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128 pages

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A 2016 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist In 1924 the U.S. Army sent eight young men on a bold attempt to be the first to circumnavigate the globe by flight. Men from five other countriesGreat Britain, France, Portugal, Italy, and Argentinahad the same goal. The race was on!First Flight Around the World documents the exciting journey of four American planesthe Chicago, Boston, New Orleans, and Seattleand their crews on a race around the world. The trip held many challenges: extreme weather, tricky navigation, unfamiliar cultures, fragile planes, and few airfields. The world fliers risked their lives for the sake of national pride. Based in part on the journal of one of the crew members, First Lieutenant Leslie Arnold, along with commentary, newspaper reports, and archival images, First Flight Around the World is a captivating tale about American ingenuity, gumption, and perseverance.

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Publié par	ABRAMS BOOKS
Date de parution	07 avril 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781613127421
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	6 Mo

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FOR MY UNCLE,
PAUL J. SEBASTIAN,
BORN THE YEAR OF THE WORLD FLIGHT
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Grove, Tim, 1967- First flight around the world : the adventures of the American fliers who won the race / by Tim Grove. pages cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-4197-1482-5 1. Flights around the world-Juvenile literature. 2. United States. Army. Air Corps-Juvenile literature. 3. World records-Juvenile literature. I. National Air and Space Museum. II. Title. TL721.U6G58 2015 910.4 1-dc23 2014024665
Text copyright 2015 The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum For illustration credits, see this page . Book design by Sara Corbett
Published in 2015 by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
Abrams Books for Young Readers are available at special discounts when purchased in quantity for premiums and promotions as well as fundraising or educational use. Special editions can also be created to specification. For details, contact specialsales@abramsbooks.com or the address below.

115 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011 www.abramsbooks.com
CONTENTS
JOURNEY OF THE WORLD FLIGHT MAP
INTRODUCTION
1 THE JOURNEY BEGINS
2 PLANNING THE TRIP
3 FIERCE WINDS IN ALASKA
4 DISASTER ON THE MOUNTAIN
5 FIRST ACROSS THE PACIFIC
6 COLORFUL JAPAN
7 MECHANICAL TROUBLE IN INDOCHINA
8 THE HEAT OF INDIA
9 A GRAND WELCOME IN PARIS
10 MEETING ROYALTY IN GREAT BRITAIN
11 PLANE IN DANGER
12 ICEBERGS AND FOG
13 THE WELCOMING CROWDS OF NORTH AMERICA
14 JOURNEY S END
EPILOGUE
GLOSSARY
ITINERARY
ENDNOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ART CREDITS
INDEX OF SEARCHABLE TERMS

INTRODUCTION
hen this story took place, the world was very different from what it is today. In the early 1920s, Europe was recovering from World War I, which had brought devastation and great hardship across the continent. Large parts of Asia and the Middle East that now are independent nations were governed by countries like Great Britain and France. To find out what was going on around the world, people read newspapers or watched newsreels-short film clips that were shown before the full-length movie at a theater. Radio, a recent invention, was increasing in popularity, but televisions, mobile phones, and the Internet did not exist. Women were just beginning to make gains in a male-dominated world and were in the process of earning the right to vote in many countries. Travel was very expensive, and people relied on trains or ocean liners to go long distances. Many people had never seen an airplane, except in pictures.
In 1924, the U.S. Army sent eight young men on a grand adventure around the world. It was not a voyage of exploration but rather a bold attempt to be the first to circumnavigate the globe by flight. Airmen from five other countries-Great Britain, France, Portugal, Italy, and Argentina-had the same goal, and so the quest became a race. Who would win?
The trip held many challenges: extreme weather, tricky navigation, fragile planes, a scarcity of airfields, and the necessity of dealing with unfamiliar countries and cultures. The world fliers would be risking their lives, facing one obstacle after another, for the sake of their country s pride. It would be an honor for the United States to be the first to conquer the world by air. For the fliers it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

THE OFFICIAL INSIGNIA THAT WAS PAINTED ON EACH PLANE. THE LIGHT BLUE CLOUD SHAPE FEATURED TWO BALD EAGLES, SYMBOLS OF THE UNITED STATES, CIRCLING A GLOBE.
Many men applied to go on the trip, but the Army needed only eight in all: four pilots and four mechanics. First Lieutenant Leslie Arnold was upset when he found out he had been selected as one of two alternate pilots; it appeared that he wouldn t be going. But then another person got sick and couldn t go, and so he joined the crew, although as a mechanic instead of a pilot. He would fly around the world in a plane named the Chicago and keep a journal of his experiences. Both the plane and the journal would one day end up in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. More than 400 photographs taken on the flight would become part of the museum s archives. This account of the World Flight is based, in part, on Arnold s journal.

THE NO. 1A AUTOGRAPHIC KODAK JR. CAMERA CARRIED BY LOWELL SMITH ON THE WORLD FLIGHT.

THE FLIERS AT SAND POINT, WASHINGTON, AT THE BEGINNING OF THEIR FLIGHT ( FROM LEFT ): ARTHUR TURNER (DID NOT GO ON FLIGHT), HENRY OGDEN, LESLIE ARNOLD, LEIGH WADE, LOWELL SMITH, FREDERICK MARTIN, ALVA HARVEY. ERIK NELSON AND JOHN HARDING ARE MISSING.

THE CHICAGO , READY FOR TAKEOFF, WITH PILOT LOWELL SMITH AND MECHANIC LESLIE ARNOLD.
THE BOSTON TAKING OFF AT THE START OF THE FLIGHT.

round 8:30 A . M ., on April 6, 1924, three airplanes floating on the calm water of Lake Washington in Seattle taxied away from their moorings, revved their engines, and climbed steadily into the cold, gray sky. A fourth plane, weighed down by supplies, could not break the surface tension of the water and returned to its mooring to unload some weight. After a delay, it managed to join the others aloft. The biplanes were named for four major American cities: Seattle (no. 1), Chicago (no. 2), Boston (no. 3), and New Orleans (no. 4). Each plane held a pilot and a mechanic, plenty of fuel (450 gallons), and various supplies. In addition, two small stuffed toy monkeys-good-luck charms-were along for the ride.

FLYING NEAR PRINCE RUPERT, BRITISH COLUMBIA.
The eight airmen, members of the U.S. Army Air Service (a predecessor to the U.S. Air Force), were embarking on a daring four-month mission: They were attempting to be the first people to fly around the world. If successful, they would also be the first to cross the Pacific Ocean by plane. At stake was a nation s pride. Although Wilbur and Orville Wright had flown an airplane more than twenty years earlier, back in 1903, the United States had lost the lead in aviation to other nations, especially countries in Europe, that had quickly embraced air transportation. America was falling behind and needed more funding to develop air travel. With this flight, the military hoped to get the American people excited about aviation. To the world, it wanted to prove that the United States could master the air.
However, other countries were not going to let the Americans claim the prize so easily. A British attempt was already under way; the Portuguese and French would begin flights later in April; and the Italians and Argentines would launch their flights in July. The race had begun, and time was important!

A TICKET TO A PUBLIC AIR SHOW INTENDED TO GENERATE EXCITEMENT FOR THE UPCOMING WORLD FLIGHT.
The world fliers were excited but also aware of the dangers ahead. Flying was still in its early years, and few landing fields and refueling stations existed around the world. This was not going to be a nonstop flight. The men would need to change the landing gear of their planes, between pontoons (for water landings) and wheels (for ground landings), three times during the trip. And they would have to depend on the U.S. Navy and other suppliers to ensure that they would receive the necessary fuel. Navigation would be difficult, because instruments were still simple (there was no radar, for example); pilots relied instead on good visibility. Communication would also be a challenge-none of the planes had radio receivers or transmitters.

Another challenge involved diplomatic relations. The planes would be flying over lands under the control of twenty-five separate governments. Each country or territory required special negotiations. The route that was chosen avoided the Soviet Union, which consisted of present-day Russia and fourteen other countries, because the United States did not recognize the Soviet government. Turkey refused clearance for the flight unless its military officers could inspect the planes. Some countries did not want the fliers traveling over sensitive military areas. Relations with Japan had been antagonistic, and only at the last minute did the Japanese government agree to allow the fliers access.

THE OFFICIAL ARMY AIR SERVICE MAP OF THE WORLD FLIGHT ROUTE.

WADE, SMITH, MARTIN, AND HARVEY.
As they headed north over the Puget Sound toward Canada, the U.S. airmen encountered thick fog. Poor visibility forced them to drop down to less than one hundred feet above the water. They dodged heavily wooded islands as well as the occasional steamboat plying the waters. There were twenty-foot-high swells, which would make an emergency landing impossible. After a long eight hours through snow squalls and fog banks, the planes reached their first destination: Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The Seattle made a stalled landing and dropped onto the water with unusual force. It suffered slight damage. The Chicago almost hit some wires that the pilot had not seen. Only the New Orleans landed without difficulty. The fourth plane, the Boston , arrived an hour later. It had become separated from the rest. Major Frederick Martin in the Seattle , the lead plane, had mistakenly identified a photographic plane following them as the Boston and so had not waited for it to catch up.
The mayor of Prince Rupert greeted them. Gentlemen, you have arrived on the worst day we ve had in ten years, he proclaimed, referring to the weather. Although the fliers were tired after traveling 650 miles, they graciously attended a dinner that the town held in their honor. This would be the pattern, as communities around the world were eager to wish the intrepid travelers a safe trip and give them local souven