Show THE TI transatlantic ANS ATLANTIC FLIGHTS since some confusion of thought seems to have arisen as regains the flights that have been made across the atlantic ocean the following facts regarding flights made prior to 1927 may be of timely interest inte int iest elest the first actual transatlantic flight was made in may 1919 when the american naval seaplane NC 4 in charge of lieu t comm commander ander A C read flew in five hops from rockaway beach L I 1 to plymouth eng under the auspices of the united states government this trip took from may alay 8 to may 27 the distance covered being nautical miles and the flying time fifty two hours and thirty one minutes this flight was arranged not as a venture of any kind but an official order and under official indorsement endorsement indor to be conducted in the safest possible manner the first nonstop transatlantic night flight was accomplished in a vickers vinly vimy bomber by two british fliers capt john alcock and arthur brown the distance of nearly 1900 miles from st johns newfoundland to Clift clifteen len on the west coast of ireland being covered in sixteen hours and twelve minutes on june 1415 14 15 1919 the report of the crashing of their machine on oil landing has been greatly exaggerated the truth being that as alcock neared the ground he saw when it was too late to help himself that the supposed field he was making for was really a bog the instant the wheels lit hit the muck they plowed into it to their hubs pitching the nose of the machine deeply into the mire and all but hulling the aviators out of the cockpit in a few minutes however they had fully recovered some of the incidents connected with this flight recall vividly stories of more recent date one reads for instance t hat atiat while alcock and his friends were being lavishly feted in london a sweet little woman in manchester whose eyes were unwontedly brilliant was besieged in her home by visitors there were so many of them that they had bad to stand in line as she returned their greetings and often she was heard to say thank you very kindly I 1 had faith in my son john told me lie he would make that long trip safely and he did closely following this flight in july of the same year came the trip of the british lighter than air machine R 35 36 under the command of major G H scott this huge dirigible sailed from east fortune on the east coast of scotland to new york between july 2 and 8 carrying six officers twenty crew and three passengers and covering miles in hours this same balloon made the return trip a few days later covering the distance in sixty four hours and thirteen minutes finally the monster zeppelin 3 made the flight from friedrichshafen Friedrichs hafen Gerni germany any by way of but not landing at the azores newfoundland and nova scotia to lakehurst N J the distance being miles this trip was started on oct 12 1924 the time in the air being eighty one hours and seventeen minutes it was this airship s which the united states government later accepted and named the los angeles |