Southern Cross, 1928

Charles Ulm and Charles Kingsford Smith message 1928

Smithy and Ulm

Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm, with Americans Harry Lyon and James Warner as navigator and wireless operator, flew from Oakland, California to Sydney in eighty-eight hours flying time between 31 May and 10 June 1928.

The tri-motor Southern Cross was essentially a flying fuel tank. All insulation had been removed to save weight and the engines became so noisy that the crew were temporarily deafened. They communicated with each other by messages scribbled on scraps of paper.

Ulm impaled the messages on the end of a stick and passed them back to the navigator and wireless operator through a gap between the fuel tanks. These scraps of paper reveal the true minute-by-minute thoughts of the crew. Poor weather, radio failures, compass errors and an eight-minute engine misfire caused many anxious moments, but Ulm’s published account of the journey conceals their fear and recounts a much more upbeat adventure.
Display item Southern Cross, 1928

 

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