''Princess Xenia'' was a Fokker F.VIIa aircraft, built in 1925 for the Dutch airline

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...

and initially used for regular journeys between

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and London via

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. In 1927, it was bought by a wealthy American who was married to a Russian princess and named the aircraft ''Princess Xenia'' for her. He loaned the aircraft to aviator Robert Henry McIntosh, also known as 'All-Weather Mac'. In 1927, Macintosh and two others flew the aircraft in an attempt to make the east-to-west

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 ...

, but failed. ''Princess Xenia'' was subsequently commissioned to fly non-stop from London to India, but unsuccessfully. It was later sold to the consortium 'Air Communications Ltd' and given the name of ''The Spider'' by Mary Du Caurroy Russell, Duchess of Bedford, who on 2 August 1929, with Captain

C. D. Barnard Charles Douglas Barnard (8 December 1895 – 7 August 1971) was a British pilot, who took part in 1920s air races and record-breaking flights. Early life Charles Barnard was born on 8 December 1895, the son of Charles Gilbert Barnard. He was onc ...

, departed on a record-breaking flight from

Lympne Airport Lympne Airport , was a military and later civil airfield , at Lympne, Kent, United Kingdom, which operated from 1916 to 1984. During the First World War RFC Lympne was originally an acceptance point for aircraft being delivered to, and returni ...

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

, then in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, and returned to

Croydon Airport Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main air ...

, England, in less than eight days. It subsequently broke the record for a flight from London to Cape Town and back. In 1934 the aircraft was sold to Sir Dossabhoy Hormusjee Bhiwandiwalla in Bombay, now Mumbai. It was broken up in 1937.

Early flights

''Princess Xenia'' was a standard Fokker F.VIIa monoplane that was built in 1925 for the Dutch airline

. During its first two years it flew regularly between

and London via

Transatlantic attempt

On 2 February 1927, the aircraft was registered in Britain as G-EBTS. It had been bought by the son of millionaire William B. Leeds, also named William B. Leeds, who named the aircraft for his wife, the Russian Princess Xenia. Leeds subsequently loaned the aircraft to Captain Robert McIntosh (also known as All-Weather Mac), in whose name the aircraft was registered. Together with Irish Air Corps Commandant

James Fitzmaurice James Michael Christopher Fitzmaurice DFC (6 January 1898 – 26 September 1965) was an Irish aviation pioneer. He was a member of the crew of the ''Bremen'', which made the first successful trans-Atlantic aircraft flight from East to West ...

, McIntosh made a failed attempt to cross the Atlantic from Baldonnel Aerodrome near Dublin on 16 September 1927. After five and a half hours of flight and 300 miles over 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 ...

, bad weather caused them to return. They landed with a crash at Beale strand, close to

Ballybunion Ballybunion or Ballybunnion () is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Kerry, Ireland, on the Wild Atlantic Way, from the town of Listowel. Tourism Ballybunion has two main beaches, divided by the Castle Green. The Ladies Beach is to ...

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

. At the time, the aircraft was brown/gold and blue, without cabin windows and marked with G-EBTS. It was fitted with a single Bristol Jupiter engine.

London to India

In late 1927, McIntosh and

Bert Hinkler Herbert John Louis Hinkler (8 December 1892 – 7 January 1933), better known as Bert Hinkler, was a pioneer Australian aviator (dubbed "Australian Lone Eagle") and inventor. He designed and built early aircraft before being the first person ...

attempted to fly non-stop to India in the ''Princess Xenia''. They began the journey from

Upavon Aerodrome Royal Air Force Upavon or RAF Upavon is a former RAF station in Wiltshire, England. It was a grass airfield, military flight training school, and administrative headquarters of the Royal Air Force. The station opened in 1912 and closed in 1993, ...

, Wiltshire with the aim of breaking the

Clarence Chamberlin Clarence Duncan Chamberlin (November 11, 1893 – October 31, 1976) was an American pioneer of aviation, being the second man to pilot a fixed-wing aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York to the European mainland, while carrying the firs ...

and

Charles A. Levine Charles Albert Levine (March 17, 1897 – December 6, 1991) was the first passenger aboard a transatlantic flight. He was ready to cross the Atlantic to claim the Orteig prize but a court battle over who was going to be in the airplane allowed C ...

world record long-distance flight. After McIntosh's forced landing in Poland, the aircraft was sold to the consortium 'Air Communications Ltd'. It then took the name of ''The Spider'' by Mary Du Caurroy Russell, Duchess of Bedford who on 2 August 1929, with Captain

, departed on a record-breaking flight from

and returned to

, England in less than eight days.

London to Cape Town

In 1930 the aircraft, with the Duchess, Barnard and Mr. Little, made a record journey from London to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

and back, covering 18,800 miles and taking a total of 20 days.

Later years

Barnard later organised joy rides and shows with the aircraft registered to his company ' India Air Pageants Ltd'. Sir Dossabhoy Hormusjee Bhiwandiwalla was its last owner before the aircraft was scrapped in 1937.

Aviators

File:CD Barnard with dog 1926.jpg, C.D. Barnard (1926) File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-06686, James A. Fitzmaurice.jpg, James A. Fitzmaurice (1928) File:StateLibQld 1 197751 Bert Hinkler, aviator.jpg, Bert Hinkler (1928) File:MaryRussellBedford.jpg, Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford (1937)

References

{{Reflist

External links

India To England In 4 1/2 Days 1928
Individual aircraft Transatlantic flight Fokker aircraft