DISCOVERY 



twent\' odd miles from Ramadie, we landed to see if 

 there was enough spirit to carry us there. Not one 

 of the five tanks contained more than a few pints of 

 petrol, but, by draining each of them and pouring 

 the contents into one of the gravity tanks, we just 

 managed to scrape up enough to get to the aerodrome 

 in time to find two R.A.F. machines about to start 

 in search of us. 



Spir.^llixg " Dust Devils " 



.\fter two days' rest, we set out for Basra on 

 15th July, accompanied by a D.H.ga, piloted by 

 Flying-Officer Hewson, of the Royal Air Force. It 

 was an extremely bumpy flight, with spiralling " dust 

 ■devils " rising to a height of over 7,000 ft. 



\\'e passed safely down the Persian Gulf, and on 

 19th July met with a splendid reception at Karachi, 

 our first landing in India, where we were presented 

 with an address in a silver casket and a wonderful 

 Persian carpet. Our appearance must have been 

 remarkable, for we had not shaved for several days 

 and were burnt almost black by constant exposure 

 to the sun and wind. I was attired only in a shirt, 

 with no collar, sleeves cut off at the shoulders, open 

 to the waist, shorts coming halfway to my knees, no 

 stockings, and slippers. 



On landing at Jacobabad we found that it was 

 simply an emergency landing ground with no petrol 

 supplies. We continued to Sibi, and there found a 

 rather similar state of affairs. Engine trouble set in, 

 and, after communication with Ouetta, we decided to 

 go on to that station to have the engine set right 

 and make arrangements for the necessary petrol with 

 which to proceed to Lahore. 



We then loaded up again and continued to Lahore 

 and Amballa. Here our troubles started again. We 

 tried several times to leave Amballa, but each time 

 were forced to return with a failing engine. The cli- 

 mate had caused the rubber petrol connections to rot, 

 and pieces of rubber were blocking the petrol pipes and 

 choking the carburettors. Time after time we flushed 

 out the pipes and cleaned the tanks, and though we 

 lifted new connections the trouble continued. 



We left Amballa on the 4th August, but when a 

 few miles past Delhi, where we had not intended to 

 land, the engine again cut out, and we were forced 

 to descend in a ploughed field. Again MacmiUan 

 brought off an excellent landing without damaging 

 the machine in any way, but w'e found that in order 

 to get off we should have to move the aeroplane to a 

 road some three-quarters of a mile aw^ay, over ditches, 

 through hedges, and o\-er a railway. Hundreds of 



Across Ixdi.\ 



It was our intention after leaving Karachi to cross 

 India via Nasirabad, Delhi, and AUahabad, but whilst 

 at Karachi we were told by the headquarters of the 

 Air Force at Amballa that w'e should proceed not to 

 Delhi, but to Amballa via Multan and Lahore. \\^en 

 we were on the point of departure a message came 

 through to say that the River Indus had burst its 

 banks and the aerodromes en route to Lahore w'ere 

 under water. We were therefore advised to proceed 

 via Jacobabad or Sibi. 



Indians were lent us by the Public Works Department, 

 and these began to fill in ditches, cut through banks, 

 and chop down trees, whilst helping us to haul the 

 machine across the country. Before we had finished 

 night fell and a terrible thunderstorm blew up. Rain 

 fell in solid sheets, thunder crashed continuously 

 overhead, and the flashes of lightning were so vivid 

 and frequent that we were enabled to carry on our 

 work by this light. Soaked to the skin and wading 

 about in a sea of mud, all our helpers w'orked with a 

 will, so that we succeeded in getting the aeroplane 

 on to the road before we tm"ned in for the night. 



