THE FLIGHT 

 It is about 2000 miles (3000 km) across the Atlantic. 

The chart used by Alcock and Brown, 1919. 
Acknowledgements: Brown Estate/Vickers PLC

The crew began their journey in good spirits. While Alcock flew the plane, Brown did the navigating and kept the log. Both brought toy cats as mascots for their journey.

After the flight, Brown made a tidy copy of the log.

The crew faced many problems. 
Their radio broke down shortly after take off.

Fog enveloped the plane and prevented the fliers from seeing anything for much of the journey.

At one point Alcock lost control of the plane and it began to spin in the air. Emerging from the fog they found themselves dangerously close to the sea. However through Alcock’s expert flying, the plane began to regain its position and they climbed back up into the sky.

Because of the fog Brown found it very difficult to work out their exact position during the journey. At one point they did manage to fly into a clear patch of sky and Brown fixed their position in the sky according to a star named 'Vega', and the moon. This was recorded on the chart used by Alcock and Brown.

 It was too noisy to hear, so Alcock and Brown passed notes back and forth between them.

A page from Alcock and Brown's notebook, 1919
Acknowledgements: Brown Estate/Vickers PLC

The crashed Vimy, Ireland, 1919.  
Copyright Daily Mail Newspapers/Hulton Getty Picture Collection

The next morning, Alcock and Brown reached Ireland. They aimed to land in a green field but instead it turned out to be a bog. The plane suffered some damage when it hit the ground and sank into the bog. Both Alcock and Brown came away unhurt.

Their landing place was near Clifden Wireless Station. Once safely out of the plane, Alcock sent a telegram announcing their success.

Telegram sent from Clifden, Ireland announcing the landing of Alcock and Brown,1919.  
Acknowledgements Alcock Estate

Brown's account of the flight and an eyewitness describing the landing.
mp3 (2770k), wav (30500k)

There are many versions of the story of Alcock and Brown’s flight, yet not all the accounts tell the same story. One description tells of Brown climbing out onto the wing of the plane to chip away ice from the front of the engines, while still in mid-flight. However this has since been proved false, as it would have been almost impossible for Brown to have climbed out and survived. Brown was also lame in one leg, as a result of being shot down in World War One, making the task even more difficult to achieve. And in the logbook, which he wrote in every hour during the journey, Brown never mentioned walking on the wing.

Another area of dispute is the length of time the journey took. Many experts have discussed this and not all agree.