Aviation pictures - the first arrival

Aviation pictures - the first arrival

Many pictures survive of the first aircraft to land in Jersey in 1912 as the island provided a staging point for a race for early airplanes from St Malo. We have a selection in our gallery below, and every now and again it grows with the emergence of another different image. This one, which was published 104 years ago in the Chronique de Jersey, is already in the gallery, but of much poorer quality. Now an original photographic print of the image has emerged, which can be reproduced at a much better quality than a copy from the newspaper. It is one of the best we have seen. It shows just how large was the crowd which gathered on the wet sand in St Aubin's Bay to witness this momentous occasion, and saw the tiny, primitive aircraft appear from behind Elizabeth Castle, before landing on the water's edge, followed by other competitors in the race. The aircraft in this picture is still just a speck above the rocks to the west of the castle, but it would have been just seconds away from landing in front of the crowd of onlookers. One fascinating aspect of this photograph and others on the page is that they show that everybody in the crowd which flocked to the beach was dressed as if it was mid-winter, whereas the landing took place in August

A report of the air races, and more photographs

The first four photographs below were taken from lantern slides.The first on the left is a copy of a section of the photograph at the top of the page, so it is likely that the others are also copies, probably of prints. This set of images first emerged on an auction website in April 2021

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  The routes of the 1912 St Malo air races
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  A competitor passes St Malo lighthouse
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  The first plane to land in Jersey, taken from the sea with a large crowde behind, and West Park in the background
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  The first arrival, sea on one side, a growing crowd on the other
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  The crowd waits
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  The aircraft approaches the landing area
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  The first aircraft lands
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  The first landing
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  The first aircraft about to land in Jersey
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  A postcard of the first plane to land in Jersey
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  Mabel was there!
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  The first aircraft to land in Jersey in 1912 from La Chronique de Jersey coverage
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  1912 from La Chronique de Jersey
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  1912 from La Chronique de Jersey
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  1912 from La Chronique de Jersey

The first aircraft to touch down in Jersey

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  1912 from La Chronique de Jersey
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  The first plane to land in 1912
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  Weymann's arrival
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  Landing on the waves
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  The pilot
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  Jean Benoist
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  Poster commemorating the first landing
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  Molla takes off
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  One of the first planes to land in Jersey on the beach at West Park
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  Jersey's first aircraft arrival in 1912
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  Return to St Malo
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  Weymann, the winner of the Jersey leg, lands off St Helier
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  Weymann lands back off St Malo
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  First landing
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  Astra on the beach at West Park in 1912
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  Close-up view of the first arrival

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