{"id":176576,"date":"2026-05-06T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?p=176576"},"modified":"2026-04-04T10:44:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T08:44:54","slug":"175-days-and-two-oceans-the-first-flight-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/175-days-and-two-oceans-the-first-flight-around-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"175 Days and Two Oceans: The First Flight Around the World"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

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 \u2014 175 days and 44,342 kilometres later \u2014 having crossed 27 countries and two oceans, and having become the first human beings to circumnavigate the globe by air.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Douglas
The Douglas World Cruiser “Chicago” \u2014 which completed the first around-the-world flight along with “New Orleans” in 1924<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n

Why America Needed to Do It First<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n

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 \u2014 the controversial advocate of air power who would later be court-martialled for insubordination \u2014 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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

The aircraft were named after American cities: Seattle<\/em>, Chicago<\/em>, Boston<\/em>, and New Orleans<\/em>. They were designed to operate on either wheeled undercarriages or floats \u2014 the ability to switch between the two was essential for a route that would include both land and water legs. The planning was meticulous: 68 supply caches were pre-positioned across the globe, and 13 Navy warships were deployed in the Pacific to support the crossing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Losses Begin Early<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Seattle<\/em>, commanded by Major Frederick Martin (the flight commander), crashed into a Alaskan mountainside in fog on 30 April, just 24 days after departure. Martin and his mechanic survived after hiking for nine days through wilderness before being rescued. The remaining three aircraft continued westward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

Command passed to Lieutenant Lowell Smith in the Chicago<\/em>. The flight continued through Japan, China, India, Persia, Turkey, the Balkans, France, and Britain. In late August, the Boston<\/em> suffered an engine failure over the North Atlantic and had to ditch near Iceland. The crew was rescued, but the aircraft sank. A replacement aircraft, Boston II<\/em>, was flown to Nova Scotia to allow the Boston crew to rejoin for the final leg.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\n

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\n\u201c68 supply depots pre-positioned across five continents. 13 US Navy warships deployed in the Pacific. 175 days of flying. The first around-the-world flight was as much a feat of logistics as aviation.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\u2014 The 1924 US Army World Flight<\/cite>\n<\/div>\n\r\n\r\n

Crossing the Pacific<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Flight
Crew members of the 1924 US Army World Flight at Seattle \u2014 the starting and finishing point of the first aerial circumnavigation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Pacific crossing was the most dangerous and logistically demanding leg. The aircraft crossed from Japan to the Aleutian Islands in short hops \u2014 the North Pacific route was treacherous in autumn \u2014 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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Chicago<\/em> and New Orleans<\/em> crossed the Pacific successfully, followed the American coastline south to Seattle, and landed on 28 September 1924 to a hero’s welcome. They had been flying for 175 days, averaging about 73 hours of actual flight time per month. The Boston II<\/em> completed the journey with them, giving the crew that had lost the original Boston<\/em> the distinction of finishing what they had started.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

What Came After<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n

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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

The original Chicago<\/em> survived and is preserved at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Lowell Smith received the Mackay Trophy for the most meritorious flight of 1924 by a US military aircraft \u2014 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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\n

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