Air mail . . . by catapult
QUESTION In the 1937 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film Shall We Dance?, an ocean-going liner en route to Britain is shown launching a mailplane to America. Did any shipping company actually do this? IN THE Twenties, the U. S. Navy began investigating the idea of launching mail from a ship as it neared the end of its voyage.
This was partly a publicity stunt, but it also had a practical purpose: the plane could arrive at its destination 18 to 36 hours before the boat and would avoid being held up by the lengthy disembarkation, speeding up the delivery of important documents and perishable goods.
The first ship to install a flying mail service was the SS leviathan, America’s most popular ship in the mid-Twenties. She was built in Germany as the Vaterland and commandeered by the U.S. after World War I. At her launch she was the largest liner in the world at 54,282 gross tons (compared with the Titanic’s 46,328).
But despite her popularity she was losing money, so in 1927 it was proposed that she be first to offer a mail service, and a special deck about 100ft long and 33ft wide was built diagonally across the bow of the ship and extended over the sea.
Clarence D. Chamberlin, the second man to cross the Atlantic, flew her maiden voyage on July 31, 1927, in a Fokker biplane. About 75 miles from New York Harbour, Chamberlin took off with about 900 commemorative letters and landed at Curtiss Field on long Island after a flight of just under 100 miles.
It was soon recognised that a catapult would be a more efficient way of propelling these aircraft off the ship, and in July 1928, a 60-ton seaplane catapult was installed at the stern of France’s Blue Ribandwinning liner the Ile De France. The first official catapult mail was launched on August 13, 1928.
For the next two years two CAMS 37 flying boats took turns catapulting off the Ile De France when the ship was within 200 miles of its destination. But although this cut the mail delivery time by about 24 hours, the service was proving too costly and, in October 1930, it was discontinued.
By then the Germans had become interested, and in 1929/ 30, Norddeutscher lloyd launched its two flagships, SS Bremen (51,656 GRT) and SS Europa ( 49,746 GRT). As a publicity exercise the new liners were fitted with catapult mail, and the plan was to provide the fastest Atlantic mail service in the world.
Early flights were made by six Heinkel 12s, replaced by Junkers Ju 46 seaplanes in 1932 and later by Vought V-85Gs, and the service was soon saving 36 hours in the delivery of transatlantic mail.
By 1937, however, the service had been superseded by one provided by the Zeppelin Hindenberg. The catapults were dismantled and the V-85Gs were transferred to the German Navy. After World War II
First class: A catapult seaplane lands in New York in 1928 with mail from the liner Ile De France the service became obsolete as aircraft innovations and increased payloads meant mail planes could fly the Atlantic with ease.
In the movie Shall We Dance? the action takes place on the fictional Queen Anne, although the boat used for various shots was in fact the RMS Queen Mary. This did not have catapult mail, so for this scene the SS Bremen was used.
David Purchase, Criccieth, Gwynedd.
QUESTION Is or was Claud Butler a real person? Did he ever race bikes? FURTHER to earlier answers, Claud Butler (pictured below) was our next- door neighbour in Sydenham, South-East london, in the Seventies.
He lived with his wife, Ethel, in the ground-floor flat owned by a housing association. We learned from him that he had become bankrupt, but despite have lost his beloved business, he remained a cheerful man.
We were often invited in for a chat and a cup of coffee, and were entertained by his many stories and photos from his action-packed life. He’d met many famous people, stars, heads of state and statesmen,
Compiled by Charles Legge (including Winston Churchill), of whom he hung framed photos on his walls.
We especially remember his affection and kindness to our children. He took a regular cycling magazine which he passed to me, autographed.
Unfortunately the last few years of his life were dogged by ill-health. He had to have a leg amputated and was confined to a wheelchair.
It saddens me to think that a man so full of spirit, who gave so many people such pleasure should end this days that way. After his death in 1978 we remained in touch with Ethel until she passed away a few years later. D.S. Close, Pett, E. Sussex.
QUESTION Is there an old hedgerow law that allows a person to pick mushrooms, berries, and nuts without being accused of trespass? All modern statute law has evolved from common law, defined as ‘that which has been regarded as law since time immemorial’.
Most old common law is now set down in statute, with the notable exception of murder. The accused in a murder trial is charged under common law because no Act of parliament has ever decreed murder to be illegal.
Under common law it’s an ancient right for the Queen’s subjects to gather any firewood that can be reached from the highway by ‘hook or by crook’ (which is where the expression came from).
The modern Theft Act (1968) covers the question of hedgerow fruits. Under the Act, property is defined as everything, with two major exceptions: any wild bird, animal or fish that hasn’t been domesticated or reduced into captivity and any flower, fruit or foliage growing wild on any land, as long as it isn’t offered for commercial sale.
This means the fruits of the hedgerow belong to everybody as long as you don’t make a business out of collecting and selling it. But you can’t trespass to gather it: you are restricted by common law to taking only what you can reach from the highway — by hook or by crook.
There are some exceptions; local bye laws prohibiting foraging can be passed by councils, the National Trust and government conservation agencies such as Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council For Wales.
These should be clearly marked. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is an offence to uproot any wild plant without the land owner’s permission, or to forage on
QUESTIONS Q: When was Sellotape invented? What did we use before? Mrs Mavis Dunlop, Torrington, Devon. Q: A crowd of 100,000 attended the Amateur Cup final in the Fifties between Walthamstow Avenue and Leytonstone at Wembley. What was the score?
Les Carey, Benfleet, Essex. Q: My father used to call a cheap or tacky item a ‘pinchbeck’. What is the origin of this word?
D. L. Wallace, Cupar, Fife. a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). In Scotland similar rules apply. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code allows foraging, but again, not for commercial use.
Stuart Bower, Upper Beeding, Sussex.
QUESTION My daughter bought a capon chicken for Christmas. In the Sixties there was some trouble over this type of fowl as a pellet was inserted into the neck of the bird to increase its size. What was this pellet, and is it still legal to do this? FURTHER to the earlier answer, the photograph below shows some