Letter: Flight into history

Sir: Tony Glynn (letter, 17 November) is not quite right when he states that Alcock and Brown were the first aviators to cross the Atlantic. They did indeed make the first direct flight, but a US Navy plane flew from Newfoundland to the Azores and then on to Plymouth, completing its pioneering flight on 27 May. The Alcock and Brown crossing took place on 14/15 June 1919.

My father, Jerome Clarke Hunsaker, then a US Navy Commander, headed the design team that produced four flying boats for the purpose of being the first to cross the Atlantic. There were a number of British rivals waiting for favourable weather when the Navy plane took off.

ALICE H BIRD

Turville Heath, Buckinghamshire