Episode Overview

Title: The Death Spin That Nearly Ended Aviation History
Podcast: The Naval Aviation Ready Room Podcast
Host: Ryan Keys
Date: February 26, 2026
Special Series: Footnotes of History
Featured Guest: Retired Navy Captain Tim Kinsella

This episode dives into the thrilling true story of the US Navy’s first successful transatlantic flight in the massive, ungainly Curtiss NC4 flying boat. Host Ryan Keys and guest Tim Kinsella illuminate how a near-fatal spin over the dark Atlantic tested the limits of early naval aviation, and explain how strategy—not just daring—earned American aviation its place in history. It’s a tale of forgotten heroes, incredible engineering, and the logistical marvels that set the Navy, and aviation, on a bold new path.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: The Peril of the NC4 Spin

• [00:00] The episode opens with a gripping account of the NC4 entering a spin over the Atlantic—"the worst possible emergency." The aircraft violently dropped and spun, its crew at the mercy of the elements and their own skill.
  • Quote:

    “If you were to look at the NC4 today, you couldn't imagine it to be in a spin. It is so large, so hulking, so awkward. So to think of that thing in the darkness entering a spin is to think of certain death.” (Captain Kinsella, 00:03)

  • Ultimately, pilot A.C. Reed recovers control just above the waves — an extraordinary feat demonstrating raw flying skill.

2. Why the Transatlantic Flight Mattered

• [00:54-02:30] Unlike famous “one daring leap” attempts at the Atlantic, the Navy’s plan was “deliberate, methodical... one careful, deliberate step at a time.”
• Captain John H. Towers, early Navy aviator and strategist, saw the need for prestige and visibility for naval aviation post-WWI.
  • Quote:

    “Towers understood a hard truth about peacetime militaries: that when wars end, budgets shrink. To prevent that inevitability, Towers felt that prestige and visibility mattered. Get the Navy into the public’s consciousness. Get the Navy some glory and good press.” (Kinsella, 01:54)

3. International Rivalry & the Race for the Atlantic

• [02:30-03:30] The original incentive came from the London Daily Mail’s pre-war prize for the first flight across the Atlantic, revived post-WWI.
• Where other nations’ aviators aimed for daring non-stop flights, Towers and the Navy took another tack:
  • Quote:

    “The problem was not daring enough men to try it, but proving that it could be done reliably.” (Kinsella, 03:10)

4. The Curtiss NC “Nancy” Flying Boats: Engineering Marvels

• [04:00-07:20] The NC flying boats were massive, sophisticated, and ahead of their time—designed for submarine patrol, not transatlantic flight.
  • Built with wooden hulls, Irish linen wings over 125 feet, and four Liberty Engines; they were “the most sophisticated flying machines of their day.”
  • Quote:

    “The task that lay ahead was as complex for the time period as sending a manned spacecraft to the moon would be just 50 years later.” (Kinsella, 07:09)

5. Logistics on a Grand Scale: Turning the Atlantic into a Runway

• [07:21-07:55] The US Navy deployed 56 destroyers, 50 miles apart, as navigational beacons, weather stations, and rescue ships, their lights glowing across the ocean—a vast demonstration of naval power and planning.

6. The Crossing: Triumphs and Disasters

• [08:00-09:40]
  • Three flying boats (NC1, NC3, NC4) launched; only NC4 finished:
    • NC1: Forced down by fog, destroyed by rough seas, but crew rescued.
    • NC3: Used its tail as a sail, crossing 200 miles of open ocean to safety—hailed as unprecedented seamanship.
      • Quote:

        “Never before had an aircraft behaved as a vessel of the sea for so long, nor with such stubborn refusal to yield.”
        (New York Times, as cited by Kinsella, 09:10)

    • NC4: Overcame engine failure, navigation challenges, and a terrifying spin.

7. The Human Element: Crew and Conditions

• [09:41-12:00]
  • Kinsella details every crew member’s role—Pilot Reed, Co-pilot Hinton, Navigator Stone, Engineer Breese, Radio Officer Rudd, and Machinist Rhodes.
  • Vivid descriptions of “flying by the seat of your pants”:
    • Open cockpits, exposed to freezing wind and spray, unreliable instruments, ceaseless engine noise, and constant risk.
    • Quote:

      “There was no artificial horizon, no gyro, no autopilot. If the aircraft rolled or pitched, you felt it instantly in your body. Your inner ear was as important an instrument as anything bolted to the panel.” (Kinsella, 10:44)

    • Quote:

      “The cold was relentless... not just uncomfortable, it was exhausting. Hands stiffened, faces numbed. Every adjustment... required effort and concentration.” (Kinsella, 11:05)

    • The effort was “not heroic in the cinematic sense” but a triumph of endurance, discipline, and trust in planning.

8. The Death Spin & Skillful Recovery

• [13:23]
  • The dramatic spin is revisited in detail. Reed’s calm, quick thinking at “the last moment” prevented catastrophe.
    • Quote:

      “No speeches, no dramatics, just flying...with pure strength and pure skill, because no one was going to pick him up.” (Kinsella, 13:30)

9. Aftermath and Significance

• [13:45-15:10]
  • The NC4’s arrival in Lisbon is celebrated internationally—“America has bridged the Atlantic with wings of reason rather than recklessness.”
  • The crew are praised as representatives of a rising power, not reckless adventurers.
  • Flight proves aviation can be planned, supported, and integrated—not dependent on luck or suicidal daring.
  • Legacy:
    • Reed quietly trains future WWII pilots; others become aviation advocates and leaders.
    • John Towers’ vision is validated: “Naval aviation was no longer experimental. It was essential.”
  • The NC4 itself is preserved and displayed, symbolizing the leap from “wood, linen and wire to rockets and footsteps on the moon.”

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Describing the Spin:

  “So to think of that thing in the darkness entering a spin is to think of certain death. But at the last moment, A.C. Reed, just above the waves, he pulled it out and the aircraft leveled.” (Kinsella, 00:06)

• On the mission’s purpose:

  “It wasn't heroic in the cinematic sense. It was cold, loud, fatiguing, uncomfortable. And precisely because of that, the achievement mattered.” (Kinsella, 12:45)

• Legacy perspective:

  “John Towers, he wanted the Navy on the map, not just geographically, but intellectually. The flight of the NC4 proved aviation could be planned, supported and integrated into naval power.” (Kinsella, 14:40)

Important Segments (Timestamps)

• 00:00-00:25 – The NC4’s deadly spin and recovery
• 01:54-03:30 – Towers’ strategic rationale and the international race
• 04:00-07:09 – Detailed technical breakdown of the Curtiss NC aircraft
• 07:21-07:55 – Turning the Atlantic into a runway with destroyer support
• 08:00-09:40 – Disasters of NC1, heroics of NC3, and the NC4’s perseverance
• 09:41-12:00 – Vivid, sensory exploration of cockpit life and crew roles
• 13:23-13:36 – Reed’s skillful recovery from the spin
• 13:45-15:10 – The impact, legacy, and commemoration of the NC4 flight

Conclusion & Takeaways

This episode brings to life a forgotten feat of aviation, where methodical planning and relentless endurance—not just bold risk-taking—defined a turning point in military history. The obstacles faced by NC4’s crew underscore the era’s blend of daring and discipline, and their success marked a new chapter for naval aviation, shaping the very foundations of air power in the modern world.

Host sign-off:

“That, my friends, is how the United States Navy crossed the Atlantic in a rickety biplane. As always, thanks for listening as we explore the part of history that happened before the history that everyone remembers.” (Kinsella/Keys, 15:11)