Australians, first across the world, 1919

Early in 1919, the Prime Minister of Australia offered a prize for the first Australian-manned aircraft to fly from England to Australia. The Vimy aircraft flown by the Smith brothers was entered by Vickers Ltd who were makers of heavy bombers in the Great War of 1914-18. The Vimy twin-engined bomber was designed too late to be operational in the war but it was considered an excellent choice for the race because of its success in the first non-stop Atlantic crossing earlier in the year.

With Sgt Wally Sheirs and Sgt Jim Bennett as crew maintaining airframe and engines, and Keith Smith as navigator, Ross lifted off the heavily laden Vimy from Hounslow in London on the 12th of November 1919 for the 11,000-mile flight. No aircraft had set out to fly such a long distance before and there was considerable interest in it because the logistics of supporting the flight were not simple. However, Ross had already flown much of the route through to India on a survey flight, so he knew something of what to expect.

The Vimy made over twenty scheduled refuelling and rest stops. There was much drama for instance at flooded or ill-prepared airstrips. In one such incident towards the final stage of the flight in Indonesia, the local populace turned out to lay a runway of matting to allow the bogged Vimy to take off from a muddy airstrip. Some landing grounds were so short that Jim Bennett developed an unusual technique to slow the aircraft after landing; once the aircraft touched the ground he would climb out of his cockpit behind the wings, slide back along the top of the fuselage to the tail so that his weight would dig the tail skid into the ground and shorten the landing run. With such men record flights are made!

The final stages of the “Vimy’s” historic flight took them from the island of Timor across the Timor Sea to Darwin. To render whatever assistance was possible, the Royal Australian Navy placed the cruiser “Sydney” on station in the area of their proposed track.

Early on December 10th, the Vimy left Atamboea in Timor and, after several hours flying over what was regarded as a shark-infested sea, the crew were heartened to see the big cruiser loom out of the haze right on track, as Marshall’s painting shows. Ross took the big biplane low across the warship to acknowledge the crew who could be seen cheering on deck. As he flew past the ship the aviators dropped a small thank-you note signed by all the crew and tied to a parachute, it read, in part:

“ The air, 10/12/19. Vickers Vimy. Very nice to see you. Many thanks for looking after us. Going strong.”

The Vimy then turned back on course to complete the final 180 miles to Darwin and an enthusiastic reception.

Ross and Keith Smith both received knighthoods for the historic flight while Shiers and Bennett were, somewhat belatedly, awarded honorary commissions for their unstinting efforts in keeping the airframe and engines in one piece during the longest and most arduous flight yet made. That they did a good job is evidenced by the fact that the old Vimy is still alive and well, preserved in the city of Adelaide, South Australia long after her crew has passed on.

The Vickers Vimy crew L to R: Jim Bennett, Sir Ross Smith, Sir Keith Smith, Wally Shiers