The first wireless Operator to Fly Across the Ocean, the James… - The Aviation Sale - Leski Auctions Pty. Ltd.

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Description:

The first wireless Operator to Fly Across the Ocean, the James Warner Archive: James Warner (1891-1970) was the radio operator on the 'The Southern Cross' piloted by Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm for the first trans-Pacific flight in 1928. It was during this flight that radio communication was first used successfully on a long distance flight. in 1911 Warner went to Denver and enlisted in the Us Navy. He spent boot camp at goat Island (later called Yerba Buena Island) in San Francisco Bay. Warner was then sent to the western Pacific and on to china where he served on gunboats patrolling the Yangtze river. He advanced to Quartermaster first class and in 1916 trained in the then-new rating of Electricians Mate, Radio. By 1919 he was one of the first chief radiomen in the Us Navy. During World War I, Warner served on the Uss Parker, which patrolled the coasts of Ireland. He was then assigned to the Uss St. Louis. He was later assigned as a radio instructor in San Diego and commanded the compass station at point Reyes in Northern California. on 30 March 1928 Warner left the navy in San Francisco. Through friends, Warner had learned that fellow American, Harry Lyon was planning to join Kingsford Smith and Ulm on their planned long distance flight from California, across the Pacific Ocean to Australia. This plan was widely thought to be foodhardy and unlikely to succeed. Warner tried to talk his friend Lyon out of the flight, but wound up joining the crew instead. Lyon was to be the navigator and Warner was to make history. on 31 May 1928 the four person crew took off from Oakland, California in the Southern cross, after a stop for rest and refuelling in Hawaiithey flew on to Fiji, enduring over 34 hours of flight across open sea before touching down at Albert Park in Suva, where a large and enthusiastic crowd greeted the first aircraft ever to land in Fiji, the Southern cross landed at eagle farm Airport in Brisbane, Australia on 9 June before a crowd of 25,000 people, they flew to Sydney the following day, where the welcoming crowd was huge, the flight of the Southern cross marked the first successful use of radio on a long distance flight. For the first time in history, the progress, problems, challenges and drama of the audacious pioneer crew could be transmitted to the waiting media around the world. Radio reports, newspaper banners, special editions, announcements to parliament were all made possible by the transmissions from Warner's on-board equipment. Returning to California, Warner and Lyon were each presented with a magnificent 4oz gold commemorative medal along with $10,000 from the citizens of Oakland and William Randolph Hearst. Warner then bought two 'roplanes and started training for a flight to Japan. However, during a crude in-air refueling whilst trying to set an endurance record, the pilot of the single engine craft fell asleep and landed upsidedown in the mud flats near San Mateo and San Francisco bay. Warner's flight to Japan never got beyond the planning stage. Warner's gold medal, still in the original presentation case is the most iconic piece in this remarkable collection; moreso because it is believed that Lyon sold or melted-down his medal down during the depression and it has never been seen since, the medal is engraved 'Oakland California to Sydney Australia * May 31 1928 * June 10' with portraits of Lyon and Warner on the front; the reverse reads 'Presented By the Citizens of Oakland to Harry W. Lyon Jr, Navigator, and James Warner, Radio Operator of the Southern Cross. Commemorating the First Trans-Pacific Flight.', the collection also includes a cigarette case, engraved 'Southern Cross' Lieut James Warner, a memento of his part in first Trans-Pacific flight from the Radio trade of Australia, June 11th 1928'; a vesta or match-case engraved 'James W. Warner As a Token of Our Admiration - From - the N.S.W. Radio Transmitters League - 1928 - '; a medallion engraved 'Presented to Mr James Warner

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Category:

Memorabilia: Transport - Aeronautical