Darius and Girenas
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Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas were Lithuanian pilots (USA citizens) who made a significant flight in the history of the world's aviation. On July 15, 1933, they flew over the Atlantic Ocean, covering a distance of 3,984 miles (6,411 kilometers) without any landing in 37 hours, 11 minutes. As far as the distance of non-stop flights was concerned, their result ranked second after that of Russell Boardman and John Polando, and it ranked fourth in terms of duration of flight at the time. Though Darius and Girenas had no navigation equipment and flew under unfavorable weather conditions, the flight made by the airmen was one of the most precise in all aviation history at that time and it equaled Charles Lindbergh's classic flight. You can see portraits of Darius and Girenas on the 10 litas note.
The aircraft
On June 18, 1932, Darius and Girenas purchased a Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker airplane, serial No. 137, registration No. Nc-688 E from Pal-Waukee Company. Since 1929, 40 units of this model were built. It was a single-engine, six-seat, high-wing monoplane. The fuselage was welded chrome-moly steel tubing, fabric covered. The interior of the cabin was covered with sound-absorbing material. The fuselage had side and top windows, with doors on both sides. Wings were of wooden construction, with two spars, fabric covered. Spars and ribs were made of spruce strips and plywood. The wings had two gasoline tanks of 88 US gal (333 L) total capacity. Wing struts were 2/3 wood, 1/3 steel (at the wings) with aero-dynamic steel ribs, fabric covered, giving an additional 47 ft² (4.4 m²) lifting surface. Tail surfaces were made of welded steel tubing; horizontal stabilizer of spruce strips and plywood, with trim-angle adjustable in the flight. Landing gear was a curved steel bar. Wheels 30 × 5 inches (762 by 127 mm). The engine was a Wright J6, radial, air cooled, 9 cylinders, 300 hp (225 kW).
On January 20, 1933, the airplane was moved to E.M. Laird workshops, where she was rebuilt and made suitable for the transatlantic flight. New, elongated wings were built, with two additional gasoline tanks installed in the fuselage, having 220 and 185 US gal. capacity, each tank equipped with emergency dump valves; in the cabin, under the pilot's seat a 25 US gal. oil tank, outfitted with 12 cooling tubes, was placed; a longer, new horizontal stabilizer was built; aero-dynamic wheel pants were installed; the fuselage received a new fabric. A new, higher compression engine, 365 hp (272 kW) Wright Whirlwind J6-9E, ser. No. 12733, had a "speed ring". On March 29, 1933, rebuilding of the airplane was completed, and the registration number was changed to NR-688E. The airplane was painted an orange color. On both sides of the fuselage scrolls with the names of the flight-sponsors were painted. The airplane was given the name "Lituanica" (the word for Lithuania in Latin).
The flight
After taking off from New York Floyd Bennet Airfield on July 15, 1933, 6:24 AM EDT, Darius and Girenas in their "Lituanica" successfully crossed the Atlantic, only to perish on July 17, 0:36 AM (Berlin Time) in Kuhdamm village, near Soldin, Germany (now Pszczelnik, Mysliborz area, Poland). The planned route was: New York - Newfoundland - Atlantic Ocean - Ireland - London - Amsterdam - Swinemünde - Königsberg - Kaunas (a total of 7,186 km). Due to weather conditions over Ireland, they changed course to the north and reached Germany via Scotland and the North Sea. In 37 hours and 11 minutes, until the moment of the crash, they had flown 6411 km (over 7000 km in actual flight path), only 650 km short of their goal — Kaunas. A Lithuanian board of investigation appointed to determine the cause of the catastrophe concluded that the pilots were properly qualified to accomplish the mission; from the technical standpoint the airplane was properly outfitted; and the most difficult part of the flight was executed with great precision. The catastrophe occurred due to difficult weather conditions combined with engine defects.