War booty on display in the Hôtel des Invalides. This aircraft was fresh from the Albatros factory. Photo from: Harvard University Library

Crashed into the Maude Bridge in Baghdad on 2 May 1929. One of the crew was killed. This was one of a flight of three Wals going to the Dutch East Indies by air. Photo from: Harvard University Library

'Seaplane on the Min River.' In 1934 Pan Am bought two eight-seat Douglas Dolphins for its Chinese subsidiary. They served on a coastal route between Shanghai and Shantou, extended to Hong Kong in 1936. The Min River of Fujian province reaches the sea near Fuzhou and the photo was probably taken there, by a teacher or student of the Fukien Christian University. Photo from: Yale University Library

Up to BuNo 9205 (first series) in the early 1930s, US Navy aircraft serials had an A prefix, but here it is already not worn on the fuselage nor on the rudder. A4061 was completed in October 1918 and sent to Pensacola. It received a new hull in 1921, but was declared surplus at Hampton Roads in 1922. In 1923 the airframe was sold without engines or instruments for $45. Photo from: National Museum of the US Navy

'Alongside submarine chaser USS SC 159.' A851 was based at Pensacola her whole career and would be struck off charge after a hard landing before 1919 was out. Photo from: National Museum of the US Navy

Withdrawn from use in 1970 and sold to the Indian air force. Photo from: Air Force Museum of New Zealand

When the Bremen flyers sighted Polaris during their transatlantic flight, they realized that their compass was way off and changed course. They crash-landed on a frozen reservoir at the lighthouse of Greenly Island in the strait west of Newfoundland. Famous aviators Bernt Balchen and Floyd Bennett landed a Ford Tri-Motor bringing spare parts, but Bremen could not be flown out and the crew left with Balchen in the Tri-Motor. Bennett had caught pneumonia and died in Quebec City on 25 April, despite Lindbergh flying in serum. The story was a media hype and 60 journalists crowded the island. Photo by: Leslie Jones / Boston Public Library

This photo is attributed to Boston photographer Leslie Jones, but was taken at Baldonel, Ireland in the early morning before Bremen took off for the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight from east to west. A very similar photo in the Bundesarchiv shows two other German planes in the background. Evidently the Germans brought their own ladder - it reads 'Lackerei' (paintshop)! Photo from: Boston Public Library

The World Cruisers New Orleans, 23-1210 Boston II and 23-1230 Chicago in Boston where floats were changed for wheels. New Orleans and Chicago actually flew around the world and are preserved in Santa Monica and Washington, DC, respectively. Photo by: Leslie Jones / Boston Public Library

The Junkers W33 D-1167 Bremen made the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight from east to west on 12-13 April 1928, landing on Greenly lsland, Quebec. Lt Richard Cobb flew this US Army Loening trying to help. Cobb was acting on the orders of, and sometimes transporting, Gen Brown of the Army's 1st Corps Area, headquartered in Boston. Thus the winged 1 emblem, also seen in photo 640547, may be related to the 1st Corps Area. Photo by: Lesly Jones / Boston Public Library

Light parasol monoplane designed by Harvey and Wilson Doyle and built by Vulcan company of Portsmouth, Ohio, which made golf clubs. Name American Moth chosen to capitalise on popularity of DH Moth. Photo taken at National Air Races and shows Robert Dake (pilot, left) and Ted Taney (navigator) who were the crew for the American Moth during the 1928 transcontinental race. After eight examples, assets and rights taken over by Davis Aircraft, which produced the modified Davis V-3 and D-1, of which some 60 were built. The Doyle brothers left Vulcan to build the Doyle O-2 Oriole. Photo from: San Diego Air & Space Museum

The Cessna CW-6 six-seater, first flown in November 1928 and on display here at the 1929 Wichita Auto Show. Apparently no series production. Design downsized to four-seat Cessna DC-6. NC6446 sold to Mexico as X-BACX in 1930. Photo from: Museum of Flight

Despite its fighter designation, the F2W was a dedicated racing aircraft. The manufacturer's designation was apparently Wright TX. It was powered by a Wright T-3 Tornado engine, cooled by wing surface radiators, and reportedy achieved 398.5 km/h (247.7 mph). In the 1923 Pullitzer Trophy race, the two red F2Ws took third and fourth place behind the Curtiss R2C racers also entered by the US Navy. The four planes are seen together in photo 648891. A-6743 / 8 ran out of fuel and crashed after finishing just before A-6744 / 7, which reportedly had greater fuel capacity. A-6744 was converted to F2W-2 floatplane but crashed on its first flight as such. Photo from: Museum of Flight

Air racing rivalry between the US Army and Navy did stimulate technological progress. The R-3 was one of the first aircraft with fully retractable main landing gear. It was designed at the Engineering Division of the USAAS by Alfred Verville and manufactured by the Lawrence Sperry Aircraft Company. Powered by the inferior Wright H-3 engine, the three R-3s built were unsuccessful in the 1922 Pulitzer Trophy race. 22-328 is seen here at the 1923 race, which it did not finish. This plane had received a Curtiss D-12 engine and managed a FAI speed record over 500 km in March 1923. It won the 1924 Pulitzer race, but that edition was less competitive. Photo from: Museum of Flight

Four US Navy entries dominated the Pulitzer Trophy race at the 1923 National Air Races, brought to you by Purina Chows (animal feeds). From left to right, the two Curtiss R2Cs and the two red Wright F2Ws came second, first, third and fourth, although Lt 'Sandy' Sanderson ran out of fuel and wrecked his Wright, A-6743 / 8, just short of the landing field. Photo from: Museum of Flight

Seeking revenge for its defeat in the 1922 Pulitzer Trophy race, the US Navy successfully procured a new Curtiss racer. A-6692 / 9, flown by Lt Alford Williams, won the 1923 edition and Lt Harold Brow in A-6691 / 10 came second. Both pilots also broke the absolute world speed record, with Williams bringing it to 429 km/h (267 mph). A-6692 was fitted with floats for the cancelled 1924 Schneider Trophy race. A-6691 was sold to the US Army for a sporty $1 to become the Curtiss R-8, serial 23-1235. Photo from: Museum of Flight

The US Army ordered a new variant of the US Navy's CR racer and used it to beat the Navy aircraft in the 1922 Pulitzer Trophy race. Other photos show that the winning race number 43, flown by Lt Maughan, was serial number 68564; thus number 44, flown by Lt Maitland, was 68563. Flying 68564, Gen Billy Mitchell himself set a new absolute world speed record of 358.84 km/h (222.973 mph) three days later on 18 October. Photo from: Smithsonian Institution

A Curtiss CR racer built for the US Navy had won the 1921 Pulitzer Trophy race, although flown for Curtiss by Bert Acosta. Sources disagree whether this was the CR-1, A-6080, or the modified CR-2, A-6081. With the CR-1 upgraded to CR-2 standard, the Navy flew both in the 1922 edition at Selfridge Field, but was beaten by the US Army's variant of the CR, the Curtiss R-6. The CRs were then changed to CR-3 floatplanes to win the 1923 Schneider Trophy. A-6081 also set a speed record for seaplanes and was modified to CR-4 testbed and trainer for the 1926 Schneider races. Photo from: Smithsonian Institution

The third SM.75, registered in April 1938. In November 1940, I-TITO was involved in airlifting Italian troops from Brindisi to Tirana, Albania - no doubt for the war against Greece. Photo from: Smithsonian Institution

First flown on 10 November 1937, the Z.509 was an enlarged Z.506, intended for air mail route to South America although LATI opened a landplane route in 1939. Project abandoned and the three aircraft built were impressed by the Regia Aeronautica in December 1939. Photo published in Flight in April 1939 after I-ATLA broke several FAI records for seaplanes. Photo from: Smithsonian Institution