MacRobertson Air Race
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The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race took place October, 1934 as part of the celebrations of the centenary of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia). The idea of the race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, and a prize fund of $75,000 was put up by Sir Macpherson Robertson, a wealthy Australian confectionery manufacturer, on the conditions that the race be named after his MacRobertson confectionery company, and that it be organised to be as safe as possible.
There were 5 compulsory stops at Baghdad, Allahabad, Singapore, Darwin and Charleville, Queensland, otherwise the competitors could choose their own routes. A further 22 optional stops were provided with stocks of fuel and oil by Shell and Stanavo. The Royal Aero Club put some effort into persuading the countries along the route to improve the facilities at the stopping points.
The basic rules were: no limit to the size of aircraft or power, no limit to crew size, no pilot to join aircraft after it left England. Aircraft must carry three days' rations per crew member, floats, smoke signals and efficient instruments. There were prizes for the outright fastest aircraft, and for the best performance on a handicap formula by any aircraft finishing within 16 days.
Take off date was set at dawn (6:30) October 20, 1934. The initial field of over 60 had by then been whittled down to 20, including the 3 purpose-built de Havilland DH.88 Comet racers, two of the new generation of American all-metal passenger transports, and a mixture of earlier racers, light transports and old bombers.
First off the line, watched by a crowd of 60,000, were Jim & Amy Mollison in the Comet Black Magic, and they were early leaders in the race until forced to retire at Allahabad with engine trouble. This left the scarlet Comet Grosvenor House flown by Flight Lt. Charles Scott and Captain T. Campbell Black well ahead of the field. This racer went on to win in a time of less than 3 days, despite flying the last stage with one engine throttled back because of an oil-pressure indicator giving a faulty low reading.
Perhaps more significantly in the development of popular long-distance air travel, the second and third places were taken by passenger transports, with the KLM Douglas DC-2 Uiver gaining a narrow advantage over Roscoe Turner's Boeing 247-D, both completing the course less than a day behind the winner.
| Official Finishing Order | ||
|---|---|---|
| de Havilland DH.88 Comet G-ACSS Grosvenor House | C.W.A. Scott, T. Campbell Black Britain | Elapsed time 71 h 0 min |
| Douglas DC-2 PH-AJU Uiver | K.D. Parmentier, J.J. Moll, B. Prins, C. Van Brugge Netherlands | Elapsed time 90 h 13 min Winner on handicap |
| Boeing 247-D NR257Y Warner Bros. Comet | Roscoe Turner United States | Elapsed time 92 h 55 min |
| de Havilland DH.88 Comet G-ACSR | O. Cathcart Jones, K.F. Waller Britain | Elapsed time 108 h 13 min |
| Miles Hawk Major ZK-ADJ | S/Ldr. M. McGregor, H.C. Walker New Zealand | Elapsed time 7 d 14 h Fastest single-engined |
| Airspeed AS.5 Courier G-ACJL | S/Ldr. D. Stodart, Sgt. Pilot K. Stodart Britain | Elapsed time 9 d 18 h |
| de Havilland DH-80 Puss Moth VH-UQO My Hildegarde | C.J. 'Jimmy' Melrose Australia | Elapsed time 10 d 16 h Second on handicap |
| Desoutter Mk.II OY-DOD | Lt. M. Hansen, D. Jensen Denmark | Arrived October 31 |
| de Havilland DH-89 Dragon Rapide ZK-ACO | J.D. Hewitt, C.E. Kay, F. Stewart New Zealand | Arrived November 3 |
| Not classified | ||
| Miles Falcon G-ACTM | H.L. Brook, Miss E. Lay (passenger) Britain | Arrived November 20 |
| Fairey IIIF G-AABY | F/O C.G. Davies, Lt.Cdr. C.N. Hill Britain | Arrived November 24 |
| Fairey Fox I G-ACXO | R. Parer, G. Hemsworth Australia | Withdrew from race at Paris. Eventually reached Melbourne February 13, 1935 |
| Lambert Monocoupe 145 NC501W Baby Ruth | J.H. Wright, J. Polando Warner United States | Withdrew at Calcutta |
| de Havilland DH.88 Comet G-ACSP Black Magic | J.A. Mollison & Mrs. Amy Mollison Britain | Withdrew with engine trouble at Allahabad |
| Pander S4 PH-OST Panderjager | G.J. Geysendorffer, D.L. Asjes-Pronk Netherlands | Destroyed in ground collision at Allahabad. |
| B.A. Eagle G-ACVU | F/Lt. G. Shaw Britain | Withdrew at Bushire |
| Lockheed Vega G-ABGK Puck | J. Woods, D.C. Bennett Australia | Overturned on landing at Aleppo, withdrew |
| Airspeed AS.8 Viceroy G-ACMU | N. Stack, S.L. Turner Britain | Withdrew with brake trouble at Athens |
| Granville R-6H NX14307 Q.E.D. | Miss J. Cochran, W. Smith Pratt United States | Withdrew with malfunctioning flaps after landing damage at Bucharest |
| Fairey Fox I G-ACXX | H.D. Gilman, J.K. Baines Britain | Crashed near Palazzo San Gervasio in Italy, both crew killed |
External links
- The MacRobertson Air Race, 1934 (http://www.dc3airways.com/1934-1.html)
- Comet DH88 - fastest from England to Australia (http://www.pjcomputing.flyer.co.uk/comet/)
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