The sun., 1919-06-16
HAWKER FIRST TO
TRY DIRECT FLIGHT
Attempt Failed and Pilot and
Navigator Narrowly Es-
capped Death.
Used ONE-M0T0R PLANE
Ayiators Acclaimed as Heroes
and Feted on Return to
England.
Used ONE-MOTOR PLANE

The first man to attempt a nonstop
hght across the Atlantic Ocean In any
sort OF airplane was Harry G. Hawker.
an Australian, who had lived In Eng
land ever since he was boy and who
has been characterized by both Ameri-
can and British fiiers as one OF the best
elrmen in the English military service.
and one Of the bravest men In the world.
Hawker failed. dropping into the sea
nft,r flying perhaps one-half the dis
lance between New Foundland and Ire
land. but his adventure was 80 thrilling
and his failure and subsequent rescue
nv A ploddng little Danish steamship
ware so romantic that he was taken to
the heart and bosom Of England and
honored as the empire has honored only
her great heroes.
Hawker and his navigator, Lieu
,snant- Commander Mackenzie Grieve, of
the British Navy. left their airdrome
n, ST. Johns on the afternoon of May
Is living out TO sea in a little Sopwith
biplane that is hardly larger than a toy
compared to the big seaplane with which
the Americans did the overseas flight
and the big Vickers-Nimy and Handley-
Page bombing machines, Hawker took
as many or more chances with his own
life and the life Of Grieve than any other
adventurer ever has taken in any sort
o, adventurous task, He dropped the
undercarriage OF his machine, SO that In
landing he had only one chance in many
OF not smashing the plane. He had no
way at all OF saving himself IL he had
10 land in the ocean. as he did, and only
the fact that the sea was fairly calm and
a steamship near by saved him when he
had to bring his frail craft to the sur
face Of the sea-
Only One Motor ON Plane.
The Sopwlth biplane in which Hawker
get out was a land machineA quick and
speedy and of the type with which the
British combat pilots did great execu-
ton among the German aviators and
with which they obtained command of
the air on their sectors of the battle
front. 1t had top wing span OF 46
feet, and Its length over all was 81 feet
II had only one Rolls-Royce engine with
q horsepower rated from $50 to 375.
The engine, however, perhaps has no
peer for downright reliability and as
sured service in the whole category of
sirplane motors.
American and British military avia-
tors do not consider there Is an engine
In the world better than the engine with
which Hawkers plane was equipped. and
II was the same engine. or rather two Of
them. that drove Capt. Alcock's big plane
on It's record breaking trip to Ireland
II is an extremely costly piece Of mech
anisn. however, largely hand fooled and
hardly capable of standardized and
quantity production. which was the prin-
cipal valuable feature Of the Liberty
motor
Hawker's machine carried $50 gallons
OF gasolene. or petrol. as the English
IN Al Inn q cd %
radius OF between twenty-four and
twenty-siX hours. This would have
been plenty Of time in which to reach
Ireland, and continue on to England.
had he not been compelled to abandon
the fight and alight in the sea because
Of faulty circulation, the water filter in
the feed pipe from the radiator to the
water pump becoming blocked with re-
fuse such as solder and the like, which
had shaken loose from the radiator.
Motor Trouble Develops.
The machine had been travelling due
east from Newfoundland for five hours
or so when Hawker and Commander
Grieve became aware OF their trouble
They realized that IL was only a ques-
ton OF time when their motor would
fail and they knew they did not have
sufficient time to finish the attempt. So
they began looking about for a ship
Finally they sighted the Danish steamer
Mary. little tramp without wireless or
any method Of communication save by
signal flags. Hawker and Grieve i'm
medlately dropped their machine to the
surface of the sea, and after being
ninety minutes in the water were picked
up by small boat launched from the
steamship.
II was only about seven hours after
they left St. Johns that the Mary
picked up the aviators, but because the
little steamer had no wireless they were
OF board for a week or more before the
world knew anything OF their fate. But
on May % the Mary sighted the signal
station at Butt of Lewis. the northern
most point OF the Hebrides. As she
crawled slowly toward land she hoisted
a string of flags. and the sleepy and dis
gusted signalman reached for his code
book
Saved hands OF sopwith airplane,"
he made out.
rs II Hawker?" he signalled.
Yes proclaimed the Mary's flags,
and then the little tramp proceeded
stol'd'y on her course.
SO the news came to the world, to
London. 10 the British Admiralty, which