SCHNEIDER CUP

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 10, 6 October 1927, Page 3

SCHNEIDER CUP

BRITISH TEAM ENTERTAINED BAR ADDED TO WEBSTER’S AIR FORCE CROSS IMPORTANCE OF THE VICTORY Rugby, October 4. Flight-Lieutenant Webster and other members of the British team which flew for the Schneider Cup were received by the Prime Minister this morning, and gave him a first-hand account of their flights. Later, they were entertained to luncheon by the Air Council. Sir Samuel Hoare, Secretary for Air, who- presided, announced that the King had approved the bestowal of a bar to the Air Force Cross, already held by Webster, in recognition of his winning the cup. Sir Samuel said that they were there to offer a heartv welcome and most sincere congratulations to the team of British military pilots who had won the blue ribbon of the air and. brought back to England a trophy that was coveted by every great country of the world. The toast which he proposed was that of the winning team, in-, chiding not only the commanding officer, Air Vice-Marshal Scarlett, the winning pilot, Lieut. Webster, and the pilots, and technical officers who had had a share in the enterprise, but all those others who had helped to make success possible, including the designers of the machines and the men who worked upon them. From start to finish the work had been-, team work, and the spirit inspiring it had been team spirit, and the victory ■ had been a team victory. The Minister expressed thanks to the Italians for their splendid hospitality and sportsmanship, particularly to Signor Mussolini and General Balbo, representatives of the vigour and enterprise of new Italy. DIFFICULTIES OF THE COURSE. After remarking upon the . difficult hairpin corners of the Schneider Cup course and upon the fact that, the machines travelled faster than 'heir sound, the Minister summed up the advantages that success of this kind conferred upon the victorious country. He said that the race showed in a conclusive manner the great progress that had been made in the air during a very short space of time. A few- years ago a speed of 45 miles per hour was sufficient to win the cup. This year the two winning British machines reached more than six times that speed, and the third British machine looked. at one time as if, with a little luck, it would have made an even greater pace Such an achievement is this was a crushing answer to the critics who, putting their heads in the sand, refused to believe that there was-any progress in the air. The designers, had gained another victory over Nature by increasing the strength and yet reducing the weight of their engines and Machines. The pilots had shown that the young Englishman, when trained in bod}’ and mind, hard as nails, and steady as a rock, could achieve feats of skill and endurance that former generations would never have imagined, possible. These young men were typical of the service in which they were officers. It was they and others’like them who, in the space of a few years, had built up a great tradition and given, the British Air Force its unrivalled position in the world. MODEST SPEECH BY WEBSTER.

Acknowledging the honour conferred upon him, Flight-Lieutenant Webster made' a modest little speech.- He declared that it was not an individual ■victory. He happened to be the pilot ■who was given the fastest machine. He added:. "I was ’sorry- when .we Came back from Italy we had to. leave behind such good fellows as dur mechanics. I would have liked them to be with us at Croydon when we arrived.” He also paid a tribute to the sportsmanship of the Italians, particularly their pilots.—British Official Wireless. HOLLAND TO EAST INDIES SERVICE ' BY TELEGHAI’H.—PRESS ASSOCIATION. . Copyright. (Rec. October 5, 7 p.in.) London, October. 5The Hague correspondent of “The Times” says the opening of ah air service between Holland and,-the East Indies as a link of the Britain to’Australia regular service is now merely a question of ground organisation, and negotiation with the countries flown over. An official of the Royal Dutch Air Service, eu route to Java, said he hoped the service would be commenced iii about a year.—“ The Times.” GERMAN MYSTERY FLIGHT SEAPLANE DESCENDS Berlin, October 4. A transatlantic seaplane came down at Schelling Woude after a flight of 135 miles, and revealed that it was a German mystery flight, which had been, long preparing secretly on an isolated island in the North Sea to wipe out the Bremen-Europa disappointment. The machine used was a Junkers D 1230 piloted by " the airmen Loose and Starke, as well as carrying a wireless operator and a mechanic. The machine rose successfully. The route was planned via Lisbon, the Azores, Harbour Grace, to New York. It is reported that the Severa Aviation . Company and the Hamburg-Amerika Line are joint backers London. October 4. ' Three German pilots, including Herr Loose, left Norderney Island in a hydroplane for New Y’ork. The first stop will be the Azores. CALIFORNIA TO AUSTRALIA FLIGHT t Washington, October 4. The Assistant-Postmaster-General, Mr. W. Irving Glover, announced that * private concern would attempt a flight from San Francisco to Australia via Honolulu about October 15, and stated that the Post Office Department had decided to permit the taking of 1500 letters from the United States to Australia on the flight, permission therefor having been obtained by the Australian Minister of Posts and Telegraphs, Mr. Brown, who- was attending the International Radio Conference. President Coolidge would send a letter to Mr. Stanley Bruce, while the PostmasterGeneral, Mr. New, would send an epistle to the Australian PostmasterGeneral, Mr. Gibson. General Glover declared that opportunity would be given to the public to send letters to Australia bv ’plane, a selection being made from as many different sources as possible