100 years after the first east-west transatlantic crossing
Exactly a hundred years ago, only a few weeks after the first crossing of the Atlantic in an airplane, the British airship R34 flew across the ocean from east to west for the first time, carrying about 50 kg of parcels and letters, among them messages from the British king and the prime minister to the US president.
The airship took off from the military airbase East Fortune near Edinburgh (UK) on 2 July 1919, flew over Labrador (Canada) and landed safely in Mineola, near New York (USA) on 6 July after 108 hours of flight and with its tanks almost empty.
On 10 July it already started off on its return journey, which took only three days, three hours and three minutes, thanks to favourable winds. Don't forget to celebrate 80 years of the ITJ - with the upcoming ITJ 27-30/2019, published on 12 July! (ah)