An exact replica of the Santa Cruz, the third of three Fairey
111 bi-planes, used to make the first ever aerial crossing of the South Atlantic in 1922,
stands next to the Belem Tower on the banks of the Tagus River in Lisbon, close
to the spot where the flight took off from.
The Portuguese pilots Gago Coutinho along with Sacadura
Cabral, were the first to fly across the South Atlantic Ocean a distance of 8,383km
(5,209 mi). They took off from Lisbon on the 24 March 1922 and arrived in Rio
de Janeiro 79 days later on the 6th June 1922 – although the actual flight time
was only 62 hours and 26 minutes.
Because the sea-plane was not capable of carrying sufficient
fuel for the long journey, it had to stop and refuel several times along the
way. One purpose of the flight was to test some new aerial technology – the artificial
horizon device.
When the pilots reached the coast of Brazil they were twice forced
down by bad weather and had to ditch in the ocean. When rescue arrived, word
went out for a replacement plane. With a similar aircraft (named the Santa
Cruz) the aviators were able to continue their flight to Rio de Janeiro where
they ditched in Guanabara Bay.
...
Pic of plane and Tower taken during my recent visit to Lisbon.
Pic of Rio de Janeiro (2013)
Pics of Gago Coutinho e Sacadura Cabral is a public
domain image
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