History - 1st nonstop flight around the world lands, Mar

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History - 1st nonstop flight around the world lands, March 2, 1949
By: Jessica MacNeil - March 02, 2016
RE: http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs...-March-2--1949

Soon after World War II, and just into the Cold War, the US Air Force set out on a mission to make a nonstop flight around the world. The skies were an important battlefield in WWII and the recently-established Air Force was eager to show that it could strike anywhere in the world.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, the Lucky Lady II, a Boeing B-50 Superfortress from the USAF 43rd Bombardment Group, took off heading east at 12:21 PM on February 26, 1949 from Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth, TX.

It was an updated version of the B-29 that had fought in World War II, and would soon be replaced by the Boeing B-52. Equipped with machine guns and an additional fuel tank, the propeller-driven plane had four Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major radial engines providing a combined 12,000 horsepower. Its crew of 14, led by US Air Force Captain James Gallagher, included three pilots, and took shifts of 4-6 hours each.

In order to fly nonstop, Lucky Lady II had to be refueled in-flight by KB-29M Superfortresses over the Azores, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, and Hawaii using a grappled-line looped-hose air-to-air refueling system.

(Photo's & Maps on site)
Lucky Lady II was refueled in-flight four times by KB-29M Superfortresses. Source: USAF

The flight covered 23,452 miles in 94 hours and 1 minute, landing at the base at 10:31 AM on March 2, two minutes ahead of schedule. The average ground speed of the flight was 249 mph.

The flight path of Lucky Lady II shows Carswell Air Force Base and refueling locations marked by stars. Source: USAF

The crew of the Lucky Lady II received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Lieutenant General Curtis LeMay, Strategic Air Command's commanding general, said the flight was significant because it proved the Air Force could take off on bombing missions from anywhere in the US to reach "any place in the world that required the atomic bomb."

After landing, the Lucky Lady II crew members were greeted by Air Secretary Stuart Symington and General Hoyt Vandenberg. Source: USAF


Lucky Lady II‘s record was broken in 1957 when a jet-powered B-52 bomber completed the trip in 45 hours and 19 minutes, and another B-52 set the record at 42 hours and 23 minutes in 1980.

Most of the Lucky Lady II aircraft was destroyed in an accident, but the original fuselage is on display at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, CA.

Editor's note: This article was edited to correct the location of the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, CA. It was originally posted on March 2, 2015 and updated on March 2, 2016.

Good Job Air Force