Amy Johnson

Amy Johnson, as part of the Air Transport Auxiliary, had the responsibility for flying aircraft around the country. This could be the delivery of a brand new aircraft, or, repositioning aircraft around the various squadron’s and maintenance units as required by the RAF.

Although flying military aircraft, Air Transport Auxiliary pilots were in fact Civilians, and were drawn from both men and women pilots, not already employed in front line service.

Not knowing what the days tasks were to hold, they found themselves flying many  different types of aircraft.

One minute they could be flying fighters and the next Multi engined bombers. In this role, women A-T-A Pilots found themselves flying a greater variety of aircraft-types, than the average RAF pilot would fly during his entire service!

It was not an uncommon sight to see ladies climbing out of a Spitfire or Lancaster, with the ground crew, rubbing their eyes in disbelief!

These very brave women were exposed to many dangers in doing so, as the aircraft they flew were normally empty of ammunition and with the shortage of equipment such as Radio's, flew with the possibility of being attacked by both the enemy and friends alike!

Our Air Transport Auxiliary Pilot, Amy Johnson, is a person of particular interest to Hangar 42 as her last flight was from Blackpool Squires Gate in an Airspeed Oxford.

Born in Kingston upon Hull on the 1st of July in 1903, and later graduating from the University of Sheffield with a B A in economics. she initially found a job as a secretary with a firm of London solicitors and It was during this time that she was introduced to flying.

Very much a hobby, she gained her aviator’s certificate on the 28th of January 1929.

This was followed by a pilot’s - A - licence on the 6th of July 1929 at the London Aeroplane Club.

That same year, she obtained a ground engineer’s - C -licence, being the first British woman ever to do so.

Amy achieved worldwide recognition when in 1930 in her de Havilland DH60 “Gipsy”-Moth, named “Jason”, became the first woman pilot to fly solo from England to Australia.

After leaving Surrey on the 5th of May, she landed at Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory on May the 24th.

She later obtained a De Havilland DH80, “Puss”-Moth, and named it “Jason II”!

It was in this aircraft that with her co-pilot. she became the first woman to fly from London to Moscow in one day, and from there, continued across Siberia and on to Tokyo, setting a record time for a flight from Britain to Japan!

In July 1932, “Amy” had also set a solo record for the flight from London to Cape Town, South Africa in a “Puss” Moth, named, Desert Cloud, thus breaking her new husband, Jim Mollison’s record.

Two years later, in 1934, Amy and her husband, flew in a record time from Britain to India in a de Havilland DH88 “Comet”, registered G-A C S P and named “Black Magic”.

Amy made her last record breaking flight in 1936 and regained her “Britain to South Africa” record in a Percival-Gull 6,

In 1940 during the Second World War, Amy joined the newly formed Air Transport Auxiliary, and was quickly promoted to First Officer.

Astonishingly, in spite of all her experience, she failed the first flying test with the Air Transport Auxiliary. It would appear that her main quality was her enormous personality rather than her flying skills! However she eventually scraped through and began her time in the Air Transport Auxiliary, flying Ansons, providing a ‘taxi service’ for other Air Transport Auxiliary pilots. But by December 1940 she was engaged in her own ferry work.

By the end of that year, she had entered another 275 hours in her Pilot’s Logbook, This is in addition to the 2285 hours logged prior to her time in the service!

30 of her ferry hours had been in the twin engined Airspeed Oxford, one like the example you will see in our “Saving Amy” project!

On the 3rd of January 1941, Amy was tasked with the job of ferrying an Airspeed Oxford from Hatfield Aerodrome in Berkshire, to Prestwick in Ayrshire.

Due to unfavourable weather en route, Amy diverted to Ternhill in Shropshire and spent the night in a hotel. She managed to continue her journey the next day, delivering the Aircraft as requested.

Upon arrival, Amy was told she could either take the night train from Glasgow to London, or ferry back another Oxford. Rather than take the usually overcrowded and unheated train, Amy chose to fly.

Setting off from Prestwick, before heading for Kidlington in Essex, she had stopped off in Blackpool to visit friends. After the brief stop over, she continued her journey to Kidlington.

Due to bad weather in the Kidlington area, she flew out towards the Thames estuary. Here it is believed, she hoped to be able to find broken cloud which would allow her to descend, but became lost and crashed somewhere in the Thames Estuary. So, Amy, our brave air pioneer was posted as missing.

Unfortunately, the true cause of her disappearance has never been determined, and remains as yet unknown.

However, recently, a dive team declared that they have found the crash site, so perhaps at last we will learn what truly happened!

You will learn more of our “Saving Amy” project later - on the tour of our restoration of an Airspeed Oxford, the type of plane Amy took her last flight in!