1-158-576 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Amy Johnson, British aviator, about to set out for Cape Town, 1932. Johnson (1903-1941) saying goodbye to her husband, fellow pilot James Mollison, before starting off. She created a new record for a solo flight from London to Cape Town, completing the trip in 4 days, 6 hours and 54 minutes, beating her husband's record by 10 hours, 28 minutes. In 1930 Johnson became the first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia in her DH60 Moth aeroplane 'Jason' and in 1933 she flew non-stop across the Atlantic in a De Havilland biplane with Mollison. Johnson joined the Air Transport Auxilary as a pilot in World War II, during which she was lost after baling out over the Thames estuary.