on 31 august 1927 lieutenant colonel frederick f. minchin, known to his colleagues as 'dan', captain leslie hamilton, and princess löwenstein-wertheim took off from upavon airfield in a dutch fokker f.viia named the "st. raphael" in a bid to become the first aviators to cross the atlantic from east to west. the "st. raphael" was last sighted some west of galway heading for newfoundland. the aircraft was never seen again and the fate of minchin, hamilton and löwenstein-wertheim remains a mystery.