America (aircraft)
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A trimotor Fokker C-2 monoplane, the America was flown in 1927 by Richard E. Byrd, Bernt Balchen, George Noville, and Bert Acosta on their transatlantic flight. It was the third aircraft to successfully travel nonstop across the Atlantic, after Lindbergh's historic "Spirit of St. Louis" hop and Clarence Chamberlin's "Columbia" flight from New York to Berlin, all aspiring to win the Orteig Prize. It was also the first aircraft to carry official airmail across the Atlantic.
The America was destroyed after it was ditched near the French village of Ver-sur-Mer. After it was towed ashore, it was torn apart by souvenir hunters. Portions of the aircraft reside in several museums in Europe and in the United States. Some portions of the plane are commercially available.
The "America" is also the subject of the "America-Gold Beach museum", located in Ver-sur-Mer.
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