DOUGLAS WORLD CRUISER
ALTHOUGH AMERICANS
HAD BEEN FIRST TO TAKE A CONTROLLED
FLIGHT IN A HEAVIER-THAN-AIR VEHICLE, THEY
QUICKLY LOST GROUND IN AVIATION TECHNOLOGY.
By the 1920s countries in Europe had established commercial air travel and built many innovative airplanes.
In 1924 flying was still relatively new. The Jenny and other airplanes could not yet fly long distances. But airmen in six countries (the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Portugal, and Argentina) decided to try to circumnavigate the globe by flight. It became a race, because the winner would gain the prestige of being the first to fly around the world. The U.S. Army sent eight men in four airplanes in an attempt to win. The planes were Douglas World Cruisers, named for four U.S. cities: Chicago, New Orleans, Seattle, and Boston. They set out from Seattle on April 6, traveling west. One hundred seventy-five days, 26,345 miles, and over twenty nations later, on September 28, two of the planes, the Chicago and the New Orleans, returned to Seattle. They won the race, bringing honor to the United States and showing that it could compete in the air with other countries of the world.
The four pilots and four mechanics surmounted many obstacles and endured much discomfort on their journey. The modified Douglas "torpedo bombers" had open cockpits, which didn't provide sufficient protection from the extreme weather they encountered. The planes had to be heavy enough to carry a lot of fuel, fast and nimble enough to face various emergencies, and rugged enough to survive rough oceans. Certain legs of the trip required wheels and others needed pontoons, so the change between the two had to be easy. Other challenges included a scarcity of landing fields, tricky navigation around icebergs and mountains, difficult weather such as fog, unfamiliar cultures, and the fragile airplanes themselves.
The Army identified eighteen supply and repair depots along the around-the-world route. It received support from the Navy, which transported fuel to remote locations. The Coast Guard also monitored the trip and provided accommodations for the fliers.
Less than a month into the trip, the Seattle crashed into a mountain in Alaska. It had separated from the three other crews, and for a time no one knew what had happened to it. Fortunately, its crew survived and found their way to a fish cannery in Port Moller on the coast.
On two separate occasions the remaining three aircraft encountered major mechanical problems. In present-day Vietnam, the Chicago's engine overheated and the plane was suddenly forced to land on a remote lagoon. It needed a new engine. The other planes landed, gave the crew their supplies, and then continued on to the next planned stop. With some difficulty, a new engine was sent to the crew, who repaired the plane and resumed their journey. Then, months later, over the North Sea, the Boston had mechanical troubles and was forced to land on the open water. The Navy came to the rescue, but while the plane was being towed, the seas got rough and the airmen were forced to make the tough decision to cut the ropes and let the plane sink.
Ultimately, however, with two planes successfully finishing, the trip around the globe was a public relations triumph for the U.S. Army and the country in general. The flight generated excitement for flying and showed that the United States could compete on the aviation world stage.