The Double Eagle II completed the first transatlantic balloon
flight when it landed in a barley field near Paris, 137 hours
after lifting off from Presque Isle, Maine.
The helium-filled balloon was piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie
Anderson and Larry Newman and flew 3,233 miles in the six-
day odyssey.
Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman arrival
in France.
Five years to the day that aviator Charles Lindbergh became
the first pilot to accomplish a solo, nonstop flight across the
Atlantic Ocean, female aviator Amelia Earhart became the
first pilot to repeat the feat, landing her plane in Ireland after
flying across the North Atlantic. Earhart traveled over 2,000
miles from Newfoundland in just under 15 hours.
Unlike Charles Lindbergh, Earhart was well known to the public
before her solo transatlantic flight. In 1928, as a member of a
three-person crew, she had become the first woman to cross
the Atlantic in an aircraft.
Although her only function during the crossing was to keep
the plane’s log, the event won her national fame. For her
solo transatlantic crossing in 1932, she was awarded a
Distinguished Flying Cross by the U.S. Congress.
Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, where Amelia Earhart set off
from on her record-breaking solo flight.
SANDY KOZEL
The Spirit is on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution‘s National Air and Space Museum in
Washington, D.C..
At 7:52 a.m., American aviator Charles A. Lindbergh took off
from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, on the world’s
first solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean and the first
ever nonstop flight between New York to Paris.
Lindbergh, a young airmail pilot, was a dark horse when he
entered a competition with a $25,000 payoff to fly nonstop
from New York to Paris. He ordered a small monoplane,
configured it to his own design, and christened it the Spirit
of St. Louis in tribute to his sponsor–the St. Louis Chamber
of Commerce.
The next afternoon, after flying 3,610 miles in 33 1/2 hours,
Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget field in Paris, becoming the
first pilot to accomplish the solo, nonstop transatlantic crossing.
Lindbergh’s achievement made him an international celebrity
and won widespread public acceptance of the airplane and
commercial aviation.
The Memphis Belle flying back to the US after its 25th
mission over Germany.
On May 17, 1943, the crew of the Memphis Belle, one of a group
of American bombers based in Britain, became one of the first
B-17 crews to complete 25 missions over Europe and return to
the United States.
The Memphis Belle performed its 25th and last mission, in a
bombing raid against Lorient, a German submarine base.
Lt General Jacob Devers (center) shakes hands with one of
the crew of the Memphis Belle before she flew back to the
US in 1943.
Visitors gather for a private viewing of the Memphis Belle, a Boeing B-17 ‘Flying Fortress,’ at the National Museum of the
US Air Force 2018.
