Air Commodore Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith, MC, AFC
(1897–1935) - Pilot

Introduction

Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith (1897-1935), aviator, was born on 9 February 1897 in Brisbane, fifth son and seventh child of William Charles Smith, banker, and his wife Catherine Mary, née Kingsford. The name Kingsford was added to the family surname in Canada; William went into real estate business there in 1903 and later became a clerk with the Canadian Pacific Railways. The family returned to Sydney in 1907.
(Source: Australian Dictionary of Biography)

National Library of Australia: Charles and his sister Elsie

Kingsford Smith was in the army cadets until 1915; when he turned 18, he enlisted in the AIF. He became a signaller and despatch-rider and saw war service on Gallipoli and in Egypt and France before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC).

The young pilot joined No. 23 Squadron RFC on the Western Front in July 1917. He soon destroyed four enemy aircraft in combat, but in August he was wounded and shot down, resulting in the loss of some of his toes. He was awarded the Military Cross.

After the war flying became his passion and he piloted joy-flights overseas before returning home in 1921. In the following years he tried to establish viable aviation companies. It was an expensive business and he regularly sought publicity and sponsorship for record-breaking flights.

One epic flight, above all his many others, established “Smithy” as one of the greatest pioneering pilots of all time. On 31 May 1928 he took off from California with Charles Ulm and two American crewmen in a three-engined Fokker, the Southern Cross. For aircraft of this era it was an immense distance, over water all the way. They flew via Hawaii and Suva to Brisbane, fighting storms and near exhaustion, completing the journey in under 84 flying hours.

For his achievements, Kingsford Smith was given honorary rank in the RAAF and awarded the Air Force Cross. He continued on more record-breaking flights to show the feasibility of air passenger and mail services. In 1932 he was knighted for his contribution to aviation.

Most Australians loved Smithy’s dare-devil attitude and his larrikin streak: “a drink and cigarette in hand … he lived hard and fast”. But he was dogged by tragedy: a former colleague, Keith Anderson, died during a search when Smithy went missing briefly in the Northern Territory in 1929; then in 1931 a company aircraft Southern Cloud was lost with all passengers and crew. Finally, in 1935, Kingsford Smith disappeared off Burma while attempting yet another record-breaking flight. (Source: Australian War Memorial)

Education:

Charles was educated at Vancouver, Canada, at St Andrew's Cathedral Choir School, Sydney, and at Sydney Technical High School. At 16 he was apprenticed to the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. Ltd. (Source: Australian Dictionary of Biography)

Happier working with his hands than with his head in books, a 13-year-old Smithy was sent to Sydney Technical College to study mechanics and electrical engineering. However he preferred to skip class and spend his days zooming around Sydney on his motorbike. He managed to graduate as an electrical engineer at 16. (Source: Daily Telegraph)

Experiences & Opportunities

Australia's most famous aviator, Charles Kingsford-Smith was born in Brisbane on 9 February 1897. On his 18th birthday he enlisted in the Australian Army, and, after a brief period in the artillery, was posted to the 2nd Division as a signaller. He served on Gallipoli and then in Egypt and France as a motorcycle dispatch rider. Writing home to his parents, the teen told of his landing on the Peninsula while being bombed by the Turks. He also described another brush with death on the beach. ``I heard ping, ping horribly close,” he wrote home. “I hurriedly sought shelter in a sap, but not before a bullet frayed the edge of my cap. Quite close enough for me.’’

In October 1916, as a sergeant, Kingsford-Smith transferred to the Australian Flying Corps. In March 1917 he was discharged from the AIF and commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps. Having been promoted to flying officer, he was posted to No. 23 Squadron in France in July 1917. Shot down and wounded a month later, Kingsford-Smith was awarded the Military Cross, having shot down four German aircraft in his first month of operational flying.

Kingsford-Smith was promoted to lieutenant in April 1918 and served as an instructor for the rest of the war. In the years after the war, he worked in varying capacities as a pilot, including a brief period as a stunt flyer in California, before joining the fledgling aviation industry in Australia.(Source: AWM)

Did You Know? By 1917 Smithy had his wings with the Royal Flying Corps and was making a name for himself as a daring warbird in aerial dogfights over the battlefields of France. Having killed a number of “Huns” [Germans], the 20 year old’s plane was peppered with 150 bullets. He survived and managed to land despite being shot in the foot. Three toes were amputated. He was awarded the Military Cross for his “fine offensive spirit and disregard of danger”. His squadron commander wrote to his parents: ``He was one of the very best fighters I have had, full of grit and a splendid war pilot.’’ (Source: Daily Telegraph)

After the war Smithy worked as a stunt pilot in Hollywood’s silent films and in a flying circus. He enjoyed the work as it was exciting and gave him an opportunity to indulge his love — flying planes. But it was also highly dangerous. In one stunt he almost died as he hung upside down from the undercarriage of a plane. It became too risky even for Smithy and he returned to Australia after a friend died during one daring stunt.

Back in Australia he moved to WA and flew an aerial postal service, as well as offering joy rides. Biographer Ian Mackersey in his book ‘Smithy. The Life of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith’ writes: “His mind was permanently in the sky. On the ground he was a restless roamer, never creating a stable home and spending as fast as he earned."

Smithy was Australia’s greatest hero — bigger than any sporting star or politician of the times. The nation followed reports of his expeditions with excitement and fear, like the first moon landing in 1969. When the Southern Cross plane and its crew touched down in Sydney from California on June 10, 1928 they were welcomed by 300,000 cheering people.  (Source: Daily Telegraph)

In 1927 he and his flying partner, Charles Ulm, became the first airmen to fly around Australia. The following year, with the support of wealthy businessmen and government grant money - Kingsford-Smith, Ulm and two Americans, Harry Lyon and Jim Warner, became the first airmen to cross the Pacific. The following August, Kingsford Smith and his crew flew the Southern Cross from Point Cook to Perth and, shortly afterwards, from Sydney to Christchurch, becoming the first airmen to cross the Tasman Sea. His next aerial adventure, a planned flight to England ended in disaster when he made a forced landing in remote north-western Australia. Rescued after more than two weeks in the wilderness, Kingsford-Smith and his crew resumed the journey, eventually breaking the record for a flight between Australia and England.

In England, he and Ulm purchased a fleet of four aircraft with which to open an inter-capital air service in Australia. Australian National Airways, as the company was called, commenced operations in January 1930. Business interests in Australia notwithstanding, Kingsford-Smith made an east-west crossing of the Atlantic, receiving a rousing welcome in New York in June 1930. In October he broke the record for a flight between England and Australia, and in November was made an air commodore.

In 1932 he received a knighthood for his services to aviation but he was dogged by business failures and periods of ill-health. In May 1935 he began a trans-Tasman airmail service. But for the bravery of his co-pilot who climbed out onto the wing of their aircraft over the Tasman Sea to repair a damaged engine, the inaugural flight would have ended in disaster.

On 6 November 1935, he and another airman, J. T. Pethybridge, took off from England in an attempt to break yet another aviation record, but the pair were lost when their aircraft crashed into the sea off Burma. (Source: AWM)

Some suspect it may have been his fear of flying over water that lead to the crash that killed him and his co-pilot Tommy Pethybridge in the Andaman Sea off Myanmar on November 8, 1935. Smithy was 38.

While his plane and body were never found, Smithy’s amazing legend lives on in Australia. The Kingsford Smith memorial — near Brisbane Airport, close to where he was born — is home to his plane the Southern Cross. Australia’s busiest gateway for travellers — Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport — is also named after him. His handsome face also featured on the $20 note from 1966 to 1992. (Source: Daily Telegraph)

Trivia

In 1923, Charles Kingsford Smith married Thelma Eileen Hope Corboy. However, the couple separated ways in 1929. In 1930, he married Mary Powell. The couple had a son named Charles.

He appeared in a cameo role in the film ‘Splendid Fellows’ in 1934.

In 1944, a documentary was made on him titled ‘The Old Bus’. Two years later an Australian film ‘Smithy’ was made on his life. (Source: Famous People)

Did You Know? Australia's first $20 note The $20 paper banknote features Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Lawrence Hargrave. It was first issued in 1966. Kingsford Smith broke the record for time taken to fly from Sydney to London - 12 days and 18 hours. Hargrave studied human flight and experimented with models, kites and engines. Size: 160mm by 80mm (Source: Reserve Bank of Australia) The RBA Museum display on 8 February 2019 includes a proposed but unrealised design for that banknote. (Source: RBA Facebook)

YouTube Videos:

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith: A Pioneer of Flight (20mins)
https://youtu.be/-heBwtMsJy8

Charles Kingsford Smith - a Digital Story by the State Library of WA
https://youtu.be/m-Kv-Lm5Hf0

Links

National Archives of Australia Information about this image and Kingsford Smith	Australian Dictionary of Biography Anthology [collection] of websites about Charles Kingsford Smith.
Australian War Memorial - Collection	National Film and Sound Archives: Our heroes of the air
Conversations with Richard Fidler: Ann Blainey 15 February 2019 [Audio 53mins]	Daily Telegraph 7 November 2015 [lots of good photos]
Australian Museum	Australian War Memorial - Fifty Australians 28 - Smithy
Reserve Bank of Australia - History Week
The West Australian 22 March 2018	Kiddle - Charles Kingsford Smith
Wikipedia	National Portrait Gallery By Sir William Dargie

A New Way to celebrate CKS! Mosaically

Primary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking

Australian Curriculum General Capability: ICT Capability

Cooperative Learning Activity

1. In pairs, investigate the stamps, coins, sculptures, posters about Charles Kingsford Smith here.

2. Which way was the best, in your opinion, to celebrate this Australian Aviator? Give reasons.

3. You are going to make a Photo Mosaic of Charles Kingsford Smith. Look at the following YouTube to see what is meant by a Photo Mosaic.

How to fine-tune your mosaic in 5 easy steps (10mins) USA. In inches instead of cms.
https://youtu.be/bDngYmI-DFQ

4. Using Mosaically, you are going to create a wonderful portrait of CKS. Look at this free web app. You will be able to download a print at the end which is 1080 x1080pixels in size.

Go through the whole process before you start using the photos of CKS from the websites above [in the Links' section].

Should Australia have two national airlines? An analysis!

 Middle Secondary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

Australian Curriculum Cross Curriculum Priorities: Sustainability Priority

Cooperative Learning Activity

1. In groups of 3 - 4 students, you are going to carry out an analysis of Australia's airlines. Form into your groups.  You are going to research using the Expert Jigsaw Strategy. Look up this method so individually you know what you are contributing to the group.

2. Individually, read ONE of the following articles from the following articles.

Note down:

• the history of Australian airlines and their collapses including Charles Kingsford-Smith's airline

• the timeline of the airline industry in Australia

• the ownership of Australian airlines

• the revelant points to answer the question: Should Australia have two national airlines? But also note any other points like disruption tactics of minor airlines and their effects. Is it sustainable to have two national airlines?

The Conversation 22 April 2020

The Conversation 14 January 2016  

Airly

The Conversation 20 March 2020

3.

As a group, discuss these individual revelant points and collate them to your group's overall list.

4.

As a class, collate all the groups' lists and then discuss the question:

Should Australia have two national airlines?

 

 

 

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