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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



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THE ROUTE FOLLOWED BY 



SIR ROSS SMITH, K.B.E., 



IN THE FIRST AEROPLANE VOYAGE 



FROM 



LONDON TO AUSTRALIA 



Places where the plane came to earth 



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Approximate scale of statute miles 

 (Inclined cylinder -projection) 



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Major - General Salmond was very 

 proud of this achievement, for it demon- 

 strated that the new arm of the service, 

 the Royal Air Force, had begun to con- 

 centrate its efforts on peaceful develop- 

 ments and the establishment of long- 

 distance commercial air routes. 



This was the longest flight that had 

 ever been made up to this time, and it 

 convinced me that a machine, properly 

 attended and equipped, was capable of 

 flying anywhere, provided suitable land- 

 ing grounds existed. 



EXPLORING THE ROUTE 



After our arrival in India, General 

 Borton communicated with the Air Min- 

 istry and asked for permission to charter 

 a steamer to enable him to proceed to 

 Australia to explore the route and ar- 

 range suitable landing grounds. 



I was to accompany General Borton on 



this expedition as his staff captain, and 

 it was our intention, after surveying out 

 the route, to return to India, join up with 

 our machine, and continue the flight to 

 Australia over the established course. 



The Air Ministry acceded to General 

 Borton's wishes, and the Indian Govern- 

 ment accordingly placed at our disposal 

 the R. I. M. S. Sphinx. On February io, 

 1919, we sailed from Calcutta, our hold 

 stowed tight with stores and equipment 

 and 7,000 gallons of petrol. We intended 

 to dump 200 gallons of petrol at each 

 landing place for the anticipated flight. 

 But all our well-laid schemes ended in 

 smoke. 



THE "SPHINX" BLOWS UP 



Two days later, just after leaving Chit- 

 tagong, in East Bengal, our first port of 

 call, the Sphinx caught fire and blew up. 



