The picture above is the Grumman Gulfhawk II, now on display at the National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. The following story happened in 1938, when Al Williams was taking the Gulfhawk II to England. He had quite a time from the outset of the trip. In order to ship the plane aboard the Queen Mary I, the wings and tail surfaces had to be removed and crated. The uncrated fuselage was lowered into the hold under the watchful eye of Al.

The Queen Mary I was at that time the Queen of the ocean. It was fast and luxurious. After the fuselage had been secured in the hold, Frank Tye (his mechanic and guardian of the Gulfhawk) and Al inspected the lashings to make sure that there wasn’t too much strain on the fuselage.

At the time, European governments were very reluctant to approve the entry of aircraft, especially fighting aircraft such as the GulfHawk II Al Williams was bringing into the country. When the ship arrived and he was ready to submit papers covering entry of the Gulfhawk into England, he encountered some difficulties. A very diligent customs inspector, who didn’t quite understand what an airplane was, attempted to proceed anyway. The inspector had to be convinced that all of the spare parts, auxiliary tools, and safety wire, which must be considered as “imports”, were absolutely necessary to keep the airplane and engine in operating order.

One item in particular that perplexed the inspector was a gadget that resembled the breach of a shotgun. A large box of extra shells (300) were also being carried. Without the shells, the engine could not be started. The customs inspector had no problem approving the 24 shells that were inside the GulfHawk, but wouldn’t permit the 300 extra shells to enter duty free. He couldn’t understand why they needed so many shells, until it was explained to him that they were all necessary to start the engine, with only one use each; the 12 would not be enough Al’s entire stay in England. The inspector finally understood.

Below is a diagram of the cartridge starter that used these shells.

At this moment, Bill Gordon, manager of the Eastleigh Aerodrome in Southampton arrived to meet Al Williams, help him through customs, and transport the plane to the nearby aerodrome.

The Man and his machine.

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© 2009 The Long Island Early Fliers Club, P.O. Box 221, Bethpage, NY 11714-0221 • info@longislandearlyfliers.org