Clyde Pangborn, Hugh Herndon and a Bellanca Skyrocket
The first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean - from Samushiro Beach, Japan, to Wenatchee, Washington, in 41 hours
By Willie Bodenstein
19 October 2025
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Born in 1895, American aviator Clyde Pangborn, after leaving college and a brief career in mining, joined the U.S. Air Service during World War I. He completed flight training and was subsequently posted as a flight instructor to Ellington Field in Houston, Texas. It was here that Pangborn learned to roll the Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” biplane onto its back and fly inverted for extended periods. His fellow instructors soon began calling him “Upside-Down Pang”-a nickname that stuck for life.
After the war, Pangborn, like so many returning pilots, joined the barnstorming circuit flying with the Gates Flying Circus, of which he later became co-owner. The barnstorming circuit drew huge crowds, eager to watch daredevils literally fly through barns and perform other death-defying aerial acrobatics.
Early in his career, Pangborn was injured when he fell from a speeding car while attempting to jump onto a flying plane, his only serious injury in an entire lifetime of aviation. He achieved national fame after rescuing stuntwoman Rosalie Gordon, who became entangled in his aircraft's landing gear during a parachute demonstration over Houston, Texas.
For the next nine years, Pangborn thrilled millions with his daring aerial stunts across the United States. It was during this period that he met Hugh Herndon, a fellow barnstormer who would later become his co-pilot on a historic trans-Pacific flight.
In 1931, the round-the-world flight record stood at 20 days and 4 hours, set by the Graf Zeppelin in 1929. Herndon, the son of Standard Oil heiress Alice Boardman, persuaded his mother to finance a record attempt with $100,000. However, before their plans materialised, the record was shattered by Wiley Post and Harold Gatty with a time of 8 days and 15 hours.
Undeterred, Pangborn and Herndon continued with their own attempt, taking off from New York on 28 July 1931 in their aircraft, Miss Veedol, a 1931 Bellanca J-300 Long-Distance Special capable of carrying 696 U.S. gallons (2,630 L) of fuel. Poor weather over Siberia forced them to abandon their flight, but a new challenge soon arose, an offer of $25,000 to the first pilots to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean.
Preparing for this monumental attempt, they flew from Siberia to Japan. Unfortunately, Herndon's enthusiasm for documenting the journey led to trouble: his still photographs and 16 mm film footage of Japan's naval facilities drew suspicion, and both men were jailed on charges of espionage. After several days, they were released upon paying a $1,000 fine, but on strict conditions, they were allowed only one take-off in Miss Veedol, and if they returned to Japan, both the aircraft and crew would be seized.
While detained, they modified Miss Veedol to carry an expanded fuel load of 915 U.S. gallons (3,460 L), far beyond the manufacturer's recommendations and installed a mechanism to jettison the landing gear after take-off to reduce drag.
On 4 October 1931, Pangborn and Herndon finally took off from Sabishiro Beach near Misawa, Aomori, Japan, bound for Seattle, Washington, just under 5,500 miles (8,500 km) away, exceeding Charles Lindbergh's New York-Paris distance by more than 2,000 miles.
Three hours into the flight, the jettison mechanism partially failed: while the main gear dropped away, two struts remained attached. At 14,000 feet, Pangborn climbed barefoot out onto the wing supports and manually released them, a dangerous feat that saved precious fuel.
Later, the engine nearly quit when Herndon neglected to pump fuel from the fuselage tanks to the wing tanks feeding the engine. When the tanks eventually ran dry, the engine did stop. Without a starter, Pangborn had no choice but to dive steeply from cruising altitude, pulling out at just 1,400 feet to restart the motor, a perilous manoeuvre that succeeded.
As they neared the American coast, thick fog covered Vancouver and Seattle. They narrowly avoided Mount Rainier, which loomed unexpectedly through the clouds. Hoping to reach Boise, Idaho, to claim the record for both distance and the first non-stop Pacific crossing, they instead found every major airfield; Boise, Spokane, and Pasco, closed by fog. Turning back, they finally sighted Wenatchee, Washington, and brought Miss Veedol down in a perfect belly landing on a rough strip of sagebrush at Fancher Field, near what is now East Wenatchee.
The historic flight had taken 41 hours and 13 minutes, the first non-stop crossing of the Pacific Ocean.
Following their triumph, Pangborn and Herndon went their separate ways but both continued in aviation. Herndon later flew for the State of New York and then for Trans World Airlines (TWA), eventually becoming Operations Manager in Cairo, Egypt. He died there in 1952 of heart complications.
When World War II broke out, Pangborn joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) and played a key role in organizing the RAF Ferry Command, delivering aircraft across the Atlantic. After his discharge in 1946, he resumed his commercial flying career, pioneering new air routes and contributing to advances in aircraft development.
Over a 40-year career, Pangborn logged more than 24,000 flight hours and was instrument-rated to fly virtually any aircraft-single- or multi-engine, land- or sea-based.
Clyde Pangborn passed away on 29 March 1958 and was laid to rest with full military honours at Arlington National Cemetery, a fitting tribute to a man whose daring and determination helped push the boundaries of aviation history.
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