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Timeline
1919
Hounslow, England
November 12, 1919
South Australian brothers, Ross and Keith Macpherson Smith, along with James ‘Jim’ Mallett Bennett and Wally
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Lyons, France
November 12, 1919
The intense cold and 90 mph winds caused the goggles and helmets to frost over which had to be removed for visibility. A
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Pisa, Italy
November 15, 1919
They ran into headwind and arrived in Pisa in the evening. Rather than attempting to fly onward to Rome in the dark the
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Venturina, Italy
November 17, 1919
After noticing a loss in oil pressure the crew made a minor stop at an Italian aerodrome in Venturina before continuing
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Rome, Italy
November 17, 1919
After an intense conflict through heavy head-winds and dense clouds the Vimy arrived in Rome two days behind schedule.
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Taranto, Italy
November 17, 1919
They departed Rome at 9 am through the Apennines mountains which created a bumpy experience and the aircraft was tossed
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Canea, Crete
November 17, 1919
Rather than taking the flight to Cairo through Athens, the route was altered to Crete which cut the crossing to two shor
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Cairo, Egypt
November 18, 1919
The Vimy flew non-stop for seven and a half hours across the Mediterranean totaling 680 miles (250 of which was open sea
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Damascus, Syria
November 19, 1919
They made their way over the Nile Delta and the Suez Canal en route to Damascus and flew over the battlefields that all
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Ramadi, Iraq
November 20, 1919
Leaving during a heavy storm in Damascus to avoid being bogged and having further delays in schedule, the Vimy made its
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Basra, Iraq
November 21, 1919
Despite having a sand clogged engine and strained or broken aileron control wires from the Sandstorm overnight in Ramadi
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Bundar Abbas, Persian Gulf
November 23, 1919
There was concern on the approach that the engines may be likely to fail, forcing a landing in the gulf, but the arrival
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Karachi, Pakistan
November 24, 1919
In the longest sector of the flight, a 730 mile stretch, there was concern about the conditions and expected response fr
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Delhi, India
November 25, 1919
After making the flight from Karachi to Delhi, they learnt that Poulet was only a day ahead of them, after undertaking t
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Muttra, India
November 27, 1919
After leaving Delhi, the Smith’s would encounter much less support, without assistance from the R.A.F. Landing too
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Allahabad, India
November 28, 1919
In Allahabad they encountered a large black bull that challenged them, threatening to charge the aircraft. After a succe
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Calcutta, India
November 29, 1919
The Smith’s followed the Jumna River through to Benares in this section of the flight, following the railroad to C
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Akyab, Burma Coast
November 29, 1919
After crossing the swamp lands in the Ganges Delta, they made their way to Burma via the coastline. Fortunately in Calcu
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Rangoon, Burma
November 30, 1919
The race was on to reach Rangoon before Poulet, as no aircraft had previously landed their prior. After following the Ir
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Bangkok, Thailand
December 1, 1919
Graciously, during the flight from Burma to Thailand, Poulet agreed to fly side-by-side with the brothers in case of for
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Singora, Malaysia
December 2, 1919
Bad weather conditions were encountered during the next part of their journey, with torrential rain making flying challe
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Singora, Malaysia
December 4, 1919
After encountering a ‘thrilling take-off’, they passed over Malacca on their way to Singapore. Restricted sp
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Singapore
December 4, 1919
With only 8 days left to reach Darwin, they decided to remain in Singapore longer than planned in order to repair the ai
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Batavia (Jakarta, Java)
December 7, 1919
Across the equator, they found the Southern Hemisphere much calmer, with barely a ripple on the sea. Unable to locate th
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Surabaya, Java
December 8, 1919
Unfortunately, the first aerodrome they experienced was muddy and caused the Vimy to become bogged. They removed the air
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Bima, Sumbawa
December 9, 1919
Their arrival in Bima provided much more pleasant conditions, with a large cross marking their landing. Due to undrinkab
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Atamboea, Timor
December 10, 1919
On landing, they refuelled in Timor and prepared for their morning take off to Darwin. Again the take-off was dangerous
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Darwin, Australia
December 10, 1919
Their final course was accurately pursued and sighting of the Bathurst Island Lighthouse was made. The landing took plac
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Warlock Ponds, Australia
December 13, 1919
They were forced to make a landing at Warlock Ponds in order to adjust the engine.
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Anthony’s Lagoon, Australia
December 14, 1919
They were forced to land at Anthony’s Lagoon which was 450 miles from the nearest railway and 150 miles from a tel
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Charleville, Australia
December 23, 1919
Upon Landing in Charleville the Vimy was fitted with a new propeller and thoroughly overhauled.
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1920
Sydney, Australia
February 14, 1920
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Melbourne, Australia
February 25, 1920
Upon arrival in Melbourne they were received by a tumultuous welcome and were presented with their prize cheque by Prime
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Adelaide, South Australia
March 23, 1920
The Smith brothers finally returned home on 23 March, where they were met by enthusiastic crowds once again.
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