The flight took 94 days involving 44 flying days

One hundred years ago, on 30 June 1926, Alan Cobham set off on a flight to Westminster, London … via Australia!

Sir Charles Wakefield, founder of Castrol Oil, provided sponsorship for long distance flights.

During the First World War, progress in developing flight was significant. Oswald Short began to envision a future where aeroplanes would be used for journeys of up to 800 miles. This possibility, however, was not widely recognised by the British Government. Not all governments shared this view. In 1919, alive to the possibilities of air travel, Japan sent a team of engineers to Rochester to learn from Short Brothers. (1)

Innovations in flight continued after the war. The prospect of long-distance aviation moved from vision to practical possibility.

Alan Cobham, an early aviator who had undertaken flights to and around Africa, believed further efforts should be made to encourage the British Government to take greater interest in aviation.

The initial idea proposed by Cobham’s associates was to fly from Rochester to Westminster and deliver a petition to the Houses of Parliament. Cobham dismissed this suggestion, believing he would merely receive a summons in response. His team instead conceived the idea of ending a long-distance flight on the Thames beside Parliament. Thus the ambitious plan for a flight to Australia and back was born.

Cobham met with Oswald Short and ordered a pair of floats. He then consulted Geoffrey de Havilland, who gave his support to the venture. Arrangements were made to convert a de Havilland DH.50 aircraft into a seaplane.

Details of the planning are described in ‘Australia and Back’ by Sir Alan Cobham (1926). This included establishing depots of fuel and spare parts that would support the aircraft as it “lily-padded” its way to Australia.

Because maintenance would need to be undertaken while the aircraft was afloat, special precautions were devised. In some respects, these preparations resembled the precautions later adopted by astronauts whilst working during spacewalks.

  • Special shoes were commissioned so that the engineer, Arthur Elliott, could stand and work safely on the floats without slipping.
  • A large canvas sheet was designed to be stretched beneath the engine so that any parts accidentally dropped would not be lost in the water.
  • The toolkit was modified so tools would not be lost if dropped. Each tool had a large piece of cork attached by a length of string so that it would float.
  • Alan Cobham had never flown a seaplane before, so he first had to familiarise himself with flying a floatplane. He undertook four trial flights at Rochester during the week before departure.

Having made all the necessary arrangements—including securing permission from authorities in every country where he intended to land—Cobham arrived in Rochester on 29 June. He spent the night before departure at the Bull Hotel.

Cobham and Elliott were called at 4 a.m. After postponing the departure date three times, conditions finally looked favourable for the first leg of the flight.

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Departure — 30 June 1926

Cobham and Elliott arrived at the Medway at 5 a.m. and were surprised to find a small party of friends, along with Cobham’s wife, who had motored down during the night to see him off.

Despite this send-off, Cobham later described his mental state as poor. He was emotional and exhausted after the long preparation and felt the “black dog” (2) of depression crouching on his shoulder. Final preparations had also been made more difficult by the General Strike that had taken place between 4 and 12 May that year.

Take-off was particularly challenging.

  • The aircraft was loaded 800 pounds above its permissible load, the extra weight resulting from the floats, additional equipment, and fuel. The machine carried 150 gallons of petrol and consumed 18 gallons per hour.
  • There was no wind to aid take-off and the surface of the Medway was completely calm. This made the water “sticky”, a condition usually alleviated by a slight ripple.
  • To help the aircraft reach sufficient speed for take-off, the plane was towed downstream before attempting to lift off. A good omen followed: the engine started on the first turn of the handle.

The plan for Day One was to reach Naples, a distance of 1,130 miles, requiring a refuelling stop at Marseilles.

After take-off Cobham flew over Maidstone and left the English coast near Hastings. Six hours and forty minutes later they landed at Marseilles before continuing on to Naples—completing the planned 1,130-mile journey.

The details of Cobham’s remarkable flight are well documented. It would, however, be disrespectful not to acknowledge the death of Arthur Elliott, the engineer accompanying him. While flying over Iraq on the outward journey, tribesmen fired at the aircraft. A bullet severed a fuel line and also fatally wounded Elliott.

As everyone believed Elliott would have wished the flight to continue, Cobham Sergeant R. W. Ward of the RAF, was recruited to take on the role of engineer.

When Cobham landed in Australia, the floats were replaced with wheels to allow land operations. The outward journey to Melbourne was completed on 15 August 1926.

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The Return: 29 August – 1 October 1926

Before departing Australia, the floats were refitted, with Cobham retraced his outward route home. However, on the way he hoped to set a speed record. This would require very short stopovers. There would be insufficient time for one engineer to complete the necessary servicing or maintenance. Cobham and Ward were joined by Charles Capel from the Armstrong-Siddeley Company.

Cobham Capel Ward

The final leg was from Paris to London. Their route took them over Hastings, Maidstone, and Rochester before heading toward the capital. Cobham had hoped to land at Rochester, but the schedule did not allow it. He was nevertheless greatly heartened to see the banks of the Medway lined with people.

He later wrote that the best moment came when, flying low over Short’s aircraft works, he saw that every hand had turned out to welcome them back to the place where they had begun—with the same pair of metal floats built there three months earlier.

As anticipated, Cobham received an enthusiastic reception when he landed at Westminster. After landing, the aircraft was towed to the Palace Landing Stairs, and Cobham was conducted up to the Terrace of the House of Commons. There he was greeted by his wife and introduced to the Speaker, the Secretary of State for Air, the Director of Civil Aviation, and Sir Charles Wakefield, who strongly believed in the future of aviation.

“At the close of that tremendous day I think I went to bed convinced that at last the public realised the importance of aviation to every Briton—and what is more—I felt that its imagination was aroused in support of this good cause. I hope I was right.” — Alan Cobham, ‘Australia and Back’, 1926.

Alan Cobham was knighted for his achievement, Sergeant Ward received the Air Force Cross, and Charles H Capel was appointed MBE.

(1) 4 January 1919, Chatham, Rochester & Gillingham News

(2) Black dog” is a well-known metaphor for depression. Winston Churchill referred to his bouts of depression as the “black dog”