)

• 1912 1000 mile Seaplane Circuit of Britain (not won)

• 1913 Transatlantic flight

American Air Bridge?

“It is understood that the U.S.A. Govt are most anxious to fly their large machines straight across to France instead of by shipment, time and money being saved thereby. This places the whole question on a totally different footing to that originally advanced by Mr Handley-Page where the prestige of Great Britain being first across the Atlantic was the chief consideration.”

Vickers

The Transatlantic Competition

The hopefuls…

Pilot & crew Aircraft

Capt. Sundstedt & Maj.

Morgan

Sundstedt Sunrise

(seaplane)

Crashed on a test flight,

27 March

Mr Dawson Kennedy-Dawson

(Modified Sikorsky)

Not built?

S Pickles & A G D West Fairey Atlantic (modified

IIIC)

Capt. A Payze + 2 Whitehead biplane Not built?

J A Peters &

Capt W R Curtis

Alliance Seabird Did not compete

Maj. Savory, Capt. Woolner &

A L Howarth

Boulton & Paul P.8 First aircraft crashed,

second aircraft not ready in

time

Alliance Seabird

Boulton & Paul P.8

The five competitors

Pilot & crew Aircraft

Maj. J C P Wood &

Capt. C C Wyllie

Short Shirl “Shamrock”

H G Hawker & Cdr R Mackenzie Grieve Sopwith Atlantic

F Raynham & Capt. Morgan Martinsyde Raymor

Maj. Herbert Brackley, Adm. M Kerr, Maj. T Gran, F

Wyatt, H A Arnold & C C Clements

Handley Page V/1500

J Alcock &

A Whitten Brown

Vickers Vimy

First across: Curtiss NC-4

Wood & Wyllie

Hawker & Mackenzie Grieve

Hawker & Mackenzie Grieve

Hawker & Mackenzie Grieve

Marketing opportunity No. 1: Selfridges

Marketing opportunity No. 2: Motor Radiators

Marketing opportunity No. 3

Raynham & Morgan – preparing to go

Raynham & Morgan

Handley Page

Brackley and crew

Left to right:

H A Arnold or C C Clements (Fitter & Rigger)

Mr Wyatt (Wireless operator)

Major Trigby Gran

Admiral Mark Kerr

Major Herbert Brackley

Brackley & Crew

Brackley and crew – Plan B

Alcock & Brown

Conclusions

• Was a single engine worth the risk?

• Some novel design features:• Trim

• Jettisonable undercarriage

• Emergency provision

• Use of wireless

• Friendly rivalry

• Wing-walking

Journey’s End