On 18 May Capt. Harry Hawker with Mc Kenzie Grieve. R.N., as pilot, left Saint Johns with their Sopwith and were forced to alight, through engine trouble, in the ocean 1,000 miles east of their starting point and 900 miles from Ireland, their attempted landing point. They were given, up as lost for days, but a Dutch tramp steamer picked them up in a sinking con dition and landed them. Their plane followed the well-known design of the Sopwith war planes. It had 4 feet width, 31 feet length, tested flight duration 24 hours at 100 miles per hour. Engine was Rolls-Royce developing 375 horse power at 1,800 revolutions. Propeller was four-bladed and geared to 1,200 revolu tions. Machine, weighed 6,000 pounds fully equipped for the long flight.
On 14 June at 12:13 P.M., New York time, Capt. John Alcock and Lieut. Arthur Brown. pilot, started in their Vickers "Vimyo bomber plane from Saint Johns, Newfoundland, and landed at Clifden, Galway, Ireland at 4:40 A.M. next day. New York time. Mistaking from their height a bog for a green grass land sur face, they nearly wrecked their machine on landing, and it buried itself up to the axles and then toppled over on its side. The brave pas sengers were rescued by landsmen. They had navigated the Atlantic for the first time in a non-stop passage. The wonderful flight was 1,960 miles, and it was completed in 16 hours 12 minutes at the average speed of 120 miles per hour. They had reckoned on the advantage of a full moon, but dense fog and mist ob scured both moon and stars for 14 hours, mak ing the voyage doubly perilous. The air was so cold it caked the instruments with ice. Soon after the start the wireless radio apparatus got loose and blew away and their receiver was unable to receive messages either because of l'statie conditions. Hence these two brave bird-men and the world were dead to each other 16 hours, adding much to the anxiety of all. But the $50,000 prize offered by the London Daily Mail for the first non-stop passage was earned as well as the national greeting. The Vickers uVimy) plane was motored by two Rolls-Royce engines and was built for bombing. Its wing was 67 feet 2 inches. Length over all was 42 feet 8 inches; gap, 10 feet; chore, 10 feet 6 inches. Gasoline capacity was 870 gal lons, weighing 6,000 pounds. The two Rolls Royce Eagle 375 horse-power engines were carried between the upper and lower planes either side of the fusilage. The strength of the gVimy)) is brought about by hollow seamless tubing in its construction. It had a double under carriage equipped with two-wheel chassis beneath each engine. Entirely equipped full weight was 13,000 pounds.
R-34 Flight.— July 5 Com.-Maj. G. H. Scott, R.A.F., completed his non-stop flight, on the dirigible balloon airship R-34, across the Atlantic Ocean by landing at Roosevelt Field, Mineola, Long Island, N. Y. It took 108 hours 12 minutes in itspassage from East Fortune air station, near Edinburgh, Scotland. Air dis tance traveled (as per log) was East Fortune to Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, 2,050 nautical miles (2,357 statute miles) • Trinity Bay, New foundland, to Roosevelt Field, 1,080 nautical miles (1,242 statute miles), a total of 3,130 nautical miles (3,559 statute miles), regardless of drift from powerful winds. Headwinds and
thunderstorms rocked her and lifted her 800 feet one time. Wind was sometimes 50 miles per hour. Shortly before ending her voyage the wind obstructions had so nearly exhausted her fuel as to cause her to send radio calls for additional gasoline, but the wind veered and it became unnecessary. Personnel: Maj. G. H. Scott in command; Capt. G. S. Greenland, first officer; 2d Lieut. H. F. Luck, second officer; Brig.-Gen. E. M. Maitland, executive officer; Lieut.-Comdr. Z. Lansdowne, United States navy; Maj. G. G. H. Cooke, navigating officer; Lieut. Guy Harris, meteorological officer; 2d Lieut. R. D. Durrant, wireless officer; W. 0. W. R. Mayes, coxswain, besides 11 warrant offi cers and men, six riggers, two wireless oper ators and a stowaway (Ballantyne), who had been formerly a rigger with the crew and re fused to be left behind After several days' stay at Mineola R-34 returned across the ocean to F..ngland (her second passage) without re markable incident.
R-34 Construction.— The dirigible was of rigid eppelin type, guilt from designs of Boardman, and COMPany, Ltd., Glasgow. The machinery was built and !Melted by Sun beam Motor Car Company, Ltd., Wolverhamp ton. She was launched 14 March 1919. Capac ity was 2,000,000 cubic feet in 19 gas bags. Length Aver all, 920 Gross with 95 per eent hydrogen at 15 C. and 760 millimeters baromctic pressure, 68 tons. Total horse power 1,375. Speed average, 75 miles per hour. Framework was constructed on longitudinal and transverse lattice girders of duralumin built from three-corner rails and X.shapedpieces. Art A-shaped keel at bottom of the hull fur nished passage between the cars. The keel contained 81 gasoline tanks of 71 gallons each and storage room for supplies. Sleeping was in hammocks suspended from main ridge of keel. Weight, by tons, carried was: Gasoline (4,900 gallons), 15.8; oil, 0.9; water ballast, 3; crew and baggage, 4; spares, 0.2; drinking water, 0.42. Total, 24.32 tons. Radial wire trusses braced the hull athwartship at the trans verse frames, forming the partitions for the 19 gas-bags. Tail planes were horizontal and ver tical fins and hinged flaps for steering and elevating. There were four suspended cars: the forward gondola was largest and divided Into a navigating room, radio cabin, forward engine-room. The latter contained a Sunbeam Maori-4 engine. The elevating and steering wheels were located in the navigating-room, together with all the navigation instruments (gas-pressure gauges, gas thermometers, level indicators, etc.). There were two small cars') attached amidships to act as engine-rooms, the after gondola acting in the same capacity. The wing-cars each was equipped with a Sun beam Maori-4 engine and drove 16-foot pro (as did the forward engine). The after gondola, of much larger size, had two Sun beam Maori-4 engines and mounted tandem drove a 191/2 foot propeller with either one or both engines. The Sunbeam Maori-4 engines were of special design with 12 cylinders in double row of six each in V-form at an angle of 60 degrees. Cylinders were 110 millimeter bore, 135 metre stroke. The wireless appara tus was 12,000 miles transmission range.