Who first flew an airplane nonstop across the Atlantic?

John Alcock and Arthur Brown first flew an airplane nonstop across the Atlantic. On June 14–15, 1919, the British pair flew a modified Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland.

Alcock piloted the aircraft, while Brown served as navigator. Their journey lasted roughly 16 hours and covered about 1,890 miles, despite severe weather, turbulence, icing, poor visibility, and instrument problems. The aircraft landed heavily in an Irish bog, but both men survived.

Their flight won a £10,000 prize offered by the Daily Mail for the first nonstop crossing of the Atlantic by airplane within 72 consecutive hours. The Vimy had originally been designed as a First World War bomber; its bomb racks were removed and replaced with extra fuel tanks for the long-distance attempt.

The achievement is sometimes confused with the earlier first transatlantic flight by the U.S. Navy’s Curtiss NC-4, which crossed in May 1919 but made several stops. Alcock and Brown’s accomplishment was specifically the first nonstop airplane crossing.