Amy Johnson
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- This article is about Amy Johnson, an English aviator. For the actress, see Amy Jo Johnson.
Amy Johnson (July 1, 1903 – January 5, 1941) was a notable English aviatrix who was born in Kingston upon Hull.
Early life
Having graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Sheffield, Amy Johnson went to work in London as secretary to the solicitor William Charles Crocker. She was introduced to flying as a hobby, gaining a pilot's licence at the London Aeroplane Club in late 1929. In that same year, she became the first British woman to gain a ground engineer's license.Notable Flights
She achieved worldwide recognition when, in 1930, she became the first woman to fly from England to Australia. She left Croydon on May 5 of that year and landed in Darwin, Australia on May 24 after flying 11,000 miles. Her aircraft for this flight, a De Havilland Gipsy Moth (registration G-AAAH) named Jason, can still be seen in the Science Museum of London. She received the Harmon Trophy as well as a CBE in homage to this achievement.
- *In July 1931, Johnson and her co-pilot Jack Humphreys became the first pilots to fly from London to Moscow in one day, completing the 1,760-mile journey in approximately 21 hours. From there, they continued across Siberia and on to Tokyo, setting a record time for flying from England to Japan. The flight was completed in a De Havilland Puss Moth.
- In 1932, she married famous Scottish pilot Jim Mollison, who had proposed to her only 8 hours after they had met, during a flight together.
- In July 1932, she set a solo record for the flight from London, England to Cape Town, South Africa in a Puss Moth, breaking her new husband's record.
- With Mollison, she flew a De Havilland Dragon Rapide nonstop from Pendine Sands, South Wales, to the United States in 1933. Their plane ran out of fuel, however, and crash-landed in Bridgeport, Connecticut; both were injured.
- The Mollisons also flew in record time from England to India in 1934 in a De Havilland Comet as part of the England to Australia MacRobertson Air Race. They were forced to retire from the race at Allahabad due to engine trouble.
- In May 1936, Johnson made her last record-breaking flight, regaining her England to South Africa record in a Percival Gull.
Death
In 1938, Johnson divorced Mollinson. In 1940, during World War II, she joined the newly formed Air Transport Auxiliary, whose job was to transport Royal Air Force planes around the country. On January 5 1941, while flying an Airspeed Oxford to RAF Kidlington near Oxford, she went off course in poor weather. She drowned after bailing out into the Thames estuary. Although she was seen alive in the water, a rescue attempt failed and her body was lost. She was the first member of the Air Transport Auxiliary to die in service.In 1958, a collection of Amy Johnson souvenirs and mementoes were donated by Amy's father to Sewerby Hall. The hall now houses a room dedicated to Amy Johnson in their museum.
Trivia
Her flight to Australia was the subject of a contemporary popular song composed by Horatio Nicholls and recorded by Harry Bidgood, Jack Hylton, Arthur Lally, Arthur Rosebery and Debroy Somers in June 1930.She was the guest of honour at the opening of the first Butlins holiday camp, in Skegness in 1936.
She was the subject of a £500,000 question on the UK version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, in which the contestant failed by answering that the plane she flew solo from England to Australia was called Pegasus (correct answer is Jason).
Scots singer songwriter Al Stewart sings about her in his song "Flying Sorcery" from his Year Of The Cat album.
See also
External links
- [Science Museum exhibit on Amy Johnson]
- [BBC Humber site for Johnson centenary]
- [BBC education page on Amy Johnson]
- [Sewerby Hall, Bridlington, includes a display of Johnson memorabilia]
- [The RAF Museum, Hendon, includes another Johnson display]
- [RAF History page on Amy Johnson]
- [Amy Johnson on Find-A-Grave]
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