Air Force Crews Start First Transatlantic Crossing by Helicopter

July 15, 1952

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Two Air Force crews—Capts. Vincent McGovern and Harry C. Jeffers and Capt. George O. Hembrick and Lt. Harold Moore—flying two Sikorsky H-19 helicopters named Hopalong and Whirl o Way, begin the first crossing of the Atlantic by helicopter. The crews fly from Westover AFB, Mass., to Prestwick, Scotland, in five stages, covering 3,535 miles in 42 hours and 25 minutes of flight time.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Related Content

Second B-21 Flies for the First Time

Sept. 11, 2025
A second B-21 bomber has flown from Palmdale to Edwards Air Force Base in California, ramping up the Air Force’s test effort for its new fleet.

Natalie Crawford, Icon of USAF Analysis and Modernization, Dies at 86

Sept. 10, 2025
Natalie Crawford, whose analysis helped shape and build Air Force modernization for decades, has died at 86. Crawford, who joined RAND Corp. in 1964 and spent more than 60 years as an analyst and expert there, was an influential and instrumental voice in the development of almost every innovation pioneered…

SDA’s First Operational Data Satellites Launch Successfully

Sept. 10, 2025
The U.S. military launched 21 satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., Sept. 10, carrying out the first phase of the Space Development Agency’s plan to put more than 100 operational “Tranche 1” data transport spacecraft in orbit over the next year.