Nevill Vintcent
Encyclopedia
Nevill Vintcent, O.B.E., D.F.C.
(1902–1942) was a South Africa
n aviator and airline founder.
He was the son of Charles Vintcent
, a South African cricketer.
In 1942, Vintcent set out on a flight to India
to put into effect a plan for which he had fought long and tenaciously - the establishment of an aircraft factory in India
. The RAF Hudson
in which he had been given a place in the crew to expedite his return disappeared without trace after taking off from a Cornish aerodrome. While officially there was no further information, it is known that other RAF aircraft were attacked by enemy aircraft in the mouth of the English Channel
that day, and among his friends it was presumed that Vintcent was shot down in that vicinity.
Nevill Vintcent, a South African, born in 1902, entered Osborne in 1916, proceeded to Dartmouth, and served in HMS Temeraire
for a few months during
the Great War. In 1920 he went to Cranwell
with the first course, was commissioned in the RAF in 1922, and served in Kurdistan, Transjordania, Egypt
, and Iraq
, where he won the DFC in unusual circumstances when he, with a brother officer, had made a forced landing inn hostile country. To enable his co-pilot to fire the guns of the aeroplane and beat off the attacks of Arab horsemen, he carried the tail of the aeroplane on his shoulder, and throughout a prolonged engagement swung the aircraft into position for firing until help arrived.
For a time he served as a pilot at the RAF experimental establishment at Martlesham Heath
.
Convinced of the great future of civil aviation, he left the RAF in 1926 and engaged in air survey work in India
, Burma, the Federated Malay States
and Borneo
, and he flew the first air mail from Borneo to the Straits Settlements.
In 1928 he, with a partner, undertook one of the early long-distance pioneer flights, when they flew two deHavilland DH.9
aeroplanes from England to India. For two years he was engaged with spreading the gospel of aviation in India, and his contact with Mr. J.R.D. Tata, of Tata Sons Ltd, gave birth to Tata Airlines
.
Nevill Vintcent and J.R.D. Tata together pioneered the air mail service from London to the sub-continent. On October 8, 1932, an Imperial Airways
aircraft flew from London to Karachi
. J R D Tata, in a De Havilland Puss Moth took the mail on to Bombay, where Nevill Vintcent then took over for the leg to Madras, arriving on 16 October. The first westbound flight left Madras the following day.
On February 25, 1935 Vintcent made an inaugural flight from Bombay to Nagpur
to Jamshedpur and on to Calcutta with a De Havilland Fox Moth
.
They built one of the two air transport companies which, before the 1939-45 war, built the foundation of air transport in India, and during the war rendered invaluable assistance to the RAF in operating scheduled air transport services and in such operations as the carriage of troops to Iraq, the evacuation of women and children from Habbaniyah
, and later from Burma.
For his work in the organization of air transport in India he was made an O.B.E. in 1938.
The approach of war in Europe impressed upon Vintcent and others the strategic need for an aircraft factory in India, and thereafter to that end his mind and activities were more and more concentrated. In 1940, simultaneously with the Government of India's decision to establish the Hindustan aircraft factory at Bangalore
, with American assistance, Vintcent visited the United States
and England
and obtained the promise of a contract for the construction of training aircraft in India as an initial programme for the Tata aircraft factory. Shipping and other difficulties, however, delayed the building, equipping, and manning of an aircraft factory in India. But in 1941 Vintcent flew to England at the request of Lord Beaverbrook, then Minister of Aircraft Production
and obtained a contract for the construction of troop-carrying gliders, and set about the organization of the company and the building of the factory at Poona. Vintcent, anxious to lose no time, set out on his return to India on January 29, 1942. With the irony of fate, of all the numerous personnel who were sent to India by air and sea to establish this enterprise, he alone was lost on the way out. The outbreak of war with Japan revealed how invaluable an established aircraft industry in India, even on a small scale, would then have been; but it was too late for India to make any contribution in the production of aircraft. The Tata aircraft factories as well as the Hindustan aircraft factory were switched over to the repair and overhaul of aircraft for the air forces.
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
(1902–1942) was a South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n aviator and airline founder.
He was the son of Charles Vintcent
Charles Vintcent
Charles Henry Vintcent was a South African cricketer who played in 3 Tests from 1889 to 1892.Educated Charterhouse School 1880 - 1884 School Football XI 1882-84....
, a South African cricketer.
In 1942, Vintcent set out on a flight to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to put into effect a plan for which he had fought long and tenaciously - the establishment of an aircraft factory in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The RAF Hudson
Lockheed Hudson
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
in which he had been given a place in the crew to expedite his return disappeared without trace after taking off from a Cornish aerodrome. While officially there was no further information, it is known that other RAF aircraft were attacked by enemy aircraft in the mouth of the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
that day, and among his friends it was presumed that Vintcent was shot down in that vicinity.
Nevill Vintcent, a South African, born in 1902, entered Osborne in 1916, proceeded to Dartmouth, and served in HMS Temeraire
HMS Temeraire (1907)
HMS Temeraire was a Bellerophon-class battleship in the Royal Navy built at the Royal Dockyard, Devonport.She was ordered under the 1906 Naval Estimates at the cost of £1,641,114. Although not externally much different from predecessor , internally she and others of the Bellerophon-class were much...
for a few months during
the Great War. In 1920 he went to Cranwell
Cranwell
Cranwell is a village situated in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. It is part of the Civil Parish of Cranwell and Byard's Leap and is located 3.95 miles north-north-west of Sleaford and 16.3 miles south-east of the county town of Lincoln...
with the first course, was commissioned in the RAF in 1922, and served in Kurdistan, Transjordania, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, where he won the DFC in unusual circumstances when he, with a brother officer, had made a forced landing inn hostile country. To enable his co-pilot to fire the guns of the aeroplane and beat off the attacks of Arab horsemen, he carried the tail of the aeroplane on his shoulder, and throughout a prolonged engagement swung the aircraft into position for firing until help arrived.
For a time he served as a pilot at the RAF experimental establishment at Martlesham Heath
Martlesham Heath
Martlesham Heath village is situated 6 miles east of Ipswich, in Suffolk, England. This was an ancient area of heathland and latterly the site of Martlesham Heath Airfield...
.
Convinced of the great future of civil aviation, he left the RAF in 1926 and engaged in air survey work in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Burma, the Federated Malay States
Federated Malay States
The Federated Malay States was a federation of four protected states in the Malay Peninsula—Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang—established by the British government in 1895, which lasted until 1946, when they, together with the Straits Settlements and the Unfederated Malay...
and Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, and he flew the first air mail from Borneo to the Straits Settlements.
In 1928 he, with a partner, undertook one of the early long-distance pioneer flights, when they flew two deHavilland DH.9
Airco DH.9
The Airco DH.9 - also known after 1920 as the de Havilland DH.9 - was a British bomber used in the First World War...
aeroplanes from England to India. For two years he was engaged with spreading the gospel of aviation in India, and his contact with Mr. J.R.D. Tata, of Tata Sons Ltd, gave birth to Tata Airlines
Tata Airlines
Tata Airlines, a division of Tata Sons Ltd. was founded by J. R. D. Tata in 1932 as Tata Sons.It was started as a mail service between Karachi, Bombay and Madras.-The beginning:...
.
Nevill Vintcent and J.R.D. Tata together pioneered the air mail service from London to the sub-continent. On October 8, 1932, an Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long range air transport company, operating from 1924 to 1939 and serving parts of Europe but especially the Empire routes to South Africa, India and the Far East...
aircraft flew from London to Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
. J R D Tata, in a De Havilland Puss Moth took the mail on to Bombay, where Nevill Vintcent then took over for the leg to Madras, arriving on 16 October. The first westbound flight left Madras the following day.
On February 25, 1935 Vintcent made an inaugural flight from Bombay to Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
to Jamshedpur and on to Calcutta with a De Havilland Fox Moth
De Havilland Fox Moth
|-References:NotesBibliography* Hotson, Fred W. The de Havilland Canada Story. Toronto: CANAV Books, 1983. ISBN 0-07-549483-3.* Jackson, A. J. British Civil Aircraft 1919-1972: Volume II. London: Putnam , 1988. ISBN 0-85177-813-5....
.
They built one of the two air transport companies which, before the 1939-45 war, built the foundation of air transport in India, and during the war rendered invaluable assistance to the RAF in operating scheduled air transport services and in such operations as the carriage of troops to Iraq, the evacuation of women and children from Habbaniyah
Habbaniyah
Al Habbaniyah or Habbaniya is a city in Al-Anbar Province, in central Iraq.-References:...
, and later from Burma.
For his work in the organization of air transport in India he was made an O.B.E. in 1938.
The approach of war in Europe impressed upon Vintcent and others the strategic need for an aircraft factory in India, and thereafter to that end his mind and activities were more and more concentrated. In 1940, simultaneously with the Government of India's decision to establish the Hindustan aircraft factory at Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, with American assistance, Vintcent visited the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and obtained the promise of a contract for the construction of training aircraft in India as an initial programme for the Tata aircraft factory. Shipping and other difficulties, however, delayed the building, equipping, and manning of an aircraft factory in India. But in 1941 Vintcent flew to England at the request of Lord Beaverbrook, then Minister of Aircraft Production
Minister of Aircraft Production
The Minister of Aircraft Production was the British government position in charge of the Ministry of Aircraft Production, one of the specialised supply ministries set up by the British Government during World War II...
and obtained a contract for the construction of troop-carrying gliders, and set about the organization of the company and the building of the factory at Poona. Vintcent, anxious to lose no time, set out on his return to India on January 29, 1942. With the irony of fate, of all the numerous personnel who were sent to India by air and sea to establish this enterprise, he alone was lost on the way out. The outbreak of war with Japan revealed how invaluable an established aircraft industry in India, even on a small scale, would then have been; but it was too late for India to make any contribution in the production of aircraft. The Tata aircraft factories as well as the Hindustan aircraft factory were switched over to the repair and overhaul of aircraft for the air forces.