LONGEST POLAR FLIGHT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25851, 23 May 1945, Page 5

LONGEST POLAR FLIGHT

LANCASTER TO LEAVE YUKON NON-STOP HOP TO LONDON (Rec. 11 p.m.) OTTAWA, May 21. An R.A.F. Lancaster packed with technical equipment set out late tonight for Whitehouse, Yukon, to start history’s longest polar flight—the 5400mile non-stop hop over the North Pole to England. The plane carried what is said to be the largest supply of oxygen ever put on board a -single aircraft, comprising 28 large tanks containing enough oxygen to supply the crew of 11 for 35 hours’ continuous flying at 25,000 feet. The plane’s main mission is to gather data on polar flying conditions. The British-built Lancaster Aries of the Empire Air Navigation School of the R.A.F. Flying Command, flew over the North Magnetic Pole from Goose Bay Canada, and returned to Montreal. After its flight over the North Geographical Pole last week, Aries left Iceland on Friday and flew over the North Magnetic Pole, and landed at Dorval.

Electrical difficulties arose, however and the commander of the expedition, Wing Commander McKinley, decided to land at Goose Bay on the north-east coast of Canada. From there the aircraft took off on Saturday afternoon, and successfully reached the North Magnetic Pole, landing at Dorval ten minutes after noon on Sunday.