THE WORLD S GREATEST AIRMAN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 25, 30 January 1937, Page 8 (Supplement)

THE WORLD S GREATEST AIRMAN.

THEORY OF KINGSFORD SMITH'S EW.

Collapsed In The Cockpit?

"1 Don't Feel Fit Enough For The Job."

THE LAST TRAGIC FLIGHT

(By r-LYING-OFFICER BEAU SHEIL, who was Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's persona] assistant.) (Copyright.) XXV.

44T DON'T fed lit enough for the job, A but I'm going to pee it through." Those were almost the last words Smithy said to me, as lie saw nie off ;it Southampton mi tho ship for New three (In v.* before lie made his take-off on that, final, fatal flight. I am inclined to the belief that, his physical condition was the cause of his going down before he reached Singapore. I have more reason to say that than I have to think mechanical or structural failure was the cause, although no one can say what actually happened. I had to leave England on Sunday. November .'I, 1935, for a conference on the proposed Tnsnian service on the following Friday in New Vork. I did not think lie would take off until I bad arrived in New York and cabled him the result, of negotiations. While T was on the Atlantic, however, he received a favourable weather report and took off on the morning of November 0. When I arrived in America he iiad been missing over 24 hours. Ho had been very ill before his first take-off on October 20, when he was forced by frightful weather to return fropi the coa«t jf Greece, witii the wings of the Lady Southern Cross damaged by ic« formation. The leading edges of the wings were pitted o.id torn by the

R. X. Boiilton, who was Smithy's 1 trusty engineer at Mascot for years, had < come abroad with Tom Pethybridge, 1 whom Smithy was taking as co-pilot, and Boulton supervised the wing repairs and thoroughly overhauled the engine a second time before the final 1 flight. Smithy said, as I was leaving ' England, that he was completely satisfled with the condition of the 'plane. On the first occasion when he wa« to leave we had dinner at the Croydon airport hotel. He did not seem well or look well. He went to bed immediately after dinner. About 2 a.m. the night porter "ailed me. saying Sir Charles was very ill. I went to Smithy's room. He was definitely a sick man. He had a temperature, and was concerned about the people coming to the aerodrome to nee him off. I told him that he would be alright if he had a few hours' sleep, and gave him a hot drink and aspirin. As soon as he was axleep I left him and sent a cable informing the Australian Broadcasting Commission (which had arranged to purchase exclusive messages relative to the flight) that the flight was postponcd. His instruction that he should be called early that morning to take off I cancelled. It was unthinkable that he should fly. Smithy did not waken until 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Then I called in' a doctor. On the doctor's advice lie remained in bed for the ne\t two days. He had caught a severe chill. During this time T put it to him that he was in no fit physical condition to attempt to Wreak the record of Scoft and Black to Australia. He finally agreed that ( should book h'w passage back by ship. That was actually done. We cabled Stalinage in Sydney for additional funds to ship the Jady Southern Cross back to Australia, and meet other expenses abandonment of the flight would entail. Sta linage was unable to send the money owing to payment for the Southern Cross not having been made. As we had credit for petrol supplies and nearly £2000 in view from the flight, Smithy decided to fly back, attempting record time, as originally planned. To fully understand Smithy's condition in England, it is necessary to recall the set-backs he had since the Melbourne Centenary air race. All these aspects, however, have been dealt with, including public criticism of his choice of American aircraft firstly for the air race, and secondly for the Tamilian service, his difficulties in America with our regulations and his long drawnout negotiations with the Air Ministry for permission to carry more than 11S gallons of petrol. Nervous worry promoted by these conditions, particularly by the last-mentioned, had definitely affected his health. Worry is a potent cause of physical disorder. Moroover, the years of rigorous flying had taken some toll of Smithy's resistance. It will be remembered that Smithy was a sick man Jiefore his first solo flight from England to Australia; lie , was forced to land in Turkey when he attempted to break Mollison's record from Australia in 1031; he was so sick 1 and nervy during his record solo flight ■ to Australia in the Percival Gull in IO.'M that only his indominitable will carried him through. 1 That, partly, was the reason hfle , attempted the last flight. There were financial difficulties as previously menturned, in shipping the machine back to Austialia but even so other men would have abandoned the idea of flyinjr back It was not «o with Smithy. He had been sick before and still made records. On previous occasions the "physical Smith" had cried a warning to the mind and spirit of Smithy "Give it up," but ho had not given up, and had gone on and conquered. He could do it again.' He was "going to sea the job through." Don't call this rashness or foolhardiness. There was something magnificent about this willingness of the spirit scorning the weakness of the flesh. It was the spirit of Smithy. One may try to explain it, to say what

tributed to its final defeat, even fight against it as I did when I booked his passage by ship back to Australia, but it was this spirit of Smithy's which made him the great man he was. Of this 1 am <|iiite certain—Smithy would! not have railed against his fate. I can almost hear him say "It's the luck of the game." And there was a tragic grandeur to his end. such as would not befit the deaths of lesser men. \Ahat of his fate? It is, it seems a mystery, the solution of which we are never to know. And one of twenty possible mishaps may have occurred, but I visualise that what happened was, perhaps, like this: It is a few minutes before 0027 hours G.M.T. (0.27 a.m. London time) at Lympne airport. Smithy climbs into the front seat of the Altair. Tommy Pethybridge is in the rear seat of the cockpit; short, stalwart "Tommy" with his dark, curly hair, his frank eyes, who would have flown to hell with "The Boss" he idolised. The Wasp motor is warmed up, the celluloid roof of the cockpit closed. Eleven thousand miles away is Melbourne. Scott and Black in their Comet in the MaeRobertson race got there in 71 hours. It is the toughest long-distance record in the world to beat. And the route won't have all the planned facilities it had for that race. But the "Lady" can do it—so ghe her the gun. The sleek blue shape of the Altair speeds away. Eight hours later they are in Greece. Smithy write* a cable to the Australian Broadcasting Commission — " Landed Athens after eight hours' flight. Some bad weather, but everything O.K. Hope to leave for Bagdad within hour.— Kingsford Smith." The next cable to the A.B.C. is: "Arrived Bagdad all well and machine functioning perfectly. Expect arrive three or four days." Within the hour he takes off for Allahabad.

speed at high altitude, as Smithy take* over the controls. Tommy lets go his dual control stick and relaxes. Smithy is flying to check the course on Rangoon. At 1900 hours G.M.T. (5.30 a.m. local time) the aerodrome officer at Rangoon hears the sound of a 'plane passing over. The course from India to Rangoon is roughly nor'-west. Smithy turns south-east for Singapore.

He had told his brother that he would take a direct line from Rangoon to Singapore, but now he thinks it would be better to wait for daylight before cutting corners. It will be daylight when he hands over to Tommy at 5 a.m. He will have made Mergui by then, or at least he will be able to see and recognise locations on the coastline of the Malay Peninsula. Then he will put Tommy on a direct course for Singapore and relax himself for four hours. How long it takes four hours to pass when one is weary, weak! The miles are reeled off at 180 or more an hour, distance is being wiped away in that blackness below. But time drags leaden-footed while the wing*? outside this speeding "sky cell" where he sits rush through the night across the globe. Out there, 20 or 30 miles away, the little brown men of Burma are sleeping in their huts. The white men of India behind him and of Singapore down on the tip of that so lengthy crooked finger of land are sleeping comfortably in bed. In bed . . . sleeping! What would he not give now to pillow his head in that oblivion of rest? And it is only halfpast two.

When they roach Allahabad the Lady Southern Cross has covered 5000 miles, nearly half the route distance to Melbourne, in 30J hours. They are four hours behind the time Scott and Black made to Allahabad, but if they can maintain the speed they are making they will reach Melbourne in 07 hours, Breaking tlie record by four hours. The Comet's speed decreased over the final stages, when one motor ran badly. That is the schedule position at Allahabad. At a few minutes to 7 a.m. (Indian time) on the morning of November 8 let us look at Smithy. He is climbing back into the front cockpit. All the fuel he needs is in the tanks—the "no-more-than-118-gallons'' ban is .5000 miles behind him, back in Kngland. Now it is non-stop for Singapore. At 12.">8 hours G.M.T. lie makes the last take-off of his life. Watchers say and newspaper men report that Smithy is ill and Tommy Pethy bridge takes the machine off. They say that Petliybridge makes the takeoff because Tommy sits in the back sent, because in all the two seat 'planes they have seen the pilot sits in the rear seat. But the Lockheed is different. The pilot sits in the front seat, the relief pilot in the back. And, though Tommy is a grand little flyer, Smithy would not think of letting him take-off the Lockheed with a heavy petrol load; that would not only be risky, but it would be unfair to Tommy. The other question is, "Is Smithy ill?" The chances are that he is not actually "ill," but he is feeling the strain, the terrific strain of the most gruelling record flight he has ever attempted. For the past 30 hours he has been in the 'plane, with three stops of about an hour. For the first time in his career he must continue on without a stop for sleep after such a stretch in the air. Smithy had the endurance to do that. But has he it now? He is 38. The years that have given him triumph and glory have taken some payment of him in physical fortitude. And, again, he has been ill in England. An English October, with winter beginning, is not the month for rapid recuperation. Is it because of weakness and tiredness that he forgets to send a cable from Allahabad to the A.8.C.? It is over thirty hours since he slept, at Lympne, and he is haggard with fatigue. There can be no real sleep in a record flight 'plane, cramped in a cockpit. with a high-power supercharged motor roaring out in front. The, four-hour spells while Tommy flew have done little if anything to restore his resistance. Tommy is fit, for Tommy is young and strong, with abundant vitality; but this is Tommy's first big flight. Notable young flying instructor though he has been at Mascot, Tommy Pethybridge cannot be expected to take a full half-share of a job of this magnitude. Smithy does the "tough stuff," does most of the thinking about the course. Tommy, however, • is far from being a passenger. He takes over now for a foiTY-hour spell. It is almost exactly 7 o clock in the evening and they are flying into the night for Singa-1 pore, due to arrive there* shortly after j noon next day. I Tommy takes the course and keeps it, so that they pass over Dum Dum aerodrome at Calcutta, before midnight. Then he sets the course for Rangoon Now they are headed out over the water, out over the Bay of Bengal. They have done 200 miles or so towards the jagged tongue of land that pro- ; prudes down from Burma to form the Cult' of Mnrtahnn. They are living hi-h

Fresh from a night's sleep at Rangoon another flier is winging down through the night on this same course. It i; Jimmy Melrose, who does not fly so high or so fast in his green Pereival Gull. The fair-headed 22-year-old flier had started with Broadbent from England. both after the solo record, held by Smithy. Jim Broadbent has a highpowered motor in his Gull and after leaving Karachi has pushed out in front. But Melrose is hoping to beat the frime Smithy set, though Broadbent will, barring accidents, have the record. Melrose can hear no other sound but his own engine's roaring, but looking up at 2..10 a.m. he sees a spurting flame light in the pky. Exhaust flames from an aircraft. That must be the Lockheed. He had heard that Smithy was on the way. The spitting light of the exhaust flames, which are quite normal to the 'plane, pass over him and. growing smaller, vanish into the night. Melrose figured he was 150 miles south-east of Rangoon. Smithy has sped over Melrose. His body is aching with fatigue. He steels himself and will not let his eyelids fall down on the gaze he concentrates on the cockpit instruments. ■ The mind is still willing but the flesh protests its weakness now. The weakness begins softening and bending the iron will. It is the hour when human vitality is at its lowest ebb. Responses came slowly from the worn-down nervous system. The tired brain rejects a warning within itself, "Hand over to Tommy now." No, if he can stick it his spell of flying will soon be up. Must see it through. His eyes are sunken and a fixed gaze comprehends the flying instruments. The hand on the stick makes almost mechanical movements between his knees, flying up, flying on until— Smithy falls forward. The stick jroes forward, too. He does not see the needle of the airspeed meter jump past 200 to 250 to 300 as the 'piane dives down, or the altimeter needle dropping back, back, back in thousands of feet. But Tommy Pethybridge has seen it. He grasps the stick and tries to haul it back. Smithy's weight is on it. The dizzying dive is over 300 miles an hour as Toriimv gets the stick buck part of the way. Centrifugal force presses him into the seat and his brain cells seem about to burst as lie partly flattens out the dive—too late. There is a moment of blinding shock as the 'plane makes impacts with the sea. The wooden wings are smashed to pieces as it strikes. They have no thoughts or feelings any more as the cloud of spray falls back on the heaving water and the swell is as it was before on the wide Bay of Bengal.

That afternoon the duty staff officer at the Royal Air Force base at Singapore I reported to the . commanding officer. I Air Commodore Sydney Smith, that Rangoon , had reported that Sir Charles Kingsford Smith passing over there at 19.00 hours, G.M.T. Since then no word of the aircraft had been received. It was then four hours overdue at Singapore. Air Commodore Sydney Smith communicated with all intermediate! landing grounds without result. Jmme- ! diately the "aircraft in distress" procedure—circulation of information regarding the missing airmen to all shipping and aircraft, port authorities, State and other civil officers and police and railway officials throughout Malaya, Siam and Burma — was put into operation. Two flying boats of No. 205 squadron left at dawn. They searched the coastline, the islands of the Mergui Archipelago and swept the sea areas adjacent to the direct course from Rangoon. Four Vildebeestes of No. 100 (torpedo bomber) squadron joined in the search of the coastline, the islands and also clearings where the Lady Southern Cross could have been seen had it come down on land. If it came down into the jungle there was little hope of it being located from the air. The trees average 150 feet in height; the branches would not support the lightest of 'planes in the treetops, and, falling through, it would be screened from view. On November 15 nine other Vildebeeste bombers relieved the four which had been searching for five days. The flying boats continued to sweep the sea. Melrose, who had reported seeing the exhaust flames, had given up his flight and joined in the search. The Commonwealth Government of Australia had requisitioned the R.M.A. Brisbane of Qantas Empire Airways | from Singapore and. in charge of Captain G. U. ("Scotty") Allan, it searched from Victoria Point over the east coast to Penang and the uninhabited mountain country from Penang to Singapore. For ten days the Air Force search went on and "Scotty" Allan in the Qantas 'plane carried on after that, Fifty thousand leaflets, printed In five different natives languages, were scattered from the air, offering a reward of £500 from the Commonwealth Government and £100 from the Australian Flying Corps Association for information leading to the finding of the airmen. A Buddhist priest did the transcription into one native language, another was done by a Siamese dancing girl. Headmen of all villages were communicated with and ground searches were organised all along the Malay Peninsula. Many rumours and reports which kindled hopes anew were investigated. I Not a trace of Smithy or of Tom Pethyi bridge or of the Lady Southern Gross j was found. I What more is there to say except how , privileged I was in being associated with him. (Conclusion.)