The present world record is 6,306 miles. If, as it is hoped, one or more of the machines reaches Port Darwin, a non-stop distance of 7,162 statute miles on the great circle will have. been flown and a new world record will have been created.
The plans provide for the aircraft io fly in loose formation or independently, at the discretion of the leader. The planes are standard Vickers Wellesleys as supplied to the Royal Air Force and modified for long-range development work, They have an all-up weight, fully loaded, of about 19,000 Ib. compared with 11,000 lb. for the standard service type. They are fitted with automatic flying control.
Three British warships, the Dept-ford, Investigator and Swan, stationed in the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Timor Sea, will act as an operational link in the chain of communications.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.