That day was very cloudy and very cold. But despite the harsh weather, Amy Johnson left on her mission.
On January 5, 1941, Amy flew from Blackpool Airport to the UK. Their destination was the British Royal Air Force's Cuddlington Air Base in Oxfordshire. Her mission was to get a plane to the air base. The journey took only 90 minutes, but about four and a half hours later, Amy's plane crashed into the Thames Eschery, 100 miles from the destination.
The British Navy tried to save her dramatically, but failed, until Amy's body was found in the rubble.
The incident took people by surprise. Amy was no ordinary pilot, she was very experienced and is still known for setting the record for the shortest flight from Great Britain to Australia.
Amy Johnson was a well-known figure of her time for her aviation business. How they got lost on such a short journey she was beyond people's understanding. Another thing that kept people embarrassed is that Amy's body was not found after the accident and the mystery has not been solved to this day.
Rumors and speculations
Immediately after the accident, a series of speculations began. Some said Amy was trying to get a spy out of the country. At the same time, rumors were circulating that the spy could be her German lover of hers.
Some believe Amy's plane was shot down by a British anti-aircraft gun. Some claimed they were shot down by a German plane. Then there were those who said that the accident was a great plan to pretend to be dead.
None of these rumors and speculations have been confirmed. After the accident, it was said that the cause of the accident was bad weather and generally accepted dangerous decisions.
But that's not all, and six decades after the incident some alarming revelations emerged, attributed to an eyewitness, that cast doubt on the facts surrounding the incident. A British Navy ship also participated in the rescue operation.
The crew said a man was seen skydiving at the time of the incident and that when the Royal Navy arrived for help, they saw two bodies floating in the sea.
The full details of the revelations made in the eyewitness statement were astounding, the details of which will be explained later.
First of all, it is important to understand why Amy Johnson and this incident are so important in British history.
Who was Amy Johnson?
Born on 1 July 1903 in the British Territory of Hull, Amy Johnson had a rebellious personality from an early age, and this aspect of her personality was evident during her early education.
Although she earned a degree in economics and later did small jobs, her interest in aviation turned her attention to it and in 1929 she obtained a pilot's license. She became a pilot but made no living, so she became a certified ground engineer under the British Air Force.
It was also an extraordinary achievement, as she was the first woman to hold the position.
But his passion for aviation forced him to embark on her adventures.
To do this, she persuaded her father and Lord Wakefield, who founded the famous oil company Castrol Oil, to buy him a plane. De Howland Moth was found to be worth £ 600. She named the plane "Jason" after her father's fishing activity.
The journey that took him to the heights of fame
Now she plans to break the record for a driver named Burt Hanker in 1928, in which he completed a trip from Britain to Australia in just 15 days. Amy Johnson embarked on her adventure journey from Croydon Airfield on May 5, 1930.
According to some reports, what is unusual is that she Amy she only had 75 hours of flying experience before embarking on this journey. Not many people were interested in this trip and from this it can be deduced that only her father and a few others came to greet him.
But by the time he reached his first stop in Karachi, he had gained international fame.
They failed to break the record due to mechanical breakdowns and bad weather on the plane. The journey took 19 days and covered 11,000 miles (18,000 km) and finally reached Darwin, Australia on May 24.
Although she didn't break the record, she became the center of attention after becoming the first woman to travel alone to Australia. Her fame grew and for six weeks she visited various places in Australia and participated in public events where she was welcomed with great enthusiasm and attended by a large number of people.
On her way back, she Amy reached Egypt by boat and flew home. Upon arrival at Croydon Airport, she was greeted by a large crowd. They were paraded through the streets of London in a car without a roof, and an estimated one million people stood in the way to greet them.
Upon his return, King George V of the United Kingdom awarded him the CBE and, for his courage and his achievements, the Daily Mail gifted him £ 10,000. In 1931, Amy married fellow aviator Jim Mollison and continued her adventure with her husband.
The extraordinary journey of Amy Johnson
- In 1931 you were the first pilot to arrive in Moscow from London in a single day. She completed the 1,760-mile flight in about 21 hours.
- In 1932, she broke the London to Cape Town flight record set by her husband. You completed the tour in 11 hours less than the first registration
- In 1933, she attempted to complete a non-stop flight across the Atlantic with her husband on an east-west journey. Her plane crashed in Bridgeport, Connecticut due to running out of fuel
- In 1936, she set her own record for the fastest flight from London to Cape Town in 1932, which was broken by flight lieutenant Tommy Rose. This was his last long journey
She has been the center of attention for a long time, but gradually her interest in flights began to wane and her marriage to Jim Mollison ended in divorce.
Amy Johnson joined the army to help with the war effort. In 1940, she began transporting aircraft from factories to Royal Air Force air bases. According to The Royal Air Force History website, they were then paid six pounds a week for her work, which was a considerable sum at the time.
Unfortunately for Amy Johnson, her favorite hobby during this job was the one that ended her life.
Surprising revelations
Sixty years after the incident, the testimony of a key witness was featured on the BBC's Inside Out program.
Derek Roberts was a Royal Air Force flight office employee. He claimed that a man had parachuted into the water that day. His friend Corporal Bill Hall was aboard the ship HMS Hazelmeier. When Amy Johnson's plane crashed, her crew saw her descend from a parachute and decided to save her.
Corporal Bill Hill submitted his report upon his return from the rescue mission. Derek typed Corporal Hill's report.
Derek's story
"They came to report what happened and I recorded it," Derek told InsideOut. I wrote the report and they approved it and presented it to the flight commander.
"They said that while they were on the bridge, a parachute fell into the water and swam towards Hazelmeier," Derek said of Corporal Hill's statement. He yelled that she was Amy Johnson and that the water was freezing and that he could get her out asap. They threw the rope but couldn't catch it. Then someone ran and started the engines of the ship's turret, as a result of which they were pushed into the propeller and torn apart.
Derek also commented on Corporal Hill's statement: "In the future, he would tell his lifelong neighbors that Amy's death was officially suppressed. For some reason, there was silence.
HMS Hazelmeier staff said they saw two people's bodies floating in Themes Escort, even though Amy had started the journey alone. It was not possible to determine the presence of another person, so rumors spread about the presence of a spy.
Maggie Jellies, author of Amy Johnson's autobiography, believes the mystery man is easy to explain. "Amy's pigskin bag, which was removed by Themes after the accident, could be a mysterious figure," she says. She adds that "it is easy to misinterpret a bag floating on a layer of ice above fog and water as a head and shoulders".
Hazelmeyer's captain, Lieutenant Commander Fletcher, dived into the icy waters during the rescue.
They pulled him out of the water unconscious and he died of hypothermia before he could tell anyone what he had seen or seen. Due to his testimony and the lack of further witnesses, the exact details of Amy Johnson's death are likely to remain an undying secret.
Despite questions about her death, Amy Johnson is a symbol of greatness for many women.
Amy Johnson's daring aviation made her an icon for that time and days to come, but sadly her life ended in a tragic and mysterious accident.
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