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LIFE LOOKS BACK

19 YEARS TO FIRST NONSTOP TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT

In 1913 the London Daily Mail offered £10,000 to the crew of the first airplane to make a nonstop flight across the Atlantic in less than 72 hours. The War put an effective end to plans of possible competitors at the time. In 1919, when the offer was renewed, four teams of English fliers tried for the prize. Of these only one was successful. Taking off from St. John's Newfoundland, in a remodeled Vickers-Vimy bomber on June 14 at 4:12 p.m., Lieut. Arthur Whitten Brown and Capt. John William Alcock flew 1,936 miles, chiefly through fog, until at 8:40 the following morning they landed on the Irish coast. Because of impenetrable mist. Pilot Alcock steered by compass part of the time. Both men were promptly knighted for their feat. Their flight stood as a unique record until Lindbergh's eight years later.

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[[caption]]CAPT. JOHN ALCOCK[[/caption]]

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[[caption]]THE TRANSATLANTIC BOMBER HAD TWO 350 HORSEPOWER ROLLS-ROYCE MOTORS[[/caption]]

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[[caption]]LIEUT. ARTHUR BROWN[[/caption]]


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[[caption]]A thermos bottle of coffee was carried on board by Pilot Alcock a few minutes before the Newfoundland takeoff. Two black cats were taken along on the airplane as mascots.[[/caption]]

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[[caption]]This sloppy landing was made in Ireland because Alcock and Brown mistook a sticky Irish bog for a level green field. Their plane is now in England's South Kensington Museum.[[/caption]]

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[[caption]]Whisked to London, the first nonstop transatlantic fliers were escorted from Euston Station to the Royal Aero Club. Alcock was 26 years old when he made the record flight.[[/caption]]

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[[caption]]The £10,000 cheque from the Daily Mail was given to Alcock and Brown (right) by Winston Churchill. Alcock died in a plane crash six months later, a week after being knighted.[[/caption]]