1935: Jean Batten

Posted By on Apr 26, 2011 |

Garbo of the Skies

Born in New Zealand, Jean had many great aviation achievements and set several records. She has been called the “Garbo of the Skies”, because she was very glamourous and reminded people of an actress called “Greta Garbo” who was very famous back then.

Here is some movie footage…


Jean’s Gypsy Moth aircraft, 1934

Jean Batten

  • 1934: England to Australia
    14 days 22 hours 30 minutes
    (10,500 miles, womens record)
  • 1935: Australia to England
    17 days 15 hours
    (First woman return flight)
  • 1935: England to Brazil:
    61 hours 15 minutes
    (5000 miles, world record)
  • 1936: England to New Zealand
    11 days 45 minutes
    (14,224 miles, world record)
  • 1937: England to Australia
    5 days 18 hours 45 minutes
    (solo record)

References

Jean Batten (Wikipedia)
Jean Batten (Monash Uni)
Jean Batten Gallery(Monash)
YouTube (by Bomberguy)
Female Aviators (Wikipedia)

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Author: Roger Codger

Roger has plenty of stories to tell about the aviators of years gone by, and the golden age of aviation when anything was possible. We love hearing him talk about the heroes of the past, some famous and others not so -- courageous pioneers who made aviation what it is today.

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