Schlesinger Race
Encyclopedia
The Schlesinger Race, also known as the "Rand Race", the "Portsmouth - Johannesburg Race" or more commonly the 'African Air Race', took place in September 1936. The Royal Aero Club
announced the race on behalf of Mr I.W. Schlesinger who wanted to promote the Johannesburg Empire Exhibition and so offered a total of £10,000 in prize money to be divided into two sections, a speed race and a handicap race.
The two sections were to be flown concurrently, but no competitor could win both first prizes.
The race was wholly inspired by the very successful 1934 MacRoberts air race to celebrate the centenary of the Australian state of Victoria. However, whilst that race was open to all-comers, Schlesinger made the fundamental error of restricting the entry of the Schlesinger Race to British Empire crews and machines only. This led directly to a much smaller entry and only one machine successfully completed the course after many aircraft either failed, crashed or given up. Magazines of the time, such as 'The Aeroplane' and 'Flight', were suitably scathing. Macroberts winner C.W.A.Scott aided by Giles Guthrie won the race in a Percival Vega Gull, but it was a hollow victory, as most of the waiting spectators at Cape Town had given up and gone home by the time he arrived.
was entered into the race in G-EAKL Percival Mew Gull
but ten day's before the start of the race he was fatally injured at Speke Airport while preparing for the race when Flying Officer
Peter Stanley Salter who was the Assistant Adjutant and Chief Flying Instructor of No. 611 Squadron collided in his Hawker Hart
No. K3044 into Black's aircraft which was also taxiing on the runway. Two aircraft, Miles Peregrine
and M. Chand's Percival Vega Gull
were not ready, while J. Carberry's Vega Gull was damaged.
The race began at Portsmouth aerodrome at 6.15 a.m. on Tuesday, September 29.
The winners of the race were C. W. A. Scott and Giles Guthrie, Scott was famous for three England Australia records and winning the MacRobertson Air Race with Tom Campell Black two years earlier. Scott and Guthrie were flying G-AEKE Percival Vega Gull
entered by Giles' father Sir Connop Guthrie they reached at Rand Airport
on 1 October 1936. The aircraft had left Portsmouth 52 hours 56 minutes 48 seconds earlier. Out of the original 14 entries to the race Scott and Guthrie were the only ones to finish, winning the 10,000 pounds prize money.
Alington's and Booth's B.A. Eagle had a forced landing near Regensburg in Germany and damaged an undercarriage. A. Miller, flying Percival Mew Gull
, had a forced landing before Belgrade and withdrew. Next, T. Rose's B.A.4 Double Eagle got damaged on an airfield in Cairo, due to undercarriage folding. Victor Smith flying Miles Sparrowhawk
had problems with oil since Salonika and eventually retired in Khartoum. On 30 September, S. Halse crashed his Percival Mew Gull
in a forced landing 20 miles before Salisbury
. D. Llewellyn and C. Hughesdon in Percival Vega Gull
had a forced landing before Abercorn (today's Mbala), on a shore of Lake Tanganika. In a difficult weather conditions, the Airspeed Envoy
crashed during a take off from Abercorn, killing the pilot Max Findlay and radio operator A. Morgan, while Kenneth Waller and the passenger Derek Peachey escaped with injuries. Finally, A. Clouston made a forced crash landing 150 miles south of Salisbury in his Miles Hawk Six
.
In 1937 Charles E. Gardner went on to win the King's Cup Race
in the repaired Mew Gull G-AEKL in which Black had suffered his fatal accident. Guthrie also flew in this race in Vega Gull G-AFAU, finishing in fifth place
Due to the fact that only one entrant finished the race, Schlesinger suggested that the finishers money which would remain unclaimed should be paid to the dependents of Findlay and Morgan, who met with a fatal accident in the race.
Royal Aero Club
The Royal Aero Club is the national co-ordinating body for Air Sport in the United Kingdom.The Aero Club was founded in 1901 by Frank Hedges Butler, his daughter Vera and the Hon Charles Rolls , partly inspired by the Aero Club of France...
announced the race on behalf of Mr I.W. Schlesinger who wanted to promote the Johannesburg Empire Exhibition and so offered a total of £10,000 in prize money to be divided into two sections, a speed race and a handicap race.
The two sections were to be flown concurrently, but no competitor could win both first prizes.
The race was wholly inspired by the very successful 1934 MacRoberts air race to celebrate the centenary of the Australian state of Victoria. However, whilst that race was open to all-comers, Schlesinger made the fundamental error of restricting the entry of the Schlesinger Race to British Empire crews and machines only. This led directly to a much smaller entry and only one machine successfully completed the course after many aircraft either failed, crashed or given up. Magazines of the time, such as 'The Aeroplane' and 'Flight', were suitably scathing. Macroberts winner C.W.A.Scott aided by Giles Guthrie won the race in a Percival Vega Gull, but it was a hollow victory, as most of the waiting spectators at Cape Town had given up and gone home by the time he arrived.
History
There were 14 entrants, but only 9 aircraft took part in the race. Tom Campbell BlackTom Campbell Black
Tom Campbell Black, was a famous English aviator.He was the son of Alice Jean McCullough and Hugh Milner Black. He became a world famous aviator when he and C. W. A...
was entered into the race in G-EAKL Percival Mew Gull
Percival Mew Gull
The Percival Mew Gull was a British racing aircraft of the 1930s. It was a small, single-engine, single-seat, low-wing monoplane of wooden construction, normally powered by a six-cylinder de Havilland Gipsy Six piston engine...
but ten day's before the start of the race he was fatally injured at Speke Airport while preparing for the race when Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
Peter Stanley Salter who was the Assistant Adjutant and Chief Flying Instructor of No. 611 Squadron collided in his Hawker Hart
Hawker Hart
The Hawker Hart was a British two-seater biplane light bomber of the Royal Air Force , which had a prominent role during the RAF's inter-war period. The Hart was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and built by Hawker Aircraft...
No. K3044 into Black's aircraft which was also taxiing on the runway. Two aircraft, Miles Peregrine
Miles Peregrine
The Miles M.8 Peregrine was a 1930s British twin-engined light transport monoplane designed by Miles Aircraft Limited.-Design and development:...
and M. Chand's Percival Vega Gull
Percival Vega Gull
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Ellison, Norman H. Percivals Aircraft . Chalford, Stroud, UK: Chalford Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 0-7524-0774-0....
were not ready, while J. Carberry's Vega Gull was damaged.
The race began at Portsmouth aerodrome at 6.15 a.m. on Tuesday, September 29.
The winners of the race were C. W. A. Scott and Giles Guthrie, Scott was famous for three England Australia records and winning the MacRobertson Air Race with Tom Campell Black two years earlier. Scott and Guthrie were flying G-AEKE Percival Vega Gull
Percival Vega Gull
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Ellison, Norman H. Percivals Aircraft . Chalford, Stroud, UK: Chalford Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 0-7524-0774-0....
entered by Giles' father Sir Connop Guthrie they reached at Rand Airport
Rand Airport
Rand Airport is an airport in Germiston, South Africa. It was constructed in the 1920s as the main airport for Johannesburg, but the city outgrew it and replaced the airport firstly with Palmietfontein Airport in the late 1940s, then with the larger Jan Smuts International Airport in the...
on 1 October 1936. The aircraft had left Portsmouth 52 hours 56 minutes 48 seconds earlier. Out of the original 14 entries to the race Scott and Guthrie were the only ones to finish, winning the 10,000 pounds prize money.
Alington's and Booth's B.A. Eagle had a forced landing near Regensburg in Germany and damaged an undercarriage. A. Miller, flying Percival Mew Gull
Percival Mew Gull
The Percival Mew Gull was a British racing aircraft of the 1930s. It was a small, single-engine, single-seat, low-wing monoplane of wooden construction, normally powered by a six-cylinder de Havilland Gipsy Six piston engine...
, had a forced landing before Belgrade and withdrew. Next, T. Rose's B.A.4 Double Eagle got damaged on an airfield in Cairo, due to undercarriage folding. Victor Smith flying Miles Sparrowhawk
Miles Sparrowhawk
-See also:-Bibliography:* Amos, Peter. and Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0....
had problems with oil since Salonika and eventually retired in Khartoum. On 30 September, S. Halse crashed his Percival Mew Gull
Percival Mew Gull
The Percival Mew Gull was a British racing aircraft of the 1930s. It was a small, single-engine, single-seat, low-wing monoplane of wooden construction, normally powered by a six-cylinder de Havilland Gipsy Six piston engine...
in a forced landing 20 miles before Salisbury
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
. D. Llewellyn and C. Hughesdon in Percival Vega Gull
Percival Vega Gull
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Ellison, Norman H. Percivals Aircraft . Chalford, Stroud, UK: Chalford Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 0-7524-0774-0....
had a forced landing before Abercorn (today's Mbala), on a shore of Lake Tanganika. In a difficult weather conditions, the Airspeed Envoy
Airspeed Envoy
The Airspeed AS.6 Envoy was a British light, twin-engined transport aircraft designed and built by Airspeed Ltd. in the 1930s at Portsmouth Aerodrome, Hampshire.-Development and design:...
crashed during a take off from Abercorn, killing the pilot Max Findlay and radio operator A. Morgan, while Kenneth Waller and the passenger Derek Peachey escaped with injuries. Finally, A. Clouston made a forced crash landing 150 miles south of Salisbury in his Miles Hawk Six
Miles Hawk Major
-See also:-Bibliography:* Amos, Peter. and Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0....
.
In 1937 Charles E. Gardner went on to win the King's Cup Race
King's Cup Race
The King's Cup Race is an annual British handicapped cross-country air race, first contested on 8 September 1922. The event was open to British pilots only, but that did include members of the Commonwealth....
in the repaired Mew Gull G-AEKL in which Black had suffered his fatal accident. Guthrie also flew in this race in Vega Gull G-AFAU, finishing in fifth place
Due to the fact that only one entrant finished the race, Schlesinger suggested that the finishers money which would remain unclaimed should be paid to the dependents of Findlay and Morgan, who met with a fatal accident in the race.
List of Entrants
| Racing Number | Reg Marks | Entrant | Pilot | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | ZS-AHM | Len Oates | Capt. A. M. Miller | Percival Mew Gull Percival Mew Gull The Percival Mew Gull was a British racing aircraft of the 1930s. It was a small, single-engine, single-seat, low-wing monoplane of wooden construction, normally powered by a six-cylinder de Havilland Gipsy Six piston engine... |
| 2. | ZS-AHO | Capt. S. S. Halse | Capt. S. S. Halse | Percival Mew Gull Percival Mew Gull The Percival Mew Gull was a British racing aircraft of the 1930s. It was a small, single-engine, single-seat, low-wing monoplane of wooden construction, normally powered by a six-cylinder de Havilland Gipsy Six piston engine... |
| 3. | G-AELT | Victor Smith | Victor Smith | Miles Sparrowhawk Miles Sparrowhawk -See also:-Bibliography:* Amos, Peter. and Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0.... |
| 4. | G-AEIN | Henry S. Home | Fit. Lt. T. Rose | B.A.4 Double Eagle |
| 5. | G-AEKD | Lt. Misri Chand | Lt.Misri Chand, Lt. P.Randolph. | Percival Vega Gull Percival Vega Gull |-See also:-Bibliography:* Ellison, Norman H. Percivals Aircraft . Chalford, Stroud, UK: Chalford Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 0-7524-0774-0.... |
| 6. | G-AEKE | Sir Connop Guthrie | C. W. A. Scott, Giles Guthrie | Percival Vega Gull Percival Vega Gull |-See also:-Bibliography:* Ellison, Norman H. Percivals Aircraft . Chalford, Stroud, UK: Chalford Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 0-7524-0774-0.... |
| 7. | G-AEAB | D. W. Llewellyn | D. W. Llewellyn, C. F.Hughesdon. | Percival Vega Gull Percival Vega Gull |-See also:-Bibliography:* Ellison, Norman H. Percivals Aircraft . Chalford, Stroud, UK: Chalford Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 0-7524-0774-0.... |
| 8. | G-ADOD | F/O A. E. Clouston, F. E. Tasker. | A. E. Clouston | Miles Hawk VI Miles Hawk Major -See also:-Bibliography:* Amos, Peter. and Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0.... |
| 9. | G-AEMX | De Havilland Aircraft Co. | H Buckingham | D.H.92 Dolphin |
| 10. | G-ADID | C. G. M. Alington | C. G. M. Alington, Lt. P H.Booth,RN | B.A. Eagle |
| 11. | G-AEDE | Bateman Scott | Flt.Lt.H.R.A.Edwards, Sqdn. Ldr. B. S. Thynne. | Miles Peregrine Miles Peregrine The Miles M.8 Peregrine was a 1930s British twin-engined light transport monoplane designed by Miles Aircraft Limited.-Design and development:... |
| 12. | UP-KEE | John E. Carberry | John E. Carberry | Percival Vega Gull Percival Vega Gull |-See also:-Bibliography:* Ellison, Norman H. Percivals Aircraft . Chalford, Stroud, UK: Chalford Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 0-7524-0774-0.... |
| 13. | G-AENA | Max H. Findlay, Kenneth Waller | Max H. Findlay, Kenneth Waller | Airspeed Envoy Airspeed Envoy The Airspeed AS.6 Envoy was a British light, twin-engined transport aircraft designed and built by Airspeed Ltd. in the 1930s at Portsmouth Aerodrome, Hampshire.-Development and design:... |
| 14. | G-AEKL | Air Publicity Ltd | Tom Campbell Black Tom Campbell Black Tom Campbell Black, was a famous English aviator.He was the son of Alice Jean McCullough and Hugh Milner Black. He became a world famous aviator when he and C. W. A... |
Percival Mew Gull Percival Mew Gull The Percival Mew Gull was a British racing aircraft of the 1930s. It was a small, single-engine, single-seat, low-wing monoplane of wooden construction, normally powered by a six-cylinder de Havilland Gipsy Six piston engine... |
Related films and Newsreel footage
- British Pathe footage 1936 PORTSMOUTH - JOHANNESBURG AIR RACE
- British Pathe footage 1936 PORTSMOUTH - JOHANNESBURG AIR RACE WELCOMED HOME
- ITN Newsreel Race entrants and Aircraft 1936
- ITN Newsreel of the race 1936