Amazing Women in the Skies
By Rhodeza Mae S. Junio
Fourth of a series
4. Jean Batten: ‘The Greta Garbo of the Skies’
WHEN her father dental surgeon Frederick Batten volunteered and fought with the British forces during World War I and returned home safely, Jean realized that world travel was not dangerous and definitely not that difficult. While studying ballet and piano, her interest in world travel was reinforced by her experience in entertaining travelers from all over the world who came to see the scenic spots of Rotorua, New Zealand, her hometown.
Achievements of aviators like Keith and Ross Smith who linked England with Australia by air in 1919 generated world interest in the latter, including New Zealand, which was unheard of during that time. Jean thought that in the future, she may have a chance to fly across the globe. Nine years later, Australian Charles Kingford Smith, made the first flight from Australia to New Zealand, after crossing the Pacific Ocean. Before her 19th birthday, Jean was introduced to Smith, and this inspired her and sparked her desire to fly someday, become an aviatrix (or woman pilot in today’s language) and see the world.
Her father thought that flying was not for women because of endless dangers that lie in every flight. But Jean’s persistence paid. In 1929, she moved to England with her mother and joined the London Aeroplane Club. After acquiring a private pilot’s ‘A’ license, she returned to her home because she cannot find sponsors for a flight from London to New Zealand, due to her limited flying experience. In 1931 she returned to England to study commercial flying including the basics of airframe and engine maintenance. Commercial flying (‘B’ license) requires at least 100 hours of flying time. Jean had to save every penny to pay for the cost of her flying lessons. Because her savings cannot meet the expenses, Jean used her charm and borrowed £500 from Fred Truman, a New Zealand pilot who wanted to marry her. But after acquiring a ‘B’ license in 1932, she left Truman. She reportedly had a relationship with Victor Dorée, and borrowed money from him, who, in turn, borrowed £400 from his mother and bought Batten a Gipsy Moth biplane.
On April 9, 1933, after tedious preparations, Jean on board her Gipsy Moth took off at Lympne, Kent airfield. It was daybreak and moments later, after daylight appeared on the horizon, she set the course on the first stage of England-Australia flight. Eight days later, the voyage ended in disappointment, due to engine trouble, Jean made a forced landing, five kilometers short of the Karachi Airport. She escaped injury from the accident, but the aircraft was damaged.
On April 22, just a year after, Jean made a second attempt, using another Gipsy Moth which she bought for £260. But a bigger amount was used to overhaul its engine and reconstruct its airframe before it could become flight-worthy. The second attempt almost cost her life. In Rome, the engine suddenly stopped. Out of fuel in complete darkness and torrential rain, Jean struggled against strong winds and avoided high wireless-masts and cables that were not visible in the dark. Then, she made a power-off landing on a stretch of land.
Even though men would have considered the harrowing experience the end, but for Jean, even though it almost cost her life, she thought it was just the beginning. The plane was repaired and she flew it back to London. Here, she borrowed the lower wings from the biplane of her fiancée Edward Walter, a stock broker.
On May 8, 1934, Jean made a third attempt which was a success, despite an encounter with a violent sandstorm in Baghdad, Iraq, an oil leak in Calcutta, India, and a monsoon storm at Victoria Point, in the southern tip of Burma.
On May 23, 1934, Batten had completed her solo journey to Australia. She landed at Port Darwin after 14 days, 22 hours, and 30 minutes of perilous journey. She beat the record established by Amy Johnson by more than four days. The route that she took from England was: 1. Lympne, 2. Marseilles, 3. Rome, 4. Brindisi, 5. Athens, 6. Nicosia, 7. Damascus, 8. Baghdad, 9. Basra, 10. Bushire, 11. Jask, 12. Karachi, 13. Jodhpur, 14. Allahabad, 15. Calcutta, 16. Akyab, 17. Rangoon, 18. Victoria Point, 19.Alor Star, 20. Singapore, 21. Batavia, 22. Sourabaya, 23.Rambang, 24. Kupang, and Port Darwin, Australia.
Later, thousands of warm-hearted Australians cheered upon her arrival at Sydney. When she arrived later at Auckland harbor onboard SS Aorangi, ships at anchor ‘saluted’ her with their blazing sirens, massed bands played with gusto, thousands composed of men, women, children and even the elderly came to greet New Zealand’s new heroine. In all her flights, Jean always brought aboard an extra dress that accentuated her beauty and charm. For this, she was dubbed as ‘The Greta Garbo of the Skies.’
On November 11-13, 1935, Batten established a new England-to-Brazil flight record, then a new speed record and the first woman to cross the South Atlantic, using her own Percival Gull Six monoplane, which was named Jean.
In 1936, Jean set the fastest solo crossing of the Timor Sea, and more importantly, a new solo flight world record from England to New Zealand. She was awarded The Order of the Southern Cross the very first person, other than a royalty to be honored. She broke her record later on October 18-24, 1937.
In 1938, she was awarded aviation’s highest honor - the Federation Aeronautique Internationale medal, the first for any woman pilot.
In World War II, her plane was commissioned to active service but Jean was not allowed to fly it. Instead, she gave a series of lectures in England to raise funds for guns and airplanes. After this, she retired.
Until her mother’s death in 1965, Jean shunned away from public life, but lived in several places around the world. While living in Spain in 1982, she was bitten by a dog on the island of Majorca. Refusing treatment, her wound became infected. Later, she died in a hotel in Majorca due to complications from the bite. She was buried on January 22, 1983.
A number of educational institutions in New Zealand were named after Jean Batten:
Wellington Girls’ College, Batten House at Orewa College, the Whanau System of Aorere College, and a primary school; so were the streets in Auckland, Christchurch, Mount Maunganui, Wellington, Wallington and at her birthplace in Rotorua.
The Percival Gull G-ADR that she flew from England to New Zealand in 1936 hangs at the Jean Batten International Airport Terminal in Auckland, and has been attracting thousands of visitors each year.
Today, a bronze sculpture of Batten can be seen at the main terminal of Rotorua Airport, while a small park in the middle of Rotorua City is also named after her.
Indeed, the ‘Greta Garbo of the Skies’ made every New Zealander very proud of her remarkable achievements in aviation, and even every adventurous woman around the world in general, who admire this aviatrix who had nerves of steel and the will to succeed.
Reference: Mondey, David, WOMEN OF THE AIR, Silver Burdett Co., Morristown, N.J., 1982
Fourth of a series
4. Jean Batten: ‘The Greta Garbo of the Skies’
WHEN her father dental surgeon Frederick Batten volunteered and fought with the British forces during World War I and returned home safely, Jean realized that world travel was not dangerous and definitely not that difficult. While studying ballet and piano, her interest in world travel was reinforced by her experience in entertaining travelers from all over the world who came to see the scenic spots of Rotorua, New Zealand, her hometown.
Achievements of aviators like Keith and Ross Smith who linked England with Australia by air in 1919 generated world interest in the latter, including New Zealand, which was unheard of during that time. Jean thought that in the future, she may have a chance to fly across the globe. Nine years later, Australian Charles Kingford Smith, made the first flight from Australia to New Zealand, after crossing the Pacific Ocean. Before her 19th birthday, Jean was introduced to Smith, and this inspired her and sparked her desire to fly someday, become an aviatrix (or woman pilot in today’s language) and see the world.
Her father thought that flying was not for women because of endless dangers that lie in every flight. But Jean’s persistence paid. In 1929, she moved to England with her mother and joined the London Aeroplane Club. After acquiring a private pilot’s ‘A’ license, she returned to her home because she cannot find sponsors for a flight from London to New Zealand, due to her limited flying experience. In 1931 she returned to England to study commercial flying including the basics of airframe and engine maintenance. Commercial flying (‘B’ license) requires at least 100 hours of flying time. Jean had to save every penny to pay for the cost of her flying lessons. Because her savings cannot meet the expenses, Jean used her charm and borrowed £500 from Fred Truman, a New Zealand pilot who wanted to marry her. But after acquiring a ‘B’ license in 1932, she left Truman. She reportedly had a relationship with Victor Dorée, and borrowed money from him, who, in turn, borrowed £400 from his mother and bought Batten a Gipsy Moth biplane.
On April 9, 1933, after tedious preparations, Jean on board her Gipsy Moth took off at Lympne, Kent airfield. It was daybreak and moments later, after daylight appeared on the horizon, she set the course on the first stage of England-Australia flight. Eight days later, the voyage ended in disappointment, due to engine trouble, Jean made a forced landing, five kilometers short of the Karachi Airport. She escaped injury from the accident, but the aircraft was damaged.
On April 22, just a year after, Jean made a second attempt, using another Gipsy Moth which she bought for £260. But a bigger amount was used to overhaul its engine and reconstruct its airframe before it could become flight-worthy. The second attempt almost cost her life. In Rome, the engine suddenly stopped. Out of fuel in complete darkness and torrential rain, Jean struggled against strong winds and avoided high wireless-masts and cables that were not visible in the dark. Then, she made a power-off landing on a stretch of land.
Even though men would have considered the harrowing experience the end, but for Jean, even though it almost cost her life, she thought it was just the beginning. The plane was repaired and she flew it back to London. Here, she borrowed the lower wings from the biplane of her fiancée Edward Walter, a stock broker.
On May 8, 1934, Jean made a third attempt which was a success, despite an encounter with a violent sandstorm in Baghdad, Iraq, an oil leak in Calcutta, India, and a monsoon storm at Victoria Point, in the southern tip of Burma.
On May 23, 1934, Batten had completed her solo journey to Australia. She landed at Port Darwin after 14 days, 22 hours, and 30 minutes of perilous journey. She beat the record established by Amy Johnson by more than four days. The route that she took from England was: 1. Lympne, 2. Marseilles, 3. Rome, 4. Brindisi, 5. Athens, 6. Nicosia, 7. Damascus, 8. Baghdad, 9. Basra, 10. Bushire, 11. Jask, 12. Karachi, 13. Jodhpur, 14. Allahabad, 15. Calcutta, 16. Akyab, 17. Rangoon, 18. Victoria Point, 19.Alor Star, 20. Singapore, 21. Batavia, 22. Sourabaya, 23.Rambang, 24. Kupang, and Port Darwin, Australia.
Later, thousands of warm-hearted Australians cheered upon her arrival at Sydney. When she arrived later at Auckland harbor onboard SS Aorangi, ships at anchor ‘saluted’ her with their blazing sirens, massed bands played with gusto, thousands composed of men, women, children and even the elderly came to greet New Zealand’s new heroine. In all her flights, Jean always brought aboard an extra dress that accentuated her beauty and charm. For this, she was dubbed as ‘The Greta Garbo of the Skies.’
On November 11-13, 1935, Batten established a new England-to-Brazil flight record, then a new speed record and the first woman to cross the South Atlantic, using her own Percival Gull Six monoplane, which was named Jean.
In 1936, Jean set the fastest solo crossing of the Timor Sea, and more importantly, a new solo flight world record from England to New Zealand. She was awarded The Order of the Southern Cross the very first person, other than a royalty to be honored. She broke her record later on October 18-24, 1937.
In 1938, she was awarded aviation’s highest honor - the Federation Aeronautique Internationale medal, the first for any woman pilot.
In World War II, her plane was commissioned to active service but Jean was not allowed to fly it. Instead, she gave a series of lectures in England to raise funds for guns and airplanes. After this, she retired.
Until her mother’s death in 1965, Jean shunned away from public life, but lived in several places around the world. While living in Spain in 1982, she was bitten by a dog on the island of Majorca. Refusing treatment, her wound became infected. Later, she died in a hotel in Majorca due to complications from the bite. She was buried on January 22, 1983.
A number of educational institutions in New Zealand were named after Jean Batten:
Wellington Girls’ College, Batten House at Orewa College, the Whanau System of Aorere College, and a primary school; so were the streets in Auckland, Christchurch, Mount Maunganui, Wellington, Wallington and at her birthplace in Rotorua.
The Percival Gull G-ADR that she flew from England to New Zealand in 1936 hangs at the Jean Batten International Airport Terminal in Auckland, and has been attracting thousands of visitors each year.
Today, a bronze sculpture of Batten can be seen at the main terminal of Rotorua Airport, while a small park in the middle of Rotorua City is also named after her.
Indeed, the ‘Greta Garbo of the Skies’ made every New Zealander very proud of her remarkable achievements in aviation, and even every adventurous woman around the world in general, who admire this aviatrix who had nerves of steel and the will to succeed.
Reference: Mondey, David, WOMEN OF THE AIR, Silver Burdett Co., Morristown, N.J., 1982