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The first aerial circumnavigation of the world was conducted in 1924 by a team of aviators of the United States Army Air Service, the precursor of the United States Air Force. The trip took 175 days, covering over . In 1929 Australian Charles Kingsford Smith completed the second circumnavigation of the world by flight, and the first within both hemispheres, including the first trans-Pacific flight to Australia in 1928. ==U.S. preparation for circumnavigation attempt== In the early 1920s several countries were vying to be the first to fly around the world. The British had made one unsuccessful around-the-world air flight attempt in 1922. The following year, a French team had tried; the Italians, Portuguese, and British also announced plans for a world-circling flight.〔 In the spring of 1923, the U.S. Army Air Service became interested in having a squadron of military aircraft undertake a round-the-world flight. It assigned a group of officers in the War Department planning group, the job of finding a suitable aircraft and planning the mission.〔Swanborough and Bowers 1963, p. 548.〕 The War Department instructed the Air Service to look at both the Fokker T-2 transport and the Davis-Douglas Cloudster to see if either would be suitable and to acquire examples for testing. Although deemed satisfactory, the planning group considered other U.S. Air Service military aircraft both in service and production, with a view that a dedicated design that could be fitted with interchangeable landing gear, wheeled and pontoons for water landings, would be preferable.〔Rumerman, Judy. ( "The Douglas World Cruiser - Around the World in 175 Days." ) ''U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission,'' 2003. Retrieved: 7 July 2012.〕 When the head of Davis-Douglas, Donald Douglas, was asked for information on the Davis-Douglas Cloudster, he instead submitted data on a modified DT-2,〔("First to fly around the world." ) ''Did You Know.org.'' Retrieved: 7 July 2012 .〕 a torpedo bomber that Douglas had built for the U.S. Navy in 1921 and 1922. The DT-2 had proven to be a sturdy aircraft that could accommodate interchangeable wheeled and pontoon landing gear. Since the aircraft was an existing model, Douglas stated that a new aircraft, which he named the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC), could be delivered within 45 days after a contract was awarded. The Air Service agreed and sent Lieutenant Erik Henning Nelson (1888 - 1970), a member of the planning group, to California to work out the details with Douglas. 〔("Collections: Douglas World Cruiser Chicago - Long Description." ) ''National Air and Space Museum.'' Retrieved: 7 July 2012.〕 Douglas, assisted by Jack Northrop,〔Boyne 1982, p. 80.〕 began to modify a DT-2 to suit the circumnavigation requirements.〔 The main modification involved its fuel capacity.〔Yenne 2003, p. 48.〕 All the internal bomb carrying structures were removed with additional fuel tanks added to the wings and fuselage fuel tanks enlarged in the aircraft. The total fuel capacity went from 115 gallons (435 liters) to 644 gallons (3,438 liters).〔 Lieutenant Nelson took the Douglas proposal to Washington where Major General Mason M. Patrick, Chief of the Air Service, approved it on 1 August 1923. The War Department awarded an initial contract to Douglas for the construction of a single prototype.〔("Douglas DT-2 World Cruiser." ) ''Aviation Central.com.'' Retrieved: 7 July 2012.〕 The prototype met all expectations, and a contract was awarded for four more production aircraft and spare parts.〔Francillon 1979, p. 75.〕 The last DWC was delivered on 11 March 1924. The spare parts included 15 extra Liberty engines, 14 extra sets of pontoons, and enough replacement airframe parts for two more aircraft.〔 These were sent ahead along the route around the world the aircraft would follow.〔Bryan 1979, p. 122.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「First aerial circumnavigation」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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