Spirit of St. Louis Shipping Crate Hoisted Aboard USS Memphis (June 1927)

An archival documentary photograph capturing the massive wooden shipping crate containing the disassembled Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis being hoisted aboard the cruiser USS Memphis in Europe. Following Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight to Paris and brief tour in England, President Calvin Coolidge dispatched the cruiser to return the aviator and aircraft to the United States. Ryan shop personnel and naval riggers secured the fuselage and detached 46-foot wing inside the reinforced timber crate. U.S. Navy sailors and officers in service dress line the deck, watching the hoisting operation as the historic aircraft began its voyage home to Washington, D.C.