Curtiss H-1 America - Across the Atlantic
The plans for conducting the trans-Atlantic fight were complete in every detail. In the first place the route from Newfoundland to Portugal via the Azores was chosen because its distances were the shortest and its areas of uncertain weather conditions the least. A patrol of destroyers was established along this route, so as to reduce the danger to personnel to a minimum. At all ports of call, mother ships were stationed in order to provide fuel, spare parts, repair facilities, etc., for the planes.
The actual start of the three airplanes, NC-1, NC-3, and NC-4, on their attempt to fly across the Atlantic, was made from the United States naval air station, Rockaway, Long Island, on May 8, 1919. The first leg of the flight was from this station to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Leaving Rockaway at 10 o'clock in the morning, all three airplanes preserved formation. Everything went well until about half-past 2 in the afternoon, when the NC-4 was forced to drop astern because of engine trouble. Shortly afterwards additional engine trouble forced the NC-4 to land about 80 miles east of Cape Cod and the plane was taxied under its own power to the naval air station at Chatham, Mass. In the meantime the NC-1 and NC-3 continued their flight to Halifax and arrived there around 7 o'clock in the evening.
As preparations for starting on the second leg of the flight from Halifax to Trespassy, Newfound, had just been completed on the morning of May 10 and the NC-1 was taxying about the harbor waiting for the NC-3 to take off first, a starting motor on the latter broke. The NC-1 was thereupon directed to proceed to Trespassy by itself and the NC-3 started shortly afterwards. Both planes arrived at Trespassy in the late afternoon of May 10. These two planes were joined at Trespassy by the NC-4 on May 15, the NC-4 arriving there from Chatham via Halifax.
Personnel of the NC-1 and NC-3 immediately assisted the NC-4 in changing one engine, fitting the airplane with new propellers and getting her in all respects ready for departure the following afternoon. Reports from the Weather Bureau and from the meteorological officer and the Weather Bureau representative at Trespassy all indicated very favorable weather and advised a start on the afternoon of May 16. A start was decided upon, and all three airplanes took off that afternoon for Horta, a port in the Azore Islands.
Formation was assumed and was fairly well preserved during the afternoon and early evening. Later when it became dark and overcast, however, and the running lights of the NC-3 stopped functioning due to grounding of the circuit by salt spray, the three planes were soon lost to each other and each continued the flight independently. A little before dawn the NC-4 began flying much faster than either the NC-1 or NC-3, because its pilots did not feel entirely stable at the higher angle of incidence given by lower speed. About 8 o'clock in the morning the three planes encountered intermittent rainfalls, and a very thick fog. As the Azores were approached the fog became thicker and thicker and interfered seriously in determining the course which was being flown, as it was impossible to obtain a reliable sextant altitude of the sun. Various altitudes were tried to avoid the fog, but it merged with the clouds which, most of the time, extended very high and made flying at any altitude over 1,000 feet very difficult for the pilots.
Shortly before noon the NC-1 landed for the purpose of determining its position by taking radio-compass bearings on destroyers but the water conditions were worse than had been expected and entirely too rough to take off into the air again. About a 22-mile wind was blowing, with a cross sea and a heavy swell. For four hours attempts were made to call to destroyers for aid by means of the radio but with no success. In the meantime the sea had carried away the elevators, and a portion of the wings. Finally late in the afternoon the crew of the NC-1 were picked up by a passing steamer, the Greek ship Ionia, and taken to Horta while the plane itself was subsequently sunk to remove a menace to shipping.
At 1.30 p. m. on May 17, the NC-3 also landed in order to obtain radio-compass bearings and was unable to take off again due to the rough sea and to damages received in landing. The plane's position was obtained, however, by means of radio-compass bearings as being 34 ½ miles southwest of Horta. Due to injury to the radio apparatus evidently received while landing, the NC-3 now found itself able to receive messages but unable to send any, except on a short-range battery set. Those messages, however, were not intercepted by the ships. A heavy storm arose that afternoon and for two and a half days the NC-3 fought that storm and endeavored to utilize the very limited sailing qualities of the NC-3 toward getting to the Island of San Miguel. This was finally accomplished and on the evening of May 19 the NC-3 reached the port of Ponta Delgada.
The NC-4 reached Horta safely on the afternoon of May 17, completing the distance of 1,200 nautical miles from Trespassy to Horta in 15 hours and 18 minutes. The NC-4 was thus the only plane left to continue the flight. The personnel of the other two planes were taken aboard the Bainbridge to Lisbon and then to Plymouth via the Rochester.
The NC-4 was held at Horta by fog and later by a gale until May 20. On the afternoon of this day the flight from Horta to Ponta Delgada was accomplished, the trip consuming about two hours. Here the NC-4 waited six days for favorable weather and sea conditions as the plane was too near its goal to take any unnecessary chances for the sake of completing the flight a day or two sooner. Finally early in the morning of May 27, the NC-4 departed from Ponta Delgada for Lisbon and arrived at Lisbon late in the afternoon of the same day.
On the 30th of May the NC-4 got an early morning start for the last leg of the trip from Lisbon to Plymouth. After about two hours of flying, however, a leak of unknown origin was discovered in the port engine and it became necessary to land in the mouth of the Mondego River, near Figueira, Portugal, to make repairs. These repairs were soon completed and the NC-4 left about 2 o'clock in the afternoon for Ferrol, Spain, as it was too late by this time to attempt to make Plymouth before dark. Ferrol was reached about 4.30 in the afternoon. The following morning the NC-4 left Ferrol for Plymouth and at 1.30 that afternoon (May 31) arrived safely at Plymouth, England, thus being the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean by air.
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