Named the Stars and Stripes by Lt. Commander Richard E. Byrd, the Fairchild FC-2W2 flew pioneering mapping and reconnaissance flights on the first and second Byrd Antarctic expeditions (1928–1930, and after three years’ burial in snow, 1933–35). A successor to Sherman Fairchild’s FC-2, this FC-2W2 provided a steady platform for Fairchild cameras and rescue missions. Later the Fairchild Corporation used it for photo surveys across the United States and Guatemala.