Clipper, January 10, 1946

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JANUARY 10, 1946
ATLANTIC DIVISION
To Officials and Personnel of Pan American Airways:
It is with a sense of gratitude for the peace that is now ours that I send the season’s greetings to the officials and employees of Pan American World Airways. We can all be proud of the job done by our Company during the war, the biggest done by any American flag airline. With the problems of reconversion facing us, we must not let down. By carrying on together now, as we have done in the past, we can continue to provide the public with the superior type of service that has made Pan American pre-eminent in the past. My best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to you all.
J. T. TRIPPE
CLIPPER
Copyright by Pan American Airways, Inc.
Jatk Wilson Hero
In EAL Crash
A member of the Line Crew and the wife of one of our Traffic men proved themselves heroes in the recent Eastern Airlines tragedy which occurred recently when the ship overshot the field and dived into Bowery Bay.
Jack Wilson, the crewman, was in the Beaching shack the night of the catastrophe when the call came through reporting the crash and ordering the men on duty to report, to the area. Jack dashed out, and hopped on the Coast Guard boat that was pulling out. All the crash passengers were hauled out hut one woman who was struggling almost feebly. When Jack’s attempt to get a *line to her failed and he saw her go face down into the water, he leaped from the cutter, swam to the woman and rescued her. The woman, Mrs. Grace Scully,< did not survive.
Mrs. Catherine Kehoe, wife of Pat Kehoe,
Read on four continents and four i s I a n d s in befwe
Flying-Boats End Glamorous Career ^ In Favor of DC-4 Landplanes
The work horses of the transatlantic run — the 42-ton Clippers — have been put to pasture.
For the first time in six and one half years the broad-beamed boats, which pioneered air service across the Atlantic, are no longer in operation, having been replaced with the start of the new year by faster DC-4 Clippers which allow a reduced fare to passengers.
Since that first crossing by any commercial plane on June 28, 1939, the pioneer Dixie Clipper and her three sister ships have rung up these totals:
Traveled approximately 11,000,000 miles — a distance equal to 440 times around the world.
Made the crossing to Europe or back a total of 2,122 times.
Carried 80,000 passengers, most of them of war vital importance, plus 6,000,000 pounds of express and 5,000,000 pounds of mail.
The PAA Clippers have become a familiar sight to thousands in this country, Europe, Africa and South America in flights ranging frofti the 760-mile hop to Bermuda to a 37,000-mile around-the-world flight made in 1943 for the U. S. Army Air Transport Command. This flight was partially through Jap-
Airport Passenger clerk, was the heroine.
Mrs. Kehoe, former Army nurse with two and one half years of service, was at the Terminal at the time of the crash. When the women passengers were brought into the Marine Terminal she was the first one - to administer emergency treatment for shock during the first hour. She undressed the women passengers who were not so severely hurt and wrapped them in blankets and took care of them until further assistance arrived.
Mrs. Kehoe received her honorable discharge from the Army in April, 1945, with the rating of lieutenant.
anese-controlled territory.
The boats have just been turned over to the U. S. Navy, which bought them at the start of the war and leased them back to PAA — since insurance could not be secured because of the hazards under which they were operating.
The passing of the broad-beamed boats saddens veteran airmen at La Guardia Field. Part of the glamour of aviation leaves with them, they say.
The boats set many records, but probably their most important job was in maintaining vital communications across the Atlantic during the entire war. When the German submarine wolf packs were at their peak and surface shipping disrupted, the Clippers continued to carry important officials, refugees and medical cases across the ocean.
American and British government and military officials were virtually commuters, along with officials and royalty of all the United Nations — President Roosevelt, Queen Wil-helmina of the Netherlands, King Leopold of Belgium, Crown Prince Olaf of Norway and many others.
Camouflaged, but unarmed, the Clipper crews also assisted even more directly in the war effort, being trained for submarine spotting. Their efforts aided in the sinking of an unknown number of Nazi subs. On several occasions the Clippers were shot at but escaped with only bullet holes in the wings.
Four Clippers transferred from the Pacific also carried out 99 Special Mission flights for the U. S. Army, Navy and State Department which added another 2,200,000 miles to the 11,000,000 flown by the commercial Clippers. Outstanding among these was the flight of President Roosevelt and party to and from the Casablanca “No surrender” Conference in January, 1943. —- V • / '
As to records, the ships madev12 crossings of the South Atlantic from Brazil to Africa in 13 days. On the same 1,870-mile run a record 52 passengers — plus 11 crew members — were carried in December, 1944. On the North Atlantic in August of this year 34 passengers were carried on the 2,000-mile hop from Newfoundland to Eire — greatest load ever carried across the North Atlantic by commercial airliner.



Jack Wilson of the Beaching Crew tells his Dad how he dived into Bowery Bay to rescue a woman crash victim who was struggling in the water.
FCU MEETING JANUARY 16
The annual meeting of the Pan American Airways, Atlantic Division, Federal Credit Union will be held on Wednesday, January 16, 1946, at 4:30 p.m. in the Passenger Service Dining Room.
If this meeting falls within an employe’s working hours he must have his supervisor’s permission to attend.
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