Arthur Whitten Brown
Sir Arthur Whitten Brown (born July 23, 1886 in Glasgow , † October 4, 1948 in Swansea ) was a British aviation pioneer. As a navigator alongside the pilot John Alcock, he participated in the first successful non-stop flight across the Atlantic .
First non-stop transatlantic flight
The transatlantic non-stop flight from west to east started on June 14, 1919 at 1:45 p.m. local time in St. John's in Newfoundland, Canada . The landing took place after 15 hours and 57 minutes of flight time and traveled 1,980 nautical miles (approximately 3,670 km) near Clifden in Ireland . The flight was carried out with a specially converted Vickers Vimy bomber, which had been developed as a long-range bomber in World War I. During the flight, Brown had to get off the plane and free one of the two engines from the ice. With the flight, Alcock and Brown won a prize of £ 10,000 advertised by the London newspaper Daily Mail for the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic. On landing, the selected green meadow turned out to be part of the dangerous Derrygimlagh -Moor, so that the wheels sank into the swamp and the machine turned on its nose. Alcock and Brown were unharmed. Engine development was provided by Harry Ricardo , and the optimized aviation fuel was supplied by the Royal Dutch Shell Company by Robert Waley Cohen .
Brown (above) and Alcock load into the Vickers Vimy on June 14, 1919 before Lester's Field Post starts
Alcock and Brown's Vickers Vimy in St. John's , Newfoundland on June 14, 1919
Alcock and Brown's Vickers Vimy after landing at Clifden , Ireland on June 15, 1919
The front page of the New York Times June 16, 1919
Career
Arthur Whitten Brown was a trained engineer before World War I. In the war he was seriously wounded on November 10, 1915 and was taken prisoner by Germany. After his release from captivity, he deepened his aircraft navigation skills. On the occasion of a visit to the Vickers factory , he was offered the position of navigator for the transatlantic flight that had already been planned with John Alcock as the pilot.
A few days after the flight, Alcock and Brown were made knights by King George V.
He later worked for Metropolitan Vickers . During World War II, Brown served in the British Home Guard as a lieutenant colonel before rejoining the RAF in July 1941 and serving as a navigation officer in the RAF Training Command. His health deteriorated and in mid-1943 had to retire from the Air Training Corps for medical treatment. By 1948, Brown's health had deteriorated, although he was still allowed to work on a limited basis as general manager for Metropolitan Vickers.
Brown died in his sleep on October 4, 1948, from an accidental overdose of veronal (sleeping pill).
See also
- Just a few days later, R34 crossed the Atlantic non-stop in both directions as an airship .
- Lindbergh solo flight
- Hermann Köhl, transatlantic flight from east to west
- Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld, transatlantic flight from east to west
literature
- Alcock And Brown Fly Across Atlantic . In: The New York Times . June 16, 1919, p. 1 ( Alcock And Brown Fly Across Atlantic ).
- Our transatlantic flight: Sir John Alcock and Sir Arthur Whitten Brown. With an introd. by John Alcock , London: Kimber, (1969), ISBN 9780718302214
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Brown, Arthur Whitten |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British aviation pioneer and navigator of the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 23, 1886 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Glasgow |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 4, 1948 |
| Place of death | Swansea |