Richard E. Byrd on March 5, 1927. The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (NSN: 0–7918), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition I, in that on November 28, 1929 he took off in his "Floyd Bennett" from the Expedition's base at Little America, Antarctica and, after a flight made under the most difficult conditions he reached the South Pole on November 29, 1929. After flying some distance beyond this point he returned to his
Claims to the first powered flight Claims to the first powered flight Several aviators have been claimed as the first to fly a powered aeroplane. Much controversy has surrounded these claims. It is most widely held today that the Wright Brothers were the first to fly successfully. Brazil regards Santos-Dumont as the first successful aviator because the Wright Flyer took off from a rail and, after 1903, used a catapult. An editorial in the influential "Jane's All the World's Aircraft" 2013 edition supported the claim of Gustave Whitehead. Several aviators and/or their supporters have laid claim to the first manned flight in a powered aeroplane. Claims