I - 46 : Early Days of Aviation

Francesco de Pinedo and Ernesto Campanellin in the Savoia in 1925

Exactly 100 years ago, Francesco de Pinedo, a pioneering Italian aviator, was in the air on his way from Rome to Melbourne. It was one of the first lang-haul flights in history. The limited range of his sea plane made frequent stops necessary. He touched down in Brindisi, Leros, Iskenderun, Baghdad, Bandar Abbas (Iran), Karachi, Mumbai, Kolkotta, Rangoon, Phuket, Penang, Singapore, Jakarta, Perth and Adelaide – and many other smaller towns. De Pinedo and his mechanic Ernesto Campanelli left Rome on the 25th of April 1925 and arrived in Melbourne on 10th of June. The two were flying for 36 days – 36 six times longer than today’s traveler. 100 years ago, we could have seen their sea plane flying over our head on its way from Leros to Iskenderun.

De Pinedo's Route from Rome to Australia and Japan in 1925 with all the stops

De Pinedo's choice of a sea plane highlights an interesting question that vexed the early pioneers of aviation. One school argued for seaborn planes, stating that building airports with hard runways and dedicated passenger terminals was so expensive that it would prevent air traffic from taking off. Let's remember that in 1926, there were only 26 regular flights in the USA per day for a total of 112 passenger. The other school countered that cost savings were so significant that money for the new infrastructure would be found.

The Savoia in Hong Kong on her Way back from Asia in 1925

With the benefit of hindsight we know who won the argument. But the points of the first school of thought, to which De Pinedo belonged, had merits. For millennia, big cities were built on shores or straddling large rivers – both suitable for sea planes or flying boats. There was no need for additional infra-structure. The water was the run way, passenger terminals for ferries or ocean liners already existed and fuel storage sites and repair shops had already been built.

The Boarding Experience was rather different in 1946 - in Poole on England's South Coast

The fact that De Pinedo had to refuel in Laros, the Regia Marina’s (Italian Navy) naval base in the Dodecanese, supported his point. In 1925, there was no airport in Rhodes. Construction of the Kalathos Airfield (Italian: Gadurra) started in 1937 only. The foundation stones for Rhodes Maritsa Airport (Aeroporto di Maritsa) were laid a year later. Both became military airfields and housed wings of the Regia Aeronautica (Italy’s Air Force). Kalathos is abandoned today. Maritsa has remained a military airbase.

British Sea Planes could even land on the narrow Thames

De Pinedo’s view was further supported by the low engine reliability at the time. It still had some way to go. Since the Wright Brothers’ first flight in 1903, major progress was made. Performance had much improved during the First World War. But it is no accident that De Pinedo took a mechanic along for his journey. Engines could fail. Emergency landings with a sea plane were easier. There was always a stretch of water.

Boeing's B-314 was a spacious "Clipper" for 74 Passengers and 10 Crew with separate Dining Rooms and Access to the Engines through the wings (Zoom in on the Drawing)

De Pinedo’s view was shared by the airline industry at the time. Both PanAm and BOAC (British Overseas Airline Company) operated sea planes on their long-distance routes. Their flying boats were called "clippers" – reminding us of the fast sailing ships in the 19th century.

The Horseshoe Route had to be suspended in 1942 when Japan conquered Singapore

Their wings were so large that mechanics could access and repair the engines during a flight. BOAC reports 49 such repairs in its history brochure. These huge sea planes had their peak during the Second World War when they linked vast areas of operation for high-ranking government officials and military officers.

A BOAC Sea Plane during Take-Off in Poole

But on the eve of the Second World War, engine reliability made big strides. In 1939, the first land-based plane, a Focke-Wulf 200 operated by Lufthansa, crossed the Atlantic from Berlin to Newfoundland in Canada from where it continued to New York. The FW 200 had a most modern design for its time. It offered seats for 26 passengers and had only 4 crew. But then war broke out and Lufthansa had to hand-over its FW 200 to the German Luftwaffe. From 1940 - 1944 they were successfully used for intelligence gathering for German U-Boats in the North Atlantic.

A Lufthansa Focke-Wulf 200 in the also modern Berlin Tempelhof Airport in 1939

Already in 1941, only two years later, the world saw long-distance raids by the Royal Air Force on Berlin. The time of heavy land-based airplanes which had a range of thousands of miles had arrived. For those familiar with US bombers, it was the time of the B-17, B-24 and the B-29. The war also solved the infrastructure problem early airlines struggled with. Thousands of airfields were built during the war everywhere around the globe. All with hangars, fuel depots and repair facilities. When the war ended , many were converted to civilian airports. There were more airfields with hard surfaces in 1945 than suitable water landing sites. Air transportation as we know it was born.

Franceso de Pinedo's tragic Accident in 1931 in New York which cost him his Life

Francesco de Pinedo did not see this change anymore. He died in an accident in 1931. He never changed his conviction that sea planes were the future of aviation. Not surprising actually for a former naval officer. He knew how expensive port facilities were and his effort to leverage them illustrates his remarkably efficient thinking. It did not occur to him that another global war would put a new infrastructure in place. After his tour to Asia, Pinedo continued his experimental flying in the Americas. He crossed the Atlantic from Africa to Latin America and opened another commercial route. He then flew from South to North America where his tragic accident happened.

De Pinedo's Book is full of amazing Stories

Most people never heard of Francesco de Pinedo. The thought though that 100 years ago his little sea plane flew over our sailing route made me write this piece. Modern aviation was trial and error, as always when innovation fundamentally changes our way of living.