An almost forgotten episode in Tanganyikan (and aviation) history was recalled by an auction in Shropshire on June 25 last year. Lot 42 was described as ‘the original Album of Captain F C Broome DFC covering the epic African Exploration Flight of January 1920 ……. including Broome’s original typed notes for his log of the flight.’ It sold for £700.
In 1919 there had been record-breaking flights across the Atlantic and to Australia by Vicars Vim aircraft and the South African government was keen to see a similar flight from London to Cape Town. Lord Northcliffe, owner of the Times newspaper, saw the chance of a scoop. On 4th February 1920 the Times announced in bold headlines that it was sponsoring a flight to Cape Town. This would not be a race, but a serious attempt to show ‘whether Africa can be traversed easily and safely from end-to-end by proper aircraft in ordinary conditions’.

The twin engined Vimy byplane, with two experienced RAF pilots (Captains Broome and Cockerel) and two mechanics on board, left England on 24th January and Broome’s logbook records their rather chequered progress. After leaving Brooklands aerodrome, he ‘nearly took the towers off Crystal Palace’; and having landed at Lyons to refuel, almost caused a strike by ‘asking for 600 gallons of juice’ on a Sunday night.

The plane also stopped at Naples, Malta, Tripoli and Benghazi and finally arrived at Cairo on 3rd February. There it was joined by Dr Charles Mitchell, Director of the London Zoo. who had been appointed Times Special Correspondent. Describing the hazards to be faced in Africa, the Times noted that the aircraft would fly along the east shore of Lake Victoria to avoid the ‘active volcanoes’ on the western shore which were ‘likely to cause atmospheric disturbances, which in their turn might bring about a forced landing among tribes addicted to cannibalism.’

On 5th February the Times revealed that another Vickers Vimy had set out from Brooklands aerodrome the previous day, piloted by two South Africans, Lieutenant Colonel van Ryneveld and Flight Lieutenant Brand. Their aircraft was imaginatively named ‘Silver Queen’.

The Times insisted that there was no race, noting that ‘it was of course never intended that the flight of the Times aero plane should be undertaken in a competitive spirit, but wholly for the purpose of scientific exploration and to test the route through Africa’. Nevertheless, Northcliffe wanted his plane to get to the Cape first.

The Times aircraft left Cairo on 6th February encouraged by a message from Queen Alexandra, and arrived at Khartoum on February 8th after two forced landings. It left Khartoum on February 10th but did not reach Jinja in Uganda until 22nd February. Repeated engine troubles caused more forced landings; adulterated fuel was probably to blame. Several nights were spent camping in the bush with ‘repose often disturbed by lions.’ Meanwhile Van Ryneveld was having his own problems. The Silver Queen crashed between Cairo and Khartoum and was damaged beyond repair. Undaunted, Van Ryneveld returned to Cairo and was lent a Vimey by the RAF. It was christened ‘Silver Queen II’. He left Cairo in the replacement plane on February 22nd After a refuelling stop at Mwanza the Times aircraft landed at Tabora on 26th February. They were greeted by a large crowd led by the Administrator of Tanganyika territory. Broome wrote: ‘Arrived Tabora cheerful. Thought worst part was over.’ But during take-off the next day the Vimy’s starboard engine cut out and the aircraft crash-landed in the scrub. It hit a large anthill and the impact forced the undercarriage into the lower wing. Fortunately none of those in board was injured but the plane was damaged beyond repair. Broome recorded: ‘All disgusted with rotten luck.’

Thus the Great African Exploration flight ended ignominiously on an ant hill.

Meanwhile ‘Silver Queen II’ reached Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia where it to crashed on take-off. The South African Government promptly sent a two seater single engined de Havilland DH9 christened ‘Voortrekker’ as a replacement. Whether or not it was within the spirit of the competition for a different plane to complete the final leg of the journey the two pilots were greeted as heroes when they arrived at Cape Town on 20th March 1920. They were awarded a prize of £5,000 each by the South Africans and were knighted by King George V. In the best traditions of British sportsmanship, the Times commented that ‘while extending our deepest sympathy to Dr Chalmers Mitchell and his gallant companions for the great disappointment which befell them….. we feel that no one will join in our congratulations to Colonel van Ryneveld and Major brand more heartily than they’.

Postscript – The fuselage of the wrecked Vickers Vimy was taken over by the Tabora Sporting Club for use as a pavilion. Do any of our older readers remember it?
John Sankey

Tanzanian researcher Prof. Ernest Njau has said that snow on Mt. Kilimanjaro will not disappear around 2017, as suggested by foreign scientists. He said that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report contained prediction errors due to imperfections in the climate models used. Recent scientific reports had taken the sunspot-climate relationship into account and had come up with a prediction that a 430-year-long global cooling trend was due to start in about the year 2060, and the Ice on Kilimanjaro would return to its original state. He said it was true that the average global temperature had not increased since 1998, despite the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide by 4% over the same period.

Last year, another study on the dwindling ice on the mountain’s cap suggested that global warming had nothing to do with the alarming loss of its snow. US-based scientists Philip Mote and Georg Kaser linked the problem to a process known as sublimation that occurs at below-freezing temperatures and converts ice directly to water vapour with the liquid phase skipped. They said that the Kibo icecap (19,340 feet above sea level) occupied about 12.5 square miles when first measured but this had dwindled to about 7.5 square miles by 1912, to about 4.3 square miles by 1953, and just over 1.5 square miles by 2003 – Guardian.

The British High Commission in Dar has changed its procedures for the issuance of visas. Applications will have to be lodged on-line at least six weeks before the date of travel. Political and Press Officer at the diplomatic mission John Bradshaw told a press conference that visa applications would in future be processed at a central office in Nairobi as part of a plan to reduce the number of British offices handling visa applications – Majira.

Habari Leo commented: This is a shame, to say the least, for such a rich country because in this age and time of technological advancement, when speed and efficiency is the watchword, Britain has decided to impose stringent conditions thus delaying the visa application process…. What happens when, while the passport is being processed in Nairobi, one has to travel elsewhere? Obviously they looked at their own interest without considering the interest of travelers. A cartoon in Mwanchi included the words: ‘You might as well shut down the embassy.’

Mtanzania stated that students from Tanzania applying to study in Britain as from March 2009 would have to get approval from officially accredited universities and colleges.

UK water company Biwater failed in its bid to claim up to US$20 million in damages from the Tanzanian government following the collapse of the controversial water privatisation contract in 2005 (see TA previous issues). The case was heard at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). In 2003, a subsidiary of Biwater, ‘City Water Services’, took on a water privatisation contract in Dar es Salaam. The Tanzanian government cancelled the contract after less than two years, citing City Water Services’ failure to meet the targets set in the contract. The Tribunal has found that while technical breaches of Biwater’s investor rights did occur, Biwater was not entitled to compensation because the breaches were worth zero in monetary value and that the termination of the contract was inevitable. The policy of water privatisation was imposed on Tanzania via a series of conditions set by the World Bank in return for aid, debt relief and cheap loans. The UK government supplied millions in aid to support the wider Tanzanian privatisation programme.

Two British tourists were robbed of £ 2,700 plus other belongings while staying at Breezes Hotel in the South Region of Zanzibar. It is believed that some hotel employees entered their room and broke open a safe deposit box while the guests were out having dinner – Tanzania Daima.

The French Ambassador to Tanzania has announced that the French government had committed $2 million to promote the French language in Tanzania in a three-year programme. He was addressing a meeting of French teachers who now number over 300 – Guardian.

Tanzania received an award for effective use of donor aid in the health sector. The award was made in Accra, Ghana during a review of progress in the implementation of the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Participating countries were given the chance to showcase best practice examples in aid management and effectiveness.

Omar Chambo at the launch of the new train service (Issah Michuzi)

Tanzania Railways Limited launched an additional passenger train service between Dar es Salaam and Kigoma on 13th July. Officiating at the launch ceremony in Dar es Salaam, Infrastructure permanent secretary Omar Chambo said the new service would go a long way in alleviating transport problems between Dar es Salaam and western Tanzania.

The service takes to three the number of weekly journeys between Dar es Salaam and Kigoma, he said, adding that the services were expected to increase to six next month. TRL have ordered 23 coaches from India, which are expected to arrive in the near future. Mr Chambo said the Dar es Salaam-Tanga route had been revived with the relaunch of freight services made possible by the arrival of 25 locomotives. Freight services will also be relaunched between Dar es Salaam and Moshi next month with cement one of the principal cargoes.

TRL managing director Narasimhaswami Jayaram said last week that officials from the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (Sumatra) were in India inspecting train coaches and engines ordered by the firm.

Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda released the results from a recent survey carried out by National Bureau of Statistics with assistance from USAID. The survey interviewed and took blood samples from more than 9,000 women aged 15-49 and close to 7,000 men aged 15-49 in all 26 regions of Tanzania. The results indicated a 4.7% HIV prevalence rate among men and a 6.8% rate among women. This is a slight improvement over the 2003-04 survey which found rates of 6.3% and 7.7% respectively.

Iringa recorded the highest rate of 14.7% (previously 13.4%) followed by Dar es Salaam at 8.9% (previously 10.9%), Mbeya at 7.9% (previously 13.5%) and Shinyanga at 7.6% (previously 6.5%). Zanzibar had the lowest prevalence rate at 0.6%. Age-wise, the highest prevalence was among the 35-39 age group (10%).

The survey also collected information on knowledge of HIV, attitudes and behavourial aspects. Over 98% of respondants had heard about HIV/AIDS. 68.6% of women and 76.3% of men knew that condoms can reduce the risk of contracting HIV, while 82% and 86.6% knew that limiting sex to one uninfected partner who has no other partners would reduce the risk. 85% and 89% where aware that abstaining from sexual intercourse is another recognized prevention method.

With regard to Malaria, 56% of the households covered in the study owned some type of mosquito net (increased from 46% observed in the 2004-05 survey). 37% of children under age five years and 36% of pregnant women slept under a mosquito net. Children and pregnant women in urban areas were found to be twice as likely to use mosquito nets than their rural counterparts.

The overall prevalence of malaria in young children in Tanzania was 18%. In rural areas, 20% of children carried the malaria parasite compared to 7% in urban areas. Kagera had the highest prevalence of malaria among young children (42%) while Arusha had the lowest with less than 1%.

The statement ended “To conclude, these results should be taken as a challenge in the nation’s effort to reduce the incidences of new HIV infections and eradication of malaria among children. We all have to work together towards achieving the desired levels so that we save lives of our people especially children under age five years.”