As usual there are conflicting accounts.
According to wired.com:
Quote:
Record-breaking Canberra PR3 jets of Britain’s Royal Air Force flew the films to Gander, Newfoundland. Then CF-100s[sic] of the Royal Canadian Air Force took one series of films to Montreal, which supplied CBC in Canada and — through a special hookup to New York City — ABC and NBC in the United States. (This was Plan B for NBC, whose own hired jet developed mid-Atlantic mechanical troubles and had to turn back.) RCAF Mustang P-51s flew films directly to Boston for the CBS national broadcast.
However, in his memoirs, Walter Kronkite states that the CBS P-51 was "Thunderbird" and this borne out in this long account of the "Coronation Race" which states
Quote:
The CBS P-51 was piloted by Joe DeBona, who had won the Bendix trophy race in it in 1949. The NBC P-51 was piloted by Stanley Reaver, who had finished second in the same race. He said he was determined not to let DeBona do it to him again. DeBona left Goose Bay at 2:02 P.M. , Eastern time, and arrived in Boston at 4:13. Reaver left at 2:15, had ice problems, and arrived at 4:37.
DeBona (1949 - subsequently repainted)
Reaver
This Mantz's P-51:
ETA previous thread viewtopic.php?p=319765
