Lloyd W. Bertaud

Lloyd W. Bertaud (1895–1927) was an American aviator. Bertaud was selected to be the copilot in the WB-2 Columbia attempting the transatlantic crossing for the Orteig Prize in 1927. Aircraft owner Charles Levine wanted to fly in his place, and a injunction by Bertaud against Levine prevented the flight. The prize was won by the aviator Charles Lindbergh.

Early life

Bertaud was born in Alameda, California. As a boy, he built and flew in a glider from Popular Mechanics plans.^[1] He was a licensed pilot at the age of 18. In World War I, Bertaud served in the U.S. Air service as a lieutenant.^[2]

• Air Mail, Bertaud flew mail routes along the famous "Hells Stretch" between Cleveland and Hadley Field.^[3]

• Air racing

Pulitzer Race, Omaha, Nebraska – In 1921, Bertaud flew a 400 hp Ansando Curtiss A-1 Balilla against Bert Acosta, placing fourth.^[4]

Kansas City Derby, Kansas City, Kansas – In November 1921, Bretaud won the American Legion Aerial Derby over a 140-mile course in 1 hour.^[5]

• Endurance record, Roosevelt field – In January 1922, Bertaud and Eddie Stinson won the Aviation medal of merit of the Aero Club of America for their 27 hour world endurance record flown during a snowstorm in the Larson JL-6 on December 30, 1921. The aircraft flew 2500 miles, also breaking the French-held world's record for distance.^[6]

• Orteig Prize Charles Levine, owner of Columbia Aircraft Corp, and the sole Wright-Bellanca WB-2 sought after by pilot Charles Lindbergh, bumped Bertaud from his copilot position on an attempt at the Orteig prize. Bertaud was promised a settlement to his family if they crashed, and the prize money if they completed the flight, but Levine refused to sign the document before the flight. Bertaud first objected, then later offered to purchase the Columbia for himself.^[7] Bertaud, filed an injunction, and stalled the flight. Lindbergh took off before Levine, winning the prize. Levine took off shortly afterward, completing the second non-stop transatlantic flight flying from New York to Berlin.

Following the flight, Bertaud attempted to have Bellanca, the designer of the Columbia, build a transatlantic plane for an non-stop attempt on Rome in spite of Levine. The aircraft could not be built in a timely manner. Instead, an agreement was made with Phillip Payne, editor of the William Randolph Hearst paper the Daily Mirror, for a Fokker VIIA^[8] aircraft, and a spare seat for Payne, in exchange for the publicity rights.^[9]

• Transatlantic Flight – On September 6, 1927 Bertaud and fellow air-mail pilot J.D. Hill flipped to see who would pilot the Fokker monoplane, the "Old Glory". Hill won. Bertaud, Hill and Payne took off in the overweight plane over the Atlantic. The plane did not make it to the destination, and only a 34-foot section of wing was found 700 miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland.^[10] Bertaud was lost at sea.^[2]

In 1928, the Ontario Surveyor General named a number of lakes in the northwest of the province to honour aviators who had perished during 1927, mainly in attempting oceanic flights.^[11][12] These include Bertaud Lake (), Hill Lake () and Payne Lake ().

References

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