6 minute read
SAVING AMY
Just over 82 years ago, off-course and out of fuel, an aircraft plunged into the Thames estuary off the Kent coast. Alan Veale tells the story of the Saving Amy project. Photography: Alan Veale
The only person on board that fateful flight was the pilot, 37-year-old Amy Johnson. While she reportedly survived the crash, weather conditions were horrendous, the sea intensely cold, and a rescue attempt failed. Her body was never recovered.
If the name sounds familiar, that’s probably because Amy Johnson was a major celebrity. She made her name in 1930 by being the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. More long-distance records tumbled during the next decade, while her marriage in 1932 lasted only six years. Once divorced, Amy pursued other ways to make a living through business ventures, journalism and fashion. At the outbreak of the war, she worked for a company operating short flights across the Solent from Portsmouth and flew as a practice target for searchlight batteries and anti-aircraft gunners. But in March 1940 she was made redundant, and two months later she joined the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), transporting aircraft around the country for the Royal Air Force. On 4th January 1941, Amy Johnson flew to RAF Squires Gate, now Blackpool Airport. Today, Hangar 42 survives with a coating of rust, devoid of the camouflage paint that made it look from the air like a row of houses. Eric Watkiss is the leader of a project which will eventually serve as a permanent tribute to Amy. Eric is a BAE Systems engineer, a former RAF aircraft mechanical engineer, and a member of the Lancashire Aircraft Investigation Team, specialising in the recovery and preservation of historic artefacts. He explains, after the Battle of Britain in September 1940, there was a huge demand for training bomber crews to take the fight back to Hitler. The Airspeed Oxford Mk II, with dual controls, was the preferred choice of the RAF and Commonwealth forces.
This was the aircraft Amy was flying on the morning of 5th January 1941, after staying overnight with her sister in Blackpool. She anticipated a flight time to Oxfordshire of around 90 minutes, but a combination of bad weather and a reported problem with her compass took her far off course. One report states that she was shot down by ‘friendly fire’ but has never been verified. Officially, Amy Johnson simply ran out of fuel, and then out of luck.
“She was great at navigation,” says Eric.
“She found her way to Australia on her own. But landing was her weak point. Rumour has it the ATA wouldn’t let her fly certain aircraft.”
The hangar is like an oversized man-cave, crammed with objects that would be very familiar to Amy – there are three Spitfires and a Hurricane – so valuable to the war effort.
SHE MADE HER NAME IN 1930 BY BEING THE FIRST WOMAN TO FLY SOLO FROM ENGLAND TO AUSTRALIA
It is a fitting feast for the eyes as Eric recounts how the Saving Amy project was formed: “I was part of the team that first set up these exhibits, but I wanted another project with historical links to Blackpool and the North-West. We looked around for an original aircraft that we could re-build at Hangar 42, to help spread the word that we were here.”
Eric continues to describe how Amy’s Airspeed Oxford was chosen. Largely made of wood, it was primarily designed to be built quickly and cheaply by semi-skilled cabinet-makers. While there were several places around the Commonwealth still retaining bits of the original aircraft, these would only be the metal parts, as the wooden frames had perished. Only six survived intact, and two of these are on display elsewhere in the UK.
By a chance conversation with a colleague, Eric discovered the remains of an Oxford Mark V had already been retrieved from Canada and were sitting in a barn in North Yorkshire. It was the ideal choice. All he needed now was to recruit volunteers to put it all back together.
After a media appeal in early 2020, helped largely by the connection to Amy’s story, that team gradually assembled. Restoring an aircraft for this period needs specialised techniques. The volunteers had to adapt existing skills to breathe life into a framework blending new materials with original parts.
On display in Hangar 42 are several items from the cockpit. These include the bombsystem that was vital to train new recruits in wartime. There’s a complete (operational) electric fuse box, and of course the pilot’s instrument panel and control columns.
IT’S TO CELEBRATE AMY, SHOWING THAT SHE’S NOT FORGOTTEN, AND TO PROMOTE THE ETHOS SHE HAD, IN THAT IF YOU TRY HARD, AND WORK HARD, YOU WILL SUCCEED
In a workshop inside a portacabin are the newly-assembled floor and walls of the cockpit, a Perspex canopy for the bombaimer, and all the disassembled parts of the twin engines. Every piece of this aircraft has been identified on detailed drawings pinned to the wall, and the volunteers know what is expected of them for each stage of this awesome project.
Within the next two months this ‘IKEA flat-pack’ (Eric’s words) will be put together and made ready to display for an important event. On 14th October, there will be an Amy Johnson celebration at the airport, including several talks and a dramatisation of Amy’s flight to Australia.
Eric adds: “It’s to celebrate Amy, showing that she’s not forgotten, and to promote the ethos she had, in that if you try hard, and work hard, you will succeed. We are getting there. We have nearly finished the complete cockpit section, with the intention to carry on and produce a complete aircraft. That will be featured at Blackpool Airport in its own display area, telling the story of Amy Johnson, and the people that flew (and lost their lives in) this type of aircraft for our freedom.”
Hangar 42 is open every weekend until the end of October
