The ''America'' was a

Fokker C-2 Fokker (; ) was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer that operated from 1912 to 1996. The company was founded by the Dutch aviator Anthony Fokker and became famous during World War I for its fighter aircraft. During its most successful period in the 19 ...

trimotor A trimotor is a propeller-driven aircraft powered by three internal combustion engines, characteristically one on the nose and one on each wing. A compromise between complexity and safety, such a configuration was typically a result of the limit ...

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

that was flown in 1927 by

Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer, and pioneering aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. Aircraft flights in which he served as a navigator and expedition leader cr ...

Bernt Balchen Bernt Balchen (23 October 1899 – 17 October 1973) was a Norwegian pioneer polar aviator, navigator, aircraft mechanical engineer and military leader. A Norwegian native, he later became an American citizen and was a recipient of the Disting ...

George Otto Noville George Otto Noville (April 24, 1890 – January 1, 1963), also known as "Noville" and "Rex," was a pioneer in polar and trans-Atlantic aviation in the 1920s, and winner of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States), Distinguished Flying C ...

, and

Bert Acosta Bertrand Blanchard Acosta (January 1, 1895 – September 1, 1954) was a record-setting aviator and test pilot. He and Clarence D. Chamberlin set an endurance record of 51 hours, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds in the air. He later flew in the Span ...

on their

transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing aircraft, airships, bal ...

History

For eight years after the first non-stop heavier-than-air Atlantic crossing by a British

Vickers Vimy The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Vimy was designed by Rex Pierson, Vickers ...

in 1919, there were no further such flights. Then, in 1927, three crossings were made by American flyers, the ''Americas being the third after

Lindbergh Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974) was first pilot to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic. Lindbergh, a Swedish surname, may also refer to: People *Anne Lindbergh (1940-1993), U.S. children's author, daughter of the famous pilot Charles Lindbergh ...

's first solo crossing in the ''

Spirit of St. Louis The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that Charles Lindbergh flew on May 20–21, 1927, on the Charles Lindbergh#New York–Paris flight ...

'' flight and

Clarence Chamberlin Clarence Duncan Chamberlin (November 11, 1893 – October 31, 1976) was an American pioneer of aviation, being the second man to pilot a fixed-wing aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York to the European mainland, while carrying the firs ...

's ''Columbia'' flight from New York to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. All three were aspiring to win the

Orteig Prize The Orteig Prize was a reward of $25,000 offered in 1919 by New York City hotel owner Raymond Orteig to the first Allies of World War I, Allied aviator, or aviators, to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice versa.Bak. Pages 28 and 29. Se ...

. It was also the first aircraft to carry official

airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be th ...

across the Atlantic. The ''America'' was destroyed after it was ditched near the French village of

Ver-sur-Mer __NOTOC__ Ver-sur-Mer (, literally ''Ver on Sea'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department and Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region of north-wester ...

, having flown to Paris but being unable to land due to fog. Distance covered was about 3,800 miles not counting the time and distance spent at Paris waiting in vain for the fog to clear. After it was towed ashore, it was torn apart by souvenir hunters. Portions of the aircraft reside in several museums in Europe and in the United States. The ''America'' is a subject of the America/Goldbeach Museum, located in Ver-sur-Mer.

References

External links

The Trans-Atlantic Flight of the 'America'

The America-Gold Beach museum
* Richard Byrd, Anthony Fokker, Bert Acosta, George Noville, Bernt Balchen and th
"America"
in historic Fox Movietone newsreel recorded May 19, 1927 est viewed in Firefox or older InternetExplorer..University of South Carolina] * more Fox Movietone newsree
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. irefox, older IEUniversity of South Carolina) *America in pictures
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{{Aviation accidents and incidents in France before 1950 Individual aircraft Fokker F.VII

History

See also

References

External links