The U.S. Navy’s Curtiss NC-4 became the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, in May 1919. In 1926, Paul Garber persuaded the Navy to preserve the aircraft. The Aircraft Building was ...

or more commonly “NC,” for their joint Navy and Curtiss Engineering Company development, the “Nancy” flying boats—numbered 1, 3, and 4 (2 having been cannibalized for parts to repair ...