St. Raphael (aircraft) explained
The
St. Raphael was a
Fokker F.VIIa monoplane that was used in 1927 for a
transatlantic flight from England to Canada in an attempt to be the first to cross from east to west. With the owner and financial backer
Princess Anne of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg as a passenger, the aircraft departed
RAF Upavon,
Wiltshire, at 7:30 on 31 August 1927 with
Frederick F. Minchin and
Leslie Hamilton as flight crew. The
St. Raphaels last confirmed sighting was west of
Ireland, approximately 1200 miles from Upavon at 21:44 by the SS
Josiah Macy; Around 6a.m. the next morning the Dutch steamer SS
Blijdendijik reported seeing a white light travelling eastward in the sky when about 420miles east-south-east of New York, which, if it were
St. Raphael, was far to the south of its intended route, suggesting that they were lost.
[1] After a number of unconfirmed reports the aircraft and occupants were never seen again.
See also
Notes and References
- The Atlantic Flights . 976 . XIX . 634 . Flight . 8 September 1927 . 2 March 2015 .
