John Alcock (aviator)
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Captain Sir John William Alcock (5 November 189218 December 1919) was a British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
and later
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
officer who, with navigator Lieutenant
Arthur Whitten Brown Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur Whitten Brown, (23 July 1886 – 4 October 1948) was a British military officer and aviator who flew as navigator of the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight with pilot John Alcock in June 1919. Biogr ...
, piloted the first non-stop transatlantic flight from St. John's,
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
to
Clifden Clifden (, meaning "stepping stones") is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Cap ...
, Ireland in June 1919. He died in a flying accident in France in December later that same year.


Early life

John Alcock was born on 5 November 1892, perhaps in the coach-house adjoining Basford House on Seymour Grove,
Firswood Firswood is a suburban area of Stretford in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. Geography Firswood borders Whalley Range, Old Trafford and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. It was largely occupied by Rye Bank Farm, which remai ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He attended Heyhouses School in
Lytham St. Annes Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the 2011 census was 42,954. The town is almost contiguous with ...
. He first became interested in flying at the age of 17. His first job was at the Empress Motor Works in Manchester. In 1910 he became an assistant to Works Manager Charles Fletcher, an early Manchester aviator and Norman Crossland, a motor engineer and founder of Manchester Aero Club. It was during this period that Alcock met the Frenchman Maurice Ducrocq who was both a demonstration pilot and UK sales representative for aero engines made by the Italian
Spirito Mario Viale Spirito Mario Viale (born 7 February 1882) was an Italian engineer. He was born in Turin, but did most of his important work in France and (in particular) the UK. He was an early manufacturer of aircraft engines, producing a series of 3-, 5-, and ...
. Ducrocq took Alcock on as a mechanic at the
Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
aerodrome, Surrey, where he learned to fly at Ducrocq's flying school, gaining his pilot's licence there in November 1912. Alcock then joined the
Sunbeam Motor Car Company Sunbeam Motor Car Company Limited was a British automobile manufacturer with its works at Moorfields in Blakenhall, a suburb of Wolverhampton in Staffordshire, now West Midlands. Its Sunbeam name had been registered by John Marston in 1888 fo ...
as a racing pilot. By summer 1914 he was proficient enough to compete in a Hendon-Birmingham-Manchester and return air race, flying a
Farman Farman Aviation Works (french: Avions Farman) was a French aircraft company founded and run by the brothers Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French national ...
biplane. He landed at Trafford Park Aerodrome and flew back to Hendon the same day.


Military career

At the beginning of World War I, Alcock joined the
Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
as a warrant-officer instructor at the
Royal Naval Flying School Royal Air Force Eastchurch or more simply RAF Eastchurch (formerly RNAS Eastchurch) is a former Royal Air Force station near Eastchurch village, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England. The history of aviation at Eastchurch stretches back to the fi ...
at
Eastchurch Eastchurch is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Sheppey, in the English county of Kent, two miles east of Minster. The village website claims the area has "a history steeped in stories of piracy and smugglers". Aviation history Eastchu ...
in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. It was whilst at Eastchurch that Alcock received his commission as a flight sub-lieutenant in December 1915. In 1916 he was transferred to a squadron operating at
Moudros Moudros ( el, Μούδρος) is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the entire eas ...
, on the Greek island of
Lemnos Lemnos or Limnos ( el, Λήμνος; grc, Λῆμνος) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The p ...
. While stationed at Moudros he conceived and built the ''
Alcock Scout The Alcock Scout, a.k.a. A.1 and Sopwith Mouse, was a curious "one-off" experimental fighter biplane flown briefly during World War I. It was assembled by Flight Lieutenant John Alcock at Moudros, a Royal Naval Air Service base in the Aege ...
'', a fighter aircraft built out of the remnants of unused and abandoned aircraft. On 30 September 1917, whilst piloting a
Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...
, Alcock attacked three enemy aircraft, forcing two to crash into the sea. For this action he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...
. After returning to base he then piloted a
Handley Page Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick) in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidation a ...
bomber on a strategic bombing raid targeting
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. He was forced to turn back to base after an engine failed near
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
. After flying on a single engine for more than 60 miles, that engine also failed and the aircraft ditched in the sea, near Suvla Bay. Alcock and his crew of two were unable to attract nearby British
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s, and when the plane finally began to sink they swam for an hour to reach the
Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...
-held shore. All three were taken prisoner next day by the Turkish forces. Alcock remained a
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
until the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
and retired from the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
in March 1919.


First non-stop flight across the Atlantic

After the war Alcock became a test pilot for
Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...
and took up the challenge of attempting to be the first to fly directly across the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
. Alcock and
Arthur Whitten Brown Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur Whitten Brown, (23 July 1886 – 4 October 1948) was a British military officer and aviator who flew as navigator of the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight with pilot John Alcock in June 1919. Biogr ...
took off from St John's, Newfoundland, at 1:45 pm local time on 14 June 1919, and landed in Derrygimla bog near
Clifden Clifden (, meaning "stepping stones") is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Cap ...
, Ireland, 16 hours and 12 minutes later on 15 June 1919 after flying . The flight had been much affected by bad weather, making accurate navigation difficult; the intrepid duo also had to cope with turbulence, instrument failure, and ice on the wings. The flight was made in a modified
Vickers Vimy The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Vimy was designed by Reginald Kirshaw "Rex" ...
bomber and won a £10,000 prize (£ in ) offered by London's ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' newspaper for the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic. A few days after the flight both Alcock and Brown were honoured with a reception at
Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...
during which
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
invested them with their insignia as Knights Commanders of the Order of the British Empire. Alcock was present at the
Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
on 15 December 1919 when the recovered Vimy aircraft was presented to the nation.


Death

On 18 December 1919, Alcock was piloting a new Vickers amphibious aircraft, the
Vickers Viking The Vickers Viking was a British single-engine amphibious aircraft designed for military use shortly after World War I. Later versions of the aircraft were known as the Vickers Vulture and Vickers Vanellus. Design and development Researc ...
, to the first post-war aeronautical exhibition in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
when he crashed in fog at
Cottévrard Cottévrard () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region in northern France. Geography A farming village situated in the Pa ...
, near
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
in
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. Alcock suffered a fractured skull and never regained consciousness after being transferred to a hospital in Rouen where he succumbed to his injuries later that day. His grave in
Southern Cemetery, Manchester Southern Cemetery is a large municipal cemetery in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, England, south of the city centre. It opened in 1879 and is owned and administered by Manchester City Council. It is the largest municipal cemetery in the United ...
is marked by a large stone memorial.


Awards and honours

* The
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...
announced on 19 December 1917. * Knight Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire announced on 27 June 1919.


See also

*
Transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing air ...


References


Further reading

* * Lynch, Brendan (2009) ''Yesterday We Were in America – Alcock and Brown – First to fly the Atlantic non-stop'' (Haynes, ) *


External links


BBC profile with film clips

NPG profile

Stretford's pioneering aviator Sir John Alcock

Portrait of Sir John William Alcock (by Ambrose McEvoy) at the National Portrait Gallery, London

Photograph of Britannia Airways Boeing 737 named "Sir John Alcock"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcock, John British aviation pioneers English aviators Royal Navy officers Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France Royal Air Force officers Military personnel from Manchester Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Shot-down aviators Royal Naval Air Service aviators World War I prisoners of war held by the Ottoman Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire 1892 births 1919 deaths British World War I prisoners of war Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) People from Stretford Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I Britannia Trophy winners Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1919 Burials at Southern Cemetery, Manchester