This aircraft of the US Army Air Service was one of four biplanes that
attempted the first flight in history to circumnavigate the globe. Two
of the original four aircraft completed the trip. The "Seattle" crashed
near Port Moller on the Alaska Peninsula and the wreckage was retrieved
in 1967 through the efforts of Bob Reeve to go on display in the
Centennial Aviation Museum that burned in 1973. The "Seattle" wreckage
survived the fire and is now displayed at the Alaska Aviation Heritage
Museum courtesy of the Alaska State Museum in Juneau.
Object ID: ASM 92-21-1
Douglas World Cruisers Circumnavigate the Globe 1924
2,200 mi (1,912 nmi) (wheels) 1,650 mi (1,430 nmi) (floats)
3,541 km (wheels) 2,660 km(floats)
Service Ceiling:
10,000 ft (wheels) 7,000 ft (floats)
3,000 m (wheels) 2,300 m (floats)
Wing loading:
9.9 lb/sq ft (wheels) 11 lb/sq ft (floats)
48 kg/m2 (wheels) 54 kg/m2 (floats)
Power/mass:
0.06 hp/lb (wheels) 0.054 hp/lb (floats)
0.099 kW/kg (wheels) 0.089 kW/kg (floats)
Last Flight for Douglas World Cruiser Seattle
April 30, 1924
When Seattle failed to arrive in Chignik on April 30th, naval ships Algonquin and Haida, coastal steamer Pioneer, began to search the area. Martin and Harvey had encountered strong head winds and snow squalls, limiting visibility with white-out conditions. Seattle's flight came to a violent end, hitting the crest of a 700' hill, and sliding another 100'. Miraculously, her crew survived with only minor injuries. They gathered some food and emergency supplies and made camp near the wreckage, waiting for the storm to end.
Crash picture courtesy of NASM
Realizing that it would be more difficult to be rescued on the hillside, the flyers decided to hike to the beach. Rough terrain and snow made this a dangerous trek, lasting over a week. At last they reached a trapper's cabin across the bay from Port Moller. Food and shelter gave the men strength to hike another twenty miles the following day. Finally, they were picked up by natives in a dory and taken to Port Moller, arriving on May 10th. The cannery superintendent for Pan American Fisheries radioed the good news of their safe arrival, ending the search. The men
were ordered to report back to Washington, D. C., as soon as possible.
Lt. Lowell Smith now led the flight with the Chicago on May 3rd as the three remaining Douglas World Cruisers sped on toward Asia, the Mid-East, Europe and the United States. On September 28, 1924, this record setting flight was achieved, when the Douglas World Cruisers landed at Vancouver Barracks, Vancouver, Washington.
The Douglas Aircraft Company was founded by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. on July 22, 1921 in Santa Monica, California. An early claim to fame was the first circumnavigation of the world by air in Douglas airplanes in 1924. The modified aircraft known as the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC), also was the first major project for Jack Northrop who designed the fuel system for the series. After the prototype was delivered in November 1923, upon the successful completion of tests on 19 November, the Army commissioned Douglas to build four production series aircraft. Due to the demanding expedition ahead, spare parts, including 15 extra Liberty L-12 engines, 14 extra sets of pontoons, and enough replacement airframe parts for two more aircraft were chosen. These were sent to airports along the route. The last of these aircraft was delivered to the U.S. Army on 11 March 1924.
The success of the Douglas World Cruisers established the Douglas Aircraft Company among the major aircraft companies of the world and led it to adopt the motto:
“First Around the World - First the World Around”
The original Douglas winged heart logo.
Douglas adopted a logo that showed 3 aircraft circling a globe, replacing the original winged heart logo. Why aren't there 4 aircraft in the logo? Because the 4th aircraft is here in the Alaska Aviation Museum.
The logo evolved into an aircraft, a rocket, and a globe. It was later adopted by the McDonnell Douglas Corporation.
It then became the basis of the current logo of the Boeing Company after their 1997 merger.
