''Daily Mail'' aviation prizes

Between 1906 and 1930, 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.[2]

Prizes

Year announcedYear awardedPrizeAmount (£)Winner(s)
19061910London to Manchester flight10,000Louis Paulhan
19071907Model aeroplane competition100Alliott Verdon Roe, W. Howard
1908Quarter mile out and return flight100Henri Farman
19081909Cross-channel flight1,000Louis Blériot
1909Circular mile by a British aircraft1,000John Moore-Brabazon
1910Second cross-channel flight100Jacques de Lesseps
19101910Best cross-country aggregate1,000Louis Paulhan
19101911Circuit of Britain race10,000André Beaumont (Jean Conneau)[3]
19121912Aerial Derby cup105Thomas Sopwith
19131913Aerial Derby cup105Gustav Hamel
1913,[4] 1918[5]1919Transatlantic flight10,000Alcock and Brown[6]
1913[7]--Circuit of Great Britain for "waterplanes"5,000 [6]
19141914Aerial Derby cup105W. L. Brock
1914CancelledCircuit of Great Britain5,000
19191919Aerial Derby cup210Gerald Gathergood
19231923Economy flight for motor gliders1,000
19251926Economy flight for dual-control light aircraft of British construction3,000George Bulman (Hawker Cygnet)[8]
19301930Solo flight from England to Australia10,000Amy Johnson[9][10]

In addition, four "consolation" prizes were awarded:

Year announced Year awarded Prize Amount (£) Winner(s)
19061910London to Manchester flight105Claude Grahame-White
19101911Round-Britain flight200Jules Védrines
19131913Round-Britain flight for British "waterplanes"1,000Harry Hawker
19131919Transatlantic flight5,000Harry Hawker, Kenneth Mackenzie Grieve

See also

Notes

  1. "Direct initiative of Lord Northcliffe Flight" PDF Archive, 6 September 1913
  2. Such, Colin. "The Daily Mail's Sponsorship of British Pioneer Aviation". Warwick & Warwick. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  3. Lewis 1970, pp. 43–44.
  4. Suspended during the war and renewed in 1918 with different conditions
  5. 1918 conditions for £10,000 prize
  6. 1 2 "The New Daily Mail Prizes." (pdf), Flight, Flight Global Archive, 5 April 1913
  7. Map showing the course to be followed Flight, 16 August 1913
  8. "Lympne Competition 1926", Flight PDF Archive, 23 September 1926
  9. Britain between the wars, 1918-1940
  10. 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.
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