They did not give up! – The South Atlantic Air Crossing– part one (continuation).

Before I continue with this work I must remember that all this idea came from Captain Sacadura's mind. He also realised that to proceed a flight over the South Atlantic he would need to resolve the problem of navigation. For this he spent some time with Gago Coutinho, his comrade and former colleague during surveys realised in Africa, during many dinners and very late evenings. One consequence of their discussions was the use of a modified Mariner's Sextant with the employment of a "Heading Computer" for the determination of the characteristics of the wind and to find the correct heading for the intended track.

In the beginning Sacadura envisaged sharing his flight with another pilot so that he could share the long and monotonous legs of flying, on the other hand he needed a very skillful navigator. However, considering that Captain Coutinho wanted to take part in this enterprise, Sacadura decided in favour of Coutinho.

They did not give up! – The 1922 South Atlantic Air Crossing - part one.

This is the continuation of the description of this great adventure by Portuguese Naval Aviators Captains Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral. The idea was triggered by the arrival in Lisbon on May 27, 1919 of a Curtiss hydroplane (nicknamed "Nancy") commanded by Albert C. "Putty" Read completing the first Transatlantic flight. This was a major enterprise that started with the flight of three "Nancies" but ended up with the arrival of a single craft. On May 29, Read took off again and landed in Plymouth, England, on May 31. Another event was also a booster for the Portuguese aviators. Two British pioneers Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown on June 14, 1919 took-off in a modified Vickers Vimy IV and made the first non-stop aerial crossing of the Atlantic from Lester's Field in Newfoundland to a swamp by the town of Clifden (misjudged as a landing ground) in Ireland the next day on June 15.

The idea presented by Captain Sacadura Cabral was accepted enthusiastically by the Portuguese Government. Sacadura was appointed to study the flight and enough money was raised to make it possible. It seems relevant to point out that aviation was in its infancy. Flying over large extensions of water created many technical issues that had to be equated, these were related to the type of aircraft to be employed, its range and aerial navigation. The latter problem in particular was linked to navigation and if something would go wrong then support would be barely available. During those times many things were fallible and unreliable. We now live in a time where everything is automatic, it is possible to perform a variety of tasks, all at the same time because certain apparatus with just a small set of computations can perform all those tasks and spare us a great deal of work.

Dead reckoning (estimating one's current position based upon a previously determined position), was only possible if someone could check its fix (position) once in a while. This could be obtained during the flight with celestial observation and for this Captain Gago Coutinho, two years earlier in 1919, invented a Mariner's sextant fitted with an artificial horizon. This system was widely employed for Air Navigation until the generalization of Radio Direction Finding and Inertial Guidance.

They did not give up! – The 1922 South Atlantic Air Crossing - introduction

One very interesting chapter in the History of Aviation is most likely to be unknown to many. People have certainly heard of Louis Blériot when in 1909 flying an aeroplane he completed the first flight across the English Channel. And other prowesses such as those achieved in June 1919 by British aviators Alcock and Brown with the first non-stop Transatlantic flight.
I can also recall personalities like Alberto Santos Dumont, the ill fated Charles Nungesser and François Coli, Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Lindbergh, Amy Johnson, Beryl Markham, Amelia Earhart all displaying their courage.
This particular historical event was the product of two Portuguese Naval Officers, their names: Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral. It was the result of stubborness, persistency and endurance. This is how one can describe the enterprise of these two aviation pionneers.

Portugal was a 12 years old Republic that had suffered from a very bitter experience during the Great War (1914-1918).
Under the presidency of António José the Almeida, Portugal and Brazil witnessed an important event related to the History of Aviation: The South Atlantic Air Crossing from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro in 1922.
For this journey a factory modified British Fairey III D floatplane F.15 baptized "LUZITÂNIA", serial number F.400 was specially comissioned for the Portuguese Navy.
On March 30, 1922 they took off from Lisbon and on June 17, 1922 they landed at the Bay of Guanabara in Rio de Janeiro completing a total of 4.527 nautical miles where they were welcomed as heroes by the people of Brazil.

The infamous Stuka

Anyone with an average interest in the History of World War II, must have heard sometime in their lives the German acronym STUKA that stands for Sturzkampfflugzeug, meaning "dive bomber".
This word turned out to be a synonym of "terror" and even though there were several different types of dive bombers, it was associated with the infamous Junkers Ju 87, a two-seater monoplane with thick inverted-gull wings, fixed and spatted undercarriage, "Jericho-Trumpet" howling air-driven sirens, and bombs dropped almost vertically.
The purpose of its design was to work as "flying artillery" supporting the Wehrmacht ground troops and it played a decisive role in the German Blitzkrieg (lightning attack) type of warfare.
Stukas dropped the first bombs of World War II in the early stages of the Polish Campaign
frightening enemy troops and civilian populations until its weaknesses were brought to surface.
With the war in progress it was sturdy, accurate, and very effective, however it was vulnerable to fighter aircraft. Its early successes gave a false sense of invincibility to German strategist and tacticians.
The zenith of its career was reached before the Battle of Britain when all liabilities became evident after suffering unacceptable losses.
Wherever the Germans had Air Superiority, like in the Balkans Campaign, the Mediterranean and African Theatres of War the Stuka operated succesfully. It caused horrendous damage to the British Mediterranean Fleet.
Removing its wing mounted bomb racks and carrying two 37mm cannons encased in streamlined underwing pods the "Kanonenvogel" Stukas under the command of Captain Hans-Ulrich Rudel, the most successful Stuka pilot, were used as "tank busters" against the Soviets during the Kursk Offensive in May 1943.
The Stuka first flew on 17th September, 1935. It made its combat début in 1936 with a single pre-production Ju 87 A-0 "Anton" with military serial 29-1, as part of the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. In January 1938 three Ju 87 A-1s with military serials 29-2, 29-3 and 29-4 were incorporated in the fifth staffel of the Legion fighter wing – 5/J88.
These aircraft were replaced by five Ju 87 B-1s "Bertas" in late 1938.
Many variants were built, including tropicalized Ju 87s and long-range Ju 87 Rs. A navalized Stuka under the designation Ju 87 C was created for the aircraft-carrier Graf Zeppelin.
Redesigning the model and with a new engine, its shape suffered considerable changes with the Ju 87 D "Doras". The last variants to be produced were the Ju 87G series "Gustavs".
Several Air Forces employed the Junkers Ju 87 including the Italian "Regia Aeronautica" where it was known as the Picchiatello.
By the end of the war the Stuka was largely replaced by ground attack versions of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.

The following are the technical data for two representative versions of the Ju 87, Ju 87 R-2 and Ju 87 D-5. The sources contradict considerably.


Technical Data for the Junkers Ju 87 R-2
Manufacturer: Junkers Flugzeug und Motorenwerke A. G.
Type: dive bomber
Year: 1940
Engine: Junkers Jumo 211, 12-cylinder V, liquid-cooled, 1,200hp
Wingspan: 13.79m
Length: 11.10m
Height: 4.01m
Weight: 5,600 kg
Maximum Speed: 383km/h
Dive Sped: 600km/h
Ceiling: 8,100m
Range: 1255km
Armament: 2 fixed 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns, 1 flexible 7.92mm MG 15 machine gun; 250kg bomb
Crew: 2



Technical Data for the Junkers Ju 87 D-5
Manufacturer: Junkers Flugzeug und Motorenwerke A. G.
Type: dive bomber and ground attack
Year: 1940
Engine: Junkers Jumo 211J, 12-cylinder V, liquid-cooled, 1,300hp
Wingspan: 15.25m
Length: 11.10m
Height: 3.90m
Weight: 6,480 kg
Maximum Speed: 402km/h
Dive Sped: 600km/h
Ceiling: 9,000m
Range: 1165km
Armament: 2 fixed MG 151 20mm Cannons, 1 flexible 7.92mm MG 81Z machine gun; 1000kg bomb
Crew: 2

Lili Marleen

For a very long time, after reading the book "Foxes of the Desert" by Paul Carell, I became fascinated by the war in the Mediterranean and North Africa. Many anecdotes were recorded during this infamous period of World War Two.
One which I consider iconic, is related to one of the greatest songs of the twentieth century: Lili Marleen – based on a poem written by Hans Leip in 1915 and widely known as the "Sentry Song".
All over Europe and the Mediterranean, Lili Marleen performed by swedish born singer Lale Anderson was broadcasted in 1941 by the German armed forces radio station in occupied Yoguslavia - Soldatensender Belgrad.
It became immensely popular with Erwin Rommel’s "Deutsches Afrika Korps" and the British Eighth Army.
The lyrics of the Nazi German version, put to music by Norbert Schultze and recorded in 1939 were as follows:

Vor der Kaserne vor dem großen Tor,

stand eine Laterne, und steht sie noch davor,

so woll'n wir uns da wiedersehn.

Bei der Laterne woll'n wir steh’n

wie einst, Lili Marleen

wie einst, Lili Marleen.

Uns're beiden Schatten sah'n wie einer aus;

Daß wir so lieb uns hatten, das sah man gleich daraus.

Und alle Leute soll'n es sehn, wenn wir bei der Laterne steh'n

wie einst, Lili Marleen

wie einst, Lili Marleen.

Schon rief der Posten, sie blasen Zapfenstreich:

es kann drei Tage kosten, Kamerad, ich komm ja gleich.

Da sagten wir auf Wiedersehn.Wie gerne wollt ich mit dir geh’n

mit dir, Lili Marleen
mit dir, Lili Marleen.

Deine Schritte kennt sie, deinen shönen Gang,

alle Abend brennt sie, doch mich vergaß sie lang.

Und sollte mir ein Leids geschehn, wer wird bei der Laterne steh’n

mit dir, Lili Marleen?

mit dir, Lili Marleen?

Aus dem stillen Raume, aus der Erde Grund

hebt mich wie im Traume dein verliebter Mund.

Wenn sich die späten Nebel drehn, werd' ich bei der Laterne steh’n

wie einst, Lili Marleen

wie einst, Lili Marleen.

Special Note:

Copyrights for this song and lyrics are unknown so far.

You may find both song (in mp3 form) and lyrics in several Websites.

Meet Jorge

I was born in Mozambique in 1963.

Since my early years I have been fascinated by military stuff.

As a modeller I prefer fighter aircraft from World War One Era up to World War Two.

My quest has made me fond of Painting, Military History, learning languages, Martial Arts and Outdoor Sports.

Like most modellers I spend more time researching than modelling. As a consequence I have been collecting a great deal of references. This is also part of the fun!