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''Lucky Lady II'' is a United States Air Force Boeing B-50 Superfortress that became the first airplane to circle the world nonstop when it made the journey in 1949, assisted by in-flight refueling. Total time airborne was 94 hours and 1 minute. After an accident, only the fuselage is preserved. (''Lucky Lady II'' was also the name of a B-17 of the 338th Bomb Squadron, which was shot down near Tielrode, Belgium (Temse), on 30 July 1943.) ==1949: First circumnavigation of the world== The ''Lucky Lady II'' was a functioning B-50 of the 43rd Bombardment Group, equipped with 12x 0.50 calibre (12.7mm) machine guns, with an additional fuel tank added in the bomb bay to provide additional range. The aircraft had a double crew with three pilots, with each crew taking a shift of four to six hours on duty and four to six hours off.〔〔 The aircraft started its round-the-world trip with a crew of 14 under the command of Capt. James Gallagher at 12:21 PM on February 26, 1949, from Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth, Texas, heading east over the Atlantic Ocean. After flying , the aircraft passed the control tower back at Carswell AFB on March 2 at 10:22 AM, marking the end of the circumnavigation, and landed there at 10:31 AM after having been in the air for 94 hours and one minute, landing two minutes before the estimated time of arrival calculated at take-off. En route, the aircraft was refueled four times by KB-29M Superfortresses,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2554 )〕 near Lajes Air Force Base in the Azores, Dhahran Airfield in Saudi Arabia, Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, and Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, using the soon-to-be obsolete grappled-line looped-hose technique. The aircraft flew at altitudes between and completed the trip around the world at an average ground speed of . Lieutenant General Curtis LeMay, Strategic Air Command's commanding general, was on hand to greet ''Lucky Lady II'' upon its arrival, together with dignitaries including Secretary of the Air Force W. Stuart Symington, Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, and Major General Roger M. Ramey, commanding general of the Eighth Air Force. LeMay cited the significance of the mission as indicating that the Air Force now had the capability to take off on bombing missions from anywhere in the United States to "any place in the world that required the atomic bomb".〔 He further stated that mid-air refueling could also be used for fighter aircraft. Symington noted that aerial refueling would "turn medium bombers into inter-continental bombers".〔 The aircraft's crew were each awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and were honoured by the National Aeronautic Association with its annual Mackay Trophy, recognizing the outstanding flight of the year and by the Air Force Association with its Air Age Trophy.〔 Another B-50 named ''Global Queen'' had taken off on February 25 with the same mission, but was forced to land at Lajes Air Force Base in the Azores due to an engine fire.〔 Altogether, five B-50As were lined up by LeMay for the task in anticipation that at least one would succeed, and, only four weeks were given to prepare the crews and logistics. 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「Lucky Lady II」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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