The aircraft used by Alcock and Brown for their first transatlantic flight in 1919 was the Vickers Vimy.
The pair flew a modified First World War Vickers Vimy bomber from Lester’s Field near St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Ireland. The aircraft was powered by two Rolls-Royce Eagle engines and had been adapted for the demanding long-distance crossing.
They took off on June 14, 1919, and landed near Clifden in County Galway on June 15 after about 16 hours in the air. Their route covered roughly 1,890 miles, despite fog, snow, equipment failures, and a difficult landing on what turned out to be boggy ground.
This was the first nonstop transatlantic flight by airplane, not the first transatlantic flight of any kind. The U.S. Navy’s Curtiss NC-4 had crossed the Atlantic earlier in 1919 by stopping at the Azores, while the British airship R34 later completed another notable crossing. Alcock and Brown also carried mail, making their flight the first transatlantic airmail flight.