manu/mldr-zoomed-100char-total-queries-documents

chunk_id stringlengths 3 9	chunk stringlengths 1 100
133_2	Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records during the 1930s.
133_3	She flew in the Second World War as a part of the Air Transport Auxiliary and disappeared during a
133_4	ferry flight. The cause of her death has been a subject of discussion over many years.
133_5	Early life
133_6	Born in 1903 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, Amy Johnson was the daughter of Amy
133_7	Hodge, granddaughter of William Hodge, a Mayor of Hull, and John William Johnson whose family were
133_8	fish merchants in the firm of Andrew Johnson, Knudtzon and Company. She was the eldest of three
133_9	sisters, the next in age being Irene who was a year younger.
133_10	Johnson was educated at Boulevard Municipal Secondary School (later Kingston High School) and the
133_11	University of Sheffield, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. She then
133_12	worked in London as secretary to a solicitor, William Charles Crocker. She was introduced to flying
133_13	as a hobby, gaining an aviator's certificate, No. 8662, on 28 January 1929, and a pilot's "A"
133_14	Licence, No. 1979, on 6 July 1929, both at the London Aeroplane Club under the tutelage of Captain
133_15	Valentine Baker. In that same year, she became the first British woman to obtain a ground
133_16	engineer's "C" licence.
133_17	Johnson was a friend and collaborator of Fred Slingsby whose Yorkshire based company, Slingsby
133_18	Aviation of Kirbymoorside, North Yorkshire became the UK's most famous glider manufacturer.
133_19	Slingsby helped found Yorkshire Gliding Club at Sutton Bank and during the 1930s she was an early
133_20	member and trainee.
133_21	Aviation
133_22	Johnson obtained the funds for her first aircraft from her father, who was always one of her
133_23	strongest supporters, and Lord Wakefield. She purchased a secondhand de Havilland DH.60 Gipsy Moth
133_24	G-AAAH and named it Jason after her father's business trade mark.
133_25	Johnson achieved worldwide recognition when, in 1930, she became the first woman to fly solo from
133_26	England to Australia. Flying G-AAAH Jason, she left Croydon Airport, Surrey, on 5 May and landed at
133_27	Darwin, Northern Territory on 24 May . Six days later she damaged her aircraft while landing
133_28	downwind at Brisbane airport and flew to Sydney with Captain Frank Follett while her plane was
133_29	repaired. Jason was later flown to Mascot, Sydney, by Captain Lester Brain. G-AAAH "Jason" is now
133_30	on permanent display in the Flight Gallery of the Science Museum in London.
133_31	She received the Harmon Trophy as well as a CBE in George V's 1930 Birthday Honours in recognition
133_32	of this achievement, and was also honoured with the No. 1 civil pilot's licence under Australia's
133_33	1921 Air Navigation Regulations.
133_34	Johnson next obtained a de Havilland DH.80 Puss Moth G-AAZV which she named Jason II. In July 1931,
133_35	she and co-pilot Jack Humphreys became the first people to fly from London to Moscow in one day,
133_36	completing the journey in approximately 21 hours. From there, they continued across Siberia and on
133_37	to Tokyo, setting a record time for Britain to Japan.
133_38	In 1932, Johnson married Scottish pilot Jim Mollison, who had proposed to her during a flight
133_39	together some eight hours after they had first met. In July 1932, Johnson set a solo record for the
133_40	flight from London to Cape Town, South Africa in Puss Moth G-ACAB, named Desert Cloud, breaking her
133_41	new husband's record. De Havilland Co and Castrol Oil featured this flight in advertising
133_42	campaigns.
133_43	In July 1933, Johnson together with Mollison flew the G-ACCV, named "Seafarer," a de Havilland
133_44	DH.84 Dragon I nonstop from Pendine Sands, South Wales, heading to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn,
133_45	New York. The aim was to take “Seafarer” to the starting point for the Mollison's attempt at
133_46	achieving a world record distance flying non-stop from New York to Baghdad.
133_47	Running low on fuel and now flying in the dark of night, the pair made the decision to land short
133_48	of New York. Spotting the lights of Bridgeport Municipal Airport (now Sikorsky Memorial Airport) in
133_49	Stratford, Connecticut they circled it five times before crash landing some distance outside the
133_50	field in a drainage ditch. Both were thrown from the aircraft but suffered only cuts and gashes.
133_51	After recuperating, the pair were feted by New York society and received a ticker tape parade down
133_52	Wall Street.
133_53	The Mollisons also flew, in record time, from Britain to India in 1934 in G-ACSP, named "Black
133_54	Magic", a de Havilland DH.88 Comet as part of the Britain to Australia MacRobertson Air Race, but
133_55	were forced to retire from the race at Allahabad because of engine trouble.
133_56	In September 1934, Johnson (under her married name of Mollison) became the youngest President of
133_57	the Women's Engineering Society, having been vice-president since 1934. She was active in the
133_58	society until her death.
133_59	On 4 May 1936, Johnson made her last record-breaking flight, starting from Gravesend Airport &
133_60	regaining her Britain to South Africa record in G-ADZO, a Percival Gull Six. The same year she was
133_61	awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club.
133_62	In 1938, Johnson overturned her glider when landing after a display at Walsall Aerodrome in
133_63	England, but was not seriously hurt. The same year, she divorced Mollison. Soon afterwards, she
133_64	reverted to her maiden name.
133_65	Johnson began to explore other ways to make a living through business ventures, journalism and
133_66	fashion. She modelled clothes for the designer Elsa Schiaparelli and created her a travelling bag
133_67	sold under her own name.
133_68	In 1939 Johnson found work flying with the Portsmouth, Southsea and Isle of Wight Aviation Company,
133_69	piloting short flights across the Solent and flying as a target for searchlight batteries and
133_70	anti-aircraft gunners to practice on. The company’s aircraft were taken over by the Air Ministry in
133_71	March 1940 and Johnson was served notice of redundancy alongside all other pilots in the company as
133_72	all the aircraft were requisitioned for the war effort. She received a week's pay and a further
133_73	four weeks pay of £40 as a redundancy package.
133_74	Second World War
133_75	Two months later in 1940, during the Second World War, Johnson joined the newly formed Air
133_76	Transport Auxiliary (ATA), which transported Royal Air Force aircraft around the country. She rose
133_77	to First Officer under the command of her friend and fellow pilot Pauline Gower. Her former husband
133_78	also flew for the ATA throughout the war. Johnson described a typical day in her life in the ATA in
133_79	a humorous article (published posthumously in 1941) for The Woman Engineer journal.
133_80	Disappearance
133_81	Writing a last letter to her friend Caroline Haslett, on New Years Day 1941, "I hope the gods will
133_82	watch over you this year, and I wish you the best of luck (the only useful thing not yet taxed!)."
133_83	On 5 January 1941, while flying an Airspeed Oxford for the ATA from Prestwick via RAF Squires Gate
133_84	to RAF Kidlington near Oxford, Johnson went off course in adverse weather conditions. Reportedly
133_85	out of fuel, she bailed out as her aircraft crashed into the Thames Estuary near Herne Bay.
133_86	A convoy of wartime vessels in the Thames Estuary spotted Johnson's parachute coming down and saw
133_87	her alive in the water, calling for help. Conditions were poor – there was a heavy sea and a strong
133_88	tide, snow was falling and it was intensely cold. Lt Cmdr Walter Fletcher, the Captain of HMS
133_89	Haslemere, navigated his ship to attempt a rescue. The crew of the vessel threw ropes out to
133_90	Johnson but she was unable to reach them and was lost under the ship. A number of witnesses
133_91	believed there was a second body in the water. Fletcher dived in and swam out to this, rested on it
133_92	for a few minutes then let go. When the lifeboat reached him he was unconscious and as a result of
133_93	the intense cold he died in hospital days later. Johnson's watertight flying bag, her log book and
133_94	cheque book later washed up and recovered near the crash site.
133_95	A memorial service was held for Johnson in the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields on 14 January
133_96	1941. Walter Fletcher was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal in May 1941.
133_97	Disputed circumstances
133_98	In 1999, it was reported that Johnson's death may have been caused by friendly fire. Tom Mitchell,
133_99	from Crowborough, Sussex, claimed to have shot Johnson's aircraft down when she twice failed to
133_100	give the correct identification code during the flight. Mitchell explained how the aircraft was
133_101	sighted and contacted by radio. A request was made for the signal. She gave the wrong one twice.

133_2

Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records during the 1930s.

133_3

She flew in the Second World War as a part of the Air Transport Auxiliary and disappeared during a

133_4

ferry flight. The cause of her death has been a subject of discussion over many years.

133_5

Early life

133_6

Born in 1903 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, Amy Johnson was the daughter of Amy

133_7

Hodge, granddaughter of William Hodge, a Mayor of Hull, and John William Johnson whose family were

133_8

fish merchants in the firm of Andrew Johnson, Knudtzon and Company. She was the eldest of three

133_9

sisters, the next in age being Irene who was a year younger.

133_10

Johnson was educated at Boulevard Municipal Secondary School (later Kingston High School) and the

133_11

University of Sheffield, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. She then

133_12

worked in London as secretary to a solicitor, William Charles Crocker. She was introduced to flying

133_13

as a hobby, gaining an aviator's certificate, No. 8662, on 28 January 1929, and a pilot's "A"

133_14

Licence, No. 1979, on 6 July 1929, both at the London Aeroplane Club under the tutelage of Captain

133_15

Valentine Baker. In that same year, she became the first British woman to obtain a ground

133_16

engineer's "C" licence.

133_17

Johnson was a friend and collaborator of Fred Slingsby whose Yorkshire based company, Slingsby

133_18

Aviation of Kirbymoorside, North Yorkshire became the UK's most famous glider manufacturer.

133_19

Slingsby helped found Yorkshire Gliding Club at Sutton Bank and during the 1930s she was an early

133_20

member and trainee.

133_21

Aviation

133_22

Johnson obtained the funds for her first aircraft from her father, who was always one of her

133_23

strongest supporters, and Lord Wakefield. She purchased a secondhand de Havilland DH.60 Gipsy Moth

133_24

G-AAAH and named it Jason after her father's business trade mark.

133_25

Johnson achieved worldwide recognition when, in 1930, she became the first woman to fly solo from

133_26

England to Australia. Flying G-AAAH Jason, she left Croydon Airport, Surrey, on 5 May and landed at

133_27

Darwin, Northern Territory on 24 May . Six days later she damaged her aircraft while landing

133_28

downwind at Brisbane airport and flew to Sydney with Captain Frank Follett while her plane was

133_29

repaired. Jason was later flown to Mascot, Sydney, by Captain Lester Brain. G-AAAH "Jason" is now

133_30

on permanent display in the Flight Gallery of the Science Museum in London.

133_31

She received the Harmon Trophy as well as a CBE in George V's 1930 Birthday Honours in recognition

133_32

of this achievement, and was also honoured with the No. 1 civil pilot's licence under Australia's

133_33

1921 Air Navigation Regulations.

133_34

Johnson next obtained a de Havilland DH.80 Puss Moth G-AAZV which she named Jason II. In July 1931,

133_35

she and co-pilot Jack Humphreys became the first people to fly from London to Moscow in one day,

133_36

completing the journey in approximately 21 hours. From there, they continued across Siberia and on

133_37

to Tokyo, setting a record time for Britain to Japan.

133_38

In 1932, Johnson married Scottish pilot Jim Mollison, who had proposed to her during a flight

133_39

together some eight hours after they had first met. In July 1932, Johnson set a solo record for the

133_40

flight from London to Cape Town, South Africa in Puss Moth G-ACAB, named Desert Cloud, breaking her

133_41

new husband's record. De Havilland Co and Castrol Oil featured this flight in advertising

133_42

campaigns.

133_43

In July 1933, Johnson together with Mollison flew the G-ACCV, named "Seafarer," a de Havilland

133_44

DH.84 Dragon I nonstop from Pendine Sands, South Wales, heading to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn,

133_45

New York. The aim was to take “Seafarer” to the starting point for the Mollison's attempt at

133_46

achieving a world record distance flying non-stop from New York to Baghdad.

133_47

Running low on fuel and now flying in the dark of night, the pair made the decision to land short

133_48

of New York. Spotting the lights of Bridgeport Municipal Airport (now Sikorsky Memorial Airport) in

133_49

Stratford, Connecticut they circled it five times before crash landing some distance outside the

133_50

field in a drainage ditch. Both were thrown from the aircraft but suffered only cuts and gashes.

133_51

After recuperating, the pair were feted by New York society and received a ticker tape parade down

133_52

Wall Street.

133_53

The Mollisons also flew, in record time, from Britain to India in 1934 in G-ACSP, named "Black

133_54

Magic", a de Havilland DH.88 Comet as part of the Britain to Australia MacRobertson Air Race, but

133_55

were forced to retire from the race at Allahabad because of engine trouble.

133_56

In September 1934, Johnson (under her married name of Mollison) became the youngest President of

133_57

the Women's Engineering Society, having been vice-president since 1934. She was active in the

133_58

society until her death.

133_59

On 4 May 1936, Johnson made her last record-breaking flight, starting from Gravesend Airport &

133_60

regaining her Britain to South Africa record in G-ADZO, a Percival Gull Six. The same year she was

133_61

awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club.

133_62

In 1938, Johnson overturned her glider when landing after a display at Walsall Aerodrome in

133_63

England, but was not seriously hurt. The same year, she divorced Mollison. Soon afterwards, she

133_64

reverted to her maiden name.

133_65

Johnson began to explore other ways to make a living through business ventures, journalism and

133_66

fashion. She modelled clothes for the designer Elsa Schiaparelli and created her a travelling bag

133_67

sold under her own name.

133_68

In 1939 Johnson found work flying with the Portsmouth, Southsea and Isle of Wight Aviation Company,

133_69

piloting short flights across the Solent and flying as a target for searchlight batteries and

133_70

anti-aircraft gunners to practice on. The company’s aircraft were taken over by the Air Ministry in

133_71

March 1940 and Johnson was served notice of redundancy alongside all other pilots in the company as

133_72

all the aircraft were requisitioned for the war effort. She received a week's pay and a further

133_73

four weeks pay of £40 as a redundancy package.

133_74

Second World War

133_75

Two months later in 1940, during the Second World War, Johnson joined the newly formed Air

133_76

Transport Auxiliary (ATA), which transported Royal Air Force aircraft around the country. She rose

133_77

to First Officer under the command of her friend and fellow pilot Pauline Gower. Her former husband

133_78

also flew for the ATA throughout the war. Johnson described a typical day in her life in the ATA in

133_79

a humorous article (published posthumously in 1941) for The Woman Engineer journal.

133_80

Disappearance

133_81

Writing a last letter to her friend Caroline Haslett, on New Years Day 1941, "I hope the gods will

133_82

watch over you this year, and I wish you the best of luck (the only useful thing not yet taxed!)."

133_83

On 5 January 1941, while flying an Airspeed Oxford for the ATA from Prestwick via RAF Squires Gate

133_84

to RAF Kidlington near Oxford, Johnson went off course in adverse weather conditions. Reportedly

133_85

out of fuel, she bailed out as her aircraft crashed into the Thames Estuary near Herne Bay.

133_86

A convoy of wartime vessels in the Thames Estuary spotted Johnson's parachute coming down and saw

133_87

her alive in the water, calling for help. Conditions were poor – there was a heavy sea and a strong

133_88

tide, snow was falling and it was intensely cold. Lt Cmdr Walter Fletcher, the Captain of HMS

133_89

Haslemere, navigated his ship to attempt a rescue. The crew of the vessel threw ropes out to

133_90

Johnson but she was unable to reach them and was lost under the ship. A number of witnesses

133_91

believed there was a second body in the water. Fletcher dived in and swam out to this, rested on it

133_92

for a few minutes then let go. When the lifeboat reached him he was unconscious and as a result of

133_93

the intense cold he died in hospital days later. Johnson's watertight flying bag, her log book and

133_94

cheque book later washed up and recovered near the crash site.

133_95

A memorial service was held for Johnson in the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields on 14 January

133_96

1941. Walter Fletcher was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal in May 1941.

133_97

Disputed circumstances

133_98

In 1999, it was reported that Johnson's death may have been caused by friendly fire. Tom Mitchell,

133_99

from Crowborough, Sussex, claimed to have shot Johnson's aircraft down when she twice failed to

133_100

give the correct identification code during the flight. Mitchell explained how the aircraft was

133_101

sighted and contacted by radio. A request was made for the signal. She gave the wrong one twice.