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Daily Mail Trans-Atlantic Air Race

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Post Office Tower
Post Office Tower
Empire State Building
Empire State Building
Starting and ending points of the Daily Mail Trans-Atlantic Air Race between London and New York

The Daily Mail Trans-Atlantic Air Race was a two-way race between London, UK and New York City, USA to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the first trans-atlantic crossing by John Alcock and Arthur Brown.

The race

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Organised by the Daily Mail newspaper, the race was held between 4 and 11 May 1969, although named an air race it was actually a race of individuals between the Post Office Tower in London to the Empire State Building in New York. Each of the individuals or "Runners" had to use some form of air transport. With a number of different categories a total of 21 prizes could be won. These included separate categories for the westbound (London to New York) and eastbound (New York to London) directions. A number of point-to-point world records for aircraft were broken.

The shortest overall time from London to New York was by Squadron Leader Tom Lecky-Thompson flying a Royal Air Force Hawker Siddeley Harrier in 6 hours 11 minutes. The shortest time from New York to London was by Lieutenant Commander Peter Goddard, a passenger in a Royal Navy McDonnell Douglas Phantom (callsign 'Royal Blue 3', serial XT859) in 5 hours 12 minutes.[1][2]

Civilian competitors

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The first civil competitor to leave London was Anne Alcock, the niece of Sir John Alcock. She was followed by a number of other runners including Stirling Moss, Mary Rand and Sheila Scott, who used her own private aircraft.

Military competitors

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Royal Navy

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External image
Flight crews of the Royal Navy involved in the race
image icon Team entered by Royal Navy from Fleet Air Arm Officers' Association

The Royal Navy entered three "runners" each to be flown across the Atlantic in a McDonnell Douglas Phantom. The navy runners used Phantoms which flew from the Floyd Bennett Naval Air Station to Wisley Aerodrome and were refuelled by Handley Page Victor tankers over the ocean.[3] Radar coverage for the rendezvous of the Phantoms with the tankers over the mid-Atlantic was provided by the HMS Nubian.[4] In New York City, the runners used a helicopter to travel between the airfield in Brooklyn and the West 30th Street Heliport in Manhattan; a motorcycle was used to travel between the heliport and the Empire State Building. In England, a helicopter was used to travel between Wisley Aerodrome and a temporary helipad near the Post Office Tower.[3]

On 11 May 1969 a Royal Navy F-4K Phantom of 892 Naval Air Squadron set a new world speed record between New York and London in 4 hours and 46 minutes. The flights by the Phantoms broke the record three times during the competition.[5] The first eastbound flight from New York to London was flown by Phantom FG.1 XT860 on 4 May 1969 in 5 hours and 3 minutes and the second flight was made by XT861 on 7 May 1969 in 4 hours and 53 minutes. The jets broke a record that had been previously set in 1958 by a Stratotanker operated by the United States Air Force.[3][6]

The Vickers Alcock and Brown trophy was awarded to Lieutenant Commander Peter Goddard for his 5 hour 11 minute crossing which was the fastest West to East crossing.

Royal Air Force

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GR.1 XV741 on display at the Brooklands Museum
External image
Harrier XV741 landing at St Pancras
image icon Harrier GR.1 landing at St Pancras from Royal Air Force Museum
K.2 XH672 on display at the RAF Museum Midlands

The Royal Air Force decided to use the unique Vertical Take Off and Landing capability of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier.[7] The Harrier used a coal yard next to St Pancras station in London, which was temporarily designated as RAF St Pancras, and landed at Bristol Basin on the East River in New York on a platform that had been constructed for the planned site of the United Nations International School (UNIS). A motorcycle was used for the trip in London between the Post Office Tower and St Pancras station and for the trip across Manhattan between the waterfront landing site and the Empire State Building.[7][8][9][10] Like the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force used Handley Page Victor tankers to refuel its aircraft over the Atlantic. The Harriers employed ferry wing tips to improve their cruising performance.[11]

The westbound flight from London to New York was flown with GR.1 XV741, which is now displayed at the Brooklands Museum in Surrey.[11][12] The eastbound flight was flown with GR.1 XV744, which is now displayed at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum in West Sussex.[11][13] Both of the Harriers joined in the salute to the Queen Elizabeth 2 when she arrived in New York Harbour on her maiden voyage on 7 May 1969 and hovered on each side of the ocean liner.[14][15] The westbound trip flown by Lecky-Thompson had been completed completed on 5 May 1969 and the eastbound flight was piloted by Squadron Leader Graham Williams on 9 May 1969.[10]

No. 543 Squadron RAF also had two Handley Page Victors flying in the competition.[16] Victor XH672 flew between Floyd Bennett Field and Wisley Aerodrome with two extra fuel tanks in the bomb bay; this aircraft, which was subsequently converted into a tanker, is now displayed at the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands in Cosford.[17]

The two Victors carried four 68-kilogram (150 lb) crates of postage stamps from London to New York that were being donated from the United Nations to the UNIS. The stamps were being held at Stanley Gibbons and were to be auctioned off the following month at the Headquarters of the United Nations to raise money for the UNIS scholarship fund. The stamps could not be carried aboard the Harriers because the jets were not equipped to carry cargo and the landing site was not designated as a port of entry for goods. In exchange for using the future site of the UNIS as a take-off and landing point in the competition, the Royal Air Force also donated $1,000 of its prize money to the school.[8][18][19]

Others

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A Royal Canadian Navy CHSS-2 helicopter competed in the race, landing two times on destroyers positioned in the Atlantic for refuelling.[20] The United States Air Force was going to enter the race with a B-58 Hustler, but withdrew to avoid political issues due to the country's involvement in the Vietnam War.[21]

Prize winners

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London to New York

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Event Name Aircraft[20] Time[22] Prize
Shortest time Squadron Leader Tom Lecky-Thompson Hawker Siddeley Harrier 6 hrs 11 min £6,000
Sub-sonic aircraft R. W. Selph Boeing 707 7 hrs 6 min £4,000
Scheduled passenger flight via Shannon Clement. R. Freud[23][a] Boeing 707 8 hrs 4 min £5,000
Unsponsored personal attempt via Shannon E. A. Freudmann 8 hrs 14 min £2,500
Chartered business jet Sir Billy Butlin Hawker Siddeley HS.125 11 hrs 30 min [b] £500
Light Aircraft (man) S. Wilkinson Beagle B.206 20 hrs 23 min £1,000
Light aircraft (woman) Sheila Scott Piper Comanche 26 hrs 34 min £1,000

New York to London

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Event Name Aircraft[20] Time[22] Prize
Shortest time Lieutenant Commander Peter Goddard McDonnell Douglas Phantom 5 hrs 12 min £6,000
Sub-sonic Peter Hammond 6 hrs 54 min £4,000
Direct passenger flight K J Holden Boeing 707 6 hrs 48 min £5,000
Unsponsored personal attempt Miss S M Scribner Boeing 707 6 hrs 55 min £2,500
Chartered business jet Tony Drewery Vickers VC10 7 hrs 3 min £500
Light aircraft (man) Michael Fallon Piper Twin Comanche 21 hrs 31 min £1,000
Light aircraft (woman) Nancy Kelly Riley Rocket 22 hrs 31 min £1,000

Notes

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  1. ^ Using an Aer Lingus scheduled flight
  2. ^ less a 6hr handicap

References

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  1. ^ "Atlantic Crossing Records Broken". Air-Britain Digest: 160. June 1969.
  2. ^ "Topping-up Royal Blue 3" (PDF). Flight International. 15 May 1969. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Denis J. Calvert (13 June 2019). "Fleet of Foot Phantoms". Key Aero. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  4. ^ Abnett, Keith (2024). The Fleet Air Arm: The Cinderella Airforce with the RAF as the Ugly Sisters. Austin Macauley Publishers. pp. 76, 78. ISBN 9781398498068. Retrieved 9 February 2025 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ The 1970 Aerospace Yearbook (48th ed.). Aerospace Industries Association of America. p. 144. Retrieved 8 February 2025 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Peter Harris; David Wright (8 May 1969). "Navy scorches across Atlantic in under 5 hours". London Daily Mirror. Retrieved 8 February 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "British Military Aviation in 1969". Royal Air Force Museum. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  8. ^ a b Kathleen Teltsch (22 April 1969). "Stamp Auction at U.N. to Raise Scholarship Funds". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  9. ^ "Briton Sets Pace in Trans-ocean Race". The New York Times. 6 May 1969. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  10. ^ a b Keith Wilson (2021). RAF in Camera: 100 Years on Display. Pen and Sword. pp. 69–70. ISBN 9781526752215. Retrieved 8 February 2025 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ a b c Kev Darling (2013). RAF Strike Command, 1968–2007: Aircraft, Men and Action. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781783378548. Retrieved 31 January 2025 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ "Hawker Harrier GR.1". Brooklands Museum. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  13. ^ "Hawker-Siddeley Harrier GR3". Tangmere Military Aviation Museum. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  14. ^ Robert Bedlow (8 May 1969). "New York Welcome For QE2". London Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 February 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "The day I won race to fly from London to New York". Henley Standard. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  16. ^ "A/C Serial No. XM717 Individual History" (PDF). Royal Air Force Museum. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  17. ^ "A/C Serial No. XH672 Individual History" (PDF). Royal Air Force Museum. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  18. ^ David Lidman (18 May 1969). "Sale For U.N. School". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  19. ^ Kathleen Teltsch (21 December 1969). "U.N. School Here Is Assured Of New $10.5-Million Building". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  20. ^ a b c "From the tower". Flying. July 1968. pp. 4, 6. Retrieved 8 February 2025 – via Google Books.
  21. ^ Robert Marston (2015). Harrier Boys Volume 1: From the Cold War through the Falklands, 1969-1990. Grub Street Publishing. pp. 13–20. ISBN 9781910690826. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  22. ^ a b Henry Stanhope (12 May 1969). "US loading trouble balks Prince's air attempt". News. The Times. No. 57557. London. col C, p. 2.
  23. ^ John Tauranac (2014). The Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark. Cornell University Press. p. 27. ISBN 9780801471094.
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