In 1924, flying around the world meant crossing the Pacific Ocean in open biplanes, with engines that had to be rebuilt every few thousand miles, relying on supply ships pre-positioned across the widest ocean on Earth by a US Navy that had deployed its vessels months in advance. Four aircraft set off from Seattle on 6 April. Two completed the journey. They returned on 28 September — 175 days and 44,342 kilometres later — having crossed more than 20 countries and two oceans, and having become the first human beings to circumnavigate the globe by air.
Why America Needed to Do It First
By 1924, aviation had become a matter of national prestige. Britain, France, Italy, Portugal, and Argentina were all planning or attempting around-the-world flights. The US Army Air Service, under Brigadier General Billy Mitchell — the controversial advocate of air power who would later be court-martialled for insubordination — pushed for America to claim the record first. Congress approved the mission. Douglas Aircraft, which had just produced its first commercial aircraft, was contracted to build four specialised biplanes optimised for long-range over-water flight: the Douglas World Cruisers.
The aircraft were named after American cities: Seattle, Chicago, Boston, and New Orleans. They were designed to operate on either wheeled undercarriages or floats — the ability to switch between the two was essential for a route that would include both land and water legs. The planning was meticulous: dozens of supply caches were pre-positioned across the globe, and US Navy ships were deployed in the Pacific to support the crossing.
The Losses Begin Early
The Seattle, commanded by Major Frederick Martin (the flight commander), crashed into an Alaskan mountainside in fog on 30 April, just 24 days after departure. Martin and his mechanic survived after hiking for ten days through wilderness before being rescued. The remaining three aircraft continued westward.
Command passed to Lieutenant Lowell Smith in the Chicago. The flight continued through Japan, China, India, Persia, Turkey, the Balkans, France, and Britain. On 3 August, the Boston suffered an oil pump failure over the North Atlantic and was forced down onto the sea en route to Iceland. The crew was rescued, but the aircraft sank. A replacement aircraft, Boston II, was flown to Nova Scotia to allow the Boston crew to rejoin for the final leg.
Dozens of supply depots pre-positioned along the route. US Navy warships stationed across the oceans. 175 days of flying. The first around-the-world flight was as much a feat of logistics as aviation.
Crossing the Pacific
The Pacific crossing was the most dangerous and logistically demanding leg. The aircraft crossed from the Aleutian Islands to Japan in short hops — the North Pacific route was treacherous even in spring — relying on the Navy ships pre-positioned across the ocean at intervals of a few hundred miles. In fog and rain, flying open-cockpit biplanes at low altitude, the pilots navigated by dead reckoning and the positions of their supply ships. A missed landfall in the Pacific meant death.
The Chicago and New Orleans crossed the Pacific successfully in the spring and — after completing the rest of the route and recrossing the Atlantic — flew back across the United States to Seattle, landing on 28 September 1924 to a hero's welcome. They had been flying for 175 days, logging some 371 hours of actual flight time in total. The Boston II completed the journey with them, giving the crew that had lost the original Boston the distinction of finishing what they had started.
What Came After
The 1924 world flight was superseded within decades by increasingly fast circumnavigations. Howard Hughes completed the route in 91 hours in 1938. The first non-stop circumnavigation by a jet aircraft came in 1957, when a US Air Force B-52 completed the journey in 45 hours and 19 minutes with in-flight refuelling. Today, a commercial flight from Singapore to New York takes about 18 hours and covers a route that the 1924 airmen took six months to traverse.
The original Chicago survived and is preserved at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Lowell Smith and his fellow fliers received the Mackay Trophy for the most meritorious flight of 1924 by a US military aircraft — an award that was something of an understatement. He had just led the first successful circumnavigation of the Earth by any aircraft, from any nation, by any means. The sky had a new dimension: it went all the way around.
Sources: National Air and Space Museum; Lowell Thomas, The First World Flight (1925); US Army Air Service official records; Smithsonian Magazine.
Related Questions
When was the first flight around the world?
The first aerial circumnavigation of the globe was completed in 1924. Four US Army Douglas World Cruisers left Seattle on 6 April; two returned on 28 September after 175 days, having covered 44,342 kilometres across more than 20 countries and two oceans. Their crews were the first people to fly around the world.
What aircraft made the first round-the-world flight?
The flight used the Douglas World Cruiser, a specially built biplane optimised for long-range over-water flying. Four were built and named after American cities — Seattle, Chicago, Boston and New Orleans. They could switch between wheeled undercarriage and floats, essential for a route mixing land and water legs.
How long did the first flight around the world take?
It took 175 days, from 6 April to 28 September 1924. The aircraft covered 44,342 kilometres across more than 20 countries, with engines that had to be rebuilt every few thousand miles. Supply ships and fuel caches positioned in advance made the crossing of the Pacific possible.
Which planes completed the first round-the-world flight?
Of the four Douglas World Cruisers that set out, only two finished: Chicago and New Orleans. The Seattle crashed into an Alaskan mountainside in fog on 30 April, though its crew survived. Boston was lost later in the journey, leaving the remaining two aircraft to complete the circumnavigation.
Why did the United States want to fly around the world first?
By 1924 aviation had become a matter of national prestige, with Britain, France, Italy, Portugal and Argentina all planning round-the-world attempts. The US Army Air Service, urged on by air-power advocate Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, pressed to claim the record first, and Congress approved the mission.
Who was Billy Mitchell?
Brigadier General Billy Mitchell was a controversial American advocate of air power who pushed for the US to win the first round-the-world flight. Outspoken about the future of military aviation, he was later court-martialled for insubordination, but his championing of aircraft helped drive projects like the 1924 circumnavigation.
Have aircraft since flown around the world in other ways?
Yes. In 1938 the millionaire aviator Howard Hughes flew around the world in under four days, and in 2016 the Solar Impulse 2 circled the globe powered only by sunlight, without a drop of fuel. The 1924 flight had taken 175 days; later attempts shrank that time dramatically.
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