THE POSTAL HISTORY OF ICAO

 

Aviation History - The First Over the Atlantic

 

The idea of transatlantic flight came about with the advent of the hot-air balloon. With every passing year, records of flying were broken; in the end, much progress was made due to the practice of incentives. In April 1913, the London newspaper the Daily Mail offered a prize of £10,000 to “the aviator who shall first cross the Atlantic in an airplane in flight from any point in the United States of America, Canada or Newfoundland to any point in Great Britain or Ireland in 72 continuous hours”. In reality, it was unlikely anybody could have made the crossing in 1913. In 1914, Glen Curtiss had designed the flying boat America, especially designed to win the prize.

The competition was suspended with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. But by the end of the war, aviation technology had improved significantly. The Daily Mail's renewed offer in 1918 seemed like it might just be within reach. The Daily Mail's offer was further boosted by business man Lawrence Phillips, £1,000, and £2,000 from the Ardath Tobacco Company. Several teams had attempted and failed. By the spring of 1919, several teams had gathered in St. Johns, Newfoundland, vying to be the first to cross the Atlantic and collect the prize.

 

Whilst there was an initial flurry of entrants, only four serious contenders made it to the starting point in Newfoundland, this place being chosen as the prevailing winds favoured a West to East flight. The four entrants were:

1. Raynham and Morgan in the Martinsyde single engine plane, named Raymor;
2. Harry Hawker and Mackenzie Grieve in the Sopwith B1 single-engine plane, named Atlantic;
3. Kerr, Brackley and Wyatt in the converted Handley Page four-engine bomber, also named Atlantic;
4. Alcock and Brown in a two-engine Vicker Vimy.

From the time of their arrival in Newfoundland in early April 1919 up until their eventual departure, they experienced quite bad weather; testing was virtually restricted to engine runs and because the freezing outside temperature, the radiator had to re-filled and emptied after each engine run to prevent the engine from freezing.

 

On 11 April 1919, the competing team Raynham and Morgan arrived with their Martinsyde plane Raymor; the latter name was obtained through the combination of the first syllable of each of their last names. However, the weather was preventing any of the teams from taking off. On Sunday morning 18 May, the sky at St Johns was cloudless. Letters from a mail bag, which had been divided between Hawker and Raynham, were also put on board. Raynham decided that they were going to take off, even though the wind was somewhat behind the aircraft, because it was now a race with Hawker and Grieve and an act of desperation. Just after 4p.m. local time that evening, the aircraft was started. With a full load, the aircraft didn’t start to lift off until after 300 yards down the runway. When it started to rise, it was due to hitting a bump; it rose, wavered, and plummeted down so hard that the undercarriage buckled. So ended the Raymor challenge. They made another attempt on 17 July 1919, which resulted in a crash. Raynham caught the first ship he could back to England, but apparently the mail (see sample below) was not delivered until early January the following year.

 

 

The team of Rear Admiral Mark Edward Frederic Kerr, with Major Herbert George Brackley as navigator, and R. Wyatt, arrived later than most of the entries, and decided to attempt their flight out of Harbour Grace, whereas the other entries were out of Trepassey, St. John’s. The team mostly consisted of men of high military and social ranking and as such, was the favourites of the elite in England to win the Atlantic Air Race and the Daily Mail prize. Kerr’s biplane was one of the largest in the world at that time. Before Kerr could attempt the transatlantic flight, Alcock and Brown made the flight across the Atlantic, winning the Daily Mail prize. Kerr still wanted to attempt the Atlantic crossing, but was ordered to quit the race and to instead tour the aircraft in the United States.  

 

Original overprinted

Another of the four entrants for the Daily Mail prize was the Sopwith B1, named Atlantic, single-engine plane piloted by Australian aviator Harry Hawker with his Scottish navigator Kenneth Mackenzie-Grieve.

On 18 May 1919 at 3:40pm local time, Hawker and Grieve set off from Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, in their Sopwith. After fourteen and a half hours of flight, the engine overheated and their plane was forced to descend in the ocean; both Hawker and Grieve were rescued by the Danish steamer Mary and the mail carried was salvaged. Hawker and Grieve were awarded a consolation prize of £5,000 by the Daily Mail.

At the opposite left, a mere 200 stamps of the 3c brown overprints "FIRST / TRANS- / ATLANTIC / AIR POST / April, 1919" in black were issued on 12 April 1919 for the eventual trans-Atlantic flight attempt. Many of these stamps were used on flight covers, leaving just 87 remaining mint examples. Fewer survive today after nearly 100 years.

 

One important and influential prize was of a $25,000 reward offered on 22 May 1919 by Raymond Orteig, a French-American hotelier and philanthropist who owned the New York hotel, “to the first aviator of any Allied Country crossing the Atlantic in one flight, from Paris to New York or New York to Paris”. By the early 1920s, airplanes had progressed to the point that the flight seemed technically feasible, albeit with considerable risk for the pilot; several pilots died or were injured while trying to win the prize.

 

Curtiss NC-4 and Albert Read.

Early 1918, Glen Curtiss had begun work on four large flying boats capable of flying to Europe under their own power. The type was named NC for Naval-Curtiss, since it was a join US Navy-Curtiss design. The four flying boats were designated NC-1 to NC-4; they were impressive and strange-looking. The maximum speed was 91 mph.

Between 8 and 31 May 1919, the U.S. Navy Curtiss NC-4 (NC for Naval Curtis) flying boat, under the command of Rear Admiral Albert Cushing Read, flew 7,284 km from Rockaway, New York, to Plymouth (England), via among other stops Trepassey (Newfoundland), Horta and Ponta Delgada (both in Azores) and Lisbon (Portugal) in 53h 58m, spread over 23 days; the longest non-stop leg of the journey, from Trepassey to Horta was 1,900 km and lasted 15h 18m. The Navy mobilized 68 destroyers to be stationed at intervals of 50-75 miles along the route as guide posts, so as to take meteorological observations, report the weather and render assistance in the event of a water landing. This flight was not eligible for the Daily Mail prize, since it took more than 72 consecutive hours and also because more than one aircraft was used in the attempt; it was not eligible for the Orteig prize as they left from Newfoundland. Three Curtiss flying boats, each with a crew of six, were involved in the transatlantic flight: NC-1, NC-3, and NC-4. The accompanying NC-1 and NC-3 flying boats were lost in dense fog; unable to contact the destroyers, they were forced to land on the sea.

Originally, the entire division of four NCs was supposed to make the flight. The NC-1, however, was severely damaged in a storm and it was decided to use the NC-2 as a test bed while repairs and updates were made to the NC-1. The NC-2 was then cannibalized for the remaining parts required. The NC designation of the aircraft was derived from the collaborative efforts between the U.S. Navy (N) and Glenn Curtiss (C). The accomplishment of the NC-4 was somewhat eclipsed in the minds of the public by the first non-stop transatlantic flight made by Alcock and Brown two weeks later.

 

 

Alcock-Brown’s Vickers Vimy

There were other teams competing for the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic; none was successful. However, on 14 June 1919, British aviators Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown (navigator) successfully completed the first non-stop in a twin-engine Vickers Vimy F.B.27A Mk.IV biplane bomber crossing of the Atlantic from St. John's, Newfoundland to Clifden, Ireland, winning the £10,000 Daily Mail prize; in fact, their flight time was 16h 27m in dense icy fog. These pioneers had minimal flight instruments, a sextant and a radio that soon broke down. The Vickers Vimy was stripped of its military equipment and fitted with extra fuel tanks; the prevailing west to east winds made the flight in that direction most likely to succeed.

On 9 June 1919, the post office of Newfoundland had overprinted 10,000 of the 15-cent red stamp, issued on 24 June 1897 for the 400^th anniversary of John Cabot’s discovery of Newfoundland and the 60^th year of Queen Victoria’s reign, with the text Trans-Atlantic/AIR POST,/1919./ONE DOLLAR., in four black lines; some of these overprints exist without the comma after AIR POST. Alcock and Brown carried 196 letters and one parcel using the overprinted red stamp and postmarked between 10 and 14 June at St. John’s. As mail was carried on the flight, it became the first transatlantic airmail flight. See pictures hereafter.

 

 

 

The first transatlantic flight by rigid airship, and the first return transatlantic flight, was made just a couple of weeks after the transatlantic flight by Alcock/Brown on 2 July 1919. It was the first flight to transport paying passengers. The flight was intended as a testing ground for postwar commercial services by airship and part of the British Imperial Airship Scheme in the 1920s to improve communications between Britain and the distant countries of the British Empire by establishing air routes using airships (i.e., the R100 and the R101).

 

Fairey IIID – Aerial Crossing of South Atlantic

The South Atlantic had never appealed to airmen as much as the North Atlantic. A great deal of the challenge offered by the longer crossing in the north was lacking; no large amount of prize money was available to provide an incentive. The first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic was made by the Portuguese naval aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral to mark the centennial of Brazil's independence. They flew in stages from Lisbon, Portugal, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, using three different British Fairey IIID biplanes and covered a distance of 8,383 km between 30 March and 17 June 1922. The Fairey IIID seaplane was an aircraft widely used by the RAF and the Royal Naval Air Service; it was not spectacular performer, but proved to be steady and reliable, despite the problems inherent to a single-engine aircraft. They carried no mail that could provide philatelic souvenirs.

 

Orteig's offer was for a period of five years and went unanswered; as a result, Orteig extended it for another five years on 1 June 1925.

 

Dornier Do J Wal

The first transatlantic flight between Spain and South America was completed in stages between 22 and 26 January 1926 with a crew of Spanish aviators on board in the Plus Ultra, a Dornier Do J Wal (Wal for whale) flying boat, also designated Do 16; conceived by the German designer Claude Dornier, it was built in Italy, because building large aircraft in Germany was forbidden by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Captain Ramón Franco and his co-pilot Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz were accompanied by crew members: Teniente de Navio (Navy Lieutenant), Juan Manuel Duran and the mechanic Pablo Rada. The 10,270 km journey was completed in 59h 39m.

The Dornier Wal became one of the most popular and best-known flying boats between the two world wars. The same type of Dornier DO J Wal flying boat (named the Argos) was used for the first night-time crossing of the South Atlantic accomplished during 16-17 April 1927 by the Portuguese aviators Sarmento de Beires, Jorge de Castilho and Manuel Gouveia, flying from the Bijagós Archipelago, Portuguese Guinea, to Fernando de Noronha, Brazil.

 

Between 10 October 1927 and 14 April 1928, French aviators Dieudonné Costes and Joseph Le Brix flew 57,410 km around the world, in a Breguet XIXGR named Nungesser-Coli. During the trip, they made the non-stop aerial crossing of the South Atlantic Ocean on 14-15 October 1927, flying between Saint-Louis, Senegal and Natal, Brazil, during 18 hours and covering 3,380km.

 

Born on 4 February 1902 in Detroit, Michigan, Charles Augustus Lindbergh studied mechanical engineering before leaving school to pursue his interest in flight. He made his first solo flight in 1923; he enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 1924 to begin a year of military flight training. He later worked as an airmail pilot. Lindbergh wanted to win the Orteig Challenge and obtained financial backing from a group of friends and businessmen in St. Louis.

 

As a consultant for the Wright Aeronautical company, the designer Giuseppe Mario Bellanca had built in 1926 the Bellanca WB-1 airplane as a demonstration vehicle for the new Wright Whirlwind engine. The WB2, named Columbia or Miss Columbia, was the second in a series of aircraft designed by Bellanca, initially for Wright Aeronautical, then later for Columbia Aircraft Corp. The WB2 had some features built-in intended for long-distance overseas flights and was a single-engine high-wing monoplane that was generally acknowledged to be one of the best aircraft in the world.

 

The WB2 aircraft had been Charles Lindbergh’s first choice for his transatlantic flight. Lindbergh had dreamed of piloting a Wright-Bellanca, across the Atlantic and came to Bellanca Aircraft Corporation to buy the Columbia to fly for the Orteig Prize. Bellanca agreed to the sale, but Levine, chairman of the board, refused to sell unless he could pick the crew to pilot the plane. Eventually, Lindbergh contacted Ryan Airlines, a small firm at San Diego, to supply an airplane which he named the Spirit of St. Louis in honour of his supporters; the aircraft was constructed in record time.

 

Lindbergh actively participated in the design of the aircraft. Lindbergh daringly decided to fly by himself, without a navigator, so he could carry more fuel. Extra fuel tanks were added and the wing span increased to accommodate the additional weight. The plane would have a maximum range of 4,000 miles, more than enough to reach Paris. One of the more innovative design decisions involved placing the main fuel tank in front of, rather than behind, the pilot's seat. Lindbergh didn't want to be caught between the tank and the engine if the plane was forced to land. This configuration also meant that Lindbergh would not be able to see directly ahead as he flew. Every ounce mattered. Instead of a heavy leather pilot's seat, Lindbergh would be perched in a far lighter wicker chair. The first tests started on 26 April 1927.

 

Charles Lindbergh

Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis airplane

Before Charles Lindbergh made the first solo, non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in May 1927, most Americans thought it too dangerous to travel by airplane. Lindbergh’s flight changed that. By 20 May 1927, Lindbergh was ready for the transatlantic flight from the Roosevelt Field runway, near New York City. He took off in the Ryan NYP (New York-Paris, registered N-X-211) from the field at 7:52a.m. and began his non-stop journey to Paris. He brought with him 4 sandwiches, 2 canteens of water, and 451 gallons of gas.

 

Fighting fog, icing, and sleep deprivation, Lindbergh landed safely at Le Bourget Field in Paris on 21 May 1927 at 10:22p.m., after a flight which lasted 33h 30m. Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize. Lindbergh's greatest enemy on his journey was fatigue, but he managed to keep awake by sticking his head out the window to inhale cold air, by holding his eyelids open, and by constantly reminding himself that if he felt asleep, he would perish. In addition, he had a slight instability built into his airplane that helped keep him focused and awake. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI, the World Air Sports Federation) is the sole organization authorized to certify aeronautical and astronautical world records worldwide. The certification of Charles Lindbergh's flight required several documents to prove the performance. A sealed barograph, an instrument working with atmospheric pressure, was loaded on the aircraft; its six-hour cylinder recorded the altitudes flown and proved that the flight was uninterrupted.

 

Immediately after Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight, newspapers began comparing it to the Wright brothers’ first flight in 1903 and Charles Lindbergh used his fame to promote the development of aviation. He continued to influence aviation throughout his life. In 1931, with his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, serving as co-pilot and navigator, Lindbergh charted international air routes for new commercial airlines flying across Canada to Asia.

 

 

It is highly probable that the Bellanca aircraft, as a competitor for the Orteig Prize, may well have come about as a result of the actions of Charles Lindbergh. Pilot Clarence Duncan Chamberlin aspired to win Orteig prize. The "Miss Columbia" registered N-X-237 was the monoplane Wright-Bellanca WB-2 which Chamberlin would use to break the endurance record for flight in 1927 and later that same year make his famous trans-Atlantic flight. However, when Lindbergh took off for Paris, Chamberlin, on the other hand, was still grounded by the court injunction and bad weather. Eventually, Chamberlin and Charles Levine took off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, New York on 4 June 1927. Their goal was to surpass Lindbergh’s flight to Paris. They headed across the Atlantic and landed safely, out of fuel, at Mansfeldt, Germany, completing a record flight of 3,911 miles in 43h; it was the first transatlantic flight with a passenger to set a new long-distance record.

 

 

The Atlantic Ocean had been flown from west to east a number of times; the reason for this was a combination of prevailing winds from the west helping them along with a tailwind and the low power of the airplanes of those days. That was now changed in 1928; the aircraft used by two Germans Capt. Herman Köhl and Baron Günther von Hünefeld and an Irish navigator James Michael Christopher Fitzmaurice jointed their forces by using a Junkers W-33 named Bremen. For 1928, the Bremen was considered ahead of its time with blended winglets. In the early hours of 12 April 1928, their Junkers W33 registered D-1167 took off from Baldonnel, Ireland and touched down on Greenly Island, Canada, the following day. During the flight, the instrument panel lights failed, the compass malfunctioned, and a fuel-line break caused fumes to fill the cabin. Strong winds took them north of their intended destination, which was to have been New York; they put down near the first settlement they found. Even though they did not reach their destination, the three men had crossed the ocean; thus, the flight had to be considered a success. No mail was officially carried. Several philatelic items exist commemorating the event. See hereafter.

 

 

On 11 October 1928 at 07:54, Hugo Eckener, commanding the Graf Zeppelin airship as part of Delag's operations, began the first non-stop transatlantic passenger flights, leaving Friedrichshafen, Germany and arriving at NAS Lakehurst, New Jersey, on 15 October 1928.

 

On 1-2 September 1930, Dieudonné Costes with Maurice Bellonte, flew a Breguet XIX Super Bidon Point d'Interrogation from Paris to New York, as the first heavier-than-air aircraft to reach New York in the more difficult westbound direction between the North American and European main lands, thus repeating Lindbergh’s flight in reverse. A total of 30 covers were flown from Paris to New York.

 

Lithuania – 1934 Darius and Girenas

After Charles Lindbergh’s first-ever non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, the world was fascinated with what was called the “Atlantic fever.” Pioneers sought to draw international attention to their homeland by flying non-stop from New York to their home country; they would then become a national hero or they wanted to put their country of birth on the aviation map. In the latter category, we find two Lithuanian-Americans Steponas “Stephen” Darius and Stasys “Stanley” Girenas. In 1932, they started raising the money necessary to purchase an airplane, a Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker, in the hope of completing a transatlantic flight, and to pay the flight expenses.

In the early morning of 15 July 1933, they headed out from New York over the Atlantic; all went well over the Atlantic. However, they ran into unfavourable weather conditions over Germany, combined with defects in engine operation, which were likely to have contributed to the crash. Both men were killed; the plane carried 983 letters.

 

On 16 September 1936, the first woman aviator to cross the Atlantic east to west, and the first person to fly solo from England to North America, was Beryl Markham in a Percival Vega Gull aircraft. Her flight lasted 20 hours.

 

Although Alcock and Brown first flew across the Atlantic in 1919, it took two more decades before commercial flights could become practical. The North Atlantic presented severe challenges for aviators due to weather and the long distances involved, with few stopping points. With increased confidence in its new plane Boeing B-314 Yankee Clipper, Pan American finally inaugurated the world's first transatlantic passenger service on 28 June 1939, between New York and Marseilles, France; by the beginning of World War II, Pan American, with its considerable experience in Pacific and South American operations with the famous Clipper service, dominated the transatlantic routes. Commercial services during World War II were intermittent at best. It was from the emergency exigencies of WWII that crossing the Atlantic by land-based aircraft became a practical and commonplace possibility.

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