The Orkney Image Library
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I found this old postcard while having a sort out.
The message reads, "The planes in Houton harbour,Orkney. J.Omand
American airmens world flight, July 30th 1924
Interesting bit of history.
[See also picture #592]
View Large VersionPicture added on 16 January 2012 at 11:20
One of these planes is still in the Smithsonion Museum in Washinton DC
Added by W Watters on 16 January 2012
There is a very interesting and detailed account of the whole thing here , including the fact that Damon Runyon (Guys and Dolls etc) was in Orkney as a journalist covering the flight.
Added by Jim Eunson on 16 January 2012
It was the support ship for these aircraft, USS Richmond, that rescued the Italian aircrew from the Dornier 'Wal' shown in picture #22706.
Added by Ian Hourston on 16 January 2012
Looking at this photo again, I see the name on it is J. Omond (not Omand). This will be James Omond, schoolmaster in Orphir, who excelled in many fields, writing books and papers on a variety of subjects. I don't have any direct evidence of his prowess in photography - except I think he took some of the pictures illustrating his book 'How to know the Orkney Birds' published in 1925 - but it would surprise me if he wasn't highly competent in that field too. The hand-lettering on this postcard is very like that used to caption the pictures in the bird book. He probably saw these aircraft alight and rushed to get his camera.
Added by Ian Hourston on 16 January 2012
Thanks for that, Jim. The log for 17 Aug 1924 mentions the flying-boat Wal (misspelt Wahl) and its crew Locatelli & Crosio (misspelt Crozier) joining the Americans. (See picture #22706) The entry for 25 Aug mentions the Italians' rescue by USS Richmond but no further detail is given.
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Added by Ian Hourston on 17 January 2012
Orphir
