IT was the record-breaking flight which saw a Renfrewshire-built aircraft make the first return journey to America, heralding the coming age of transatlantic flight.
A century ago the brave crew of the airship R34 - nicknamed 'tiny' and built in Inchinnan - flew more than 7,400 miles from East Lothian to New York and back again, carrying everything they needed for the journey along with a bottle of brandy, a gramophone, one stowaway, two dogs and a cat.
The achievement marked the first time any flying machine had made the entire round trip, and also saw one of the crew become the first man to arrive in America from the air when he parachuted onto the landing site to help the inexperienced ground crew set up.
Now bosses at the National Museum of Flight, a base which has a close connection to the airship's history, hope visitors will use the anniversary as a reason to visit and learn about the epic double-Atlantic crossing.
The R34 entered service in May 1919, having been constructed at the Wm Beardmore factory near Glasgow but completed too late for active duties during the First World War.
As long as two football fields, the The 634ft aircraft had was stationed at East Fortune - now home to the museum - which started out as a Royal Naval Air Station.
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Keen to show off Britain's prowess in the field of aviation, the Government's Air Ministry decided 'Tiny' should undertake a return voyage to America, following the successful one-way crossing by John Alcock and Arthur Brown in a Vickers Vimy bomber, which touched down in Ireland just a few weeks before.
And so, during the early hours of 1 July, the rigid blimp was 1st July 1919 the ship was filled to its limit with helium gas and loaded to capacity capacity with fuel for its engines before taking to the skies and heading across the country, flying over Glasgow and down the Clyde on its way out to sea.
Flying several thousand feet in the air, the airship cut through the clouds at a stately 40mph, while its crew of 30 were divided into two watches, port and starboard, with 15 men in each.
On the second day of the voyage a stowaway named William Ballantyne was discovered hiding inside the main body of the R34.
Mr Ballantyne had originally been a crew member who had been left behind to save on supplies, but had slipped aboard with a ginger cat named Whoopsie which had previously been the crews' mascot on an earlier flight.
Commander Major Herbet Scott, in charge of the expedition, recorded in his diary that if they had still been over land the unexpected passenger would have been "put off" in a parachute, but he was allowed to stay and work as a cook.
The voyage was not without its dangers, and the crew were forced to come up with unorthodox solutions to deal with an engine which stopped working because of a hole in its water cover.
Chewing gum chewed by three engineers - "the crew’s entire supply" - was used to fix a copper plate to the device and get it working again.
The journey was also hampered by dwindling fuel supplies, violent squalls and battering winds which almost pitched one crewman out of an open hatch.
But R34 reached Mineola in Long Island at 9.45am on July 6, 108 hours and 12 minutes after departing from Scotland.
In his diary, Major Scott wrote: "It is a bright, clear morning and we can see a long line of motor-cars of every sort and size streaming out from New York to see us come.
"[Crewman] Pritchard…descends by parachute… After about 150 feet the parachute opens well, Pritchard makes good landing, and can claim to the first man to land in America by means of the air.
"We have 140 gallons of petrol left, or two hours at full speed, so we couldn’t have cut it much finer and are lucky to get through!"
The airship's story is told as part of the National Museum of Flight's Fortunes of War permanent display.
It features objects such as the large bowplate from the R34, the airship's altimeter dial, binoculars and a camera used on the flight as well as a bottle of brandy taken on board for medicinal reasons.
The museum is also launching a search for images of memorabilia plus recollections from descendants of the R34's crew members, which it hopes to develop into a digital gallery to help tell the airship's story.
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Ian Brown, assistant curator of aviation, said: "The story of the R34 is packed with insights into the technologies and social history of the time.
"We're very proud that our East Fortune home has such close links to this historic adventure and hope that as many people as possible will visit during this centenary year to learn more about it."
The National Museum of Flight begins seven-day opening for the new season on Saturday.
This was originally reported in our sister title, The Herald.
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