Daily Mail aviation prizes

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Between 1907 and 1925, the Daily Mail newspaper, initially on the initiative of its proprietor, Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe,[1] awarded numerous prizes for achievements in aviation. The newspaper would stipulate the amount of a prize for the first aviators to perform a particular task in aviation, or to the winner of an aviation race or event. The most famous prizes were the £1,000 for the first cross-channel flight awarded to Louis Blériot in 1909 and the £10,000 given in 1919 to Alcock and Brown for the first non-stop transatlantic flight between North America and Ireland.

The prizes are credited with advancing the course of aviation during the early years, with the considerable sums offered becoming a much-coveted goal for the field's pioneers.

Prizes

Year announced Year awarded Prize Amount (£) Winner(s)
1906 1910 London to Manchester flight 10,000 Louis Paulhan
1907 1907 Model aeroplane competition 100 Alliott Verdon Roe, W. Howard
1908 Quarter mile out and return flight 100 Henri Farman
1908 1909 Cross-channel flight 1,000 Louis Blériot
1909 Circular mile by a British aircraft 1,000 John Moore-Brabazon
1910 Second cross-channel flight 100 Jacques de Lesseps
1910 1910 Best cross-country aggregate 1,000 Louis Paulhan
1910 1911 Circuit of Britain race 10,000 André Beaumont (Jean Conneau)[2]
1912 1912 Aerial Derby cup 105 Thomas Sopwith
1913 1913 Aerial Derby cup 105 Gustav Hamel
1913,[3] 1918[4] 1919 Transatlantic flight 10,000 Alcock and Brown[5]
1913[6] -- Circuit of Great Britain for "waterplanes" 5,000 [5]
1914 1914 Aerial Derby cup 105 W. L. Brock
1914 Cancelled Circuit of Great Britain 5,000
1919 1919 Aerial Derby cup 210 Gerald Gathergood
1923 1923 Economy flight for motor gliders 1,000
1925 1926 Economy flight for dual-control light aircraft of British construction 3,000 George Bulman (Hawker Cygnet)[7]
1930 1930 Solo flight from England to Australia 10,000 Amy Johnson[8][9]

In addition, four "consolation" prizes were awarded:

Year announced Year awarded Prize Amount (£) Winner(s)
1906 1910 London to Manchester flight 105 Claude Grahame-White
1910 1911 Round-Britain flight 200 Jules Védrines
1913 1913 Round-Britain flight for British "waterplanes" 1,000 Harry Hawker
1913 1919 Transatlantic flight 5,000 Harry Hawker, Kenneth Mackenzie Grieve

See also

Notes

  1. "Direct initiative of Lord Northcliffe Flight PDF Archive, 6 September 1913
  2. Lewis 1970, pp. 43–44.
  3. Suspended during the war and renewed in 1918 with different conditions
  4. 1918 conditions for £10,000 prize
  5. 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Map showing the course to be followed Flight, 16 August 1913
  7. "Lympne Competition 1926", Flight PDF Archive, 23 September 1926
  8. Britain between the wars, 1918-1940
  9. Johnson was also awarded the Harmon Trophy for her achievement

References

  • Lewis, Peter. British Racing and Record-Breaking Aircraft. London:Putnam, 1970. ISBN 0-370-00067-6.