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Alcock & Brown Landing Site
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peter scott



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PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2021 10:26 am    Post subject: Alcock & Brown Landing Site Reply with quote

I was looking at the location of the Marconi Wireless station that was in Galway between 1907 and 1922. In addition to the wireless station this location is also famous for being the landing site for Alcock and Brown in 1919.

There isn't much today to show where the wireless station was but maps show the huge condenser shed with wires radiating out from it eastwards. The photo below is looking towards the backside of the condenser shed with the masts and wires on the far side.

The landing site of the Vimy is marked with a bullet shaped monument and if the location is accurate then it was within the span of the aerial wires. There is no mention in the accounts that I've read of any collision with the aerial. I wonder if they flew in beneath it?

The Google "Aerial View" is compared with the Wireless Station map.

Peter



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Rick
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2021 10:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Did A&B always plan to land there, or was it a last-minute decision?

RJ
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peter scott



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PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have read that their planned landing site was 20 miles distant but I'm not sure where it was. They had plenty fuel. They had only used 2/3rds of the fuel.

Peter
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Last edited by peter scott on Sat Mar 27, 2021 12:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
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peter scott



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PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2021 2:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have taken the Bing Aerial View and superimposed it on the Wireless Site Map.


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peter scott



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PostPosted: Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's no fool like an old fool!

Most people would think that I'm old enough now not to take everything at face value but to question everything.

My first mistake was with the Marconi Wireless Site map. The aerial system was not as wide as the map suggests because the outer rows of points described as masts were not masts at all. They were anchor points for guy wires supporting the inner rows of masts.

My second mistake was to accept the map location described as the landing site of Alcock and Brown's aircraft. It was probably a good vantage point from which to witness the landing and it was also a nice place to site a monument but that was as far as it goes.

Peter Embarassed
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peter scott



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PostPosted: Sat Mar 27, 2021 10:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rick wrote:
Did A&B always plan to land there, or was it a last-minute decision?

RJ


Their initial plan was to land at Galway. There were other competitors who set off about the same time hoping to win the Daily Mail £10k prize for the first non-stop crossing in a heavier than air machine. The generator in the Vimy had failed early into the flight so they spent most of the time frozen in their electrically heated suits. Their radio had no power and they had no idea whether a competitor was close behind and might land before them and win the prize so landing asap was more attractive than pressing on to their planned destination.

Peter
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roverdriver



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PostPosted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 6:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I was living in New Zealand, it was claimed that the two fellows mentioned were Maori and native of that country. It was mainly because of their names!
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peter scott



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PostPosted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 4:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

All cock and bull! Wink

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_flight_of_Alcock_and_Brown

Peter
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