PARIS-SAIGON IN 1934
By Jean Peraud
L'entreprise "Avions H. M. D. Farman" (Les trois frères Henri, Maurice et Dick Farman en furent les fondateurs) 167, rue de Silly, Billancourt (Seine).
In December 1933, thanks to my paternal grandmother and to the Aero-Club of Charente, the Renault and Farman companies, I acquired a prized possession: my famous Farman 356, Number 1, fitted with a 120/140 Hp. Renault/Bengali engine.
I immediately proceeded to do a thorough tune-up; as a test-flight, I flew from Paris to Tunis in 10 hours on April 14, 1934. As of that day, I knew I would go to Saigon as my airplane was wonderfully up to the task.
Trip log :
26 July
Day one :
2 legs :
Paris-Rome
Rome-Athens
2,250 kilometers
1st leg, Paris-Rome: 1,300 kilometers
- Departed Le Bourget at 0350h. Paris-Avignon in a straight line. Bad weather over the Alps forced me to make a detour.
- Avignon, Corsica, Rome : straight course.
2nd leg, Rome-Athens: 1,250 kilometers.
-By way of Naples, Brindisi, Corfu, Agrigou, Athens.
Night landing at 2030h.
Bad weather the whole trip.
27 July
2 legs
Athens-Alep
Aleppo-Baghdad
2,200 kilometers
1st leg, Athens-Aleppo: 1,425 kilometers
-Departed Athens at 0130h, local time. Over the Aegean Sea I get caught in a thunder storm at an altitude of 2,500 meters; I got out of the storm twice at 800 meters. I notice that lightning had struck my airplane numerous times but without damaging it.
2nd leg, Aleppo-Baghdad : 775 kilometers
- Upon arrival in Baghdad I landed in darkness.
28 July
2 legs
Bagdhad-Bouchir
Bouchir-Djask
1,750 kilometers
1st leg Baghdad-Bouchir : 875 kilometers
As of Daghora, five hundred kilometers were flown in total darkness, in a violent sandstorm.
2nd leg Bouchir-Djask: 875 kilometers
The trip was flown at approximately 200 km/h. I lifted the engine cover, which I hadn’t looked at since Athens… it’s stronger than I am…!
29 July
2 legs
Djask-Karatchi
Karatchi-Jodhpur
1,600 kilometers
1st leg, Djask-Karachi: 950 kilometers
150 kms flown in the rain.
2nd leg, Karachi-Jodhpur: 650 kilometers
The first 300 in the rain.
From Karachi to Calcutta, one must watch out for large birds called scavengers. They sleep in the air, staying aloft on strong ascending air currents. When one seeks to pass below these birds, the engine noise awakens and frightens them and they fold their wings and drop like a stone, thus risking damage to the airplane.
30 July
2 legs
Jodpur-Allahabad
Allahabad-Calcutta
1700 kilometers
1st leg, Jodhpur-Allahabad: 950 kilometers
- The weather report ended like this: ‘be careful, very great danger’.
- I took off at 0400h, local; after two hours flying, I ran into the monsoon for three hours and found myself in torrential rain such that we can’t even imagine in our country. I didn’t know if my airplane would hold up.
2nd leg, Allahabad-Calcutta: 750 kilometers
- Two adversaries: The “scavenger birds”, in far greater numbers on this trip, and the monsoon.
Headwind of 30 to 40 km/h.
31 July
2 legs
Calcutta-Akyab
Akyab-Rangoon
1200 kilometers
1st leg, Calcutta-Akyab; 600 kilometers
On this trip the least breakdown could lead to death: sea, mountains, virgin forest: drowning, freezing to death, or being eaten!
On July 31st, at 0500h, local, my Farman-Renault, loaded to nearly 80 Kgs per square meter of wing-loading, on a soggy field, made a normal takeoff and cleared the high trees along the edge of the airfield by about 10 meters..This takeoff mightily impressed the British: it said a lot for the quality of my 100% French equipment, down to the spark plugs and instruments.
Out of curiosity, I took a look at one of the Renault spark plugs; it looks as new as it did in Paris.
2nd leg, Akyab-Rangoon : 600 kilometers
The airfield at Akyab is nearly unusable during the monsoon, due to being partially flooded, and for takeoff and landing there is only a strip of bricks 30 by 300 meters long, at a 60 degree angle to the prevailing monsoon.
Thanks to my low-wing Farman, and with very careful use of my ailerons, I was able to land and take off safely while fully loaded. This leg was flown into a 50 to 60 km/h headwind; my cruising (ground) speed was 120 km/h.
1 August
2 legs
Rangoon-Bangkok
Bangkok-Saigon
1,500 kilometers
1st leg, Rangoon-Bangkok: 700 kilometers.
The most difficult leg of the Paris-Saigon journey.
The immensity of the jungle; overflight of the sea for 450 kilometers, always with a 50 to 60 km/h headwind. Crossing the Burma hump at 2,500 meters between two layers of cloud that sometimes merged.
2nd leg, Bangkok-Saigon: 800 kilometers.
A few thunderstorms, which didn’t seem like much after the monsoon.
The factors that led to the success of this endeavor:
The Paris-Saigon Challenge Cup was won by a Master, establishing the talents of the pilot, Jean PERAUD: perseverance, confidence, courage, linked to his value as a navigator.
However, the equipment should also be mentioned as having won out over :
- lightning strikes
- sandstorms
- torrential monsoon rains
The Farman airplane was not affected by the poor weather conditions. The 120 hp RENAULT-Bengali engine didn’t miss a beat despite the worst possible meteorological conditions that could have affected its proper performance.
The Paris-Saigon Cup was a total success.
PERFORMANCE OF THE FARMAN 356 No.1 EQUIPPED WITH A RENAULT-BENGALI ENGINE | |
---|---|
Maximum Speed | 240 km/h |
Cruise Speed | 200 km/h |
Minimum Speed (stall) | 85 km/h |
Range | 1,800 km |
Arrival at Le Bourget airport
Aviator Jean Peraud’s return to Le Bourget.
"The Paris-Saigon Raid in 6 days, 6 hours"
with the famous Farman 356 Renault-Bengali airplane, the "City of Angoulème II".