Posted on 11/13/2010 5:17:28 AM PST by atomic conspiracy
Charles Lindbergh is renowned as the first person to fly across the Atlantic, but according to new research, he was beaten to the achievement ten days earlier. According to French aviation enthusiast Bernard Decré, Lindbergh was only the first to complete the crossing and survive, with two French pilots believed to have reached the coast of Canada ten days before Lindbergh's Spirit of St Louis touched down in Paris in May 1927. New documentary evidence found in the U.S. national archives may prove that Charles Nungesser and Francois Coli completed a transatlantic crossing and were the first men to do so, though they were likely killed in the process. The fate of Nungesser and Coli has been called the 'Everest of aviation mysteries' with their disappearance sparking a raft of conspiracy theories, including speculation that their sea plane, L'Oiseau Blanc, was shot down by Maine bootleggers who feared police surveillance. But the discovery of a U.S. Coast Guard telegram which tells of the wreckage of a white aircraft seen floating some 200 miles off the New York coast on August 18 1927 could have solved the riddle - and changed Lindbergh's role in the history books. The American aviator successfully flew the Spirit of St Louis from New York to Le Bourget in France on May 20-12 1927, winning a $25,000 prize offered by hotelier Raymond Orteig as well as claiming the U.S. Medal of Honour and the French Legion d'Honneur. Yet according to Mr Decré, 70, Lindbergh's triumph - and the improved U.S.-Franco relations that followed - was only made possible by a cover-up of the fateful flight of L'Oiseau Blanc. Wrecked: Documentary evidence tells of the remains of a white plane, possibly Nungesser and Coli's L'Oiseau Blanc (pictured), being found 200 miles off the New York coast
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Sorry France, but Nungesser and Coli crashed and burned and died and FAILED.
A good point. Nungesser was a great, great aviator (43 victories, third highest among French fliers). I don’t think he would appreciate this a bit.
The Vichy government was still in charge even while the nazis occupied Paris.
The French Army lead by the great war General, De Gaulle, spearheaded the invasion on D-Day {June 6, 1944} and freed the American Army from the clutches of those nasty Nazis.
All over Europe, the French Army freed those American prisoners of war, and to this day, June the 6th is regarded as the Second Birthday of the United States and is the reason that the USA spends so much of it's time and treasure protecting the French people today.
Remember, when the frogs are in the water, keep the temperature increase at a nice even, low rate, and they will hum themselves to sleep...before boiling.
Compared to being dead it’s good. Some things are assessed in relation to other things.
...on a horse, no doubt.
NO!
We can't afford to rebuild France after they surrender!
A5 Uncompleted Flight. A flight is deemed to be uncompleted if; EITHER,
An accident occurs during the flight resulting in the death of any member of the crew within 48 hours or, except for parachuting events, any person leaves the aircraft during the flight ; .....
Sigh! Do you really think the French really care about the facts?
I think the operative word here, even if the alleged French aviators made it to the North American coast, is “successfully”. Lindburgh “successfully” (meaning he survived): flew across the Atlantic to France—alone.
As you've already done an excellent job debunking the bizarre straw men in the article, no need to comment on that. I do have to wonder if the Daily Mail missed a few heads when they recently chopped a thousand from their work force. They either missed these idiot staffers or cut one too many editors.
“Compared to being dead it’s good. Some things are assessed in relation to other things.”
The way it’s phrased, though, you’re not comparing it to death. That’s the thing. We say “any landing you can walk away from,” which means it’s being compared to other landings. Most landings, I’d guess, are better than crashes. That means the phrase is B.S.
Put it this way: a certain percentage of landings end in death. Another percentage end just fine. Crashing without dying is in the middle. Marginally better than death, but because deaths are on the lower end of the probability scale, non-fatal crashes are much worse than the majority of landings. In that case, crash landings that you can walk away from are not “good” in comparison to the majority.
Ditto......SOLO.
Never heard it any other way.
IN any case, based on the CG report, it looks like Nungesser and Coli came up 200 miles short.
The Frogs also occasionally try to claim the first heavier than air flight, too:
* Clément Ader, France — October 9, 1890
He reportedly made the first manned, powered, heavier-than-air flight of a significant distance (50 m) but insignificant altitude from level ground in his bat-winged monoplane, the Ader Éole . Seven years later, the Avion III (a different machine) was said to be flown upon 300 metres (in fact just lifted off the ground, and lost control). The event was not publicized until many years later, as it had been a military secret. The events were poorly documented, the aeroplane not suited to have been controlled; there was no further development. Later in life Ader claimed to have flown the Avion II in 1891 for over 200 meters.
Whatever one may think of the French in general, it is quite unfair to disparage Charles Nungesser. He was one of the greatest French great fighter aces of WW1 (45 victories). A visit here - http://usfighter.tripod.com/nungesser.htm - will provide some background on an extraordinarily brave man. The photo in the Daily Mail article shows on the fuselage side of the “Oiseau Blanc” the same wartime emblem which decorated Nungesser’s fighters during the war.
Likewise, Francois Coli was no coward, as his own WW1 service record will amply attest.
Well, ya have to remember, many (most?) thought that Fascism was the only alternative to Communism.
I’m reading an old Edgar Rice Burroughs SF novel, Beyond the Farthest Star, and the “good guys” sound like paternal Fascists, too. In a nice way, of course.
The same is true of books like Lensman series, by E.E. “Doc” Smith.
Or as they say about climbing Everest:
"Getting up is optional.....getting down is mandatory"
Most of the early WWII fighters had limited range. Lindy tinkered with the RPM’s used while not in combat the Lockheed fighters could get save 80 gallons per run.
You’d have to search the subject to get a coherent explanation with some detail.
I don’t think it was a matter of inventing any new equipment or gadgets...it was more about applying his long-distance experience to the aircraft in question and squeezing out better fuel economy.
Yes, of course. Lindbergh’s was the first nonstop flight, and the first solo flight. No one ever claimed anything different.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t count if you crash and die on the way. Good grief.
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