Charles Kingsford Smith and Those Magnificent Men

by P Fitzsimons

  64‘“Smithy” in Joy and Sorrow, Loss of Ulm, Flying Pal Grief-Stricken’, Sun, 11 December 1935.

  65Gunn, op. cit., p. 213.

  66McNally, op. cit., p. 160.

  67Swinson, op. cit., p. 173.

  Chapter Nineteen: Out On a Wing and a Prayer

  1Sprigg, C. St John, Great Flights, Thomas Nelson & Sons, London, 1936, p. 148.

  2Taylor, Sir Gordon, The Sky Beyond, Cassell, Melbourne, 1963, p. 88.

  3Stannage, John, Smithy, Oxford University Press, London, 1950, p. 85.

  4Kingsford Smith, Sir Charles, My Flying Life: An Authentic Biography Prepared under the Personal Supervision of and from the Diaries and Papers of the Late Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, Andrew Melrose, London, 1937, p. 263.

  5Swinton, Stuart, P.G. Taylor: The Last of the Great Air Pioneers—A Personal Tribute From Stuart Swinton, Australian Military History Publications, Loftus, New South Wales, 2006, p. 48.

  6Stannage, op. cit., p. 102.

  7Taylor, Sir Gordon, ‘Kingsford Smith as I Remember Him’, Sir Hudson Fysh Papers, Mitchell Library, ML MSS 2413, Box 10, K21829, ca. 1817-1974.

  8Stannage, op. cit., p. 103.

  9Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 269.

  10ibid., p. 266.

  11Taylor, The Sky Beyond, op. cit., p. 69.

  12Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 267.

  13ibid.

  14ibid.

  15Stannage, op. cit., p. 104.

  16Taylor, ‘Kingsford Smith as I Remember Him’, op. cit.

  17Stannage, op. cit., p. 104.

  18ibid., p. 105.

  19Davis, Pedr, Charles Kingsford Smith: Smithy, The World’s Greatest Aviator, Lansdowne Press, Sydney, 1985, p. 63.

  20Stannage, op. cit., p. 105.

  21Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 270.

  22ibid.

  23‘Life of Thrills: “Smithy” as Pal, The Man in the Air’, Sun, 10 December 1935.

  24Stannage, op. cit., p. 106.

  25‘Life of Thrills: “Smithy” as Pal, The Man in the Air’, Sun, 10 December 1935.

  26ibid.

  27Stannage, op. cit., p. 107.

  28Taylor, The Sky Beyond, op. cit., p. 78.

  29ibid.

  30ibid.

  31Stannage, John, High Adventure, MacDonald, Christchurch, 1944, p. 148.

  32Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 271.

  33Taylor, The Sky Beyond, op. cit., p. 82.

  34Stannage, Smithy, op. cit., p. 108.

  35Taylor, The Sky Beyond, op. cit., p. 85.

  36Stannage, Smithy, op. cit., p. 109.

  37‘Defied Death’, Canberra Times, 16 May 1935.

  38Swinton, op. cit., p. 52.

  39‘Heroism Saves Kingsford Smith from Sea’, Chicago Daily Tribune, 16 May 1935.

  40ibid.

  41Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 278.

  42‘Kingsford Smith’s Mishap’, The Times, 17 May 1935.

  43‘Silly Stunt, Attack on Kingsford Smith, London’, Canberra Times, 24 May 1935.

  44‘Dominions Should Operate Service, Tasman Flight Abandoned’, Canberra Times, 17 May 1935.

  45‘Defied Death’, Canberra Times, 16 May 1935.

  46Stannage, High Adventure, op. cit., p. 151.

  47‘Kingsford Smith’s Mishap’, The Times, 17 May 1935.

  48‘Dominions Should Operate Service, Tasman Flight Abandoned’, Canberra Times, 17 May 1935.

  49Wixted, Edward P., The Life and Times of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith: An Illustrated Chronology, private source, Queensland, 1996, p. 160.

  50Fysh, Sir Hudson, Qantas Rising: The Autobiography of the Flying Fysh, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1966, p. 241.

  51Mackersey, op. cit., p. 354.

  52Gunn, John, The Defeat of Distance: Qantas 1919–1939, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Queensland, 1988, p. 268.

  53Sheil, Beau, Caesar of the Skies: The Life Story of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, Cassell, London, 1937, p. 4.

  54This Fabulous Century, TV series, 1979, Peter Luck.

  55‘Last Flight, Southern Cross for Richmond, Temporary Home Sydney’, Canberra Times, 18 July 1935.

  56ibid.

  57Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 280.

  58Wixted, op. cit., p. 211.

  59Mackersey, op. cit., p. 356.

  60Fysh, Hudson to G.E. Woods Humphrey, 23 April 1934, Hudson Fysh Papers, Mitchell Library, Sydney.

  61Humphrey, G.E. Woods to Hudson Fysh, 30 July 1935, Hudson Fysh Papers, Mitchell Library, Sydney.

  62Gunn, op. cit., p. 276.

  63ibid., p. 278.

  64Mackersey, op. cit., p. 357.

  65‘Kingsford Smith at San Pedro’, New York Times, 11 August 1935.

  66‘My Co-Pilot was Called Death’, Liberty Magazine, 28 December 1935.

  67ibid.

  68Morton, Fred, ‘Smithy’: Sir Charles Kingsford Smith—The World’s Greatest Aviator, New Image Publications, Melbourne, 1984, p 38.

  69McNally, Ward, The Man on the Twenty Dollar Note: Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, A & A Reed, Sydney, 1976, p. 177.

  70Morton, op. cit., p 23.

  71Mackersey, op. cit., p. 362.

  72ibid., p. 363.

  73Morton, op. cit., (50th Anniversary Edition), ‘Beau Sheil: Smithy’s PR Man’, p. 21.

  74Sheil, op. cit., p. 187.

  75Mackersey, op. cit., p. 366.

  76‘Reported Battling Monsoon’, New York Times, 9 November 1935.

  77Mackersey, op. cit., p. 367.

  78‘Kingsford-Smith Overdue’, New York Times, 8 November 1935.

  79‘Kingsford-Smith still Unreported’, New York Times, 9 November 1935.

  80‘Brother Not Worried’, New York Times, 9 November 1935.

  81‘R.A.F. Searching for Kingsford Smith, Flights Over Land and Sea’, The Times, 11 November 1935.

  82‘Kingsford Smith, Planes Find No Trace’, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 November 1935.

  83‘Search Called Off for Flyers’, Canberra Times, 19 November 1935.

  84‘Qantas Plane for Search’, Canberra Times, 20 November 1935.

  85‘The Search in the Jungle, R.A.F. Commodore’s Message’, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 December 1935.

  86‘Hopes Fading for Missing Fliers’, Canberra Times, 14 November 1935.

  87‘Spiritualists Disagree on Airmen’s Fate’, Canberra Times, 21 November 1935.

  88‘Medium’s Replies Alleges Flyers’ Loss at Sea’, Canberra Times, 20 November 1935.

  89‘New Hopes Raised in Sydney’, Canberra Times, 23 November 1935.

  90‘Further Reports of Plane Crash’, Canberra Times, 26 November 1935.

  91‘Kingsford Smith, New Hopes Raised, Reported Crash of Plane in Jungle’, Canberra Times, 27 November 1935.

  Epilogue

  1Sealby, Winifred Kingsford, Recollections: Personal and Scenic; Our Dumb Friends, (Australian Library Collections, Record ID 5583222), 1951, p. 22.

  2Davis, Pedr, Charles Kingsford Smith: Smithy, The World’s Greatest Aviator, Lansdowne Press, Sydney, 1985, p. 91.

  3Taylor, Sir Gordon, The Sky Beyond, Cassell, Melbourne, 1963, p. 95.

  4Gunn, John, The Defeat of Distance: Qantas 1919–1939, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Queensland, 1988, p. 286.

  5‘Kingsford Smith Mascot ‘Drome to Perpetuate Name’, Canberra Times, 14 August 1936.

  6Morton, Fred, ‘Smithy’: Sir Charles Kingsford Smith—The World’s Greatest Aviator, New Image Publications, Melbourne, 1984, p 47.

  7‘Has Charles Kingsford Smith’s Plane Been Found?’, Daily Telegraph, 21 March 2009.

  8‘Kingsford Smith? Not Likely, Says Dick Smith’, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 March 2009.

  9‘My Co-Pilot was Called Death’, Liberty Magazine, 28 December 1935.

  10Interview with Charles Kingsford-Smith Jnr, March 2009.

  11‘C.J. Melrose, Young Airman Killed, Crash in Storm at Melton, Mining Engineer Killed’, Canberra Times, 6 July 1936.

  12Wixted, Edward P., The Life and T
imes of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith: An Illustrated Chronology, private source, Queensland, 1996, p. 264.

  13Interview with John Ulm, Australia, May 2008.

  14‘Jim Warner Radioman’, American Aviation Historical Society Journal, Summer 1983 (Vol. 28, Issue 2).

  15Sufrin, Mark, The Brave Men: Twelve Portraits of Courage, Platt & Munk, New York, 1967, p. 259.

  16http://www.bcphilatelic.org/images/BCPS_fall_2008_newsletter.pdf Author of the article in question is Bob Ingraham of the British Columbia Philatelic Society.

  17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_KLM_Constellation_air_disaster references to: Barker, Ralph, Great Mysteries of the Air, Macmillan, New York, 1967. See also: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id= 19481020-0 and www.aircrashsites-scotland.co.uk/connie_mauchline.htm

  18‘Southern Cloud Discoverer Retraces His Steps’, 7.30 Report, ABC TV, 30 October 2008.

  19Interview with Tom Sonter, Sydney, December 2008.

  20Interview with Cynthia Balderstone, Sydney, December 2008.

  21‘Southern Cloud Discoverer Retraces His Steps’, 7.30 Report, ABC TV, 30 October 2008.

  22Kalush, William and Sloman, Larry, The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero, Atria, New York, 2006, p. 509.

  23ibid.

  24ibid., p. 513f.

  25Bouffard, James Charles, The Magician’s Flight! How The Magician Fought for His Art, Lulu, North Carolina, 2008, p. 48.

  26Swinson, Arthur, The Great Air Race, Cassell, London, 1968, p. 188f.

  27ibid.

  28‘I’ve Never Got Over It’, Daily Telegraph, 12 July 2007.

  29‘Coronation Honours List Military Division K.B.E.’, Canberra Times, 1 June 1953.

  30Page, Dorothy G., Polar Pilot: The Carl Ben Eielson Story, Interstate Publishers, Danville, Illinois, 1992, p. 367.

  31‘Unsung No 1 with a Bullet’, Australian, 11 April 2007.

  32Kilduff, Peter, Richthofen: Beyond the Legend of the Red Baron, Arms and Armour Press, London, 1999, p. 220.

  33Cross, James Giblin, Charles A. Lindbergh: A Human Hero, Clarion Books, New York, 1997, p. 181.

  34Whitman, Alden, ‘The Return Of Charles Lindbergh’, New York Times, 23 May 1971.

  35Cross, op. cit., p. 191.

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