Jim Mollison sets out for the UK in an attempt to break the transAtlantic record, which he succeeded in doing. The Bellanca was named after Mollison's actress girlfriend despite still being married to fellow pilot Amy Johnson. NR190M was next used to break the record for London to Capetown. The Flash did, like so many aircraft in that era, end up in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Photo by: Rudy Arnold / Smithsonian Institution

First flown on 1 September 1934, this racer was shipped to Europe on the liner Bremen for participation in the MacRobertson Air Race to Australia, but it had barely been tested and the race organisation would not allow Irish pilot James Fitzmaurice to take on 600 gallons of fuel, causing him to withdraw hours before the start. Photo by: Rudy Arnold / Smithsonian Institution