Jean Batten
| Jean Batten | |
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Jean Batten in 1937
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| Full name | Jean Gardner Batten |
| Born |
15 September 1909 Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand |
| Died | 22 November 1982 (aged 73) Palma, Majorca, Spain |
| Cause of death | Complications following dog bite |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Aviation career | |
| Known for | Record breaking trans-world flights |
Jean Gardner Batten CBE OSC (15 September 1909 – 22 November 1982) was a New Zealand aviator. Born in Rotorua, she became the best-known New Zealander of the 1930s, internationally, by making a number of record-breaking solo flights across the world. She made the first-ever solo flight from England to New Zealand in 1936.
Jane Batten (named "Jane" at birth, her name soon metamorphosed into "Jean") was born to Frederick Batten, a dental surgeon, and Ellen Batten (who would become her strong supporter in her choice of a pilot career). She had two older brothers. In 1913 the family moved to Auckland. In 1924 Batten was enrolled into a girls' boarding college in Remuera in Auckland where she studied ballet and piano. Though she was a gifted pianist, at age 18 she determined to become a pilot after the Australian pilot Charles Kingsford Smith took her for a flight in his Southern Cross airplane.
In 1929, she and her mother moved to England, to join the London Aeroplane Club. She took her first solo flight in 1930 and gained private and commercial licences by 1932, borrowing £500 from Fred Truman, a New Zealand pilot serving in the Royal Air Force who wanted to marry her, to fund the 100 hours flying time required. After completing her "B" license in December 1932, she left Truman and turned to Victor Dorée, who borrowed £400 from his mother to buy Batten a Gipsy Moth biplane. According to NZ History Online, "Raising money by taking advantage of her relationships with men was a theme that continued throughout her flying career."
Batten made two unsuccessful attempts to beat Amy Johnson's time to Australia. In April 1933 she hit two sandstorms before the engine failed, and wrecked the aircraft. She crash-landed near Karachi. Returning to London she could not persuade Dorée to buy her another aircraft, so she turned to the Castrol oil company, which bought her a second-hand Gipsy Moth for £240. She made another attempt in April 1934, but ran out of fuel at night on the outskirts of Rome. Crashing into a maze of radio masts, she nearly severed her lip. The plane was repaired and she flew it back to London, where she borrowed the lower wings from the aircraft of her fiancé, stockbroker Edward Walter, for a third attempt.
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Wikipedia