The Death Incident of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, known as the pioneer of the first trans-Pacific flight that ran between Australia and New Zealand, has a mysterious disappearance and death record. There are only a few people who know about the disappearance and death of this man.
The death of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith is still a mystery. It's been said that the reason behind his death was a plane crash that he was flying. The plane crashed in the sea of Barma. This is only the brief fact behind his death. There was an entire story behind this. Let's learn more about the death of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.
The Death Incident of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith
To learn the entire story of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's death, we need to learn a little about his life and other stories as well.
Early Life and Career
Mr. Charles Kingsford, the Australian aviation pioneer was born on February 9, 1897. His birthplace was Hamilton, Queensland. Since childhood, Charles Kingsford had developed a strong interest in flying. He also joined the Australian Air Force as a fighter pilot during World War I. He was a strong and determined person and he was very keen towards aviation. Even after serving in the airforce, he returned to Australia, so that he could further continue his career in the Aviation field.
Passion for Flying
Charles Kingsford had a deep passion for flying. To satisfy his adrenaline rush for flying, he joined so many pioneering flights that everyone started noticing his skills and talents. In the year 1928, his name got international recognition as he was selected as the pilot of the Southern Cross. This aircraft was the first transpacific flight which was connecting the United States to Australia. When he successfully landed this flight, his name received so many praises across the globe. He was even knighted by George V, as ‘Sir’ in the year 1932. This passion for flying played the main role behind Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's death.
Desire to Challenge the Boundaries
Before learning more about the death of Kingsford Smith, we must uncover this part of his life too, which is very closely associated with his death. Sir Kingsford Smith loved challenging himself and wanted to push his boundaries. He wished to accomplish another challenge in the history of aviation. This time, it was the record for the fastest flight from England to Australia.
He was about to fly Lady Southern Cross, which had a specialty for long-distance journeys. This monoplane was a Lockheed Altair model. Mr. Kingsford Smith was accompanied by his copilot Tommy Pethybridge and the journey date was fixed on November 6, 1935. Who could have thought that this part of the story would be responsible for the death of Kingsford Smith?
The Last Flight Ever
On November 6, 1935, the Lady Southern Cross departed England and started the journey towards Australia. Mr. Kingsford Smith was the main pilot and Tommy Pethybridge was the copilot as decided. The initial journey was great and Mr. Kingsford was successfully running the flight towards the destination.
The Lady Southern Cross was showing great progress and already crossed Europe and Asia. The flight was seen crossing Allahabad, India and it was moving towards Singapore to break the historical England-Australia speed record. At this time the flight caught up with a storm. Since this point, no connection was established with Southern Cross.
Aviator Jimmy Melrose reportedly saw the Lady Southern Cross fighting with the storm and it was around 200 ft over the sea level. Also, he reported that the exhaust of the Lady Southern Cross caught fire and flames were coming out. There is no solid proof found that can claim Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's death incident.
Several rescue missions were launched to locate the Southern Cross, its men and most importantly Mr. Kingsford Smith but all in vain. After launching a repeated search mission, the flight and its pilots and passengers were not found. Everything went dark and no traces were found. This incident shook many people across the aviation industry. Mr. Kingsford Smith was a celebrity aviation pioneer. So, the nation was in deep grief due to his disappearance. But, some people were still positive as no traces of the plane or no dead body were found in the extensive search operation.
Death Mystery
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's death mystery doesn't end here. After 18 months of the incident, i.e. in the year 1937, a Burmese fisherman found some destroyed and broken parts of a plane at Aye Island, the coastline of Burma. There were inflated tyres, wheels and undercarriage legs of the plane. Later it was confirmed that those broken undercarriage legs and wheels belonged to Lady Southern Cross. It was also claimed that the aircraft was not far from the place where the broken pieces were found.
Death Rumors
The mystery behind Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's death is associated with many rumours also. Damien Lay, the famous filmmaker and explorer, claimed widely that he had found the parts of Lady Southern Cross in the Bay of Bengal. This is not true at all, as the first place where some of the pieces of the aircraft were found in 1937, was the same area where the 2009 search operation took place.
The Joint Australian Myanmar Lady Southern Cross Search Expedition II conducted 10 more searches in Myanmar under the supervision of Damian Layout to locate Lady Southern Cross. In the year 2011 Layout claimed to have found some wreckage of the aircraft but there was no solid evidence that can support his claim.
Final Words
89 years after that tragic flight incident but still no solid evidence was found that can solve the death mystery of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. This celebrity pilot created a remarkable history in the aviation community and still, people across the globe remember him as an aviation pioneer. The undercarriage legs of the plane which were found at Aye Island, the coastline of Burma, are well preserved at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia. We hope someday we will find out the real reasons behind the death of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.
