Malta

2015

Commemorative coin

First flight from Malta

Official Journal of the European Union

The coin commemorates an important milestone in Maltese aviation history — the 100 years since the first flight from Malta. It was on 13 February 1915 that Captain Kilmer took off from the Grand Harbour on a seaplane that was carried by HMS Ark Royal. The plane landed in the harbour after a 55-minute flight. The coin depicts Captain Kilmer’s seaplane with Senglea Point, a prominent feature in the Grand Harbour, in the background. At the top the inscription ‘FIRST FLIGHT FROM MALTA’ in semi-circle. At the right the years ‘1915-2015’. At the bottom left the inscription ‘100TH ANNIVERSARY’ and at the bottom the initials of the designer ‘NGB’ (Noel Galea Bason). The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

Additional information

After the prototype of the two-seater seaplane Short Admiralty Type 135 with serial number 136 had taken part in the British attack on Cuxhaven on 25 December 1914, it was transported to Malta by the aircraft mother ship HMS Ark Royal. There the seaplane, piloted by Cecil Francis Kilner, took off from Grand Harbour in Vittoriosa on 13 February 1915 and landed back in port after a flight of 55 minutes - the flight marked the beginning of Maltese aviation. The aircraft was then used at the Dardanelles to accompany ship convoys and to fight enemy submarines, armed with two 50 kg torpedoes. However, the commemorative coin was inspired by a photograph of a similar aircraft with serial number 320, shown in flight over the Fort St. Angelo fortress in Senglea.

Edge lettering

Designer