Today In History:  09 July  [1959]   --  RAF Vickers Valiant makes the first non-stop flight to South Africa

A Royal Air Force Vickers Valiant makes the first non-stop flight from England to Cape Town. The Valiant was a British high-altitude jet bomber designed to carry nuclear weapons, and in the 1950s and 1960s was part of the Royal Air Force's "V bomber" strategic deterrent force. The Valiant was the first of the V bombers to become operational, and was followed by the Handley Page Victor and the Avro Vulcan. The Valiant is the only V bomber to have dropped live nuclear weapons (for test purposes).

PHOTO: Vickers Valiant XD873 in 1962

Photo Attribution:  CC BY-SA 3.0  via Wikimedia. Umeyou

Today In History:  08 July  [1947]   --  First flight of the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

The Stratocruiser was a large long-range airliner developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter military transport, itself a derivative of the B-29 Superfortress.  Its design was advanced for its day with relatively innovative features which included two passenger decks and a pressurized cabin (thought neither of these were new developments). It could carry up to 100 passengers on the main deck plus 14 in the lower deck lounge; typical seating was for 63 or 84 passengers or 28 berthed and five seated passengers.

PHOTO: A Pan Am Stratocruiser over San Francisco Bay

Photo Attribution:  Public Domain  via Wikimedia.

Today In History:  07 July  [1929]   --  A 48-hour combined rail and air passenger service across the USA is established.

Transcontinental Air Transport Inc. inaugurates a 48-hour combined rail and air passenger service from coast to coast in the United States.  The airline enlisted the help of Charles Lindbergh to design a transcontinental network to get government airmail contracts. Lindbergh established numerous airports across the country in this effort, and flew the first plane over the air route.

The first leg oft he route was on an overnight train journey from New York City to Columbus, Ohio. There, passengers boarded a Ford Trimotor aircraft at what is now John Glenn Columbus International Airport, and flew to Waynoka, Oklahoma. Passengers woul dthen catch the Santa Fe Railway for an overnight trip to Clovis, New Mexico, where they would take a second Ford Trimotor flight to Los Angeles.
PHOTO: The TAT Ford 5-AT-B "City of Columbus" flown by Lindbergh.


Photo Attribution:  Public Domain  via Wikimedia.

Today In History: 05 July [1940] -- Swordfish make a torpedo strike against Italian ships at Tobruk

Shore-based Fairey Swordfish of the Fleet Air Arm's No. 813 Squadron make a torpedo strike against Italian ships at Tobruk, sinking a transport and a destroyer, blowing the bow off another destroyer, and damaging an ocean liner. PHOTO: A formation of three Swordfish IIIs of No. 119 Squadron RAF over the North Sea, 1939–1945

Hi all,

If any of you are really paying attention, you'll note that in the email for the release of Jeff Watson's 'The Spitfire & The Lancaster' film today, it was mentioned that Lancaster NX 611, which served with the French Aeronavale in the Pacific, was flown back to England by a Santa cow.

Ha! Ha! Ha!

You can put this down to the fact that auto-correct caught us out! The aircraft was actually flown back to the UK by a Qantas crew.

Enjoy the video,

The HMTV Crew

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Allan Udy & Alex Micthell

Historical Machines TV