Country: United States
(Silent, B&W) Death Dogged the Dolebirds: Pioneer Pacific Fliers
Wrote Tragic Chapter in Air History". San Francisco Call-Bulletin
http://www.sfmuseum.net/hist10/27dolerace.html
The Dole Air Race was an air race to cross the Pacific Ocean from the
coast of northern California to the Territory of Hawai'i. Inspired by Charles
A. Lindbergh's successful trans-Atlantic flight, James D. Dole, the Hawaii
pineapple magnate, put up a prize of US$25,000 for the first fixed-wing
aircraft to fly the 3870 kilometers (2400 miles) from Oakland, California to
Honolulu, Hawaii, and US$10,000 for second place.
The race began on 16 August 1927. The fifteen competitors were seen off
by a crowd estimated to include 75,000 to 100,000 persons.
However, the honor of being the first to make a trans-Pacific flight had
already been earned, twice over. On 28 June, about a month after Dole posted
the prizes, United States Army Lieutenants Lester J. Maitland and Albert F.
Hegenberger flew a three-engine Fokker military aircraft from Oakland Airport
to Wheeler Army Airfield on Oahu in 25 hours and 50 minutes. Then, on 14 July,
Ernie Smith and Emory Bronte, took off from Oakland in the City of Oakland, a
small civilian monoplane, and, upon running out of fuel 26 hours and 36 minutes
later, crash-landed in a thorn tree on Molokai. Dole disqualified both of them
from his prizes because they did not land in Honolulu.
The drawing for starting position in the Dole race was held on 8 August
in the office of C. W. Saunders, California director of the National
Aeronautics Association, in the Matson Building in San Francisco, California.
Two days after the drawing, United States Navy Lieutenants George D.
Covell and R. S. Waggener took off from San Diego, California, to fly to Oakland,
flew into a fog bank, crashed into an ocean cliff, and died. The next day,
Arthur V. Rogers took off for a test flight at Western Air Express Field at
Montebello, California, circled, came about to land, suddenly dived into the
ground, and died.
Meanwhile, Mildred Doran, Auggy Pedlar, and Vilas R. Knope were flying
into Oakland when their aircraft developed engine trouble. They successfully
landed in a wheat field in the San Joaquin Valley, but had trouble making
repairs because they no longer had any tools. Doran was quoted as stating,
"We threw [the tools] off at Long Beach because they were in the way and
cluttering things up."
Then, on 11 August, as J. L. Giffin and Theodore S. Lundgren approached
Oakland, their aircraft crashed into San Francisco Bay. The two men were
unhurt, though.
By 16 August, the starting lineup had diminished to eight:
Golden Eagle, a Lockheed monoplane flown by Jack Frost and navigated by
Gordon Scott
Aloha, a monoplane flown by Martin Jensen and navigated by Paul Schluter
Woolaroc, flown by Art Goebel and navigated by William V. Davis Jr.
Miss Doran, flown by Auggy Pedlar, navigated by Vilas R. Knope, and
carrying Mildred Doran
Oklahoma, a sister ship of Woolaroc, piloted by Bennett Griffin and
navigated by Al Henley
Dallas Spirit, flown by William P. Erwin and navigated by Alvin
Eichwaldt
El Encanto, a metal monoplane flown by Norman A. Goddard and Kenneth C.
Hawkins, which was heavily favored in the pre-race odds
Pabco Flyer, flown alone by Livingston Irving
The initial take offs were plagued with trouble. Just before 11am,
Oklahoma took off. The crew would eventually abort the flight over San
Francisco. She was followed by El Encanto, which had not cleared the runway
before she swerved and crashed. Pabco Flyer lifted momentarily into the air,
then crashed some 7000 feet from the runway. Their crews were not hurt. Golden
Eagle took off smoothly and flew out of sight. Miss Doran succeeded in taking
off, but circled back and landed less than ten minutes later. Then Dallas Spirit
returned to Oakland. Aloha and Woolaroc took off uneventfully, and Miss Doran
succeeded on her second attempt. Pabco Flyer also tried and crashed a second
time.
Woolaroc won the race in 26 hours, 17 minutes, earning Goebel and Davis
US$25,000. Aloha arrived in 28 hours, 16 minutes, earning Jensen and Schluter
US$10,000. Neither Golden Eagle nor Miss Doran were ever seen again.
The search for the Golden Eagle and Miss Doran was aided by three
submarines, USS R-8 (SS-85), USS S-42 (SS-153), and S-46 (SS-157). After
repairing Dallas Spirit, Erwin and Eichwaldt joined the search leaving Oakland
for Honolulu. They were never seen again, either.
