FIRST TO FLY AROUND THE WORLD

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FIRST TO FLY AROUND THE WORLD

Three of the Douglas World Cruisers in 1924.

THE DOUGLAS WORLD CRUISERS

Five Douglas World Cruiser's were built, for the United States Army Air Service, for an around-the-world flight in 1924. These single-engine biplanes, with a 400 horse power Liberty engine, were based on the design of the Douglas DT-2 torpedo bomber and were named the Boston, the Chicago, the New Orleans, the Seattle, and the Boston II. Four of these aircraft, with a crew of two, left Sand Point, near Seattle, Washington, on April 6th, 1924, in a westward direction, and two of them, the Chicago and New Orleans, completed their trip, of over 26,000 miles (41,000 km), in 175 days, by returning on September 28th, making them the first aircraft to complete an around the world flight, though it was accomplished in legs.

The Douglas World Cruiser Seattle, which was flown by Major Frederick L. Martin, the flight leader for the around-the-world flight. It crashed, in foggy weather, into a mountain near Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on April 30th, 1924, after leaving Chignik, Alaska, and the Boston was left to sink in the Atlantic Ocean, after it was forced to land there, due to loss of oil pressure, and damaged beyond repair, by a crane that broke and fell on top of it, while it was being lifted onto a United States Navy ship. The Boston II, which was the Douglas World Cruiser prototype, later joined the Chicago and the New Orleans in Pictou, Nova Scotia, with the crew from the Boston, and flew with them on to Seattle. In Seattle, the Chicago and the New Orleans landed simultaneously, wing tip to wing tip, at 1:30 p.m., as their pilots had previously agreed, so that historians would not say that one aircraft had landed before the other. The Chicago is now at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia, and the New Orleans is now at the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The Boston II was scrapped, in 1932, at Kelly Field, in San Antonio, Texas.
Three of the Douglas World Cruisers in Seward, Alaska.

Major Frederick L. Martin and Sgt. Alva L. Harvey, the crewmen of the Douglas World Cruiser Seattle, which crashed in Alaska. Major Martin started the trip as the flight leader, but was replaced by First Lieutenant Lowell H. Smith, the pilot of the Chicago, after the crash. It took both crewman ten days to make their way from the crash site to a nearby town. The three remaining Douglas World Cruisers, which took off from Seattle, then became the first aircraft to fly across the Pacific Ocean, upon reaching Japan, which was one of the twenty-nine countries that they visited during their around-the-world flight. Aviators and aircraft from Great Britain, France, Italy, Portugal, and Argentina, were also trying to complete an around-the-world flight at this time, but none of them were able to.
The Douglas World Cruiser Chicago, which was flown by First Lieutenant Lowell H. Smith, being refueled on Indian Harbour, in Nova Scotia, Canada, after it had crossed the Atlantic Ocean, during its around-the-world flight. In Calcutta, India, eighty-one days into the flight, the pontoons on the Douglas World Cruisers were replaced with wheels, as the flight would be over land until they reached the Atlantic Ocean.

The Douglas World Cruiser Chicago.
The Douglas World Cruiser Chicago.

The Douglas World Cruiser Boston. Lieutenant Leigh Wade, the pilot of the Douglas World Cruiser Boston. First Lieutenant Erik Nelson was the pilot of the New Orleans.

A 2" x 2" (50mm x 50mm) piece of the fabric that covered the Douglas World Cruiser Chicago.

WORLD FLIGHT RETURNS TO NORTH AMERICA
WORLD FLIGHT MAKES HOP TO HAWKES BAY
DOUGLAS WORLD CRUISERS (DWC) TRANSPORT
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION DOUGLAS WORLD CRUISER
WORLD CRUISER
FIRST ROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT
1924 ROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT GEAR
1ST ROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT

SOURCES

Carroll V. Glines and Stan Cohen, The First Flight Around-the-World, Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Missoula, 2000.

ROY NAGL

AEROPLANES!
ANCIENT AVIATORS

The Douglas World Cruiser Seattle, which was flown by Major Frederick L. Martin, the flight leader for the around-the-world flight. It crashed, in foggy weather, into a mountain near Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on April 30th, 1924, after leaving Chignik, Alaska, and the Boston was left to sink in the Atlantic Ocean, after it was forced to land there, due to loss of oil pressure, and damaged beyond repair, by a crane that broke and fell on top of it, while it was being lifted onto a United States Navy ship. The Boston II, which was the Douglas World Cruiser prototype, later joined the Chicago and the New Orleans in Pictou, Nova Scotia, with the crew from the Boston, and flew with them on to Seattle. In Seattle, the Chicago and the New Orleans landed simultaneously, wing tip to wing tip, at 1:30 p.m., as their pilots had previously agreed, so that historians would not say that one aircraft had landed before the other. The Chicago is now at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia, and the New Orleans is now at the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The Boston II was scrapped, in 1932, at Kelly Field, in San Antonio, Texas.	Three of the Douglas World Cruisers in Seward, Alaska.
Major Frederick L. Martin and Sgt. Alva L. Harvey, the crewmen of the Douglas World Cruiser Seattle, which crashed in Alaska. Major Martin started the trip as the flight leader, but was replaced by First Lieutenant Lowell H. Smith, the pilot of the Chicago, after the crash. It took both crewman ten days to make their way from the crash site to a nearby town. The three remaining Douglas World Cruisers, which took off from Seattle, then became the first aircraft to fly across the Pacific Ocean, upon reaching Japan, which was one of the twenty-nine countries that they visited during their around-the-world flight. Aviators and aircraft from Great Britain, France, Italy, Portugal, and Argentina, were also trying to complete an around-the-world flight at this time, but none of them were able to.	The Douglas World Cruiser Chicago, which was flown by First Lieutenant Lowell H. Smith, being refueled on Indian Harbour, in Nova Scotia, Canada, after it had crossed the Atlantic Ocean, during its around-the-world flight. In Calcutta, India, eighty-one days into the flight, the pontoons on the Douglas World Cruisers were replaced with wheels, as the flight would be over land until they reached the Atlantic Ocean.
*The Douglas World Cruiser Chicago.*	*The Douglas World Cruiser Chicago.*
*The Douglas World Cruiser Boston.*	*Lieutenant Leigh Wade, the pilot of the Douglas World Cruiser Boston. First Lieutenant Erik Nelson was the pilot of the New Orleans.*
*A 2" x 2" (50mm x 50mm) piece of the fabric that covered the Douglas World Cruiser Chicago.*