Across the Pacific” Enters Home Stretch Pete Runnette
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Summer 2019 www.panam.org NEWSLETTERCLI OF THEPP PAN AMER HISTORICAL FOUNDATION From The President, “Across the Pacific” Enters Home Stretch Pete Runnette... By Stephen Lyons, Producer This year, our Annual Meeting was held at the Marine Air Terminal at La- Sergey Nagorny as Igor Sikorsky LEFT TO RIGHT: Director: Lisa Wolfinger; Cameraman: Guardia Airport in New York. Opened Ezra Wolfinger; Brad Muller (as Juan Trippe); in 1938, the Marine Air Terminal he long-awaited Pan Am documen- Ed Trippe; Producer: Steve Lyons (MAT) became the headquarters for tary, Across the Pacific, is now just a T Most importantly, we wish to thank Pan Am’s Atlantic Operations – and few months away from completion. In late the many Foundation members whose home to the iconic Clipper flying May, we received a film tax credit from the generous support enabled us to meet our boats. As you know, we are working state of Massachusetts. And in late June, funding goals to produce our three-part with the Port Authority of New York with a big assist from the Pan Am His- series. Meantime stay tuned for informa- & New Jersey to create a Pan Am avia- torical Foundation and its members, we tion about special pre-broadcast screenings tion exhibit in the space. On a tour of raised enough additional funds to expand at selected AMC movie theaters around the facility, we saw many of its historic the two-hour film into a series of three the country. ✈ features including the 1938 hangar one-hour episodes. The additional time with its apparatus that once rolled up will allow us to more fully develop the pro- the doors to the bay where the Clipper gram’s three main characters (Juan Trippe, The Search for flying boats docked. Igor Sikorsky and Hugo Leuteritz) and take advantage of newly discovered letters the Samoan Clipper The good news is that the MAT is exchanged between Juan and Betty Trippe As we go to press, we are eagerly awaiting ‘listed’ as a historic building and both during the formation of Pan Am in 1927. the outcome of the search for the wreckage the interior and exterior are subject to of the Samoan Clipper, a Sikorsky S-42B With the necessary funds in hand, we will stringent restrictions governing any flying boat. The plane went down near now spend the next few months mak- modifications to the building. While Pago Pago, American Samoa, on January ing final edits, clearing the many archival those regulations limit the type and 11, 1938 with its entire crew including images and films used in the program, scope of improvements to the build- Chief Pilot Captain Edwin Musick. The recording the narration, color-correcting ing, the architecture and interiors of location of the crash site was identified at the dramatic scenes and interviews, mixing the building will remain forever, large- the time by an oil slick in the water. ly as they were in 1938. The Foun- the sound, and packaging the program to dation has three parts to its plan to meet PBS specs. Our goal is to complete The search is being conducted by the create an exhibit that commemorates the film by Nov. 1 and then present it Air/Sea Heritage Foundation and Ocean Pan Am’s pioneering role in aviation. to public television station programmers Exploration Trust (OET) founded by Dr. The building will be “plaqued” with at the American Public Television Fall Robert Ballard, discoverer of the RMS four bronze plaques recognizing its Marketplace Nov. 12-13 in Arizona. Those Titanic. The historic endeavor is being landmark status. Plaques will identify programmers will then decide when to supported by numerous individuals and the building’s architects; the headquar- schedule the series on their local PBS sta- organizations including the Pan Am His- ters of Pan Am American World Air- tions, most likely in early 2020. We will let torical Foundation. ways North Atlantic operations; the you know about local air dates as we learn Search operations will be conducted Chairman cont. p. 4 about them. aboard OET’s state-of-the-art science ship Samoan Clipper cont. p. 6 PAN AM AT WAR: How the Airline Secretly Helped America Fight World War II New book provides a gripping history of secret missions and daring journeys to help win the War Though ing General U.S. Army Air Forces, had • Daring special mission flights including Pan Am proposed using a commercial airline to uranium transport for the atomic bomb. is widely ferry supplies from Brazil across the South • The high-risk, 17,000-mile journey that known Atlantic to Africa. In Trippe’s meeting with took President Roosevelt to Africa for and re- the Prime Minister, “Scotch and sodas the Casablanca Conference with Win- membered fueled two hours of poring over maps and ston Churchill. as the talking strategy before Churchill gave his pioneer in blessing—Pan Am would organize a fer- Pan Am at War has been highly acclaimed commer- rying and military supply operation across by historians, authors and former employ- cial avia- Africa,” the authors write. ees. Tom Brokaw writes: “Pan Am at War is a fascinating and little-known story of how tion, few Pan Am at War is distinguished by the are aware this seminal airline became a huge asset vivid portrayal of the larger-than-life for America in WWII. Pan Am went to of the characters who built Pan Am and who left seminal war right alongside B-17s, B-29s, Corsairs, their indelible mark on the world. Com- Hellcats. Aerodynamics, instrumentation, role Pan Am played in helping America plete with maps and archival photos, they prepare for – and win – World War II. routes—Pan Am was there. Another great take readers on an historic journey that story from the greatest generation.” In their newly released book, Pan Am at recounts: War, Mark Vaz and John Hill chronicle Published by Skyhorse Publishing, Pan the behind-the-scenes stories of how • The secret building of air bases in Latin Am at War is available in hardcover, e- Pan Am was clandestinely helping the America and elimination of Axis inter- book and audio book formats. Allies win the War. ests that threatened the Panama Canal. About the Authors Clipper talked to the authors to find • Forging an air route to Asia linking out more about the book and its mid-Pacific islands that became stepping Mark Cotta Vaz is a New York Times genesis. “At the outbreak of World War stones across the world’s widest ocean. bestselling author of 39 books. II, there was only one entity – Pan • Pioneering dangerous “hump” routes John H. Hill has worked in the museum Am – capable of aerially navigating the and airlift operations over the Himalayas field for more than 35 years. He recently oceans,” John Hill said. “The company to Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist govern- retired as the assistant director and curator was a huge strategic asset in a global ment in China. in charge of aviation at the SFO Museum. conflict, the outcome of which would —By Ruth Maron be determined by aviation. The topic seemed deserving of deeper study and understanding.” THE SPIRIT OF SAINT LOUIS: Harold Bixby Knowing the basic contours of the Ben Barrett, Grandson of Harold Bixby, Launches His New Book history, John and Mark decided to At long last, Harold’s father, William Keeney Bixby, collaborate on a book that would tell I have finally wanted him to be a banker after graduat- the stories of intrigue, espionage and dotted the ing from Amherst College in 1913. But daring. They began with prodigious Harold hated the banking business. And FROM THE PAN AM BOOKSHELF FROM THE PAN last “i” and research utilizing government records, crossed the he loved flying! So, for the first portion of declassified Freedom of Information last “t” in his life, he was able to satisfy the desire of Act material and company archival my book on his father to be a banker and fly, too. One records at the University of Miami Harold M. of the fun newspaper clippings in my book Richter Library and the SFO Museum. Bixby, one tells about when Harold bought a plane in Through their relationship with Pan of the Vice 1925 for business purposes. He is quoted Am, the authors were able to source Presidents as possibly being the first person to have primary material and conduct inter- and directors had a “corporate” plane. Phil “Red” Love views with many Pan Am notables. of Pan American World Airways (PAA). and Orville E. Scott of St. Louis flew him The book, which later details the Harold had a 23-year tour with Pan Am, all over until Harold got his pilot’s license. company’s early history, opens in 1941 having been introduced to Juan Trippe by The 1923 Air Races were held in St. Louis, when Pan Am president Juan Trippe is Charles Lindbergh in 1932. Harold ulti- and Harold served on many committees to invited to dinner with Prime Minister mately ‘retired’ at age 65 in 1955. But all bring that event to fruition. The Air Races Winston Churchill. In secret discus- indications (by way of his log book) appear were the impetus for Lindbergh to come sions, Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold, Command- that he may been active with the company well after retirement age. Harold Bixby cont. p. 6 2 Queen of the Skies Takes Flight By Linda Freire Co-chair, Pan Museum Foundation January 22, 1970 “Pan American World Airways begins the world’s first wide-body airliner service, introducing the first Boeing 747 into service on the New York-London route.” With that announcement, Pan Am in- and needed more than twice the num- commercial service in U.S.