Charles Ulm

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Charles Ulm

Charles Ulm in 1934, in front of his Avro X VH-UXX "Faith in Australia". The text on the side of the aircraft lists all the long-distance flights it has made.
Full name Charles Thomas Philippe Ulm
Lived 18 October 1898 – 3 December 1934
Birth Melbourne, Australia
Cause of death Disappeared during flight
Nationality Australian
Aviation
Known for Trans-Pacific flight
Setting the speed record from England to Australia at 6 days, 17 hours and 56 minutes
Battles World War I
Awards Air Force Cross

Charles Thomas Philippe Ulm AFC (October 18, 1898 — December 3, 1934) was a pioneer Australian aviator.

Contents

[edit] World War I

Ulm joined the AIF in September 1914, lying about his name and age to get in. He fought and was wounded at Gallipoli in 1915, and on the Western Front in 1918.

Charles Ulm was married twice. In 1919 he married Isabel Amy Winter. After divorcing his first wife, in 1927 he married Mary Josephine Callaghan.

[edit] Partnership with Charles Kingsford Smith

Ulm is best known for his partnership with Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, and was Kingsford Smith's copilot on many of his famous flights, including the 1928 first crossing of the Pacific. Ulm was the "business brains" in the partnership, and acquired the funding necessary for the journey. [1]

Ulm was also Kingsford Smith's partner in the failed Australian National Airways.

[edit] Later flights

After the failure of Australian National Airways, Ulm bought one of the airline's Avro X aircraft for himself, and named it Faith in Australia. In this aircraft in 1933, Ulm set the speed record from England to Australia at 6 days, 17 hours and 56 minutes, and made several trans-Tasman flights.

Ulm disappeared in December 1934, together with copilot G.M. Littlejohn and navigator J.S. Skilling, while flying from Oakland, California to Hawaii in VH-UXY Stella Australis, an Airspeed Envoy. It is believed an unexpected tailwind caused them to fly past the islands in the dark.[2] No traces of crew or aircraft were ever found.

[edit] References

Australian Dictionary of Biography

  1. ^ 7:30 Report story on Ulm
  2. ^ Gwynn-Jones, Terry (1989). On a Wing and a Prayer. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0-7022-2193-7. 
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