The ''Old Glory'' was a

Fokker F.VII The Fokker F.VII, also known as the Fokker Trimotor, was an airliner produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, Fokker's American subsidiary Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, and other companies under licence. Design and d ...

a single-engined

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

that was used in 1927 on an attempted

transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing air ...

from

Old Orchard Beach, Maine Old Orchard Beach is a resort town and census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,960 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland− South Portland−Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

, United States to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy. The flight was sponsored by

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

to promote his newspaper the ''

New York Daily Mirror The ''New York Daily Mirror'' was an American morning tabloid newspaper first published on June 24, 1924, in New York City by the William Randolph Hearst organization as a contrast to their mainstream broadsheets, the ''Evening Journal'' and ''N ...

''. The flight was originally to have departed from

Roosevelt Field Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located east-southeast of Mineola, Long Island, New York. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aerodrome, it was a training field (Hazel ...

, New York, but due to the weight of the aircraft it was decided to use a landing field at Old Orchard Beach, which offered a longer takeoff run. At 12:33 EST on 6 September 1927, the ''Old Glory'' departed from Old Orchard Beach for Rome; it was piloted by James DeWitt Hill, along with fellow aviator Lloyd W. Bertaud as radio operator, and ''New York Daily Mirror'' editor Philip Payne as a passenger. Bertaud reported by radio at 14:55 that all was well, but at 15:55 he reported that the aircraft was heavy. The ''Old Glory'' was last sighted by the steamship ''

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

'' at 23:57 the same day, 350 miles east of

Cape Race, Newfoundland Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", mean ...

. At 03:57 and 04:03, the aircraft sent out distress signals; the nearest ship was ''

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

'', which triangulated the position from the two messages and altered course to the estimated location, 65 miles away. The weather was bad with strong winds and rain when ''Transylvania'' arrived at the location five hours later. Another four ships joined the search, but after thirty hours it was abandoned. Hearst hired the SS ''Kyle'' to search the area again, and on 12 September they found wreckage of the aircraft, but no sign of the crew; the only

trace Trace may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995 * ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993 * Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band * ''The Trace'' (album) Other uses in arts and entertainment * ''Trace'' ...

of the plane was a 34-foot section of wing, found 700 miles east of

References

External references

newenglandaviationhistory.com: "The Loss Of The Old Glory – 1927"
* Individual aircraft Aviation accidents and incidents in 1927 Aviation accidents and incidents in international airspace {{aviation-stub

See also

References

External references