Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon completed the first successful nonstop flight across the Pacific from Japan to the United States on October 5, 1931. They landed near Wenatchee, Washington, in Miss Veedol, a modified Bellanca Skyrocket, and were competing for a $25,000 prize offered by the Asahi Shimbun. Accounts differ slightly on the flight’s exact duration, but put it at about 41 hours.
Who made the first nonstop flight across the Pacific?
Pangborn and Herndon were the pilots of Miss Veedol. The National Park Service describes their journey as the first successful nonstop crossing of the Pacific from Japan to the United States. Eight other aviators had attempted the crossing and failed to complete it, according to the Park Service’s Pangborn-Herndon Memorial Site account.
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The flight ended at Fancher Field near Wenatchee, Washington, on October 5, 1931. The feat was not the first flight across the Pacific of any kind: the defining achievement was making the crossing nonstop from Japan to the United States.
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Why were they flying from Japan to Washington?
The trans-Pacific attempt followed a different record bid. Pangborn and Herndon had set out from Roosevelt Field, New York, in July 1931 to try to break the around-the-world record. Weather and field conditions delayed them in Japan, and they turned to a new challenge: the prize for the first nonstop flight from Japan to the United States.
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The National Park Service identifies the sponsor as the Asahi Shimbun and the award as $25,000. Its account of the flight says a newspaper representative was waiting in Wenatchee with the prize check. The Park Service’s Floyd Bennett Field historic-flights account adds that the paper was Tokyo Asahi.
How did they prepare Miss Veedol for the crossing?
A trans-Pacific flight demanded more fuel and less weight and drag than an ordinary takeoff and landing. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s profile of Pangborn says the team added a 50-gallon fuel tank, reinforced the fuselage for landing, and devised a way to jettison the landing gear. The profile notes that Wall of Honor entries are supplied by honorees or donors and may not all be validated by the museum.
Over the ocean, the pilots released the landing gear to reduce weight. That left them to land on the aircraft’s underside rather than on wheels. The National Park Service says they brought the plane down in a belly landing at Fancher Field; the only reported aircraft damage was a bent propeller, now held by the North Central Washington Museum.
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How long did the flight take?
The arrival date is consistently given as October 5, 1931, but institutional accounts differ on the departure date and elapsed time. The National Park Service memorial page gives October 4 as the departure date; its Gateway chronology says October 3. The latter page also has a conflicting later line that gives October 17 for the landing, so it should not be used to override the October 5 arrival reported by the memorial account and other sources.
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| Source | Departure or duration reported | Landing information |
|---|---|---|
| National Park Service, Pangborn-Herndon Memorial Site | October 4; 41 hours and 34 minutes; 4,558 miles | October 5, 1931, at Fancher Field near Wenatchee |
| Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Pangborn profile | October 4; 41 hours and 13 minutes | October 5, 1931 |
| The Museum of Flight Archives, Clyde Pangborn Pilot Collection | 41 hours and 15 minutes after takeoff | A few minutes after 7 a.m. on October 5 |
| National Park Service, Gateway chronology | October 3 departure | The page also contains an inconsistent October 17 landing date |
| National Park Service, General History of Floyd Bennett Field | About 41 hours; 4,558 miles | Not stated in the report’s rounded flight summary |
The safest summary is that the flight began in early October and lasted about 41 hours. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics timeline independently places the crossing on October 4–5, 1931, and identifies the aircraft as a Bellanca CH-400; the National Park Service calls it a Bellanca Skyrocket.
What risks did the pilots face before takeoff?
The flight was not simply a matter of fueling the plane and launching. The Gateway National Recreation Area account says the men were arrested in Japan after flying over and photographing military installations. They were questioned, tried, and fined. The account says they were eventually allowed one chance to take off: if the attempt failed, they would have to leave Japan by ship.
The takeoff began the longest and most consequential part of the attempt; the landing required a separate gamble. With the landing gear discarded, Pangborn and Herndon had to set the aircraft down on its belly at their destination. The smooth landing near Wenatchee completed the crossing and left the plane with the bent propeller as its reported damage.
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It established a nonstop Japan-to-United States Pacific route in an era when eight earlier aviators had failed to complete the crossing. Its significance rests on the combination of long-range planning, a specially modified aircraft, and the decision to sacrifice the landing gear so the plane could carry less weight and drag. Pangborn and Herndon arrived in Washington state, rather than stopping at an island or refueling en route, and earned the prize tied to that specific accomplishment.
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