REVIEW: Into Unknown Skies: An Unlikely Team, a Daring Race, and the First Flight Around the World by David K. Randall
The unbelievable history of the 1924 race to circumnavigate the globe for the first time by air, a nail-biting contest that pitted underdog US pilots against their better-funded European rivals, created technology that changed aviation, and convinced America that its future was in the sky.
In the early 1920s, America’s faith in aviation was in shambles. Twenty years after the Wright Brothers’ first flight, most Americans believed airplanes were for delivering the mail or performing daredevil stunts in front of crowds. The dream of commercial air travel remained just that. Even the American military was a skeptic—rather than pay to bring its planes back from Europe following World War I, the War Department chose to burn most of them instead.
All that changed with a single race in 1924. It was not just any race, though—it was a race to become the first to circle the globe in an airplane, pitting a team of underdog American pilots against the best aviators in the world from England, Italy, Portugal, France, and Argentina. Rooted in the same daring spirit that pushed early twentieth-century explorers to attempt crossings of the Antarctic ice or locate the source of the Nile, this race was an adventure unlike anything the world had seen before. The obstacles were daunting—from experimental planes, to dangerous landings in uncharted territory, to the simple navigational gauges that could lead pilots hundreds of miles off course. Failure seemed all but guaranteed—the suspense less about who would win than how many would perish for the honor of being the first.
Now on the race’s centennial, award-winning author David K. Randall tells the story of this riveting, long-forgotten race. Through larger-than-life characters, treacherous landings, disease, and ultimately triumph, Into Unknown Skies demonstrates how one race returned America to aviation greatness. A story of underdog teammates, bold exploration, and American ingenuity, Into Unknown Skies is an untold adventure tale showing the power of flight to bring the world together.
Review
At the end of the Great War, the US military, viewing the left over military airplanes as unneeded, burnt them in France rather than have them flown home. America’s defense rested on having a strong Navy to protect its long coasts. Many Americans had never seen much less flown in a plane. One man, who didn’t live to see his prescient predictions play out, wanted to change that.
The airplanes of the era were fragile, finicky, and prone to crashing. For pilots, dying was a distinct possibility. America had almost willfully forfeited its advantage of having built the first successful heavier than air, powered airplane and now Europeans owned the overall advantage in aviation. One American – General Billy Mitchell, who was almost universally loathed in US military circles – predicted that air power would be the new predictor of world power and that the next world war would be won with it. But he couldn’t get US authorities to listen to him, believe him, and most importantly back him in this. So he got someone else to propose his idea of a round the world race. It actually had no starting time or place or predetermined route. You just had to fly from one place, around the world, and then back and do it before anyone else.
People from several nations eventually took part but the US Army Aircorp fielded four planes designed by Donald Douglas (the man who went on to design the DC 3), flown by pilots with mechanics, and supplied by US Navy vessels. The level of enthusiasm in the US was lacking at first but as the remaining three planes (one crashed early in bad weather over Alaska – pilot and mechanic were okay) became the first to be flown across the Pacific and began racking up international interest, people started to follow the journey and, along with learning some geography, got excited about it.
In today’s world of long haul flights that can travel non-stop halfway around the planet in a matter of hours, what these men (from all countries) did sounds quaint. But as laid out in the opening chapters, flying then (and in single engine biplanes with open cockpits) was risky. Weather forecasting wasn’t great and the four US planes flew with no communication gear (due to weight). The US planes and one Italian plane flew east to west while most of the others headed east which caused them to head into various seasonal bad weather along the way. And while the US was passing anti-immigration laws against Asians, the three US crews landed in Japan and China to enthusiastic receptions.
That no one died in this race is a miracle given the many times planes had to ditch in the water, dodge icebergs, fly through monsoons, dense fog, and sand storms, and deal with faulty spare parts. The pilots and their mechanics discovered new-to-them cultures and countries and became global celebrities. They were astounded to see European countries’ civilian airlines and came back with the idea that aviation was truly going to “take off” (no pun intended). Some of these men lived long enough to see 747s, Concordes, and space flight. The interest the race stirred in the US led to laws that fostered many private companies (mainly to deliver the mail) that eventually became Delta, United, and American Airlines. Many of the designers went on to found household name air/space flight companies. The first hundred pages or so of the book details the state of planes and aviation at the time but once the race gets going, it’s fascinating. B
~Jayne
They had flown a total of 26,345 miles over 363 hours and 7 minutes, averaging 72.5 miles per hour. Over 175 days, they had been the first to fly across the Pacific; had braved icebergs and deserts, mountains and swamps; had nearly been killed by engine failure and disease; had been greeted by kings and fishermen, soldiers and mothers; had lived to tell the tale of crossing the Atlantic through fog; and had returned to Seattle to show the world that it could be done.
“Other men will fly around the earth,” an admiral said when they landed in San Diego. “But never again will anybody fly around it for the first time.”
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Thank you for your review, Jayne! This sounds like a book my husband would enjoy!
@Kareni: Whenever I see a book about space or flight, I think “Kareni’s husband is gonna love this!”
Jayne, thanks for making me chuckle!