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Pacific Clipper: The Untold Story
A new book by Albert S.J. Tucker Jr. and Matthew W. Paxton IV with Eugene J. Dunning, recounts the exploits of Captain Bob Ford and crew of a Pan American Airways flying boat that had to circumnavigate the globe in 1941 just after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The flight was a thirty-four day ordeal. It took over 31,000 miles, 3 oceans, 5 continents, 12 nations, 22 landings, and crossed the equator 4 times. They had no airways to follow, had to use bad fuel, had no spare parts. They had engine failures, were nearly shot down, and made numerous overloaded takeoffs. With few air navigation aids, Ford was still able to employ precision celestial air navigation. Captain Ford and crew accomplished the impossible and made aviation history. Four years of research and writing, this incredible and absolutely true story of the Pacific Clipper is a tribute to the greatness of Pan Am, her crews, and is worthy of a Cecil B. De Mille epic movie!
- GenresHistory
Hardcover
Published August 20, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 28, 2020
What a splendid easy read of airplane history. The writing is simple and clear, sometimes a little obviously self-congratulatory, but the description of the epic flight head me holding my breath at times.
I've always loved seaplanes. My father flew in the ATC during WW2 and actually flew part of the route to South America and Africa. It gave me a better understanding of what he did.
As the GR blurb said, it is the story of a Pan Am Clipper, specifically the Pacific Clipper, and its (almost) around-the-world flight to escape the Japanese at the beginning of WW2. Pan Am had several seaplanes operating at the time. All but one were in the Pacific/Asia area at the time of Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, it hurriedly attempted to find and contact its fleet. Each of them was carrying secret sealed orders that when ripped opened, instructed each plane with orders that involved escape and evasion. One clipper was destroyed in Hong Kong, but the other four made it to safe harbors. The Pacific Clipper was based out of San Francisco but was instructed to fly westward to avoid the Japanese.
But westward flight proved dangerous anyhow. With low-octane gasoline (below the 100 octane required) sometimes the only fuel available, requiring the ship's crew to execute dangerous take-offs. Landings included one in the middle of a minefield in the local bay. Extremely detailed, the authors give a very good description of the on-the-spot solutions and corrections to enable the clipper o safely return to American waters.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves flying and airplanes.
I've always loved seaplanes. My father flew in the ATC during WW2 and actually flew part of the route to South America and Africa. It gave me a better understanding of what he did.
As the GR blurb said, it is the story of a Pan Am Clipper, specifically the Pacific Clipper, and its (almost) around-the-world flight to escape the Japanese at the beginning of WW2. Pan Am had several seaplanes operating at the time. All but one were in the Pacific/Asia area at the time of Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, it hurriedly attempted to find and contact its fleet. Each of them was carrying secret sealed orders that when ripped opened, instructed each plane with orders that involved escape and evasion. One clipper was destroyed in Hong Kong, but the other four made it to safe harbors. The Pacific Clipper was based out of San Francisco but was instructed to fly westward to avoid the Japanese.
But westward flight proved dangerous anyhow. With low-octane gasoline (below the 100 octane required) sometimes the only fuel available, requiring the ship's crew to execute dangerous take-offs. Landings included one in the middle of a minefield in the local bay. Extremely detailed, the authors give a very good description of the on-the-spot solutions and corrections to enable the clipper o safely return to American waters.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves flying and airplanes.
June 15, 2025
The bulk of this fairly short book (about 140 pages) is about the flight of Pan Am Boeing 314 'Pacific Clipper' out of the Pacific theater war zone after the attack on Pearl Harbor. As they could not safely fly their normal route back to Hawaii and San Francisco, the instead flew west around the globe to New York, having to avoid possibly unfriendly skies on the way. The book also includes a preceding chapter on the formation of Pan Am and an ending chapter on Pan Am after the war.
Pros: A story I was not familiar with and was interested in. Also an informative brief history on Pan Am, a better understanding of the airline's role during the war, and specifically an answer to what happened to Pan Am's Pacific fleet when war broke out.
Cons: The authors are clear that parts of the story are fictionalized where details are not known or clear. They add footnotes to explain their rationale for these sections. I would have much preferred if they had used language such as 'it may have been the case' or 'it is possible that' instead of writing it as if it was fact and footnoting it.
The writing style is way too unrealistically positive. It unfortunately reads like propaganda more than a factual account. The authors are trying way too hard to be a cheering section for Pan Am in general and for this crew in particular. I would much rather get the honest feel of the hardships and stresses the crew faced.
Pros: A story I was not familiar with and was interested in. Also an informative brief history on Pan Am, a better understanding of the airline's role during the war, and specifically an answer to what happened to Pan Am's Pacific fleet when war broke out.
Cons: The authors are clear that parts of the story are fictionalized where details are not known or clear. They add footnotes to explain their rationale for these sections. I would have much preferred if they had used language such as 'it may have been the case' or 'it is possible that' instead of writing it as if it was fact and footnoting it.
The writing style is way too unrealistically positive. It unfortunately reads like propaganda more than a factual account. The authors are trying way too hard to be a cheering section for Pan Am in general and for this crew in particular. I would much rather get the honest feel of the hardships and stresses the crew faced.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews