Transatlantic flight of Alcock and Brown
John Alcock and Arthur Brown were British aviators who, in 1919, made the first non-stop transatlantic flight. They flew a modified First World War Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, County Galway, Ireland. The Secretary of State for Air, Winston Churchill, presented them with the Daily Mail prize for the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by aeroplane in "less than 72 consecutive hours". A small amount of mail was carried on the flight, making it the first transatlantic airmail flight. The two aviators were awarded the honour of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) by King George V at Windsor Castle a week later.
Alcock and Brown taking on mail
Statue of Alcock and Brown at London Heathrow Airport (now located at Brooklands Museum)
Captain John Alcock stowing provisions aboard Vickers Vimy aircraft before trans-Atlantic flight 14 Jun 1919
The Alcock and Brown Vimy after take-off from Newfoundland
A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Latin America, or vice versa. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing aircraft, airships, balloons and other aircraft.
The Curtiss H-2 America was supposed to make a trans-atlantic flight attempt in 1914 but WW1 broke out. At one point the aircraft had three engines, one on the top wing, to build duration. The plane could not take off fully fueled with three engines.
Martin-Handasyde monoplane to have been used by Gustav Hamel in a east-to-west Atlantic attempt. Hamel disappeared in May 1914 and the large monoplane partially built was never completed.
The U.S. Navy's NC-4, first aircraft to cross the Atlantic though in stages May 1919.
Alcock and Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. They took off from St John's, Newfoundland, and landed in Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.
