The aviators Alcock and Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight on June 15th, 1919. The time for the crossing was sixteen hours, twenty-seven minutes. They flew a modified First World War Vickers Vimy bomber from Saint John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara, Ireland. The Secretary of State for Air, Winston Churchill, presented them with the Daily Mail prize of £10,000 for the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in less than 72 consecutive hours. There was also a small amount of mail carried on the flight, making it the first transatlantic airmail flight. The Alcock and Brown landing site,Derrygimla. A 6 minute drive from Clifden and a 5 minute drive from Ballyconneely village.
