In 1909, Louis Blériot crossed the English Channel. Roland Garros conquered the Mediterranean in 1913. Every pilot was obsessed with the idea of a transatlantic flight.

On June 14, 1919, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten-Brown became the first adventurers to accomplish that feat non-stop, in a Vickers Vimy aircraft. These pioneers had minimal flight instruments, a sextant and a radio that soon broke down. Their flight took them from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland, in just over sixteen hours. They had conquered the Atlantic. But their celebration was cut short. Alcock died a few months later, when his plane crashed en route to Paris.

In the years that followed the first transatlantic flight, others attempted even greater feats. Presented here are famous philatelic pieces from that celebrated Atlantic epic.

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