Flying through the Storm: The Epic 4,000 Mile Journey of Miss Veedol

The Incredible Journey from Japan to America

The area surrounding Misawa is rich in both Japanese and American history. It gained historical importance both before and during World War II as a training facility for the Imperial Forces and again as an American base after the war.

Until the early thirties, most of Misawa's history had been shared only locally. However, in 1931, an event which began in the Misawa area made headline news in the United States in the small Washington town of Wenatchee.

The event that caught the eye of some Americans was the first non-stop trans-Pacific flight ever made. The daring duo who accomplished this feat were Clyed Pangborn and Hugh Herndon.

The idea of crossing the Pacific in a non-stop flight did not occur to them until they were halfway through their attempt to break the standing record for a flight around the world.

Pangborn and Herndon set off on July 28, 1931 in their aircraft named Miss Veedol, which was much slower than the record-holding aircraft which first flew around the world.

While lingering disconsolately in Khabarovsk, pending repairs and a break in the weather, word of a reward from the Japanese newspaper, Asahi Shinbun, offering 50,000 in Yen (about $25,000 in 1931), for the first non-stop flight from Japan to the United States caught their interest. Pangborn and Herndon quickly jumped at the chance to recoup their investment of $450,000 sunk into their around-the-world venture. in fact, they zoomed into Japan so fast they did not bother obtaining proper entry papers, which prompted Japanese officials in Tokyo to arrest them on the suspicion of espionage.

During the two flyers' six weeks in jail, seven attempts to cross the Pacific were made. None of these attempts were successful. Finally, Pangborn and Herndon were bailed out of prison and the weary pair were given permission to depart in Miss Veedol.

Because of the heavy load their aircraft carried, they were obliged to use an airstrip at Sabishiro Beach, hundreds of miles north of Tokyo (a beach on the outskirts of Misawa). All expendable items, including a radio and life raft, were discarded in favor of food and fuel. Even with a maximum load of 900 gallons of gasoline, Pangborn doubted whether the aircraft could reach the coast of Washington, over 4,000 miles away. He reassured Japanese officials however, while he and Herndon constructed a secret weapon -- a cable release for dropping the main landing gear after take-off. He estimated this would add 15% to airspeed and range.

All went weel with the departure at 7 a.m. on October 4, 1931. The wheels and axle went spinning down into Akukeshi Bay on schedule. However, when Pangborn looked over the side and saw two bracing rods still protruding from the fuselage, he realized they could be rammed into the airplane, at great risk to life and limb, on any attempted belly-landing ashore. They would have to be removed.

Pangborn decided to put off the problem of removing the wheel rods until they reached cruising altitude, hoping the air would be steadier. But storm clouds followed them up to even 19,000 feet. The temperature dropped well below freezing inside the cabin and the lights began to fail. He eased himself out onto the monoplane's starboard wing strut, wrapped his legs around it and reached down to unscrew the wheel rod.

At this point, he realized the folly of having adopted the Japanese custom of flying without shoes. His feet quickly became numb, as did his hands and face. He wrestled with the stubborn rod while dangling three miles in the sky over the Bering Straits, roaring at Herndon to hold the bucking plane steady. By the time he had released the rod, he was frozen and almost too stiff to move, but managed to crawl back to the cabin. He thawed out briefly then repated the performance on the other side.

They passed over the Aleutians in darkness, the sound of the engine deafening them to the point that conversation was impossible; they communicated with notes. At the first light of day, they peered through a break in the clouds below and caught a glimpse of what appeared to be Dutch Harbor. They were right on course.

At 17,000 feet, ice was forming on the wings, slowing them down considerably. Still they dared not risk plunging down into the turbulent cloud build-up below. They huddled close together and wiggled their numb toes. The engine never missed a beat and Miss Veedol chugged steadily on across the Guld of Alaska.

They had about 3,000 miles behind them when the engine sputtered a few times, then stopped dead. Panic reigned for a few minutes, and the plane descended to an altitude of 1,000 feet before they remembered to switch fuel tanks. Soon, the wind-milling prop restarted the engine.

At 5 p.m. on Sunday they sighted the shores of Queen Charlotte Sound - they were home free, almost. By the time they reached cloud-covered Seattle, it was 3 a.m. and too dark to land. They circled Mt. Rainier three times, debating a course of action. They decided to press on farther east to Salt Lake City, which would give them the long distance record.

In the continuing darkness and poor visibility, the prospect of a belly landing on a remote mountainside dimmed their interest in Salt Lake City as a destination. They turned back and as dawn was breaking, Clyde Pangborn headed for Wenatchee, Washington, his hometown.

Clyde came in over the familiar strip low and slow and managed to stop the prop in the horizontal position, but a last minute gust of wind spun it around and Miss Veedol came to an ungraceful halt with her tail in the sky.

Out of the cabin emerged two defeated, frostbitten, shoeless aviators -- grinning and unhurt. They had spanned the Pacific... 4,000 non-stop miles in 41 hours and 13 minutes! History was made.

Additional Stats:

Miss Veedol was built in 1931 at Bellanca Airfield in New Castle, Delaware. It could carry 696 US gallons (2,630 L) of fuel.?

Miss Veedol carried an initial load of 915 US gallons (3,460 L) of aviation gasoline on her record-breaking flight.

Miss Veedol was named for the motor oil brand, as it was sponsored by Veedol's manufacturer, Tidewater Oil Company (Tydol). Herndon's mother, Alice Carter Herndon, was the heiress of the Tidewater Oil Company.