The 1930s were the romantic years of flight. At the beginning of the decade, flying across oceans was a life-risking experience. However, beginning in 1936, Pan Am began to fly across the Pacific. (Pacific Aviation Museum)
That year, Patricia Kennedy, in the bow of the plane, christened a plane with coconut water: “I christen thee Hawaii Clipper for the American Territory of Hawaii.” (hawaii-gov)
A couple years later, “Martin flying boat ‘Hawaii Clipper’ (one of three flying boats in regular trans-Pacific service for Pan-American Airways) departed Alameda (on San Francisco Bay) on a flight across the Pacific Ocean to Manila. Intermediate stops were made in Hawai‘i and Guam.”
“A few minutes before 6 a.m. on July 29, 1938, Pan American Airways Captain Leonard Terletzky taxied the Clipper out of Apra Harbor, Hawaii Guam.”
“Terletzky was more than halfway through the six-day, 9,000-mile flight from Alameda, California, to Hong Kong. He’d already made stops in Honolulu, Midway, Wake Island and now Guam. Manila, Macao and Hong Kong were still to come.” (Geoghengan)
The Pan Am crew consisted of Terletzky, First Officer Mark A. Walker, Second Officer George M. Davis, Third Officer Jose M. Sauceda, Fourth Officer John W. Jewett, Engineer Officer Howard l. Cox, Assistant Engineer Officer T.B. Tatum, and Radio Officer William McGarty. The passengers were attended by Flight Steward Ivan Parker. (This Day in Aviation)
“The airliner’s six passengers were: Lieutenant Commander Edward E. Wyman, United States Naval Reserve, of Bronxville, New York. Commander Wyman was the former assistant to Juan Trippe, the founder of Pan American Airways. He was now employed by Curtiss-Wright. Pan American’s traffic manager, Kenneth A. Kennedy, was also on board.”
“Colonel Earl E. McKinley, M.D., United States Army Reserve, Dean of Medicine at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., a bacteriologist, and Fred C. Meier, Ph.D., were collecting airborne bacteriological samples to research transocean bacterial transfer.”
“Major Howard C. French, Air Corps, United States Army (Reserve), the commanding officer of the 321st Observer Squadron based at Vancouver, Washington.”
“Finally, there was Choy Wah Sun (also known as “Watson Choy”), of New Jersey. Mr. Choy was believed to be transporting $3,000,000 in U.S. Gold Certificates for the Kuomintang, the Nationalist Party of China, which was headed by Chiang Kai-shek.” (This Day in Aviation)
“The airplane departed Guam at 11:39 (18:30 CST). The last radio contact was at 22:03 CST saying that it was 565 miles from the Philippine coast, flying through ‘layers of clouds’” and ‘Flying in rough air’. (Aviation Safety)
Her Captain, “Capt. Terletzky was described by Pan-American officials as one of their best flyers. He started flying for the company about 10 years ago and formerly was attached to the South American and Carribean lines. He was a 43-year-old naturalized Russian.”
“In addition to her crew and passengers, the plane carried several hundred pounds of mail and express. Pan-American officials said the three ships flying the Alameda-Manila route had logged a total of nearly 2,000,000 miles of flying over the Pacific.”
“The Clipper’s strong hull was designed to keep the big flying boat afloat indefinitely unless it were demolished by impact with the ocean. It was constructed with bulkheads, like those of surface ships, that could shut off various parts of the plane by closing doors.”
“The ship, equipped with four 800-horsepower wasp motors, could fly if one motor cut out. Moderately-loaded as the ship was, it could keep aloft even if two engines stopped if the pilot ‘tacked’ it to keep it on an even keel.” (Evening Star, July 29, 1938)
“In her noon report the clipper said she was flying through cloud banks and the wind was ‘a bit rough.’ The Weather Bureau here said its maps indicated the weather was good at sea in that vicinity and no storms were in sight.” (Evening Star, July 29, 1938)
“On July 29, 1938, at 0411, Greenwich Civil Time, the Captain of the Hawaii Clipper, an aircraft of Pan American Airways, Incorporated, flying westbound between Guam and Manila, P. I., in regular scheduled foreign air commerce, sent a routine radio position report giving their 0400 O.C.T. position as being Latitude 12 degree 27′ North, Longitude 130 degree 40′ East.”
“This position is approximately 582 nautical miles east-southeast of Manila. The position report was received by the radio operator at Panay, P. I., who was at that time standing radio guard over the operation.”
“The ground station acknowledged this report and requested the Clipper to stand by for a routine weather sequence report. The radio operator at Panay was unable to obtain acknowledgement of messages sent the clipper”. (CAA Investigation; Lost Clipper)
“For several hours after the Clipper’s usual landing time – between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. (1:30 and 2:30 a.m. Eastern standard time) Pan-American officials insisted they were not worried.”
“At 6:30 p.m. one official, although unable to explain the Clipper’s failure to report by radio at the regularly scheduled intervals, said: …”
“‘She had to go around the storm and buck headwinds, therefore we did not expect her until around 6 o’clock tonight (5 a.m. Eastern standard time) even now we consider her only a half hour late. But that is not unusual.’” (Evening Star, July 29, 1938)
Hawaii Clipper never arrived at its destination. What happened to it and the fifteen persons on board remains one of the enduring mysteries of aviation history. (This Day in Aviation)
“Flying conditions and visibility had been generally good, but the plane had flown through scattered showers. No reason was advanced as to why she might have been forced down, but it was pointed out that if she made a safe landing she could float on the Pacific Ocean as well as any boat.”
“The Army transport Meigs, only 87 miles away from the Clipper’s last reported position, was immediately ordered to search the area. The Navy tender Penguin was sent from Guam at 8:20 p.m., Guam time (6:50 a m., E. S. T.), carrying a Pan-American radioman and an airways mechanic. She was expected to reach the scene Monday.” (Evening Star, July 29, 1938)
“The giant Hawaii Clipper, with 15 occupants, missing approximately 12 hours on a flight from Guam to Manila, was made the object of an intensive search by air, sea and underwater craft tonight.”
“The only possible clue to the fate of the Pan-American Airways trans-Pacific plane, which vanished Friday en route here from Guam and California, was a huge oil slick ominously spreading across the ocean some 500 miles east of here and near the spot where the clipper last reported herself.” (Evening Star, August 1, 1938)
“A ‘thick oil area,’ marking the spot where the Trans-Pacific Hawaii Clipper presumably hit the ocean, was discovered by the army transport Meigs today 500 miles from Manila.”
“For nearly six days, warships and fighting planes combed the Pacific stretches in all directions from a point more than 500 miles east of here where the flying boat radioed her last position a week ago today.”
“Army and Navy authorities said they stood ready to answer any call if a clue to the plane’s whereabouts was found, but naval officials said they had abandoned the search for the present because every probability and possibility of finding the clipper was exhausted.” (Evening Star, August 5, 1938)
“There was no indication of how disaster overtook the Hawaii Clipper, whose last radio report at 8:09 pm. Thursday indicated that all was well. She had mentioned rain and moderately rough winds. But her log showed no indication of a storm, which might have brought lightning and sudden death to her veteran crew of nine and six prominent passengers.” (Lowell Sun, July 30, 1938)
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