eBay

3 1938 newspapers DOUGLAS "WRONG WAY" CORRIGAN FLIES NY to IRELAND by "MISTAKE"

Lot of three (3) 1938 headline display newspapers DOUGLAS "WRONG WAY" CORRIGAN FLIES acros the Atlantic Ocean from NEW YORK to IRELAND by "MISTAKE" - inv # 1B-419

Please visit our EBAY STORE for THOUSANDS MORE HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS for SALE or at auction

SEE PHOTO(s) - Lot of 3 ORIGINAL front pages of 3 NEWSPAPERs, the Peroria Journal Transcript (IL) dated July 18, 1938; the NY Daily News dated July 19, 1938; and the Irish World (NY City) dated August 6, 1938. These 3 original newspaper front pages contain front page display headlines with coverage of the famous transatlantic flight by Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan between NY City and Dublin, Ireland.

These 3 original newspaper front pages have been professionally mounted, each individually, on a thin white cardboard backing for preservation of these fragile items. They are perfect for framing and display.

Douglas Corrigan (January 22, 1907 – December 9, 1995) was an American aviator, nicknamed "Wrong Way" in 1938. After a transcontinental flight in July from Long Beach, California, to New York City, he then flew from Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn to Ireland, although his flight plan was filed to return to Long Beach.

Corrigan claimed his unauthorized transatlantic flight was due to a navigational error, caused by heavy cloud cover that obscured landmarks and low-light conditions, causing him to misread his compass. However, he was a skilled aircraft mechanic (he helped construct Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis) and had made several modifications to his own plane, preparing it for his transatlantic flight. He had been denied permission to make a nonstop flight from New York to Ireland, and his "navigational error" was seen as deliberate. Nevertheless, he never publicly admitted to having flown to Ireland intentionally.

On 9 July 1938, Corrigan again left California for Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York. He had repaired the engine, taking his total spent on the aircraft to about $900 (equivalent to $18,700 in 2022), gained an experimental license, and obtained permission for a transcontinental flight with conditional consent for a return trip. With the Robin cruising at 85 miles per hour for maximum fuel efficiency, the eastbound journey took him 27 hours. Fuel efficiency became critical toward the end of the flight, and a gasoline leak developed, filling the cockpit with fumes.

Upon his unannounced arrival at Floyd Bennett Field, in the midst of Howard Hughes' preparations for departure on a world tour, Corrigan decided repairing the leak would take too long if he was to meet his schedule. His logged flight plan had him returning to California on July 17. Before takeoff, Corrigan asked the manager of Floyd Bennett Field, Kenneth P. Behr, which runway to use, and Behr told him to use any runway as long as he didn't take off to the west, in the direction of the administration building where Behr had his office. As recorded in Corrigan's autobiography, Behr wished him "Bon Voyage" prior to takeoff, perhaps in a nod to Corrigan's intentions to fly the Atlantic. Upon takeoff at 0515 with 320 US gallons of gasoline and 16 US gallons of oil, Corrigan made a straight-out departure from the 4,200-foot runway 06, and kept going east. (Behr later swore publicly he had no foreknowledge of Corrigan's intentions.)

Corrigan claimed to have noticed his "error" after flying for about 26 hours. This is not entirely consistent with his claim that after 10 hours, he felt his feet go cold; the cockpit floor was awash with gasoline leaking from the unrepaired tank. He used a screwdriver to punch a hole through the cockpit floor so that the fuel would drain away on the side opposite the hot exhaust pipe, reducing the risk of a midair explosion. Had he been truly unaware he was over ocean, it seems likely he would have descended at this point; instead, he claimed to have increased the engine speed by almost 20% in the hope of decreasing his flight time.

He landed at Baldonnel Aerodrome, County Dublin, on July 18, after flying 28:13 hrs. His provisions had been two chocolate bars, two boxes of fig bars, and a quart of water.

Very good condition. This listing includes the 3 original newspaper front pages - each individually mounted on a thin white cardboard backing - NOT the entire newspapers. STEPHEN A. GOLDMAN HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS stands behind all of the items that we sell with a no questions asked, money back guarantee. Every item we sell is an original newspaper printed on the date indicated at the beginning of its description. U.S. buyers pay priority mail postage which includes waterproof plastic and a heavy cardboard flat to protect the purchased item from damage in the mail. Upon request by the buyer, we can ship by USPS Media Mail to reduce postage cost; however, please be aware that USPS Media Mail can be very slow in its time of transit to the buyer. International postage is quoted when we are informed as to where the package is to be sent. We do combine postage (to reduce postage costs) for multiple purchases sent in the same package. We list thousands of rare newspapers with dates from 1570 through 2004 on Ebay each week. This is truly SIX CENTURIES OF HISTORY that YOU CAN OWN!

Stephen A. Goldman Historical Newspapers has been in the business of buying and selling historical newspapers for over 50 years. Dr. Goldman is a consultant to the Freedom Forum Newseum and a member of the American Antiquarian Society. You can buy with confidence from us, knowing that we stand behind all of our historical items with a 100% money back guarantee. Let our 50+ years of experience work for YOU ! We have hundreds of thousands of historical newspapers (and their very early precursors) for sale.

Stephen A. Goldman Historical Newspapers has been in the business of buying and selling historical newspapers for over 50 years. We are located in the charming Maryland Eastern Shore town of OXFORD, Maryland.

Dr. Goldman is a consultant to the Freedom Forum Newseum and a member of the American Antiquarian Society. You can buy with confidence from us, knowing that we stand behind all of our historical items with a 100% money back guarantee. Let our 50+ years of experience work for YOU ! We have hundreds of thousands of historical newspapers (and their very early precursors) for sale.

We invite customer requests for historical newspapers that are not yet located in our extensive Ebay listing of items. With an inventory of nearly a million historical newspapers (and their early precursors) we are likely have just the one YOU are searching for.

WE ARE ALSO ACTIVE BUYERS OF HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS, including large and small personal collections, bound volumes, significant individual issues, or deaccessions from libraries and historical societies. IF YOU WANT TO SELL, WE WANT TO BUY !!!