In 1919, John Alcock and Arthur Brown made the first non-stop flight over what?

British aviators John Alcock (1892 - 1919 ) and Arthur Brown (1886 - 1948 ) made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. They flew a modified First World War Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara, 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) a week later by King George V at Windsor Castle.

In April 1913, the London newspaper the Daily Mail offered a prize of £10,000 "to the aviator who shall first cross the Atlantic in an aeroplane in flight from any point in the United States of America, Canada or Newfoundland to any point in Great Britain or Ireland in 72 continuous hours".

The competition was suspended with the outbreak of war in 1914 but reopened after Armistice was declared in 1918.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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11 Comments

filmnut

That was right in my “Wheelhouse”; a lot of people think that Charles Lindbergh was the first aviator to fly the Atlantic, but his “first” was qualified by the word “solo”.

Nicholas Miernicki

"The competition was suspended with the outbreak of war in 1914 but reopened after Armistice was declared in 1918." Prior to the War, I doubt there was an aircraft capable of making the crossing, but, aviation made tremendous strides during the War (for better or worse, war has a tendency to spur on the development of new technologies). The Vickers Vimy they flew, would have been nothing more than a pipe dream before the War.

Richard D. Boyle

Non-Stop you say? Unless someone was flying a seaplane, just where between Newfoundland and Ireland might one have considered stopping in the first place?

David Holmes

£10 000 was a huge amount of money in 1919.

Richard G Schwartz

They were probably faster with the mail then with today's system.

June Abramowitz

I didn't know this one.so much hype with Lindbergh didn't realize anyone else was before him from opposite shores.

Roma Carey

I was born in St. John’s , Newfoundland so I walked by the plaque marking their flight on a regular basis!

Brian Reynolds

In terms of "solo" aviators it was not until 1933 when American Wiley Post flew solo around the world

Richard D. Boyle

James Webb, Good point, James. No question that the remarkable flight of Alcock and Brown in 1919 should be better known and more celebrated. The routes that you mention, while considerably longer, would certainly have made good places for a stop...but not in 1919 or even 10 years later. The first airfield built in the Azores was in 1930 by the Portuguese for their exclusive use. The first airfield built in Iceland was in 1937 as the initial home of Icelandic Air. The first airfield built in Greenland was in 1941 by and for the use of the US military. So, in 1919, that historic flight pretty much had to be non-stop.Took a lot of guts and determination to accomplish that early in the evolution of flight with no alternates available. Thanks for your post and best wishes to you and your loved ones.