The NC-4 holds the distinction of being the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean. In May 1919, three Curtiss NC flying boats belonging to the US Navy set off to cross the Atlantic. Crewed by US Navy aviators, the three flying boats (NC-1, NC-3 and NC-4) set off on May 8th from New York State with rest stops in Massachussets, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, the Azores, and then across the Atlantic to Lisbon, Portugal, in a journey that took 19 days. NC-1 and NC-3 did not even make it to the Azores, leaving only NC-4 as the lone aircraft to make the first Atlantic crossing.
Source : historynet.com
NC-4 taxis into Lisbon harbor after its successful flight across the Atlantic on May 29, 1919. The world press celebrated NC-4’s flight as a triumph of logistics and American aeronautical capability at a time when most planes had a difficult time simply staying in the air.
Source : Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum website.
Hungary 1978 SG 3179, Scott C402
Isle of Man 2019 100 Years of Transatlantic Flight (1st Class)
Marshall Islands 1998 SG 998, Scott 666a (part of the sheet)
1. Wikipedia entry - Curtiss NC-4.
2. Aviation-history.com article
3. HistoryNet.
4. Pioneers of Flight at the Smithsonian Institute.
