- This article is about Amy Johnson, an aviator. For the actress, see Amy Jo Johnson.
Amy Johnson (July 1, 1903 – January 5, 1941) was a famous English aviatrix who was born in Kingston upon Hull.
Having graduated with a BA Economics from the University of Sheffield, Johnson went to work in London as secretary to a solicitor. She was introduced to flying as a hobby, gaining a pilot's licence at the London Aeroplane Club in late 1929.
From this, she went on to qualify as the first British-trained woman ground engineer.
She became well-known in 1930 when she was the first woman to fly from Britain to Australia. She left Croydon on May 5 of that year and landed in Darwin, Australia on May 24 after flying 11,000 miles. Her aeroplane for this flight a De Havilland Gypsy Moth (registration G-AAAH) named Jason, can still be seen in the Science Museum in London. She received a Harmon Trophy in recognition of this achievement.
In July 1931, she set the record for flying from England to Japan in a De Havilland Puss Moth co-piloted with Jack Humphreys .
In July 1932, she set a solo record for the flight from England to Cape Town, South Africa, also in a Puss Moth. She was later to regain this record, this time flying a Percival Gull , in May 1936.
In 1932, she married the famous British pilot Jim Mollison, who had proposed to her only 8 hours after they had met, during a flight of theirs.
With Mollison, she flew a De Havilland Dragon Rapide nonstop from Pendine Sands, South Wales, to the USA in 1933. The plane ran out of fuel and crashed in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The Mollisons also flew nonstop in record time to India in 1934 in a De Havilland Comet in the England to Australia air race. Johnson was to divorce Mollison in 1938.
During World War II, she worked as a ferry pilot with Transport Auxiliary and, on January 5, 1941, whilst flying an Airspeed Oxford to RAF Kidlington near Oxford, she went missing. She was presumed killed in a crash into the Thames estuary, though her body was never recovered.
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