A
historic and rare photograph of M-MWAL, a Dornier Do-J Wal flying boat in
Buenos Aires harbour - this is the aircraft known as Plus Ultra which completed
the first transatlantic flight between Spain and South America in January 1926
with a crew of Spanish military aviators. She departed from Palos de la
Frontera, in Huelva, Spain and arrived in Buenos Aires 4 days later, stopping over
at Gran Canaria, Cape Verde, Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco (Recife), Rio de
Janeiro and Montevideo. The 6,380-mile journey was completed in 59 hours and 39
minutes. The flight followed approximately the 1922 route taken by the
Portuguese aviators Sacadura Cabral and Gago Coutinho, in the first
Trans-Atlantic flight over the South Atlantic (from Lisbon, Portugal to Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil). The Dornier was subsequently donated to the Argentine Navy
and was used to deliver airmail. In 1985, she was shipped back to Spain with
the goal of recreating the original 1926 flight. However, it was soon realized
this would require more work than anticipated, and the project fell through. The
plane was instead restored as a static exhibit, then shipped back to Argentina
in 1988, where she is now on display in the city of Luján, Argentina.
The
photograph is approximately 5½ x 3½ inches (135 x 85 mm), and is in Fine
condition.
The
reverse is printed as an (unused) postcard.