Three Curtiss Flying Boats Departed Rockaway Beach, NY May 8, 1919

A ceremony was held Wednesday commemorating the departure of three U.S. Navy Curtiss flying boats on what would become the first trans-Atlantic crossing by an airplane.

According to The Smithsonian Institution's Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery, The U.S. Navy achieved the first transatlantic flight eight years before Charles Lindbergh became world famous for crossing the Atlantic nonstop and alone. Three Curtiss flying boats, each with a crew of six, were involved: NC-1, NC-3, and NC-4. The Navy wanted to prove the capability of the airplane as a transoceanic weapon and technology.

The five-leg flight began on May 8, 1919, at the naval air station at Rockaway Beach, New York. It followed a route to Nova Scotia; Newfoundland; the Azores in the middle of the Atlantic; Lisbon, Portugal; and Plymouth, England. Only NC-4, commanded by Albert C. Read, flew the whole way. The entire trip took 24 days.

U.S. Navy ships were positioned along the route of flight at 50-mile intervals to assist in navigation and make any necessary rescues.

The ceremony Wednesday included guest speakers, local school bands, politicians, and an introduction to the flight. Names of each crew member were read aloud, and memorial flowers were set adrift in Jamaica Bay near where the three planes took off.

Also planned were a flyover from both the Coast Guard and the New York City Police Department Aviation Unit as well as a water display from the New York City Fire Department's Marine Division, according to the 1st Transatlantic Flight-US Navy Seaplane Division One, 1919 Facebook page.

After the ceremony, at approximately 11:00 A.M., the group moved across the street to rename the street corner, "US Navy Seaplane Division One Way," with the unveiling of a new, New York City street sign.

A special free exhibition – “The Forgotten Fliers of 1919” – is on view through Sunday, June 2. It honors this monumental event and will be hosted at the Rockaway Artists Alliance’s Studio T-7 Gallery in Fort Tilden on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The exhibit will present storyboards telling the tale of the epic flight, along with pictures, video, models, diaries and other artifacts from NC-4.

The NC-4 was restored by the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and the U.S. Navy for its 50th anniversary and placed on permanent display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.

(Image provided by The Smithsonian Institution's Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery)

FMI: pioneersofflight.si.edu/content/first-flight-across-atlantic
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