Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/71

AERONAUTICS whom danger was a part of the day's work, and feats were attempted that previously would have daunted the most daring. Prominent among these were the transoceanic flights. The honor of first having crossed the ocean in a heavier than air machine fell to America. On May 16, 1919, the United States navy seaplane "NC-4" "hopped off" from Trepassey Bay, Newfoundland, on the first leg of a trip to Lisbon, Portugal. It made the distance to Horta in the Azores, 1,200 miles, in 15 hours and 18 minutes. It reached Lisbon on May 27, and then flew from there to Plymouth, England, making one stop at Ferrol, on May 31. The entire distance traveled was 3,925 nautical miles, and the total flying time was 57 hours and 16 minutes.

But while America won honors for the first crossing of the ocean, a flight that was still more sensational, because it involved no stop on the way and because the hazards attending it were greater, was that made by Captain John Alcock, of England, who with one companion flew from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland, a distance of 1,960 miles, in 16 hours and 12 minutes. The trip was made in a Vickers-Vimy biplane with a Rolls-Royce engine. The trip was started on June 14, 1919, and from the beginning the conditions were the worst imaginable. The aviators had no light from sun or moon or stars. They passed through alternate layers of fog and cloud and snow. At times they had to climb out and chip the ice off their engine. There were periods when they did not know whether they were traveling in the customary way or upside down. They were at one time so near the surface of the sea that they were in danger of being engulfed. But they plunged on, and the following morning their machine landed nose down in a bog at Clifden, Ireland. The aviators were badly shaken up, but not otherwise injured. Alcock was knighted for his exploit and received the "Daily Mail" prize of $50,000. He was killed in an airplane accident, while flying over Normandy in the December following. See ALCOCK, SIR JOHN.

A notable attempt, that if it did not achieve success at least deserved it, was the flight of Hawker and Grieve. They started to cross the Atlantic in a Sopwith biplane May 18, 1919. The team flew from St. John's directly toward Ireland, but after traveling twelve and a half hours and making about 1,100 miles, the circulation system became clogged and they were forced to descend. Luckily they were picked up by a Danish steamer, and six days later were landed in England, where they had been given up as lost.

The first dirigible to cross the Atlantic was the British airship "R-34." This