ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — When you consider the time period, The Evening Telegram staff of June 14, 1919 did a remarkable job to have a story published in that evening’s edition of the paper detailing Alcock and Brown’s takeoff on their transatlantic flight.
The people within the distribution area of The Evening Telegram would have been reading about the day’s takeoff and events with their evening tea while Capt. John Alcock and Lt. Arthur Brown of the Royal Air Force were battling the harsh elements in the open cockpit of the plane crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
The headline was “Vickers-Vimy Off On the Great Adventure.”
“With the wind blowing at a velocity of thirty miles an hour from N.W., the machine taxied against the breeze for about two hundred yards, but a few seconds before taking to the air the plane was struck by a side squall, depressing a wing, but by excellent manoeuvering Alcock managed to get back into position and lifted the machine into the air,” stated the story from The Evening Telegram’s June 14, 1919 edition.
“Flying very low the machine disappeared from the view of those present, who at one time feared that disaster had overtaken it, but within ten minutes it reappeared, coming out of the N.W. and flying at an altitude estimated to be 2,500 feet.
“Alcock kept low at the start for the purpose of making the circle more easy, as with the weight of fuel and oil supplies it was risky to climb too high before turning. The bomber on her reappearance was vociferously cheered by the hundreds of people present, and heading straight out, passed over the drome at a swift rate and heading for sea. At 1:55 it had flown over Signal Hill at a height of one hundred feet above Cabot Tower, and within a very short space was swallowed up in a haze bank.”
Two days later, on June 16, 1919, The Evening Telegram carried a story from London headlined, “LORDS OF THE AIR! Alcock and Brown Land in Ireland.”
The London story was written and dated June 15.
“Capt. John Alcock and Lieut. Arthur W. Brown, in their Vickers-Vimy biplane, landed at Clifden, Ireland, this morning, completing the first non-stop airplane flight across the Atlantic.
“The landing was made at 9:40 o’clock, British summer time. In taking the ground the machine struck heavily, and the fuselage ploughed itself into the ground. Neither of the occupants were injured. Much of the flight was made through a fog with occasional drizzle. This hampered the airmen considerably during their journey.”