This Day in American History: August 17th - The First Transatlantic Balloon Flight (1978)
- ForAmerica
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
On this day in 1978, three men from Albuquerque touched down in a French barley field after six days adrift over open ocean, finally conquering a feat that had killed at least seven people who'd tried it before them.
Crossing the Atlantic Ocean by balloon had been attempted at least 17 times since 1859, and every single attempt had failed -- at least seven balloonists died trying. Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson had already survived one failed crossing themselves, ditching their first balloon, Double Eagle I, off the coast of Iceland in September 1977 after 2,950 miles and a bout of frostbite that took Abruzzo months to recover from. A year later, they were ready to try again, this time bringing along a third pilot: Larry Newman, a hang-glider manufacturer.
At 8:42 p.m. on August 11, 1978, before a crowd of 8,000 spectators, the three men lifted off from a potato field in Presque Isle, Maine, aboard Double Eagle II -- a helium balloon 112 feet tall carrying a gondola named "The Spirit of Albuquerque." They survived on hot dogs, sardines, salami, and bagels, sleeping in three-hour shifts as the balloon fought through clouds, ice buildup, and shifting winds for nearly six straight days. At one desperate point, running low on ballast and oxygen, they had to jettison Newman's hang glider -- his planned method for gliding down into Paris -- just to keep the balloon aloft.
On August 17, 1978, after 137 hours and 6 minutes in the air and roughly 3,100 miles of open ocean, Double Eagle II touched down in a barley field near Miserey, France, about 60 miles northwest of Paris. Thousands of French sightseers and journalists rushed to the landing site. The three pilots -- and their wives, who flew commercially to meet them -- were later flown home to the United States aboard a complimentary Concorde flight, courtesy of Air France. When they returned to Albuquerque on August 26, 15,000 fans turned out to greet them, with 60 hot-air balloons lining their parade route.
Congress later awarded all three men the Congressional Gold Medal for the flight. The gondola of Double Eagle II is preserved today at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia -- a reminder of the six days three Americans spent adrift over the Atlantic, closing a chapter of aviation history that had been open, and deadly, for nearly 120 years.
Also on This Day in History
1807 — Robert Fulton's Steamboat Begins Its Hudson River Run
Fulton's North River Steam Boat completes a successful maiden voyage up the Hudson, proving commercial steam travel was viable.
1863 — Bombardment of Fort Sumter Begins
Federal batteries and ships open fire on the Confederate-held fort in Charleston harbor, though it holds out for several more days.
1943 — Allied Forces Complete the Conquest of Sicily
U.S. and British troops enter Messina, winning the unofficial "race to Messina" and closing out the Sicily campaign.
1962 — East German Guards Kill a Man Trying to Cross the Berlin Wall
A young man is shot and left to bleed to death, one of the ugliest incidents at the Cold War's most infamous symbol.
2008 — Michael Phelps Wins His 8th Gold Medal
Phelps sets a single-Olympics record at the Beijing Games, a mark that still stands today.
Source: HISTORY.com, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
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