Comments on: The Airship “America” of 1910: The First Attempt to Fly the Atlantic

By: Hacked! – How a Frisky Feline Made Aviation History | Bwisit

Hacked! – How a Frisky Feline Made Aviation History | Bwisit — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 17:21:54 +0000

[…] pointing toward New Jersey — not exactly heavenward, granted, but you get the idea — where the airship America and its crew aimed to be the first manned flight to cross the […]

By: Teri

Teri — Sun, 28 Apr 2019 18:10:26 +0000

You certainly have to give kudos to Wellman for his persistence, and I’m really glad Kiddo the cat survived!!

By: Yama

Yama — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 22:52:15 +0000

I’ve read that Wellman did not test ‘America’ at all before he shipped it to Spitsbergen. First flight was to be a polar flight. Is it true? Seems incredibly reckless even though the ship was made by reputable manufacturer.
1907 flight was not a polar flight btw. Season was too late to attempt a polar flight, instead they just tested the ship (finally!?) when weather looked good, but it nearly ended in disaster.

By: Sundar Narayan

Sundar Narayan — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 20:23:30 +0000

I just recalled more facts about Wellman’s airship. According to the book ‘Marvels of the Modern World’, one of the crew almost fell overboard. Luckily, he was able to hook his foot around a steel tube (part of the truss, I suppose) and was able to save himself from a watery grave. Also, the equilibriator did not work as intended. In fact, it made things even worse. If memory serves me right, it caused the airship to pitch and roll. Strange how one remember things that one read during childhood.

By: Sundar Narayan

Sundar Narayan — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 20:07:33 +0000

I once read, in a book called ‘Marvels of the Modern World’, that the black cat (Kiddo) gave unmistakable signs of disapproving the whole venture, even before the flight began.

I wonder what became of Wellman’s airship after its crew abandoned it. Did it drift aimlessly along the skies for several years? Was it mistaken for a UFO, by people who sighted this strange object? Its hydrogen must have ultimately leaked out of the silk and cotton balloon fabric. Did the airship then sink into the sea or come to rest on a mountain? I hope that its wreckage is found one day.

Some 10 years ago, there was no information, on the internet, on Walter Wellman and his airship. Now, I am glad to see several web-pages (including this one) describe his noble attempt to cross the Atlantic.

By: Dan Grossman

Dan Grossman — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 02:47:34 +0000

In reply to Tom. Thank you!

By: Carter

Carter — Sat, 26 Aug 2017 00:17:38 +0000

I was aware of this airship because I am a huge airship fan, but only of its failures. The history and accomplishments of this ship are much greater than I ever would have thought. Congratulations, the America is officially off my presentation of airship failures!

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 14:06:05 +0000

Found this article while researching the crash of the Arkron on the Jersey Coast in 1912, and wanted to see what happened to the first attempt across the Atlantic by the America…

Great article! Thanks for posting!

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 17:05:27 +0000

While this was the first attempt by airship, do remember that Thaddeus Lowe was building a gigantic balloon “City of New York” to make his transatlantic attempt about the time the Civil War was breaking out. He managed a near 900 mile test flight with a smaller balloon over land while preparing for the attempt, landing in South Carolina from Cincinnati and being held briefly under suspicion of being a Union Spy.

By: Lorraine Marson

Lorraine Marson — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 18:08:16 +0000

Additional information information Murray Simon navigator was actually Frederick Murray Simon whose ancestry was from Guernsey Channel Islands parents were Frederick William Murray Simon and Mary Ann Mathews Bartlett grandparents Frederick William Simon and Jannette Le Patourel Guernsey Channel Islands family of Simon still living at Les Caches April 1st 2016 as paternal great grandfather was last son from Simon ancestry of these two houses. Family heritage was of French ancient descent. His relatives had been involved in privateering in the late 1700s and up to early 1800s therefore ships careers was in the family ref Mrs Lorraine Marson Guernsey Channel Islands