Person Open DS/UK/21979 DS/UK/441 Cobham; Sir; Alan John (1894-1973); English aviation pioneer Cobham Alan John Sir 1894-1973 English aviation pioneer Male The Mail

Sir Alan John Cobham, KBE, AFC (6 May 1894 –21 October 1973) was an English aviation pioneer. A member of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, Alan Cobham became famous as a pioneer of long distance aviation. After the war he became a test pilot for the de Havilland aircraft company, and was the first pilot for the newly formed de Havilland Aeroplane Hire Service. In 1921 he made a 5,000 mile air tour of Europe, visiting 17 cities in 3 weeks. In 1928 he flew a Short Singapore flying boat around the continent of Africa landing only in British territory. In August 1926, he flew from Britain to Australia where 60,000 people swarmed across the grassy fields of Essendon Airport, Melbourne when he landed his DH.50 float plane (it had been converted to a wheeled undercarriage earlier, at Darwin). The return flight was undertaken over the same route. He was knighted the same year. International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes RAHhbryony 7/30/2012 Rachael.Fragola 3/1/2022 5b9a46bf-564d-421b-b113-3bfd80b9b71f