The saga of the Pacific Clipper following the attacks on Pearl Harbor
Captain Ford and his crew were flying in the Pacific when the Japanese attacked US Naval bases at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. They also subsequently attacked Pan Am bases at Wake Island, Midway, and the Philippines. Captain Ford and his crew had specific orders not to return to Hawaii, but to continue West and return the flying boat to Pan Am facilities at LaGuardia Airport in New York. The world was now at war.
Captain Ford and his crew were flying in the Pacific when the Japanese attacked US Naval bases at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. They also subsequently attacked Pan Am bases at Wake Island, Midway, and the Philippines. Captain Ford and his crew had specific orders not to return to Hawaii, but to continue West and return the flying boat to Pan Am facilities at LaGuardia Airport in New York. The world was now at war.
December 7, 1941
Pan American World Airways Pacific Clipper receives transmission:
"PLAN A"
Pan American World Airways Pacific Clipper receives transmission:
"PLAN A"
TRANSMISSION RECEIVED BY CAPTAIN ROBERT FORD, PACIFIC CLIPPER
DATE: DECEMBER 14, 1941
TO: CAPTAIN ROBERT FORD
FROM: CHIEF, FLIGHT SYSTEMS
SUBJECT: DIVERSION PLANS FOR NC18602
NORMAL RETURN ROUTE CANCELLED. PROCEED AS FOLLOWS; STRIP ALL COMPANY MARKINGS, REGISTRATION NUMBERS, AND IDENTIFIABLE INSIGNIA FROM EXTERIOR SURFACES. PROCEED WESTBOUND SOONEST YOUR DISCRETION TO AVOID HOSTILITIES AND DELIVER NC18602 TO MARINE TERMINAL LAGUARDIA FIELD NEW YORK. GOOD LUCK.
Pan American World Airways Captain Robert Ford will become the first commercial airline pilot to circumnavigate the world, to bring the Boeing 314 NC18602 "Pacific Clipper" safely to La Guardia Field in New York, from Auckland, New Zealand, it's normal route interrupted by the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii during the early stages of World War II.
Captain Ford achieved this unplanned aviation feat under radio silence & under fear of attack. It is December 1941 and the United States has just been attacked, and entered WWII. Captain Ford was en route to California, when he is ordered to bring the aircraft to LGA Terminal in New York. But that California route is cut off by war.
Captain Ford and his crew, were on their own. They would travel over countries unfamiliar to them, without charts, and land in unfamiliar waters. Engine trouble, repairs, and lack of airplane gas were just a few of the other major obstacles to overcome. Yet they continued to fly, picking up Pan Am employees along the way. Total flight time was 209 hours, 31,500 miles (50,694 kilometers), arriving at their ordered destination thirty days later, landing their mark in aviation history. December 7, 1941 - January 6, 1942.
TO: CAPTAIN ROBERT FORD
FROM: CHIEF, FLIGHT SYSTEMS
SUBJECT: DIVERSION PLANS FOR NC18602
NORMAL RETURN ROUTE CANCELLED. PROCEED AS FOLLOWS; STRIP ALL COMPANY MARKINGS, REGISTRATION NUMBERS, AND IDENTIFIABLE INSIGNIA FROM EXTERIOR SURFACES. PROCEED WESTBOUND SOONEST YOUR DISCRETION TO AVOID HOSTILITIES AND DELIVER NC18602 TO MARINE TERMINAL LAGUARDIA FIELD NEW YORK. GOOD LUCK.
Pan American World Airways Captain Robert Ford will become the first commercial airline pilot to circumnavigate the world, to bring the Boeing 314 NC18602 "Pacific Clipper" safely to La Guardia Field in New York, from Auckland, New Zealand, it's normal route interrupted by the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii during the early stages of World War II.
Captain Ford achieved this unplanned aviation feat under radio silence & under fear of attack. It is December 1941 and the United States has just been attacked, and entered WWII. Captain Ford was en route to California, when he is ordered to bring the aircraft to LGA Terminal in New York. But that California route is cut off by war.
Captain Ford and his crew, were on their own. They would travel over countries unfamiliar to them, without charts, and land in unfamiliar waters. Engine trouble, repairs, and lack of airplane gas were just a few of the other major obstacles to overcome. Yet they continued to fly, picking up Pan Am employees along the way. Total flight time was 209 hours, 31,500 miles (50,694 kilometers), arriving at their ordered destination thirty days later, landing their mark in aviation history. December 7, 1941 - January 6, 1942.
The Flight Crew. In order from left to right.
First Row: Captain Robert Ford, with First Officer John Henry Mack; Second Officer/Navigator Roderick Norman Brown; Third Officer James G. Henriksen; Fourth Officer John Delmer Steers.
Second Row: First Engineer Homans K. "Swede" Roth; Second Engineer John Bertrand "Jocko" Parish; Chief Flight Radio Officer Jack D. Poindexter; First Flight Radio Officer Oscar Hendrickson.
Third Row: Third Flight Radio Officer Eugene Leach; Flight Steward Barney Sawicki; and Assistant Flight Steward Verne C. Edwards.
First Row: Captain Robert Ford, with First Officer John Henry Mack; Second Officer/Navigator Roderick Norman Brown; Third Officer James G. Henriksen; Fourth Officer John Delmer Steers.
Second Row: First Engineer Homans K. "Swede" Roth; Second Engineer John Bertrand "Jocko" Parish; Chief Flight Radio Officer Jack D. Poindexter; First Flight Radio Officer Oscar Hendrickson.
Third Row: Third Flight Radio Officer Eugene Leach; Flight Steward Barney Sawicki; and Assistant Flight Steward Verne C. Edwards.
Route of the "Pacific Clipper"
