³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Amelia Earhart was not the only person on board. With her in the plane were pilot and mechanic Lou Gordon. In fact, Amelia was rated only as assistant pilot for the trip - yet such was the novelty of a woman taking on the challenge of the Atlantic that Stultz and Gordon have now been all but forgotten.

After landing and mooring their aircraft to a buoy just off the town, the three flyers went ashore in a motorboat, braving the throngs of people who came racing to the area from Swansea, Cardiff and many places beyond. Before the day was out a seaplane and a traditional aeroplane landed at Swansea with parties of reporters, photographers and special correspondents.

They came to note a remarkable achievement, the Friendship having left Newfoundland only 20 hours before. Bill Stultz was well aware of what he and the others had achieved, commenting to a reporter from the Llanelli Mercury:

"We encountered fog almost all the way, and there was considerable rain as well. Most of the way I was flying blind because of the fog and rain. We had no idea where we were, as we had not seen Ireland. We landed here in south Wales because we were short of fuel."

Such was the enthusiasm of local people and the press that telephone lines were blocked and reporters who came hurrying to the area from London found it difficult get their stories away.

The flyers had intended to leave Burry Port that same night, heading on to , but bad weather forced them to postpone their departure and they were obliged to spend the night in the Ashburnham Hotel.

Amelia must have maintained a low profile as several dignitaries who came to congratulate her on her achievement, failed to locate the intrepid woman flyer. Among them was the aviator , then living in nearby Swansea. He had been the first man to fly the Atlantic, along with Sir John Alcock.

"When I arrived the crowds were so dense," he said, "that I could not get near the machine. I searched Burry Port for some considerable time but failed to find them. I know the wonder of their achievement and would have liked to have offered my personal congratulations."

One person who did manage to speak to Amelia Earhart was the reporter from the Llanelli Mercury. He managed to get his interview early on the morning after their arrival, before the three flyers took off again. According to him Amelia admitted that during the historic flight she ate only two oranges and six malted milk tablets:

"How lovely your country is," she said. "The stillness and the silence brings back again the almost awesome feeling which came to me as, hour after hour, we pushed forward through the thick clouds and fog. It was as if we were alone in the world. To think that 48 hours ago I was in America and now I am in Wales!"

Amelia Earhart did not take the controls of the Friendship during the transatlantic flight but she has gone down in history as the first woman ever to fly across the ocean. And she and her colleagues landed in south Wales, a remarkable end to a remarkable achievement.

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ blog, you will need to sign in to your ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD account. If you don't have a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD account, you can - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? , or get some .