Fokker T 2
Under the auspices of the U.S. Army Air Service, the Fokker T-2 made the first nonstop U.S. transcontinental flight in 1923. Two failed attempts at a west-to-east crossing were followed by a successful east-to-west flight when Air Service Lieutenants Oakley Kelly and John Macready took off from Long Island, New York, on May 2 and landed at Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, on May 3, slightly more than 26 hours and 50 minutes later.
The airplane was the fourth in a series of transport designs by famed Dutch manufacturer Anthony Fokker and his chief designer, Rheinhold Platz. Manufactured as a Fokker F-IV, the aircraft was purchased by the U.S. Army Air Service in June 1922 and re-designated the Air Service Transport 2, or T-2. Required modifications for the transcontinental flight, such as increasing the fuel capacity, making structural reinforcements, and adding a second set of controls, were carried out at McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio. In November 1923, the Air Service offered the T-2 to the Smithsonian Institution, and transferred the airplane in January 1924. The T-2 was fully restored in 1962-1964, and minor refurbishment was done in 1973 in preparation for display of the airplane in the new National Air and Space Museum building (Washington) in 1976. |
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