worldcruiser

On the left is the founder of Douglas Aircraft Company and designer of the Douglas DWC aircraft used in the Around the World Flight, Donald W. Douglas. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Wills_Douglas,_Sr. At right is Douglas Aircraft general plant manager, Harry Wetzel. At center is Maj. Frederick L. Martin, the leader of the flight (until his aircraft, "Chicago" crashed and was destroyed near Port Moller, Alaska). Martin and mechanic SSGT Alva Harvey would eventually find safety ten days after the crash upon reaching a nearby settlement. Martin, after being promoted to General would later serve as the commander of the Hawaii Air Force during the Japanese sneak attack on Pear Harbor on December 7, 1941. See: www.arlingtoncemetery.net/flmartin.htm

Douglas World Cruiser arriving at Crissy Field in San Francisco on September 25, 1924.

The prototype Douglas World Cruiser, Army Air Service serial number AS 23-1210, McCook Field prototype number P-318. She'd later be named "Boston II." The aircraft was designed and built to US Army Air Service (USAAS) specifications for the purpose of completing the first flight around the world (hence, the ability to operate either with interchangeable fixed handing gear or floats) . Four production aircraft were built for the flight. They were named, "Seattle" (AS 23-1229), "Chicago" (AS 23-1230), "Boston" (AS 23-1231), and "New Orleans" (AS 23-1232). Both "Seattle" and "Boston" would fail to complete the journey. "Seattle" would crash in Alaska on April 30, 1924 (the story of the survival of her crew is worth learning about). "Boston" would be forced to land at sea near the Faroe Islands after her engine failed. She'd be irreparably damaged in the forced landing, and would sink while being towed by the light cruiser USS Richmond (CL-9), on August 3, 1924. After the loss of "Boston," the prototype (AS 23-1210) was pressed into service for the remainder of the flight, now named "Boston II." It would join the flight at Pictou Harbor, Nova Scotia, on September 3, 1924. Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_World_Cruiser en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aerial_circumnavigation

The Seattle Star. May 12, 1924, Page 7, column 1 chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87093407/1924-05-12/ed-... reports the safety of the crew of the "Seattle" with headline "Aviators make their own rescue: Martin and Harvey walk for days to reach safety." Another description of the survival of the crew of the Seattle is at web.archive.org/web/20120622074326/http://www.alaskaairmu... This piece has a photo of the crashed plane. The Palisadian. September 12, 1924, ROTOGRAVURE SECTION, Image 9 chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84020438/1924-09-12/ed-... also includes a picture of the crashed plane.

Thanks TVL1970, we'll update our catalog record.