ALTITUDE RECORD FLIGHT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 2 October 1936, Page 5

ALTITUDE RECORD FLIGHT

PILOT’S STORY A DRAMATIC STRUGGLE (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, 30th September. A dramatic story was told of his experience in the upper air by Squadron Leader Swain, test pilot of the Experimental Section of the Royal Air Force establishment at Farnborough, who has been personally congratulated by the Air Minister (Lord Swinton) on the success of his 3 hours 20 minutes’ flight in which the old altitude record was captured on Monday. It was the Royal Air Force’s first attempt on the record, and, by reaching a height of 49,967 feet, Squadron Leader Swain outdistanced the previous record established last month by a French pilot by 1296 feet. The great achievement was accomplished by a specially-designed Bristol 138 open aeroplane fitted with a Pegasus engine. The fuselage is of monococque construction, rounded in front and rectangular in the rear. With a wing span of 66 feet, it is one of the largest single-enginer aeroplanes ever built.

The pilot, who was encased in a helmeted and sealed flying suit to give him warmth and oxygen in the rarefied upper air, says that the most critical moment in his flight occurred during the descent, when he began to feel suffocated. He says: “I had the impression that I was getting short of oxygen. I was gradually feeling weaker. I pressed the release lever which should have opened the cockpit cover, but that failed to function. I tried the zip cord attached to my suit for such an emergency, but could not find the fastener. Over my suit I was wearing fighting harness and parachute harness. I had to get my head clear of the helmet as I was gradually getting weaker, and the only thing to do was the cut open the window of the helmet with a clasp-knife. I had great difficulty in doing this, because I was feeling so weak, but, with a final effort. I thrust the knife through and slit the window, tearing it off with my hand. As soon as the fresh air got in I felt better. I found I was then 14,000 feet up over Yeovil.’' Describing the view as he looked down from 46,000 feet, Squadron Leader Swain said:

“I could see the whole of the English south coast from Margate to Land's End and north almost as far as the Wash. London looked like a toy town and the Thames like a piece of narrow ribbon. South I could see the coast of France and the Channel Islands, looking like small stones in the bed of a river. I felt small and lonely, and had the impression that England was a very small place.”