World War 1 heavy bomber , Vickers Vimy . Only 221 were built out of an original order of 1000 cancelled by the Air Ministry 11/11/18. This photo taken 14th June 1919 ( 16.13 GMT ) Shows British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown taking of for their first non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. They flew a modified World War I Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. Winston Churchill presented them with the Daily Mail prize for the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in 'less than 72 consecutive hours' and they were knighted at Windsor Castle by King George V.