The first aerial circumnavigation of the world was completed in 1924 by four aviators from an eight-man team of the United States Army Air Service, the precursor of the United States Air Force. The 175-day journey covered over 26,345 miles (42,398 km). It departed from Sand Point, Washington, from the shores of Lake Washington on April 7, 1924. The team generally traveled east to west, around the northern-Pacific Rim, through to South Asia and Europe and back to the United States. Airmen Lowell H. Smith and Leslie P. Arnold, and Erik H. Nelson and John Harding Jr. made the trip in two single-engine open-cockpit Douglas World Cruisers (DWC) configured as floatplanes for most of the journey. Four more flyers in two additional DWC began the journey but their aircraft crashed or were forced down. All airmen survived.

The Douglas World Cruiser (DWC) was developed to meet a requirement from the United States Army Air Service for an aircraft suitable for an attempt at the first flight around the world. The Douglas Aircraft Company responded with a modified variant of their DT torpedo bomber, the DWC.

Five aircraft were ordered for the round-the-world flight: one for testing and training and four for the actual expedition. The success of the World Cruiser bolstered the international reputation of the Douglas Aircraft Company. The design of the DWC was later modified to create the O-5 observation aircraft, which was operated by the Army Air Service.

The model

Printed with .2 layer height to accommodate movement of control surfaces. Glue will almost certainly be needed.

Lower wing will need to be installed into fuselage slot first, then the associated wing braces. Outboard panels will fit in either orientation.

Engine pieces need to be installed in a specific order, with the horizontal portion (exhaust tubes) going in first. Then the vertical portion (radiator) goes in to help secure the pieces together.

Propeller will take a bit of force to get on.