Captain Jonathan Patrick Saul (15 March 1895 – 22 June 1968) was an Irish aviator and seaman.
Paddy Saul | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 March 1895 |
| Died | 22 June 1968 (aged 73) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Aviation career | |
| Full name | Jonathan Patrick Saul |
| Famous flights | Southern Cross as navigator and first East-West trans-Atlantic flight with Kingsford-Smith, June 1930, also as navigator |
Early life and family
editSaul was one of seven children of Thomas and Catherine Saul.[1] He was born in Skerries, County Dublin in 1894. Saul was educated in St Patrick's Cathedral Grammar School, Dublin, but left education early to pursue a life at sea. His first job was nautical going to sea at the age of fifteen and gained a Master's Certificate in navigation.[2]
Saul's first wife drowned at sea in a boating accident in 1922 off the French coast, Saul swam to safety with their infant daughter and Saul's only child, Patricia.[1] His second wife also predeceased him. He retired and lived at Ashfield Park, Stillorgan, County Dublin.
Army service and later career
editDuring World War I he joined the Royal Flying Corps (1917)[1] and a while after the war the Irish Aero Club, becoming a committee member in 1929. In 1930 he was the navigator for a stage of Charles Kingsford Smith the round-the-world flight in the Fokker F.VIIb/3m trimotor monoplane The Southern Cross.[3] But his most important flight was to navigate the first East to West transatlantic flight from Ireland to Newfoundland in June 1930.[citation needed] Kingsford-Smith captained the flight with Dutch co-pilot Evert van Dyke, radio operator John Stannage, and Paddy Saul navigating. They were treated to a ticker-tape parade in New York on 25 June 1930 - a parade that stretched for miles. They had aimed for New York but ran short on fuel and had to land in Newfoundland after contacting US warship Wyoming by radio.[citation needed]
Saul was amongst the speakers that Lady Heath invited to speak to the National Junior Aviation Club in the 1930s.[4] In 1932, Saul and W.R. Elliott flew Amy Johnson and her husband Jim Mollison over the west of Ireland to survey suitable sites for Mollison's Atlantic attempt in The Heart's Content.[4] Later in his career he was involved with the establishment of Irish Air Traffic Control.[5] Saul became a civilian navigational instructor with the Royal Air Force in 1937, rising to the position of Commanding Officer of Coastal Command Operations at Crown Hill, and implementing a scheme to replace male operatives with women.[2]
Death
editSaul died suddenly, on a fishing boat whilst taking part in the Lough Swilly sea angling festival on 22 June 1968.[1]
Legacy
editSaul was one of four pilots to be commemorated in the An Post series of stamps in 1998 of Irish Aviation Pioneers.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Long, Patrick (2013). "Saul, Jonathan Patrick ('Paddy')". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
- ^ a b c O'Hara Blair, Maureen (1998). Pioneers of Irish Aviation (booklet). Dublin: An Post.
- ^ Ask about Ireland. "The Pioneers". Ask about Ireland. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ^ a b Traynor, Michael (2004). Iona: Irelands First Commercial Airline. Ireland. ISBN 9780954919405.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Unknown (23 June 2000). "Joy over cash boost for flight sculpture". Fingal Independent. Retrieved 15 February 2015.