1919-Continued
Cuba, for the United States after almost seven weeks
of participation in fleet exercises, during which time
the squadron had operated entirely afloat and had no
support from shore bases.
8 April
Captain Thomas T. Craven was detached
from the Bureau of Navigation for duty in the Office
of the Chief of Naval Operations where, in the follow-
ing month, he relieved Captain Noble E. Irwin as
Director of Naval Aviation.
10 April
The roll-up of naval air stations in Europe,
which had begun on 31 December 1918 with the dis-
establishment of Porto Corsini, Italy, was completed as
the Assembly and Repair Base at Eastleigh, England,
was demobilized.
26 April
An F-5L flying boat, equipped with two 400-
hp Liberty engines and piloted by Lieutenant H. D.
Grow out of Hampton Roads, Va., completed a flight
of 20 hours and 19 minutes in which it covered 1,250
nautical miles. Although the flight was not made under
FAI supervision and was prior to the date on which
seaplanes were recognized as a separate class for
record purposes, this time was better than any recog-
nized seaplane duration record until May 1925.
28 April
Lieutenant Commander Richard E. Byrd,
who developed and tested navigational equipment for
the forthcoming transatlantic flight, requested the
Naval Observatory to supply bubble levels which he
adapted for attachment to navigational sextants, there-
by providing an artificial horizon which made it possi-
ble to use these instruments for astronomical observa-
tions from aircraft.
8 May
Seaplane Division One, comprised of three
NC flying boats, took off from NAS Rockaway, N.Y.
at 10:00 a.m. for Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the first leg
of a projected transatlantic flight. Commanding the
Division, and the NC-3, was Commander John H.
Towers. The NC-4 was commanded by Lieutenant
Commander Albert C. Read. The NC-l was com-
manded by Lieutenant Commander Patrick N. L.
Bellinger.
14-15 May
The airship C-5, Lieutenant Commander
Emory W. Coil commanding, made a record flight
from Montauk Point, Long Island, N.Y., to St. Johns,
Newfoundland, covering the 1,050 nautical miles in 25
hours and 50 minutes.
16 May
Around 6 p.m., three NC flying boats took
UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION
1910-1995
39
off from Trepassey Bay, Newfoundland, for the long
overwater flight to the Azores.
16 May
Ensign Herbert C. Rodd, radioman on the
NC-4, intercepted a radio message from the steamship
George Washington
1,325 miles distant. A radio mes-
sage from one of the NCs was also intercepted by the
radio station, Bar Harbor, Maine, when the plane was
1,400 miles away.
17 May
After more than 15 hours in the air, the NC
flying boats neared the Azores. At 1323 GMT, the NC-4
landed at Horta, Azores. The other NC boats were not
so fortunate; both had lost their bearings in thick fog
and landed at sea to determine their positions. But in
landing they sustained damage and were unable to
resume flight. The NC-3 drifted backwards toward the
Azores and arrived at Ponta Delgada, Azores, at 6:30
p.m. on 19 May. The NC-l sustained additional dam-
age in the heavy seas and was taken under tow by the
Greek steamer
Ionia,
but the tow lines soon parted.
Gridley
(DD 92) then attempted to tow the NC-l but
the aircraft pulled adrift again and broke up and sank.
Her entire crew was taken on board
Ionia
and arrived
at Horta, Azores at 12:30 p.m. on 18 May.
27 May
At 8:01 p.m. the NC-4 landed in the harbor
at Lisbon, Portugal, completing the first crossing of the
Atlantic Ocean by air. The only one of three NC boats
to reach the Azores by air, the NC-4 arrived the after-
noon of the 17th, and after a layover of 10 days, cov-
ered the last leg of the crossing to Lisbon. Lieutenant
Commander Albert C. Read was in command and
Lieutenant Elmer F. Stone, USCG, Lieutenant James L.
Breese, Lieutenant (jg) Walter K. Hinton, Ensign
Herbert C. Rodd and Chief Machinist's Mate Eugene S.
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C-5 airship attempted transatlantic crossing 1061650
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