Aviation History – August 27, 1913. Not less than 125,000 francs, such is the endowment of the aviation prize which the British newspaper The Daily Mail is at the origin, namely the Tour of England. A competition in which the Hawker pilot takes part, but unfortunately with little success. His first attempt was a failure and this Wednesday, August 27, 1913, while he is trying the test again, he will be the victim of an accident!
The aviator Hawker shows a certain perseverance since on August 25, 1913, he sets out again to conquer this prize, which consists of covering a distance of 2,575 kilometers with a certain time limit, the raid not having to exceed 72 hours and to be carried out with a seaplane, which must be 100% British built. With Harry Kauper Southampton as a traveling companion, Hawker took off at 5:30 a.m. on August 25, 1913, piloting a Sopwith biplane on this occasion.
On August 27, 1913, not far from Dublin, he ended up in the sea, his foot slipped from the rudder when he wanted to make adjustments to his engine, which was failing. A bad maneuver which reduced his try to nothing… The two men will come out of it but Kauper will be injured in the head and will have a broken arm.
