Lieutenant W.E. Hart, one of Australia's pioneer airmen, returned to Sydney last Saturday after spending several months with the Royal Flying Corps in England, during which time he had an opportunity of studying the progress made in the navigation of the air.

"There is no doubt", said Lieutenant Hart, in the course of conversation, "that the machines now in use in England are marvellous in every respect, and equal to anything in the world. There has been a great deal said with regard to German air supremacy, but that is an absolute myth. The machines used by the British are remarkable, both for speed and type, and they also have the advantages of safety. I have seen one of these machines travelling at the rate of 136 miles an hour and sometimes there would be as many as 20 aeroplanes in the air at the one time.

"At Brooklands, where I was located," continued Lieutenant Hart, "practically every type of machine was in use, some of them being fitted with two and three machine guns. The instruction there was very thorough. The corps was a very popular one, and there were hundreds of applicants for entry into to the schools. About 75 per cent of these men were colonials, mainly Australians, New Zealanders, and Canadians. The first named, however , make the best flyers, as there is nothing they will not, or cannot do. This is proved by the fact that after theoretical course, they are given about a weeks actual flying, when they are considered competent airmen. On one occasion I saw an Australian loop the loop after he had only a week's actual flying. That, I think, was one of the most remarkable feats I have seen done in the air. A certain amount of night flying has been done, the machines being fitted with searchlights.

Speaking with regard to the war, Lieutenant Hart said the general opinion was that it would last another 12 months, but there was no fear as to what the ultimate result would be. The people here, he said could hardly realise that a Great War was in progress, because it was being carried on so many thousand miles away. In England, however it was different, and crowds of wounded men were to be seen everywhere. On one occasion he counted 200 in the course of 20 minutes.

Lieutenant Hart was anxious to proceed to the front, but the injuries sustained when he had a sensational fall at the Clarendon Aviation grounds a few years ago, told on him, and he was invalided home(1). He has picked up wonderfully since leaving England and when he stepped ashore looked hale and hearty.


1.Hart had a large crash on September 7th 1912 at 5.30 PM. Hart had stalled from 100 feet into the ground after his engine failed at Clarendon. His injuries included a compound fracture of the left leg below the knee, wounds in the left leg from the bracing wires, a broken kneecap on the right leg and injuries to the back of the head. The plane was written off. By September 28th, 21 days later, Hart still had no recollection of the event.




Article sourced from the Windsor & Richmond Gazette courtesy of Carol Carruthers.