Derrigimlagh

DERRIGIMLAGH: Landing site of the first trans-Atlantic flight    (Often referred to as CLIFDEN)


PICTURES

A sign to the memorial

Newspaper report at the information centre

Mural of Alcock & Brown in the Marconi railcar, ready to depart to Clifden

Another sign to the Marconi and flying site

Location: Near the Marconi transatlantic telegraph station, roughly 2nm SSW of Clifden

NOTES: Please see my article 'First flight across the Atlantic' for extra information. It needs to be remembered that when this flight took place it landed in the UK as Ireland did not not become independant until a couple of years later.

This site was where Alcock and Brown made landfall after the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean at 08.40am on the 15th June 1919 in a Vickers Vimy IV. It is often portrayed as being a completely random landing spot, the Vimy crew being forced down by bad weather and fatigue.

In fact, it was a planned diversion, in this case due to poor weather and Brown had made an exemplary job of navigating the Vimy across the Atlantic to arrive initially very close along the coast. The reason for landing here, close to the Marconi transatlantic telegraph station, was so that news of the successful crossing could be sent to interested parties very quickly.

In fact, if the weather had stayed good, the original plan was to land near London. In many ways it was just unfortunate that advice hadn't been sought as to the suitability of the site for landing an aircraft, and indeed, there was probably nobody at the Marconi site to advise on such matters. On arriving Alcock and Brown believed they had identified a suitable area for landing on, but it was actually a bog rather than a pasture, and after a short run the undercarriage sank in and the Vimy tipped up onto its nose.

With fuel dripping from severed fuel lines the two airmen, apparently completely unhurt, beat a hasty retreat away from the Vimy, which fortunately failed to catch fire. It was later salvaged and for many years, (perhaps it still is?), was on display in the Science Museum in Kensington, London.

Both Alcock and Brown were knighted by King George V at Windsor Castle, but sadly John Alcock was killed, crashing near Rouen in France on the 18th December 1919 whilst delivering a new Vickers Viking amphibian to the Paris Airshow.