<P> On June 1, 1944, two K - class blimps from Blimp Squadron ZP - 14 of the United States Navy (USN) completed the first transatlantic crossing by non-rigid airships . The two K - ships (K - 123 and K - 130) left South Weymouth, MA on May 28, 1944 and flew approximately 16 hours to Naval Station Argentia, Newfoundland . From Argentia, the blimps flew approximately 22 hours to Lagens Field on Terceira Island in the Azores . The final leg of the first transatlantic crossing was about a 20 - hour flight from the Azores to Craw Field in Port Lyautey (Kenitra), French Morocco . </P> <P> Beginning in the 1950s, the predominance of ocean liners began to wane when larger, jet - powered airplanes began carrying passengers across the ocean in less and less time . The speed of crossing the ocean therefore became more important than the style of crossing it . The maturing passenger Jet Age starting with the Boeing 707 reduced the typical crossing time between London and New York City to between 6.5 and 8 hours, depending on weather conditions . By the 1970s, supersonic Concorde airplanes could connect the two cities in less than 4 hours, and only one ocean liner, The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 remained on the transatlantic route for those who favored the slower style of travel . </P> <P> The economics of commercial transatlantic flying have evolved markedly since the 1950s; the introduction of widebody airliners (such as the Boeing 747 and Douglas DC - 10) in the early 1970s made affordable transatlantic travel to the masses a reality . Since the 1990s, the high reliability of modern jet engines has meant that twin engine jet aircraft such as the Boeing 767, Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 have largely taken over on transatlantic routes from quad - engine jets, whilst the supersonic Concorde was ultimately doomed by its high running costs, leading to its retirement in 2003 . </P> <P> Transatlantic cables are cables that have been laid along the ocean floor to connect North America and Europe . Before the advent of radio, the only means of communication across the Atlantic Ocean was to physically connect the continents with a transatlantic telegraph cable, the first of which was installed from Valentia, Ireland to Heart's Content, Newfoundland in 1858 . The first transatlantic telephone cable, TAT - 1, was installed in 1955 . The first transatlantic fiber optic cable, TAT - 8, was installed in 1988 . The exchange rate between the United States dollar and British pound is still colloquially known as "cable" by financial marketeers, from the early use of the transatlantic cable for this purpose . </P>

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