Pacific Clipper: The Untold Story [Hardcover]

Albert S. J. Tucker Jr. (Author), Matthew W. Paxton (Author), Eugene J. Dunning (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2002

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!

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"..a tale of resourcefulness, cool competence and courage."

This is the story of the Pacific Clipper, a Pan American Airways Boeing 314 flying boat, which was the first commercial airliner to fly around the world. In 1941-42, it was stranded in New Zealand after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and made it back to New York, flying west, through Australia, the Dutch East Indies, India, Africa, the South Atlantic, and Caribbean. Captain Bob Ford and the crew overcame lack of support facilities, inferior fuel, engine failure and enemy intrigue to complete their mission. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Author

The story of Bob Ford and his crew is relatively unknown, and their story deserves wider knowledge and acclaim. "Pacific Clipper, The Untold Story" recounts the Pacific Clipper saga and, in a larger sense, that of Pan American Airways. The book tells a tale of resourcefulness, cool

competence and courage.

If you have an interest in the era of the grand Pan Am flying boats and the adventure of early scheduled trans-oceanic flights, and raw adventure, you will enjoy "Pacific Clipper, The Untold Story." If you admire Pan American Airway's contributions to the science of air navigation and the development of commercial aviation, you'll appreciate the desire of the authors to see that Pan Am's achievements are given the recognition they are due, albeit belatedly." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 142 pages
• Publisher: The News Gazette (August 20, 2002)
• ISBN-10: 0970965818
• ISBN-13: 978-0970965813
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,227,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pacific Clipper a page turner, February 27, 2002

By 

"dbasarab16" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pacific Clipper : The Untold Story (Paperback)

This book is a real pager turner. I only wish it had a few more pages to turn. The topic is fantastic and the riding style keeps you on the edge of your seat. This is a fantastic story and the accomplishement described is equivalent to the landing on the moon for 1930's. This book should defenitely be made into a movie. I see Tom Hanks getting another Oscar as the Pilot of the Clipper.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing feat that should not be forgotten, March 16, 2006

By 

T. J. Knutson (Chetek, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pacific Clipper : The Untold Story (Paperback)

This story should be read by pilots and passengers for years to come. The people that pulled together to make this back side of the world navigation happen were extraordinary individuals who are few and far between nowadays. This book is not a novel with lots of gushy drama, but one of the best kind of drama, that of purely accomplishing a nearly impossible task. Accomplish it they did, with very little fanfare. Thanks for the research and writing of this story to Albert S. J Tucker