Our Atlantic Attempt

by h-g-hawker, Grieve MacKenzie

On 18 May 1919 Harry Hawker, chief test pilot for the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War, and K. Mackenzie Grieve, an officer in the Royal Navy, took off from Pearl Aerodrome, near St John's in Newfoundland, in a Sopwith Atlantic aeroplane, designed by Tom Sopwith, piloted by Hawker and navigated by Mackenzie Grieve. This was the first ever attempt to fly across the Atlantic. The coast of Ireland was approximately 1,750 miles away on the other side of a notoriously inhospitable ocean. Unfortunately, their aeroplane developed engine trouble after only 1,050 miles and they were forced to ditch in the water, although thankfully they were rescued by a passing ship. Despite its failure this pioneering flight was an enormous feat of courage and airmanship, and this is Hawker and Mackenzie Grieve's own account of the first attempt to fly across the Atlantic, which thousands of air passengers now do every day without a thought for these brave pioneers.

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1919

Reviews

[T.O. Munro]

I had heard of Alcock and Brown and their crash-landed Vickers Vimy in Ireland which constituted the first non-stop airplane crossing of the Atlantic, but I didn't know of the three other attempts (either unsuccessful or not non-stop) that preceded it by a few weeks. This is an account of one of them, with a plane designed by the incomparable Tommy Sopwith and flown by Harry Hawker - gigantic names in the annals of British aviation.

It's is a short book, swollen to over 100 pages only by an extended introduction by Captain Gordon Aston (and also an additional modern introduction from Malcolm Hall).

The text supplied by the aviator authors themselves, Hawker (pilot) and MacKenzie-Grieve (navigator) is less than 80 pages with Hawker's account of their 14 hour partial completion of an intended 20 hour Atlantic crossing - surely the most dramatic aspect of the story - running to less than ten pages.

Nonetheless, while the book may have been rushed out in something of a hurry to capitalise on interest in their adventure, their feared loss and then revealed rescue, it is full of some interesting insights.

Even with an enjoyment of maths A'level to look back on I can't claim to have been enthralled by MacKenzie-Grew's summary of the navigation methods used, although I did glean an appreciation of how difficult his task was.

The spirit of adventure in both men, the upbeat tone, the mutual respect and admiration and the general spirit of co-operation reflects the post war euphoria and hope for the future. The belief in the power of flight and the naive trust in the future of airships make for an interesting insight into the thinking of the time.

As Hawker puts it
I need hardly say that commercial aeroplanes are scarcely likely to be called upon [to] make non-stop flights of a couple of thousand miles. That sort of journey can be better done with an airship

[Jeff]

Our Atlantic Attempt. H.G. Hawker & K. Grieve, 1919. Behind every great achievement there are scores of failures. Very little recognition is ever given for those who came before, paving the way so that others can learn and later succeed. The authors, two 'well to do' Englishmen, concerned with their honor, public perception and place in history defend their decisions and elaborate on the special technical challenges of crossing the Atlantic Ocean by way of aeroplane. Their frustration with the media's complete lack of aviation knowledge frustrates them just as it frustrates industry insiders today. Although they crashed into the North Atlantic they were able to survive and succeed in writing a very interesting book. - a much more interesting book than Charles Lindbergh's book of a success, "We" .