1949: A U.S. Air Force Plane Completes a Record-Setting Flight Across the Atlantic

November 18, 1949

A new aviation record was established when a U.S. Air Force (USAF) C-74 Globemaster plane transporting 103 people landed at the Royal Air Force (RAF) station near the village of Marham, England. This 82-ton (74.4-metric ton) plane, which was known as the Champ and reached its destination approximately 23 hours after flying out of Mobile, Alabama (with a four-hour stopover in Newfoundland), became the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean while carrying more than 100 people.

Those on board for the 5,200-mile (8,368.6-kilometer) historic flight were Captain John Kelly, the chief pilot; a dozen other crew members; and 90 passengers, specifically airmen and technicians reporting for duty with the USAF Third Air Division in England. Due to thick fog and the limited visibility resulting from that, Kelly ended up circling the RAF station for about 15 minutes before safely landing the C-74 at 7:35 p.m. (The accompanying photo of a C-74 Globemaster plane was taken in 1945.)

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on the record-setting 1949 transatlantic flight of the C-74 Globemaster plane known as the Champ, please check out November 18, 1949 – Air Force Historical Foundation  and Daily News (Los Angeles) 18 November 1949 — California Digital Newspaper Collection

Additional information on the C-74 Globemaster is available at Douglas C-74 Globemaster – Wikipedia