
To complete the 23,452 miles (37,742 km) easterly circumnavigation, Lucky Lady II had been adapted with an added fuel tank in the fuel bay. Even with the extra fuel capacity, the aircraft required refuelling at various points along the route. Four B-29 Superfortresses, adapted to serve as tankers, refuelled the B-50 over Lajes Air Force Base in the Azores, Dhahran Airfield in Saudi Arabia, Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, and Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.
The record breaking flight had a sinister significance. It demonstrated that the United States could deliver a nuclear bomb anywhere in the world. Thankfully, Lucky Lady II was never called upon to fulfil this function, and it's fuselage is now on display at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California.
Related posts
First successful powered aeroplane flight: 17th December 1903
First flight around the World: 28th September 1924
Charles Lindbergh arrived in Paris: 21st May 1927