The Question Mark

If you enter the lobby of the French Building at Rockefeller Center from the side entrance (off the central channel gardens) you will find a showcase with a reproduction of a plane in sterling silver made by Cartier. There is a plaque with an inscription which reads:

REPRODUCTION IN STERLING SILVER OF THE
“QUESTION MARK”
WHICH MADE THE FIRST NON-STOP FLIGHT FROM PARIS TO NEW YORK
IN SEPTEMBER 1930, PILOTED BY THE FRENCH AVIATORS
COSTES AND BELLONTE
THIS GOOD-WILL FLIGHT WAS THE RETURN VISIT OF
LINDBERGH'S HISTORIC FLIGHT TO PARIS IN 1927
THIS REPRODUCTION, WHICH IS SCIENTIFICALLY CORRECT IN
EVERY DETAIL, IS THE GIFT OF THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT TO
ROCKEFELLER CENTER FOR LA MAISON FRANCAISE
PRESENTED ON NOVEMBER 8, 1933
BY THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES.
HIS EXCELLENCY MONSIEUR ANDRÉ LEFEVRE DE LABOULAYE

EXECUTED BY CARTIER

The plane was a variant of the Breguet 19, a Super Bidon single-engine biplane, which was built specifically for transatlantic flight. On September 1-2, 1930, Capt. Dieudonne Costes and Lt. Maurice Bellonte flew from Paris to New York City (3,852 miles) in 37 hours and 18 minutes, the first non-stop westbound fixed wing aircraft flight between Europe and America. The conclusion of a message to American president Herbert Hoover from French President Gaston Doumergue said: "... in forming one more tie between France and the United States, will contribute greatly to the development of their friendship of centuries." I guess those were better times as far as American/French relations...