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June 29, 2022 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

First Flight to Hawai‘i

Lieutenant Lester J Maitland (pilot) and Lieutenant Albert F Hegenberger (navigator) were selected to fulfill the Army’s dreams to successfully cross the Pacific Ocean to Hawai‘i.

Since 1919, Hegenberger tested every known navigation instrument and method, including regular “blind” flying tests and engineering of the equipment’s development.  He completed a course of instruction in navigation at the Navy’s school at Pensacola in February, 1920.

Lieutenant Hegenberger was given responsibility to prepare the plane, including installation of special equipment, final arrangements of fuel system, engines, pumps and airborne facilities, among other requirements.

Because the navigator had to function as radio operator and pilot as well, a special passageway was provided between the front cockpit and the navigator’s cabin in the rear, necessitating the removal of one fuel tank.

Maitland and Hegenberger denied any interest in racing, prizes or “first” distinction.  They felt the interest to link up Hawai‘i and the mainland by air was purely for the advancement of aviation, stating this flight would be a test of the navigation equipment Hegenberger and his Army unit had been developing for years.

Another stated objective of the long-range flight was to test the performance of the new radio beacon installed by the Army Signal Corps on the island of Maui and reaching to San Francisco.

Finally, it was felt that valuable data could be obtained for use in the establishment of regular commercial airline service over the route.  Encouraging commercial aviation by the use of airways was the job of the military, they said; this flight fell in the Army’s peacetime mission.

Shortly after 7 am on June 28, 1927, the Army pair shook hands with their crews and climbed into positions in the airplane.  Left behind were their parachutes, mandatory in the Army since 1922; they would be of little use in open seas.

At the 4,600-foot mark, and a speed of 93 mph, the huge plane lifted off the ground.  At the 2,000 foot altitude, Maitland and Hegenberger passed over the Golden Gate then headed on the first course of the Great Circle to Maui, where the radio beacon was to tie in with the station in San Francisco.

For the first 500-miles they encountered strong crosswinds and after that a very strong tailwind which increased their airspeed to 108-mph.  They flew close to the sea during daylight hours at an altitude of 300 feet.

They flew without incident until about half-way, at this point relaxing sufficiently to discover hunger pangs. Searching for food that was supposed to have been stowed aboard for them, none could be found by either flyer.

At 3:20 am, they saw the lighthouse on Kauai five degrees to the left of the plane’s nose.  When they reached the shoreline, the island’s contour became familiar – one they knew well from past inter-island flights.

Oʻahu was 75-miles from Kauai; daybreak would not occur for about another hour.  Maitland and Hegenberger chose not to jeopardize a successful completion to their flight by approaching mountainous Oʻahu in heavy clouds, rain and total darkness. They decided to circle Kauai until daybreak, slowing down to 65-mph.

Crossing the channel to Oʻahu at 750-feet, just below an unbroken cloud layer, their speed was boosted to 115-mph and soon they found themselves 500-feet over Schofield Barracks. Below them at Wheeler Field were thousands of people.

Maitland circled the field once for the anxious spectators then came to a landing at 6:29 am, June 29, 1927, 2,425-miles having been flown from California to Kauai in 23 hours.  It was a total of 25-hours and 49-minutes when the three-engine plane touched down at Wheeler.

The flight was an unprecedented success.

The feat was hailed by the War Department and the press.  The Honorable F Trubee Davison, Assistant Secretary of War, stated, “a new vista of communication between America and its overseas positions” had been opened by the Army, underscoring the progress made in aerial navigation.  He went on, “The flight is unquestioningly one of the greatest of aerial accomplishments ever made.”

Davison was “particularly pleased that two Army Air Corps officers, operating an Army plane built for no other purpose than Regular Army use, were the first to negotiate the flight to Hawai‘i.”  (Lots of info and images here from hawaii-gov.)

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Filed Under: General, Prominent People Tagged With: Hawaii, Lester Maitland, Albert Hegenberger, Aviation

July 15, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

He wanted to be Lindbergh of the Pacific

Just days after Charles Lindbergh’s transatlantic triumph, the Honolulu Star Bulletin announced a new challenge. Hawaii’s “Pineapple King” James Dole was offering cash prizes to the first and second person or crew to fly nonstop from North America to Honolulu.

But before the race even got off the ground, the Army’s Lieutenant Lester J Maitland (pilot) and Lieutenant Albert F Hegenberger (navigator) became the first to reach Hawaii by air flying the ‘Bird of Paradise.’ (So with that glory claimed, the Dole Derby, as it became known, evolved into a one-time race for cash.) (Smithsonian)

Ernest L Smith dreamt of becoming the ‘Lindbergh of the Pacific.’ But after the Army’s Maitland and Hegenberger reached Hawai‘i before him, he settled on becoming the first civilian to do so. Emory Bronte was his navigator.

Smith, born in Reno, Nevada, had moved with his family to San Francisco in time to experience the great earthquake of 1906. Later the Smiths moved to Oakland, where ‘Ernie’ graduated from high school and spent two years at the University of California at Berkeley.

He then went on to dental training, which was interrupted by the US entry into World War I. After serving briefly in the medical corps, Smith transferred to the new US Army Air Service and learned to fly at Rockwell Field in San Diego.

He spent the rest of the war as an instructor at March Field in Riverside, then joined the Army’s aviation reserve while flying for the Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest. In 1926 he worked for Pacific Air Transport as a pilot.

Bronte, a native of New York, had gone to sea at age 15 before entering the Navy in World War I. After the war he joined Isthmian Steamship Company, working his way up from third mate to master.

In 1923 he relocated to San Francisco to work for McCormick Steamship Company, after which he became the Pacific Coast representative of the Inland Waterways Corporation.

Along the way he had authored a book on navigation, but government service had also whetted his interest in the law, a field he planned to study after the 1927 flight was over. He had taken flying lessons and had soloed in a Curtiss JN-4 ‘Jenny’ but had no actual pilot’s license.

“The crowd of 10,000 that had assembled at Bay Farm Island across the bay from San Francisco watched intently on July 14, 1927, as (Smith and Bronte’s) Travel Air 5000 high-winged monoplane dubbed City of Oakland warmed up on the runway at Oakland Airport, preparing for a transpacific flight attempt.” (Grover)

“Smith and navigator Emory Bronte took off from Oakland, California, in a single-engine Travelair on July 14, 1927. Aside from radio earphone problems, their 25-hour trip went well ….” (Smithsonian)

At 3:45 pm they transmitted an “all’s-well” message. The SS Maunaloa received a message from the City Of Oakland at about 6:00 pm, by which time the flyers were about 500 miles out and doing well.

At 3:00 am one of Bronte’s transmissions was picked up by the SS Wilhelmina and the Army transport Kenowis. The signals were quite weak. However, the SS Waniwa later heard from Bronte’s transmitter with a stronger signal.

Now quite close to the Hawaiian Islands and a place to land, the flyers’ spirits soared only to be momentarily dampened by the sounds of their only engine sputtering and coughing.

They were running out of fuel …

Smith switched to another tank and hand-pumped fuel to it. Within seconds, the engine roared back to life. Smith checked his supply and calculated that only about one hour’s fuel remained … but, they had four hours of flying time to the Islands.

Bronte sent SOS messages to all listeners, marking the plane’s latitude and longitude where they expected to ditch.

Methodical Bronte made a close check of the navigational problem about 500 miles from Hawai‘i and learned that Maui, much closer than their O‘ahu destination, could be reached if their fuel wasn’t depleted beforehand.

Smith took measures to conserve what fuel remained by retarding his throttle, showing down to 100 miles per hour. On they flew, straining for a sight of land.

Reaching Molokai’s southern coast, the engine continued to turn. Smith flew on, parallel to the east coast, then they could see the southwestern side of the island to be heavily wooded and uneven.

Smith headed for the softest looking clump of trees he could find, as the engine quit running entirely. (Horvat; Hawaii Aviation)

“Kiawenui, a desolate, rocky stretch along the southeast coast of Molokai, aptly taking its name from the deep covering of kiawe trees that bristles on beach and hills, has been added to Hawaii’s famous spots—and the kiawe tree has become a famous species in the minds of Ernest Smith, pilot, and Emory Bronte Jr., navigation.”

“It was on this lonely stretch, about two miles east of Kamalo landing that Smith, running out of gasoline, in a last desperate effort to bring his silver monoplane City of Oakland to Oahu from the Pacific coast, was forced to land.”

“And it was the thick, thorn-encrusted limbs of a kiawe that extended Hawaii’s initial welcome to the daring birdmen.”

“Cheering thousands watched the Travelair monoplane take off from the Oakland airport at 10:40 a.m. Pacific time, Thursday. Startled mynah birds and a terrified flock of quail constituted the reception committee for Hawaii 24 hours later.” (Buckley, Star Bulletin, July 16, 1927; Hawaii Aviation)

Pilot and navigator were shaken but unhurt except for scratches from the tree thorns. It was 8:47 am, Hawaiian Standard Time, July 15, 1927.

There was no prize money to be collected, the plane was unusable. But the pair was later honored, along with Lindbergh, Maitland and Hegenberger and other famous flyers, by the President of the United States for their feat and contribution to the development of aviation. The airplane was returned to the US and repaired.

Smith became an executive of Trans World Airways. Bronte was given a Navy reserve lieutenant’s commission. Ten years later, he returned with Mrs. Bronte to the Islands aboard Pan America‘s China Clipper.

During World War II, Bronte went through the Navy’s flight training program as a commander. The pioneer flyer went on to command three naval air stations and an island in the Admiralty group off New Guinea. (Horvat; Hawaii Aviation)

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Smith - Bronte Memorial-Molokai
Smith – Bronte Memorial-Molokai
Smith-Bronte crash
Smith-Bronte crash
1927-7-15 Smith - Bronte 02
1927-7-15 Smith – Bronte 02
Several field hands from Norman Magurie's Kamalo, Molokai, came up to the wreck of the City of Oakland. July 15, 1927
Several field hands from Norman Magurie’s Kamalo, Molokai, came up to the wreck of the City of Oakland. July 15, 1927
1927-7-15 Smith - Bronte 03
1927-7-15 Smith – Bronte 03
City_of_Oakland-takes_off_from_Oakland
City_of_Oakland-takes_off_from_Oakland
1927 July Smith - Bronte 10
1927 July Smith – Bronte 10
1927-7-17 Smith - Bronte 08
1927-7-17 Smith – Bronte 08
1927-7-15 Smith - Bronte 06
1927-7-15 Smith – Bronte 06
1927-7-15 Smith - Bronte 05
1927-7-15 Smith – Bronte 05
Molokai-Smith-Bronte Crash Site-UH_Manoa-USGS-4222-1949-portion-site noted
Molokai-Smith-Bronte Crash Site-UH_Manoa-USGS-4222-1949-portion-site noted
Molokai-Smith-Bronte Crash Site-UH_Manoa-USGS-4221-1949-portion-site noted
Molokai-Smith-Bronte Crash Site-UH_Manoa-USGS-4221-1949-portion-site noted

Filed Under: General, Prominent People, Economy Tagged With: Dole Derby, Ernest Smith, Emory Bronte, Hawaii, Lester Maitland, Albert Hegenberger, Charles Lindbergh, Molokai

August 25, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kīlauea

 “A little farther on we entered groves of hala, through which we continued to ride for the rest of our journey. We turned from the road to see the falls of the Kāhili River.”

“Though not large they are beautiful. Here the river falls in a jet of foam over a precipice of about 40 feet into a broad clear basin below….”  (Alexander, 1849; (Kīlauea Stream is universally referred to as “Kāhili Stream;”) Cultural Surveys)

Pukui suggests “Kīlauea means “spewing, much spreading;” associated references relate to volcanic eruptions at the place of like name on the Island of Hawaiʻi – typically referring to the rising smoke clouds.

Wichman explains the name as referring to “spewing many vapors” and traces it rather generically to the streams of Kīlauea that flow between the Makaleha Mountains and the Kamo‘okoa Ridge. The name may have originally been in reference to Kīlauea Falls itself.  (Cultural Surveys)

The relatively large volume of water flowing over a relatively wide and high drop against the prevailing trade winds (blowing approximately straight up the lower stretch of the valley) can create a large volume of diffuse mist that may have inspired the name of the land.  (Cultural Surveys)

In the Māhele, all of Kīlauea ahupuaʻa was retained as government lands; apparently no claims were made by native tenants, although there were several in a low, wide terrace along the stream in the adjoining Kāhili ahupuaʻa.

In January 1863, the approximate 3,016-acres of the Kīlauea ahupuaʻa were purchased by a former American whaler named Charles Titcomb.  Titcomb already had land holdings at Kōloa and Hanalei.  He was cultivating silkworm, coffee, tobacco, sugarcane and cattle.

Adding other leased land, he and partners Captain John Ross and EP Adams formed the Kilauea Plantation (1863,) and by 1877 the started a sugar plantation, “one of the smallest plantations in the Hawaiian Islands operating its own sugar mill”.  (Cultural Surveys)

Hawaiʻi’s earliest history with railroads is often credited to Kīlauea Plantation, whose first system opened in 1881 on three miles of narrow-gauge track to haul sugar cane.  Princess Lydia Kamakaeha (Lili‘uokalani) drove in the first spikes for the railroad bed. The plantation infrastructure grew over the next twenty years.

“The transportation system consists of twelve and a half miles of permanent track, five miles of portable track, 200 cane cars, six sugar cars and four locomotives.”

“(Kīlauea) is situated three miles from the landing at Kāhili, with which it is connected by the railway system. Sugar is delivered to the steamers by means of a cable device at the rate of from 600 to 800-bags an hour.”  (San Francisco Chronicle, July 18, 1910) The town of Kīlauea originated as the center of the sugar plantation operation; Kīlauea Sugar Plantation closed in 1970.

The Kīlauea School was founded in 1882 as an ‘English School.’  Its 54-pupils were primarily workers’ children from Kīlauea Sugar Plantation.  As the Board of Education of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi owned no land in the district, school was held in a Protestant Church and partly in an old building that belonged to the Board.

In 1894, the Board of Education of the Republic of Hawaiʻi was able to obtain a two-acre parcel of land from the plantation and a two-room school and teacher’s cottage were erected (it was situated near Kūhiō Highway and Kalihiwai Road.)

By 1920, the educational facilities were greatly strained as the school boasted 239-students and 7-teachers for grades one through eight.  At the end of 1921, Kauai County purchased the present school site and the new school opened September 11, 1922; it has been in use since that time.  (NPS)

By the 1890s, much of the old kalo-growing areas of this portion of Kaua‘i were now producing rice, farmed by Chinese immigrants. There were 55-acres of land in rice production in the Kīlauea-Kāhili area in 1892 and eventually a rice mill on Kīlauea Stream.

The mill is known to have been on the stream terrace east of Kīlauea Stream. Rice and vegetable cultivation was also noted along the banks of Kīlauea Stream, circa 1925.  (Cultural Surveys)

Built in 1913 as a navigational aid for commercial shipping, the Kīlauea Lighthouse was credited with saving lives, not only of countless sailors lost at sea, but of two fliers on a historic trans-Pacific flight.

When Lt Albert Hegenberger and Lt Lester Maitland were on the first trans-Pacific airplane flight in history (June 29, 1927,) they overshot their course to Oʻahu and became lost.

They heard a strange signal and interpreted it as a radio beacon originating in the Islands. They used the signal to calculate their exact position and made the necessary adjustments to put them on course, thus enabling them to land the ‘Bird of Paradise’ safely at Hickam Field on Oʻahu.  (NPS)

Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, surrounding the Lighthouse, was established in 1985 to preserve and enhance seabird nesting colonies and was expanded in 1988 to include Crater Hill and Mōkōlea Point.  The refuge is home to some of the largest populations of nesting seabirds in in the main Hawaiian Islands.

Nearby, Hawaiian Islands Land Trust (HILT) added to an existing preserved property to form the Kāhili Coastal Preserve.  The property provides public access to Kāhili Beach while safeguarding the shoreline ecosystem.  (HILT)

The image shows Kīlauea Falls, Kauaʻi.  In addition, I have added others similar images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Filed Under: General, Place Names, Prominent People Tagged With: Kilauea Plantation, Hawaii, Kilauea, Kauai, Kilauea Lighthouse, Charles Titcomb, Lester Maitland, Albert Hegenberger

February 6, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Wheeler Field

On February 6, 1922, under the direction of 1st Lt William T Agee of the 4th Squadron (Observation,) construction began on the old 17th Cavalry drill grounds at Schofield Barracks in central Oʻahu.  With 20 men, he started clearing away trees and undergrowth.

Within a month, they completed a landing strip.  On November 11, 1922, it was named Wheeler Field in honor of Major Sheldon H Wheeler, former commander of Luke Field on Ford Island, who died in a plane crash on July 13, 1921.

Over the years, this Army air field would be a point of several significant historical aviation events: it was the landing/take-off area for the:

  • first nonstop Continent-to-Hawaiʻi flight by Army Air Corps Lieutenants Lester J Maitland and Albert F Hegenberger in the “Bird of Paradise” in 1927
  • Arthur Goebel landed his plane as winner of the $25,000 James D. Dole Prize, for Dole Derby air race from California to Hawaiʻi in 1927
  • first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia, by Australian Squadron Leader Charles E Kingsford-Smith who landed the “Lady Southern Cross” at Wheeler on the first leg of his pioneer trans-Pacific flight from Oakland, California, to Brisbane, Australia, by way of Hawaii and Fiji in 1928
  • first Hawaiʻi-to-Continent solo flight by Amelia Earhart, who flew from Wheeler Field to Oakland, California (in 18 hours and 16 minutes) in 1935

Permanent structures, including officers’ quarters and club, noncommissioned officers’ quarters and club, chapel, dispensary, and administrative buildings were erected in the early-1930s.

During the 1920s and early ‘30s, Wheeler was the principal Army Air Corps field in Hawaiʻi.  On August 5, 1939, the War Department issued General Orders No. 4 reassigning about 1,400-acres of Schofield Barracks land to Wheeler Field; less than four weeks later, on August 31 1939, it became a separate permanent military post.

Three paved runways arranged in a triangle allowed for three aircraft to take off simultaneously. A separate, fourth runway was constructed later.

A row of metal hangars and a flight line bordered the north side of the northernmost runway. A large reinforced-concrete enlisted men’s barracks and administrative buildings stood behind the hangars.

By 1940, Wheeler Field had evolved into a primary base for Army Air Corps pursuit (“fighter”) aircraft such as the P-40 Warhawk, responsible for air defense of the Hawaiian Islands Territory.

In the early morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese pilots flew toward the island of Oʻahu from six aircraft carriers (the Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku;) two waves of planes attacked various military installations on Oʻahu.

The first wave of 183 planes (43-fighters, 49-high-level bombers, 51-dive bombers and 40-torpedo planes) struck its targets at 7:55 am.  The second wave of 167 Japanese planes (35-fighters, 54-horizontal bombers and 78-dive bombers) struck Oʻahu beginning at 8:40 am.  By 9:45 am, the Japanese attack on Oʻahu was over.

Air bases were important objectives in the attack, because the success of the Japanese was dependent on eliminating air opposition and precluding US planes from following their aircraft back to their carriers.  The first air base to be hit was Wheeler.

There, twenty-five dive bombers aimed at the hangars, dropping approximately thirty-five bombs. They hit and set fire to hangars and storehouses. One bomb struck the barracks. The same planes returned to strafe the flight line.

Casualties amounted to thirty-eight enlisted men killed and fifty-nine wounded.  Eighty-three aircraft had been destroyed, fifty-four of which burned in the fire storm on the flight line.

During World War II and until 1949, Wheeler was assigned to the Seventh Air Force (former Hawaiian Air Force) and successor commands.

Following the war, with the establishment of the US Air Force as a separate service in 1947, Wheeler Army Air Base was re-designated Wheeler Air Force Base under the operational control of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF.)

The following year, the installation was placed on minimum caretaker status; however, with expansion of the Air Force during the Korean conflict, Wheeler AFB was restored to fully operational status in 1952.

In August 1987, the Secretary of the Interior designated Wheeler AFB as a National Historic Landmark, recognizing it as a site of national significance in the history of the United States and, in particular, World War II in the Pacific.

On November 1, 1991, the Army took over the facility and Wheeler was renamed “Wheeler Army Airfield.”  A couple years later (March 15, 1993,) to settle ownership concerns, the Army and Air Force exchanged Wheeler for Fort Kamehameha Military Reservation.  (Lots of information here is from NPS and ‘Brief History of Wheeler’)

The image shows Wheeler Field, before completion of permanent hangars (circa 1922-1923.)  In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Filed Under: Military Tagged With: Wheeler Army Airfield, Charles Kingsford-Smith, Arthur Goebel, Hawaii, Oahu, Schofield Barracks, Lester Maitland, Albert Hegenberger, Amelia Earhart, Fort Kamehameha, Sheldon Wheeler

January 13, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Some Hawaiʻi Aviation History

Bud Mars was the first man to fly an airplane in Hawaiʻi, on December 31, 1910.  Piloting a Curtiss B-18 biplane, he flew to 500-feet over Moanalua Polo Field, Oʻahu.  He repeated the flight the next day to the thrill of thousands of spectators.

The first aircraft accident in the Islands was on the Big Island, dating back to June 10, 1911 when Clarence H Walker came to Hilo for an exhibition flight in his Curtiss Biplane.  There were no airports on the island, so Hoʻolulu Park was selected for the runway.

Walker was able to get a few feet off the ground in his trial flight. Later Walker attempted to fly over the city.  The engine began missing and he lost altitude.  He crashed minutes later into a lauhala tree as he attempted to land, destroying the plane but surviving the crash.

On August 31, 1925, John Rodgers (Commanding Officer of the Naval Air Station at Pearl Harbor from 1923 to 1925) and his crew left San Francisco to attempt the first flight across the Pacific Ocean from the Mainland US to Hawaiʻi.  The seaplane was forced to land in the ocean after running out of fuel, about 365 miles from Oʻahu.

After three days of waiting to be picked up, the crew crafted sails from the wings of the plane and sailed toward Hawaiʻi.  On the tenth day, they spotted Kauaʻi.  Ten miles off shore they met a submarine which towed them safely to shore.

Lieutenant Lester J Maitland (pilot) and Lieutenant Albert F Hegenberger (navigator) were selected to fulfill the Army’s dreams to successfully cross the Pacific Ocean to Hawai‘i.  Shortly after 7 am on June 28, 1927, the Army pair shook hands with their crews and climbed into positions in the airplane.  25-hours and 49-minutes later the three-engine plane touched down at Wheeler.

That year, Hawaiʻi’s first airport was established in Honolulu and dedicated to Rodgers. When Inter-Island Airways (now Hawaiian Air) began the first commercial passenger flights between islands in 1929, their hangar was one of two on the airport.

“Honolulu has seen the evolution of transportation from the Chinese junk and the Yankee clipper in ye olden days to the palatial liner, the fast freighter – and now the airplane. The dedication of the John Rodgers airport near Honolulu is a significant milestone in Honolulu’s transportation history.”

“The event virtually signalizes the inauguration of commercial aviation in Hawaiʻi. At least, it makes possible the innovation and symbol of twentieth century progress.  In years to come it is destined to become a center in this new era.”

“It is the pioneer of the many big commercial stations that will ultimately be located in Hawaiʻi. And because of that fact, it will find its rightful place in history—not only of Hawaiʻi—but of the American nation as well. That aviation will enter the commercial life of Hawaiʻi, there is no doubt. Definite steps to that end are already being taken. The John Rodgers airport is one of these steps.” (Editorial, Honolulu Advertiser, March 22, 1927)

Immediately after the Pearl Harbor Attack (December 7, 1941) all airports were taken over by the US armed forces. Some of these airfields were considered vulnerable to attack and unusable, and the others were placed under strict control of either the Army or Navy (the US Air Force didn’t start until after the war when it was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947.)

All civilian aircraft in Hawaiʻi were grounded. Within a few days, Hawaiian Air was approved by the Military Governor to make emergency flights under military direction, carrying engineers, medicines, munitions, etc to the neighbor islands.

During the early days of the War, Hawaiian’s Sikorsky planes were converted to cargo planes, carrying critical medical supplies and equipment to the other islands and bringing back cargo of fresh vegetables and beef. Thus began the first US air-freight service.

The military began to construct airfields for its own use, for seaplane and land plane operations, across the Islands.  Following the war, many of these facilities were returned/turned over to the Territory for commercial and general aviation.

On December 13, 1955 Honolulu International Airport became the first civilian airport in the nation to get a preview of commercial jet aircraft operation when the British DeHavilland Comet III jet-liner arrived on a good will flight around the world.

1959 brought another welcomed change.  Scheduled service with the Boeing 707 started in June 1959 by Qantas Airlines; flying time from California to Hawaiʻi was cut by nearly a half, from 9 hours by propeller to less than 5 hours by jet.

Pan American Airways followed in September and United Airlines jet service arrived at Honolulu in January 1962. In October 1962, all airline operations moved from the Honolulu terminal building built by the Navy during World War II on Lagoon Drive to new passenger terminal buildings on the North Ramp of the airport.

Planning for the Reef Runway at Honolulu International Airport began in 1967; its primary purpose was to mitigate noise during aircraft takeoffs.

Work began on phase 1 the Reef Runway on May 7, 1973 (dredge, fill and protection structure;) it was completed in August 1976.  Subsequent phases included paving, taxiways, etc; the Reef Runway was completed and dedicated for use on October 14, 1977.  It was later, May 1989, chosen as one of several emergency landing sites NASA’s space shuttle program.  (Information in this summary is from hawaii-gov.)

The image shows John Rodgers Airport (now Honolulu International Airport) in 1928 (hawaii-gov.).  In addition, I have added related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Filed Under: Economy, General Tagged With: John Rodgers, Bud Mars, Hawaii, Lester Maitland, Albert Hegenberger, Pan American, Honolulu International Airport, Rodgers Airport, Reef Runway

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