To this day this is still quite a remarkable flight, not many balloons have flown from aircraft carriers while on active service. The cover was flown off the deck of HMS Ark Royal, (R09), the pilot was Lt. T.A.Adams RN (Terry Adams) and the passenger, the mail officer on the ship Lt. H.S.Draper RN, (Howard Draper). The balloon was Bristol Belle, G-AVTL, built by the Hot Air Group, the first modern British built hot air balloon. Terry flew Gannets and Buccaneer's off the ship. Terry had persuaded the Captain to let him take the balloon on board and in return Terry had 'Fly Navy' banners added and having told the mail officer of the ship that 1970 would be the 100th anniversary of the first balloon mail from the Siege of Paris he was keen to be involved too. Terry had been looking to fly from the ship at a number of ports but never got the right weather, but while on duty in the Mediterranean in Autumn 1970 the opportunity arose. The ship was positioned to the north east of the island of Malta based on the forecast given by the ship's meteorological officer. At 06:00 on Sunday 29 November the wind was actually at 3 knots (5kph) from the west! The Officer of the Watch agreed to sail to the other side of the island passing Gozo at 20 knots (37kph), this opportunity was not going to be missed! The ship was positioned to the west of Malta and ran towards the island to give a slight wind over the deck to help with the inflation, with a crew of 2,500 men, they had plenty of help!
The balloon launched at 07:55 and climbed quickly carrying basic equipment including champagne and 4000 items of balloon mail. They were followed by helicopters from the ship. From take off it looked as if the landing would be near Mdina about 5 miles/ (8km)inland. Terry was flying at about 5 knots (9kph) at around 2,500 feet (765m). As they approached the coast the wind direction changed and they started to follow the coast line. Terry climbed a further 500 feet (152m) and this did the trick and they crossed over the coast and headed towards Luqa airfield. Once over land a rapid decent was made and a landing field picked clear of wires etc and they stopped safely after a small drag at 08:25 balloon mail and champagne still intact! After a quick celebration Terry was given a lift to the Post Office in Valetta and the covers were postmarked at 08:30, five minutes after landing. The covers were all given a commemorative post mark recognising the feat.
Covers from the flight can be found for sale on eBay etc. for a few pounds, the more sought after ones though are those signed by both Terry and Howard.