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Aviator Roy N. Francis next to the modified Martin MB-1 Bomber (Martin GMB-TA or "Martin GMT"; Air Service Serial No. A.S. 62949, Martin construction no. c/n 8) that he was to fly in an attempt of a one-stop (at North Platte, Nebraska) flight between New York and San Francisco in the summer of 1919. Unfortunately, on July 24, 1919, five days prior to the planned start of the flight, the aircraft was destroyed (see photo on Page 21 of cited journal below) when the hanger it was in at Hazelhurst Field (later Roosevelt Field), Mineola, was collapsed by a "cyclone, accompanyied by lightning" on that date. See: "U.S. Air Service," September 1919, "Coastal and Transcontinental Flights," Pages 21-22. For the details on the aircraft, see: Glenn L. Martin Aviation Museum - Martin Aircraft Specifications (1998)

ROY NEWELL FRANCIS
1886-1952
see also
and
www.earlyaviators.com/efrancis.htm

TVL1970 and Art Siegel: Thanks. We will include some of your details next time we update the description.

The New York Times in a page one story reported the cyclone that destroyed the Martin Bomber occurred on July 28, 1919, and the single stop transcontinental flight was to start four days later on August 1, 1919. [1] The Times references the July 24, 1919, date as the day "An army bombing plane [Martin Bomber] carrying a crew of five, commanded by Lieut. Col. R.S. Hartz, left the ground here [Washington, DC] at 10 A.M. on the first leg of a flight of nearly 8,000 miles around the rim of the country." [2]

The Indian Head and Arrow on the side of the plane was used by Transcontinental and Western Air Express, which became TWA. Even as late as the mid Sixties, the Indian Head was still on a button on the pilots hat.

This Consolidated Model 16 Commodore NC664M sank on 18 June 1942 in Takia Lake. Enthusiast have found the wreckage in 1963. There is apparently a group at work to get the remains up and show it at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. For more information see www.commodoreflyingboatrecovery.com