Evangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways
You've heard of "Wrong Way" Corrigan, the famous aviator who, in 1938, flew from New York to Ireland instead of Long Beach, California? Well, tonight we're feeling a bit like "Wrong Date" Corrigan.
We were really so excited to mark the 80th anniversary today of my wife Maya's great-uncle's legendary, first-ever circumnavigation of the Mediterranean, a trip that energized the Greek nation back in 1928. The problem is, though, we just realized that the date of that pioneering trip was actually two months ago,6/8/08, and not 8/6/08. Tripped up by that darned European custom of putting the day before the month!
Anyway, what's two months among friends? This is still the 80th anniversary year and there is nothing "wrong way" about the exploits of Evangelos Papadacos (Theo Vangeli, or Uncle Vangeli, as Maya knew him when she was growing up in Athens). He is still considered a great hero in Greece, and is grouped among the early pioneers of aviation.
Here's what Theo Vangeli did:
Back in 1928, when long distance air travel was still left only to legendary explorers with names like Lindbergh and Byrd, Evangelos Papadacos piloted a Breguet 19 aircraft bearing the name "Hellas" on the very first trip around the Mediterranean. According to a newspaper article from the time of his death, Papadacos made the trip, which covered 12,000 kilometers, in 78 hours and 30 minutes. Flying with his navigator, Captain Adamidis, the pair's route took them on the following course: Leros--Aden--Haleppi--Benghazi--Algeria--Casablanca--Gibraltar--the Pyrenees--Orleans--Paris--Monaco--Vienna-Belgrade--Bucharest--Sofia--Philapopouli, and, finally, a landing in Salonica. And while American aviation lore of that time is firmly entrenched in the Lindbergh saga, one can't underestimate how important Vangeli's trip is from a European perspective.
In this obituary, which bears the headline, "Evangelos Papdacos, 'Ace of the Airways' Dies," we learn a lot about the flight. (And no, I don't speak Greek, but my wife and mother-in-law certainly do, especially when they don't want me to hear something.) Here is the account of the flight's triumphant last leg back to Athens:
"The Breguet 19 took off from Salonica in the afternoon, accompanied by ten planes which flew with them to Athens, while another two performed above Tatoi (the former summer palace of the Greek Royal Family). The atmosphere vibrated continuously from the military marching, the cheers and the applause of the crowds.
It is beyond description what happened at Tatoi when the "Hellas" landed. The crowd broke through the protective police lines, embracing Papadacos and Adamidis and smothering them with kisses, flowers and national tears of pride.
Filled with emotion, the two heroes stood with difficulty as the Secretary of War congratulated them and awarded them medals, diplomas and commemorative cups."
(For a little video clip, go here and fast forward to the 7:15 mark. It gives you a good sense of the journey.)
I spoke with my mother-in-law (and one of The Dark Slide's most loyal readers) tonight. She remembers that around Vageli's 80th birthday, the television crews all arrived at the Athens home to do interviews. "He was very well known--very famous," she recalled. "Everywhere he stopped on that historic flight he was greeted by heads of state and showered with gifts. In Paris, one of the most famous French aviators of that time welcomed him with his squadron."
It's hard, obviously, for us to imagine ourselves back in a time when there were no daily non-stops from JFK to Rome. Nobody cramming too-large suitcases into overhead compartments, no announcements that "folks, we're number eleven for takeoff," and no such thing as a seat that boasted extra legroom. Explorers like Theo Vangeli and Charles Lindbergh, whose famous flight took place one year earlier, subjected themselves to brutal conditions, freezing temperatures and sleepless nights, all so that we can enjoy--if enjoy is still a word one can use--the benefits of their pioneering exploits in aviation.
Sure, flying may not be what it once was, in this age of high fares and high tension, but the next time you take a quick trip from Paris to Milan, and think, "Well, thatdidn't take very long," give some props (groan) to Evangelos Papadacos.
Oh, one more thing. Remember how I said that we messed up on the date of this anniversary-- that Theo Vangelis' flight really took place on 6/8 and not 8/6? I wish I had a camera this afternoon to record Maya's face when, after pondering our mess-up for a moment, she looked up from her computer and screamed the following:
"Wait a second! June 8th is Alexandra's birthday!!"
That puts our daughter's birth, to the very day, on what would have been the seventy-fifth anniversary of her great-great-Uncle Vangeli's trip.
Update, 8/6/08, 11:00: Thanks to the efforts of a certain someone, we have just added a photo of Theo Vangeli holding Maya-- looking a lot like Alexandra, I might add--on the day or her baptism in 1970.
Things just keep getting curiouser and curiouser.
Take care,
Matt
matt
1 Comment
18 References
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to FriendReferences (18)
-
Response: www.Yaftenews.comEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography -
Response: ocado match com south africaEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: VithitEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: This Web pageEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: AlecEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: kids toysEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: additional hintsEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: Gingetech.comEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: click this link here nowEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: http://Www.Peterboroughelectrician.ca/Evangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: http://wall.ongiroo.mn/profile/peransonEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: Diy Boiler ServicesEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: ArlenEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: simply click for sourceEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: click through the up coming articleEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: click through the up coming articleEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: allotmentEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
-
Response: click through the up coming web siteEvangelos Papadacos, Ace of the Airways - The Dark Slide - Matt Mendelsohn Photography
Reader Comments (1)
Petros