On 3 April 1933, Scottish nobleman and pioneer aviator DOUGLAS DOUGLAS-HAMILTON (1903-1973) led the first flight over Mount Everest. A member of Parliament, DOUGLAS-HAMILTON, also known as LORD CLYDESDALE, became interested in flying at an early age and, at the age of 24, became the youngest squadron leader in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. In 1933, he led a two-plane expedition on one of the most ambitious flights of the era - an attempt to fly over Mount Everest, the highest mountain on earth. The HOUSTON-EVEREST EXPEDITION, sponsored by LADY HOUSTON, one of the richest women in England, involved two Westland PV-3 open-cockpit biplanes. LORD CLYDESDALE was accompanied by Lt. Col. Blacker, who operated a movie camera mounted to the airplane, while the second airplane was flown by Flight Lt. D. F. McIntyre, with a civilian photographer, Mr. Bennett, accompanying him. All the men wore oxygen masks as they flew about 100 feet (30 m) over the 29,029 foot (8,848 m) tall mountain. The HOUSTON-EVEREST EXPEDITION captured the first aerial photos of Mt. Everest. A popular film, Wings over Everest, by Ivor Montagu and Geoffrey Barkas, was made of the record-setting flight, using footage shot by Blacker and Bennett.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 10:55:41 +0000
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