As the war progressed, the Navy realized the need for a long-range patrol aircraft capable of attacking the dreaded German U-Boats far out at sea and joined with the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company to construct an aircraft to meet this vital mission. Built around a wooden hull, the first NC (Navy-Curtiss) flying boat began to take shape during 1918. In its final form, it stood over 24 ft. high and stretched more than 68 ft. in length. Powered by four 400 horsepower engines situated beneath an upper wing that spanned 126 ft., the NC could reach a top speed of 85 M.P.H. and had a range of 1,470 miles. The first of the giant flying boats, the NC-1, took to the air for her maiden flight on 4 October 1918, and the next month she engaged in cross-country flights along the eastern seaboard.

The signing of the Armistice on 11 November 1918, ended the "Great War" and allowed aviators who had spent the previous four years developing the aircraft as a weapon to once again turn to the peacetime challenge of traversing the Atlantic by air. As so often happens, the press of wartime resulted in tremendous technological advancements and one aircraft design attracted the attention of now-Commander John H. Towers. Even before the end of hostilities, he composed a letter to the Chief of Naval Operations proposing the employment of the Navy's newest flying boat in a transatlantic flight. In his mind, it was a matter of national prestige that America, the birthplace of powered flight, should be the nation that achieved the first aerial crossing of the Atlantic.

Original plans called for four NC-boats (NC-1, NC-2, NC-3, and NC-4) to attempt the crossing, but a hangar fire and damage from a storm that hit the aircraft's home base at Naval Air Station (NAS) Rockaway Beach, Long Island, reduced the number to three, the NC-2 being cannibalized for parts. On 8 May 1919, the three aircraft of Seaplane Division One motored through the waters off the station and into the air bound for Nova Scotia. The NC-4, completed such a short time before that she made only two test flights, experienced engine trouble shortly after takeoff, necessitating a landing off NAS Chatham, MA. Destined to remain grounded for six days, during which time the press labeled her "The Lame Duck," the NC-4 managed to catch up with her sisters only because poor weather delayed their departure from Nova Scotia for Trepassey, Newfoundland, the second stop on the flight path.

By the evening of May 16th, the reunited NCs were ready to launch into the gathering darkness over Trepassey Bay for the longest and most demanding leg of the flight, a 1,389 mile trip to the Azores Islands with much of the flying at night. As had been the case along the eastern seaboard, the Navy positioned a string of destroyers along the flight path to help guide them safely along the way. Ironically, the "Lame Duck" under the command of Lieutenant Commander Albert C. Read was the only one of the three aircraft to reach her destination. NC-1, under the command of Bellinger, became lost in early morning fog and the crew put down to find their bearings only to discover that they could not takeoff from the heavy seas. Towers' NC-3 faced the same dilemma, but unlike the NC-1, which sank after her crew was rescued by a Greek freighter, he and his crew sailed their stricken craft to the Azores.

The remainder of the flight proved uneventful, with weather being the only hindrance that delayed the NC-4 in completing the remaining two legs of the flight. On May 27th, when her keel sliced into the waters of Lisbon Bay in Portugal, the U.S. Navy's NC-4 became the first aircraft to conquer the Atlantic. Four days later, Read wrote his wife, "For once in my life I have had continuous unadulterated luck." A short time the NC-4 flew to Plymouth, England, a symbolic visit to the location from which the Mayflower embarked for the New World in 1620.

After her return to the United States, the NC-4 engaged in a publicity tour that took her to various stops along the eastern seaboard, Gulf of Mexico, and along the Mississippi River. However, the attention surrounding her momentous flight soon faded and she was disassembled for storage at the Norfolk Naval Base. During World War II reserve naval officer Paul E. Garber, who in civilian life worked for the Smithsonian Institution, discovered that the buildings in which the NC-4 was being housed were being converted for another use and the aircraft components had been ordered moved elsewhere. Fearing the loss of the historic aircraft in the wartime shuffle he arranged to meet with the senior officer in the area, who turned out to be Rear Admiral Patrick N.L. Bellinger, a veteran of the flight. The admiral arranged for another storage location and the aircraft eventually found its way to the Smithsonian Institution. In 1967 an intensive restoration, including the cleaning and overhaul of the engines, applying new fabric to the wings, and restoration of the cockpit, began with the ultimate goal of displaying the aircraft in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of its historic flight. As part of a gala celebration whose guests included surviving members of the aircraft's crew, the NC-4 appeared on the Mall in Washington D.C. She was placed on loan to the National Museum of Naval Aviation in 1974 and placed on permanent display the following year.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Manufacturer: Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and Naval Aircraft Factory

Dimensions: Length: 68 ft., 3 in.; Height: 24 ft., 6 in.; Wingspan: 126 ft.

Weights: Empty: 15,874 lb.; Gross: 26,386 lb.

Power plant: Four 400 horsepower Liberty 12 engines

Performance: Maximum Speed: 85 M.P.H.; Service Ceiling: 4,500 ft.; Range: 1,470 miles

Crew (on transatlantic flight): Aircraft commander, pilot, co-pilot, radio officer, engineering officer, flight engineer