12 April 1928
Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic from West to East in May 1927.
However, flying in the opposite direction is more difficult because of the prevailing winds.
In 1927 Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld bought two Junkers W 33 aircraft from the Junkers company in Dessau.
He named them after the two Norddeutscher Lloyd flagships SS Bremen and SS Europa. His plans were supported by Hugo Junkers.
During test flights he broke the record for flight duration.
Hünefeld and Köhl flew to Baldonnel, Ireland, where they met James C. Fitzmaurice, the Irish Air Corps Commandant of the Baldonnel Airodrome.
On 12 April 1928 they crossed the Atlantic Ocean, landing at Greenly Island on the south coast of Labrador, Canada.
Even though they missed their intended destination, New York, they were the first to cross the Atlantic from Europe to America. Köhl was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by Calvin Coolidge, the President of the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
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