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| ~ Hall of Heroes ~ First Transatlantic Flight (Info found here) |
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| When we visited NAS Pensacola this summer and toured the Naval Air Museum (again!) I went through the display about this Transatlantic Flight. Although it's a bit different from our usual "Hall of Heroes," I hope you'll forgive the diversion and enjoy the story. |
The year was 1917 and just months after America's entry into World War II Rear Admiral David W. Taylor, Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, tasked engineers with designing an aircraft that could fly across the Atlantic to the coastlines of Europe and be ready to patrol for German U-boats upon arrival. Over the course of the ensuing weeks, the Navy consulted with aircraft manufacturer Glenn Curtiss, the designer of most of the Navy's early aircraft, and the to parties soon embarked upon a joint effort to construct what would become known as the NC boats, "N" denoting Navy and "C" denoting Curtiss.
Work on NC-1, the first of the aircraft, commenced in December 1917. A study in craftsmanship, the design incorporated intricate wood work, a maze of wire struts, and many square feet of fabric covering their wings. So large that they could not be assembled in one location, the aircraft components were  completed at a host of small factories in the northeast, many of them boat manufacturers. One provider of small metal parts, Under Brothers & Company, in peacetime made an array of jewelry. When completed, a mammoth wooden hull constructed of two levels of cedar planking supported sweeping wings that stretched to 126 feet. Four Liberty V-12 engines fed from tanks containing 1,891 gallons of gasoline provided 1,600 horsepower, enabling a top speed of 85 miles per hour when the aircraft was at its fully loaded weight of 28,000 lb. Delivery of th NC-1 occurred in late-1918, just weeks before the signing of the Armistice ending the war that had prompted it construction. The NC boats now appeared to be aircraft without a mission. Yet, even before the guns fell silent on the Western Front, a bold proposal written by Commander John H. Towers, Naval Aviator Number 3, was working its way through the hierarchy of the Navy Department. When peace returned, it called for an effort by the U.S. Navy to regain American prestige in aviation by achieving the feat that all who flew aspired to most-flying the Atlantic. The natural platform for the task were the NC flying boats.
As 1918 passed into 1919, three additional NC boats joined NC-1 as the men selected to attempt to fly the Atlantic under the command of Commander John H. Towers set about making modifications to the aircraft and outfitting them with an array of radio and navigational equipment. The officer assigned to work on the latter was Lieutenant Commander Richard E. Byrd, who was denied the opportunity to participate in the transatlantic flight, but later achieved fame in his aerial exploration of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Test flights on the machines commenced, with NC-2 carrying aloft Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt on 13 April 1919, and NC-4 taking to the air for her maiden flight on 1 May 1919.
On 3 May 1919 crews of the NC-1, NC-3, and NC-4 gathered in front of their aircraft at Naval Air Station (NAS) Rockaway, Long Island, for the commissioning ceremonies of Seaplane Division One, which would attempt to fly the Atlantic. In the ensuing days a series of mishaps occurred that cast a pall over the endeavor, including a fire that damaged the NC-1 and one of the NC-4's crewman accidentally sticking his hand into one of the flying boats whirring propellers during an engine test, cutting it off and necessitating his removal from the flight.
By 8 May 1919, with unfavorable weather having cleared and a four leaf clover presented to each crew member for luck, the three flying boats of Seaplane Division One finally launched on the first scheduled leg of the their flight from Naval Air Station (NAS) Rockaway Beach, Long Island, to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Only two completed the nine-hour trip successfully, the NC-4 being forced down off Massachusetts with engine trouble, bearing out the words of the aircraft's engineering officer on the occasion of the planes' departure. "If we don't make it," Lieutenant J.L. Breese commented to a reporter, "it will be the fault of the engines." While her sister aircraft made it to Trepassey, Newfoundland, NC-4 remained behind undergoing repairs at Naval Air Station (NAS) Chatham, Massachusetts, the media giving her the derogatory nickname the "Lame Duck."
While the engines were NC-4's nemesis, the weather proved her saving grace, delaying the departure of NC-1 and NC-3 from Trepassey, Newfoundland, and allowing NC-4 to catch up. Finally reunited, the crew of the NC-4 having worked for much of the night to ready their craft, the flying boats of Seaplane Division One launched into the still light early evening sky on 16 May 1919, bound for the Azores Islands with twenty-one destroyers, including ones commanded by future World War II admirals William F. Halsey and Raymond A. Spruance, positioned along their intended path. A New York Times reporter described the scene this way. "For barely three minutes, the three seaplanes "stood out on the horizon in the still bright sunlight, keeping the regular division formation. Then the leading plane, and quickly after her the other two, disappeared from view, committed to the greatest journey aviators ever have undertaken."
As day turned into night, the three NC boats winged their way towards the Azores Islands in the longest and most demanding leg of the transatlantic flight, covering a distance of some 1,200 nautical miles. Early on the aircraft remained within sight of one another, the star shells fired from destroyers on station below exploding above banks of clouds that Commander John Towers in NC-3 likened to "sailing over a sea of snow." Gradually, increasing clouds and rain caused the aircraft to separate, with NC-1 and NC-3 drifting off course and having to make forced landings in the waters of the North Atlantic. Only NC-4 successfully reached the Azores, the crew of NC-1 rescued by a Greek freighter and the crew of NC-3 actually taxied their battered craft for 205-miles to the destination they had hoped to reach by air.
The "Lame Duck" became the sole survivor of Seaplane Division One, but weather that had been NC-4s ally earlier in the flight caused delays in completing the subsequent legs of the flight from Horta to Ponta Delgada and on to Lisbon, Portugal. Finally, on 27 May 1919, 1801 hours local time- the keel of the NC-4 flying boat sliced through the waters of the harbor in Lisbon, Portugal. Both man and machine showed the effects of the long flight, which was accomplished over the course of nineteen days across thousands of miles of ocean. The aircraft's commander, Lieutenant Commander Albert C. Read, wrote later to his wife that the successful flight represented, "a continuous run of unadulterated luck," but indeed the skill and bravery of the crew combined with fortuity in making the NC-4 and her crew the first to fly the Atlantic.
Continuing on to England following the landing in Portugal, Read and his men received what he called "a continuous crescendo of congratulations" there and in France. When the aircraft and her crew returned to the United States, they were the objects of much acclaim. NC-4 was placed on public display in New York City's Central Park, and after refurbishment, launched on an aerial recruiting tour of the Southeastern United States, during which she flew along the Atlantic seaboard, Gulf Coast, and up the Mississippi River.
Following the completion of the tour in January 1920, the aircraft was displayed on one more occasion next to the Washington Monument, and then placed in storage until 1969, at which time the Smithsonian National Air Museum, having restored the aircraft, placed it on outdoor display on the Washington Mall on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of its flight. In 1974, the Smithsonian placed the aircraft on loan to the National Naval Aviation Museum. |
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On loan from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the Navy/Curtiss NC-4 flying boat is one of the most famous aircraft in the world. In May 1919, it became the first aircraft in history to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. To learn more about this technological marvel and view images taken during its service in 1919 and 1920, click here.
 Complementing the display of the famous NC-4 flying boat is an exhibit telling its brief, but eventful, career. The exhibit, built to look like the interior of a wooden hangar from the era in which the NC-4 operated, tells the story of its construction, transatlantic flight, recruiting tour of the Southeastern United States, and eventual restoration by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Included are artifacts from members of the crew.
Walter Hinton joined the Navy in 1908, serving as an enlisted man in various ships before reporting to Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida, for flight training in April 1917. He was the co-pilot of the NC-4 on its transatlantic flight and participated in the aircraft's recruiting tour. Walter Hinton was a born adventurer and after resigning his commission in 1922, he completed a goodwill flight between New York City and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, sponsored by the New York World newspaper. During 1924–1925 he conducted an aerial mapping of 12,000 square miles of the Amazon in Brazil as part of the Rice Scientific Expedition. He lived long enough to see the unveiling of the NC-4 on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the transatlantic flight and visited it after it was placed on display in Pensacola. He was the last surviving crew member of the NC-4.
Pioneer aircraft manufacturer Glenn H. Curtiss even before World War I had visions of an aircraft flying the Atlantic. Teaming up with the Navy to produce the NC flying boats, he was justifiably proud of the accomplishment of the NC-4 and awarded each member of the crew a watch. The one that belonged to Lieutenant (junior grade) Walter Hinton, NC-4's co-pilot, displays a unique design on its face that spells out the letters "NC" to commemorate the aircraft.
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Lieutenant Commander Albert C. Read, a native of New Hampshire, was diminutive in stature, but accomplished one of the giant feats in all of aviation history as commander of NC-4. Hailed as the “next Columbus” by some, he was never comfortable with the public adulation that came with flying the Atlantic. Following the flight, the 1907 Naval Academy graduate continued his service in the Navy, eventually rising to the rank of rear admiral during World War II. He died in 1967.
 Among the first accolades delivered to Lieutenant Commander Albert C. Read and the crew of the NC-4 came in the form of an official message from Chief of Naval Operations Admiral William S. Benson. Subsequently, Read and his men received what he called “a continuous crescendo of congratulations,” meeting everyone from ordinary citizens to the President of the United States and Prince of Wales and making the rounds of parties and receptions with free-flowing champagne toasting the conquerors of an ocean.
Though the NC-4 completed the transatlantic flight in May 1919, not until nearly a  decade later did the United States Congress commission a unique medal to award to the crew. On once side of the gold medal appeared a seagull flying above ocean waves, while the side pictured here includes the names of the NC-4's crew as well as that of Commander John H. Towers, the overall commander of the three NC flying boats that attempted to complete the transatlantic crossing. Those involved in the flight received a host of military awards from the United States as well as Portugal and the United Kingdom, including the Order of the Tower and Sword from the former and the latter nation's Distinguished Flying
Cross.
Much like Parisians grabbed whatever they could off of the Spirit of St. Louis when  Charles Lindbergh landed in France following his solo flight across the Atlantic in 1926, parts of the NC-4 were prized commodities. With the fabric on the aircraft's wings removed in preparation for its recruiting tour during the latter part of 1919 into early 1920, original fabric from the transatlantic flight was a popular souvenir. Link |
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Lamh Foistenach Abu!
