The first Vega NR869E. Jimmie Mattern and Bennett Griffin, whose names are marked in the circle on the fuselage, flew this plane from Floyd Bennett Field to Berlin in July 1932 as part of a round-the-world attempt. They crashed in Belarus as the cabin door came off and struck the tailplane. Smaller parts of the wreck were returned to the USA and used in the refurbishment of Mattern's second Vega, ex NC106N, with the reg NR869E, too, carried over at his request. Both aircraft went by the name Century of Progress, but it is not worn here. Photo by: Rudy Arnold / Smithsonian Institution

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