Sir Ross Macpherson Smith, (4 December 1892 – 13 April 1922) was an Australian aviator. He and his brother, Sir Keith Macpherson Smith, were the first pilots to fly from England to Australia, in 1919.

Early life

Smith's father migrated to Western Australia from Scotland and became a pastoralist in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. His mother was born near New Norcia, Western Australia, the daughter of a pioneer from Scotland. The boys boarded at Queen's School, North Adelaide, and for two years at Warriston School in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. This article was first published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, (MUP), 1988.

Military service

Smith enlisted in 1914 in the 3rd Light Horse Regiment, landing at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

13 May 1915. In 1917, he volunteered for the

Australian Flying Corps The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...

. He was later twice awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

and the Distinguished Flying Cross three times, becoming an air ace with 11 confirmed aerial victories. Smith was pilot for T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and fought in aerial combat missions in the Middle East. He is mentioned several times in Lawrence's book, ''Seven Pillars of Wisdom'', Chapter 114.

The Great Air Race

In 1919 the Australian government offered a prize of £A10,000 for the first Australians in a British aircraft to fly from Great Britain to Australia. Smith and his brother Keith, Sergeant James Mallett (Jim) Bennett and Sergeant Wally Shiers, flew from

Hounslow Heath Aerodrome Hounslow Heath Aerodrome was a grass airfield, operational 1914–1920. It was in the London borough of Hounslow, and hosted the British Empire's first scheduled daily international commercial flights, in 1919. The site today includes the main ...

, England on 12 November 1919 in a

Vickers Vimy The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Vimy was designed by Rex Pierson, Vickers ...

, eventually landing in Darwin Australia on 10 December, taking less than 28 days, with actual flying time of 135 hours. The four men shared the £10,000 prize money put forward by the Australian government.

Later life

Smith was killed (along with the recently commissioned Lieutenant Bennett) while testing a

Vickers Viking The Vickers Viking was a British single-engine amphibious aircraft designed for military use shortly after World War I. Later versions of the aircraft were known as the Vickers Vulture and Vickers Vanellus. Design and development Resear ...

amphibian aircraft which crashed in

Byfleet Byfleet is a village in Surrey, England. It is located in the far east of the borough of Woking, around east of West Byfleet, from which it is separated by the M25 motorway and the Wey Navigation. The village is of medieval origin. Its win ...

soon after taking off from

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

on 13 April 1922. The same aircraft type had also killed John Alcock, another World War I veteran and pioneering long-distance aviator. Captain Stanley Cockerell,

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

for

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

, had flown Smith and Bennett as passengers on the aircraft's maiden flight earlier that day and testified to the

inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a cor ...

that the machine seemed to be in perfect working order. The jury returned a verdict of

death by misadventure In the United Kingdom, death by misadventure is the recorded manner of death for an accidental death caused by a risk taken voluntarily. Misadventure in English law, as recorded by coroners and on death certificates and associated documents, is ...

."Sir Ross Smith's Death: No Failure of the Machine", ''The Times'', 17 April 1922 The bodies were transported to Australia and Smith was given a state funeral and later buried on 14 June at the North Road Cemetery,

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Legacy

The Australian cricketer Keith Ross Miller (born 28 November 1919) was named after Smith and his brother. Ross Smith Avenue in the Darwin suburb of Parap is on the alignment of the

airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

that completed the journey from England to Australia. Their aircraft is preserved at

Adelaide Airport Adelaide Airport, also known as Adelaide International Airport, is an International airport, international, Domestic airport, domestic and general aviation airport serving Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Located approximately 6 km ...

. There is a statue of him near Adelaide Oval. A part-ring road around

Sydney Airport Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport — colloquially Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney Airport or Mascot Airport — is an international airport serving Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district, in the subu ...

was also named Ross Smith Avenue, which connects the Domestic Terminal with the control tower and the

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

area. Sir Ross Smith Boulevard in the

suburb of Oakden was named after Smith.

References

External links

Pilot record at Australian Flying CorpsSir Ross and Sir Keith Smith, pioneer aviators
State Library of South Australia website including personal papers of Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith
Sir Ross Smith Memorial Collection
State Library of South Australia
Album of photographs taken on the first flight from England to Australia, 1919
State Library of New South Wales. File:Vickers Vimy, G-EAOU, first flight from England to Australia, 1919.jpg, Vickers Vimy, G-EAOU, the aircraft flown by Smith in 1919 File:Ross Macpherson Smith 1922.jpg, 1922, seated in the plane in which he died File:First Flight Monument 1.jpg, First UK–Aus Flight monument in Darwin File:Ross Smith.jpg, Ross Smith memorial statue in the

Adelaide Parklands The Adelaide Park Lands comprise the figure-eight configuration of land, spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton, which encloses and separates the City of Adelaide area (including both the Adelaide city centre and ...

File:Ross and Keith Smith memorial (Dowie).jpg, Ross and Keith Smith memorial File:Vickers-Vimy museum.jpg, Museum, Adelaide Airport {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ross Macpherson 1892 births 1922 deaths Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Australian recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Australian recipients of the Military Cross Australian test pilots Australian World War I flying aces Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England Burials at North Road Cemetery People educated at Warriston School People from Adelaide Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1922 Victims of flight test accidents