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A hundred years today, on June 15th 1919, John William Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown became the first men to fly non-stop across the Atlantic in a single aircraft under 72 hours, when they flew from St John, Newfoundland to Derrygilmlagh Bog, near Clifden in County Galway in Ireland in a modified Vickers Vimy IV bomber.

(It has to be said that a Curtiss NC flying boat did make a crossing before that, but this crossing lasted 23 days and included multiple stops, having departed from New York on May 8th, and arrived at Plymouth, England on May 31st 1919, with stops in Newfoundland, the Azores, and Lisbon. The aircraft was one of four to start but the only one to arrive, with the three others either being lost underway or cannibalised to keep the sole remaining one airworthy)

Sir John William Alcock KBE DSC, born November 5th 1892, first got interested in aviation at age 17, and became a mechanic to an early Manchester-based aviator in 1910. He acquired a flying license of his own in November of 1912, and had become a racing pilot by 1914. On the outbreak of World War I, he joined the Royal Naval Air Service, initially as a flight instructor; by 1916 he had been transferred to Greece for action against the Turkish forces. During his time in Greece, Alcock actually designed and built a fighter of his own from surplus parts originating from written-off parts; however by the time the 'Alcock Scout' first flew in October of 1917, Alcock himself was a Prisoner of War, having been forced to ditch his bomber in the Aegean Sea following engine failure on return from a raid on Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). Alcock was only released following the Armastice, and demobbed in March of 1919, after which he became a test pilot at Vickers. It was there that he became involved in their attempt to complete a non-stop trans-Atlantic flight, a flight which lasted 15 hours and 57 minutes, flown non-stop by John Alcock at the controls. Following the flight, which ended in a crash-landing, John Alcock was invested the Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire on June 27th 1919. Sadly, he was not to enjoy his fame very long: only three days after attending the presentation of their by then repaired Vickers Vimy to the Science Museum in London, John Alcock was fatally injured in a crash on November 18th 1919, at the age of 27.

Sir Arthur Whitten Brown KBE, born on July 23rd 1886 to American parents in Glasgow, Scotland, began a career in engineering with British Westinghouse, a subsidiary of the American Westinghouse firm, before the outbreak of World War I saw him enlist in the British Army. Originally a Second Lieutenant with the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion of the Manchester Regiment serving in France, Brown transferred to the Royal Flying Corps where he became an observer with No. 2 Squadron. His war was a relatively short one: on November 10th 1915 he and his pilot were taken Prisoners of War after being forced to crashland their aircraft behind German lines. For Brown, it was his second time being shot down. While Brown's pilot Medlicott died in June of 1918 during his fourteenth escape attempt, Brown was repatriated for medical reasons in September of 1917. Following the Armastice, Brown sought employment so he could marry and begin a family; on employing with the Vickers-Metrovick company, he was asked to act as a navigator on the trans-Atlantic flight the Vickers company was attempting. For his involvement in this succesful flight, Arthur Brown was invested the Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire on June 27th 1919. After this, he became Vickers Metrovick's chief representative in the Swansea area.
On the outbreak of World War II, Brown joined the Home Guard before rejoining the Royal Air Force in 1941 where he served in Training Command; unfortunately he was forced to resign in mid-1943 due to deteriorating health. His only son, Arthur 'Buster' Brown, became a fighter pilot, serving on the de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber with 605 Squadron, but sadly he was killed during a night intruder mission over the Netherlands on June 6th 1944, flown in support of the D-Day landings. The loss of his only son badly affected Arthur Brown. His deteriorating health caused him to take sleeping pills, which led him to pass away on October 4th 1948, aged 62, following an accidental overdose.

The Vickers Vimy bomber used by Alcock and Brown for their trans-Atlantic flight was restored and preserved following their Trans-Atlantic Flight; it is still on public display at the Science Museum in London.

Screenshot made in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004.

Description
A hundred years today, on June 15th 1919, John William Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown became the first men to fly non-stop across the Atlantic in a single aircraft under 72 hours, when they flew from St John, Newfoundland to Derrygilmlagh Bog, near Clifden in County Galway in Ireland in a modified Vickers Vimy IV bomber.

(It has to be said that a Curtiss NC flying boat did make a crossing before that, but this crossing lasted 23 days and included multiple stops, having departed from New York on May 8th, and arrived at Plymouth, England on May 31st 1919, with stops in Newfoundland, the Azores, and Lisbon. The aircraft was one of four to start but the only one to arrive, with the three others either being lost underway or cannibalised to keep the sole remaining one airworthy)

Sir John William Alcock KBE DSC, born November 5th 1892, first got interested in aviation at age 17, and became a mechanic to an early Manchester-based aviator in 1910. He acquired a flying license of his own in November of 1912, and had become a racing pilot by 1914. On the outbreak of World War I, he joined the Royal Naval Air Service, initially as a flight instructor; by 1916 he had been transferred to Greece for action against the Turkish forces. During his time in Greece, Alcock actually designed and built a fighter of his own from surplus parts originating from written-off parts; however by the time the 'Alcock Scout' first flew in October of 1917, Alcock himself was a Prisoner of War, having been forced to ditch his bomber in the Aegean Sea following engine failure on return from a raid on Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). Alcock was only released following the Armastice, and demobbed in March of 1919, after which he became a test pilot at Vickers. It was there that he became involved in their attempt to complete a non-stop trans-Atlantic flight, a flight which lasted 15 hours and 57 minutes, flown non-stop by John Alcock at the controls. Following the flight, which ended in a crash-landing, John Alcock was invested the Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire on June 27th 1919. Sadly, he was not to enjoy his fame very long: only three days after attending the presentation of their by then repaired Vickers Vimy to the Science Museum in London, John Alcock was fatally injured in a crash on November 18th 1919, at the age of 27.

Sir Arthur Whitten Brown KBE, born on July 23rd 1886 to American parents in Glasgow, Scotland, began a career in engineering with British Westinghouse, a subsidiary of the American Westinghouse firm, before the outbreak of World War I saw him enlist in the British Army. Originally a Second Lieutenant with the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion of the Manchester Regiment serving in France, Brown transferred to the Royal Flying Corps where he became an observer with No. 2 Squadron. His war was a relatively short one: on November 10th 1915 he and his pilot were taken Prisoners of War after being forced to crashland their aircraft behind German lines. For Brown, it was his second time being shot down. While Brown's pilot Medlicott died in June of 1918 during his fourteenth escape attempt, Brown was repatriated for medical reasons in September of 1917. Following the Armastice, Brown sought employment so he could marry and begin a family; on employing with the Vickers-Metrovick company, he was asked to act as a navigator on the trans-Atlantic flight the Vickers company was attempting. For his involvement in this succesful flight, Arthur Brown was invested the Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire on June 27th 1919. After this, he became Vickers Metrovick's chief representative in the Swansea area.
On the outbreak of World War II, Brown joined the Home Guard before rejoining the Royal Air Force in 1941 where he served in Training Command; unfortunately he was forced to resign in mid-1943 due to deteriorating health. His only son, Arthur 'Buster' Brown, became a fighter pilot, serving on the de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber with 605 Squadron, but sadly he was killed during a night intruder mission over the Netherlands on June 6th 1944, flown in support of the D-Day landings. The loss of his only son badly affected Arthur Brown. His deteriorating health caused him to take sleeping pills, which led him to pass away on October 4th 1948, aged 62, following an accidental overdose.

The Vickers Vimy bomber used by Alcock and Brown for their trans-Atlantic flight was restored and preserved following their Trans-Atlantic Flight; it is still on public display at the Science Museum in London.

Screenshot made in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004.