First Flight across the Atlantic

With Edna's husband Jack Squire, being an early day pilot for Pan America (and other airlines), we have been spending lots of time researching early day flight. So when History Detectives had their program featuring stories about flying this week, it made it even more interesting.

While Charles Lindbergh gets the correct for being the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic, he wasn't the first to cross the Atlantic by plane. In May 1919, three Navy men flew across the Atlantic in a 'flying boat' called the NC-4.

With a cockpit open to the elements, three men made the trip and were celebrated for making it, but their fame was short lived and their story nearly forgotten.

Check your PBS listing for the time History Detectives plays in your area. Also, some stations do repeat the same program on the weekends. (On the program they mention pilot Roscoe Turner, who Jack Squire knew personally and has photos of in the collection.)

The History Detectives website does have an extended interview about the flight, as Elyse sits in the cockpit of the actual NC-4. more>