Jean Batten's 1934 record flight from England to Australia set a record of 14 days, 22 hours and 30 minute for a woman flying the distance between the respective countries solo. The record had been first established in 1930 by Amy Johnson.
Batten made two earlier attempts at the record but both failed after she crashed her aircraft in British India and Italy respectively. The successful record flight, made in a Gipsy Moth, began with a departure from Lympne Aerodrome in England on 8 May, and after refueling stops in 14 countries and having flown , she landed at Darwin, in the northwest of Australia on the afternoon of 23 May. She was applauded around the world for her feat. She made four more long-distance record flights, including the first solo flight from England to New Zealand in 1936, before abruptly disappearing from public view. She lived as a recluse for most of the remainder of her life, travelling around the world. Batten died in Palma in Majorca on 22 November 1982 from complications arising from a dog bite.
Background
Jean Batten was born in Rotorua, New Zealand on 15 September 1909 to Frederick Batten, a dentist, and his wife Ellen née Blackmore. The only daughter of the couple, she was encouraged by her mother to pursue masculine endeavours. She gained an interest in flight from an early age and was particularly motivated to learn to fly following a meeting with Charles Kingsford Smith after he completed the first Trans-Tasman flight. Her father refused to support her in her quest to learn to fly so, with her mother, Batten travelled to England in early 1930 for flight training at the London Aeroplane Club (LAC). By the end of the year, she had gained her A-licence to fly.
Batten soon aspired to fly from England to Australia solo in order claim the women's record for the trip of from the Englishwoman Amy Johnson, another member of the LAC. Johnson had set the record, which stood at 19½-days, in May 1930. However, finance proved to be a barrier and she and her mother returned to New Zealand to raise money for the feat. However, she was unsuccessful and by mid-1931, she decided to seek a B licence, which was required to become a commercial pilot, in the belief that it would add to her credibility with potential sponsors. This would require her to log 100 hours of flying time although she had only recorded 30 by this time. In July she returned to England aboard the SMS Rotorua, in a voyage funded by her brother John, and resumed her flight training at the LAC. This was paid for with a £500 loan from Fred Truman, a New Zealand pilot with the Royal Air Force who she had met on her trip out to New Zealand the previous year. Truman left the RAF in 1932 and was soon in London as well, tutoring Batten in navigation while he also worked towards gaining a B licence. Batten gained hers in December 1932 and then disentangled herself from Truman without ever paying back the £500 he lent her.
With an eye to facilitating any necessary repairs to the Gipsy Moth during her attempt on Johnson's record, Batten learnt how to maintain aircraft and their engines. During her time at the LAC, she encountered a number of record-breaking pilots, including Amy Johnson, Jim Mollison and C. W. A. Scott. At this time she also met Victor Dorée, another member of the LAC, who came from a wealthy family. Dorée borrowed £400 from his mother to buy Batten a Gipsy Moth, with which she intended to beat Johnson's record for flying from England to Australia solo. The agreement, as later recalled by Batten in her autobiography, entitled Dorée to half of any profits to be made from the endeavour.
Record attempts from England to Australia
Preparations
The preparations for the record attempt included having her Gipsy Moth fitted with extra fuel tanks to increase its range to . Visas and landing rights in 14 countries were secured, she made arrangements for refueling, and obtained a plethora of information on landmarks along her route. The planned flight path included stops in continental Europe, the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia before landing at Darwin, in the north of Australia.
First attempt
In a departure widely reported by newspaper media, Batten commenced her flight on 9 April 1933 from Lympne Aerodrome. She was not the only pilot attempting to break the record for the trip to Australia at the time; she took off 24 hours after an Italian, Leonida Robbiano, started his endeavour from Lympne.