The Dole Air Race, also known as the Dole Derby, was a tragic air race across the Pacific Ocean from northern California to the Territory of Hawaii in August 1927. Of the 18 official and unofficial entrants, fifteen drew for starting positions; of those fifteen, two were disqualified, two withdrew, and three aircraft crashed before the race, resulting in three deaths. Eight aircraft eventually participated in the start of the race, with only two successfully landed in Hawaii; of the other six, two crashed on takeoff, two were forced to return for repairs, and two went missing during the race. One of the aircraft forced to return for repairs took off again to search for the missing aircraft several days later and also vanished over the sea. In all, before, during, and after the race, ten lives were lost and six airplanes were lost or damaged beyond repair.
Inspired by Charles A. Lindbergh's successful trans-Atlantic flight, James D. Dole, the Hawaiipineapple magnate, announced on May 25, 1925 a prize of US$25,000 for the first fixed-wing aircraft to fly the 3,870 kilometers (2,405mi) from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, and US$10,000 for second place.[1][2] The flights would have to complete in the 12 months following August 15, 1927. Dole stated he hoped that Lindbergh would compete.[3]
The Honolulu chapter of the National Aeronautic Association drew up rules for the race.[4]
The transpacific record
The publicity for the first successful transpacific flights from Oakland to Hawaii were stolen by two flights in June and July 1927, ahead of the scheduled August start for the Dole Derby. On 28 June, about a month after Dole posted the prizes, Air Corps Lieutenants Lester J. Maitland and Albert F. Hegenberger flew a three-engine Atlantic-Fokker C-2 military aircraft from Oakland Municipal Airport to Wheeler Army Airfield on Oahu in 25 hours and 50 minutes.[5][6] An earlier attempt in 1925 had ended in failure for two Navy PN-9seaplanes; one of the aircraft, commanded by Commander John Rodgers, ran out of fuel several hundred miles short of Hawaii and sailed to Kauai over the next nine days.[7]
Ernie Smith and Captain C.H. Carter had arrived in Oakland earlier to attempt to parallel the Maitland/Hegenberger flight in the City of Oakland, a small Travel Air 5000 civilian monoplane, but due to mechanical difficulties, took off two hours after Maitland, and returned with a broken windshield. Unlike Lindbergh's purpose-built Spirit of St. Louis, City of Oakland had been serving as a mail carrier for Pacific Air Transport.[8] According to Smith, Carter threatened to dump the gas after the windshield was lost, forcing the plane's return shortly after takeoff.[9] Carter quit after the record was lost, but Smith hired Emory Bronte as a navigator, and took off again on July 14.[10] Upon running out of fuel 26 hours and 36 minutes later, they crash-landed in a thorn tree on Molokai.[5][9][11]
Dole disqualified the successful June and July flights from his prizes because they had not followed his rules.[12]:181 The Air Corps flight had been planned months prior to the prize announcement and had no intent to land other than at Wheeler.
By July 22, the starting and ending points had not been set. San Francisco began developing its new municipal airport, Mills Field, in anticipation that it could entice pilots into choosing it as the origin; the initial planned destination was John Rodgers Airport near Honolulu.[13]
The first official entrant, announced on June 28, was Arthur C. Goebel.[14] An early entrant was Richard Grace, a Hollywood stunt pilot who shipped his plane to San Francisco shortly after wrecking his Cruzair in a Kauai to San Francisco attempt in June.[15] Fourteen official and four unofficial entrants were announced on August 3; Grace was not part of the group.[16] The draw 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, at the Matson Building in San Francisco. In all, fifteen entrants made the official draw;[17] contestants could choose to take off from Mills Field near San Francisco or Oakland Municipal Airport,[18] but the contestants later decided the air currents at Mills were too dangerous and all aircraft were to take off from Oakland instead.[19]
Official and unofficial entrants[16] and starting draw[17][12]:183–184
Before the race started, many of the aircraft had mechanical issues. Pabco Flyer (Irving) broke a fuel line while conducting a test flight on August 5 from San Francisco to San Diego, and Irving was forced down in a cow pasture near Point Sur, approximately 40 miles (64km) south of Monterey.[12]:181[20]Golden Eagle (Frost/Scott) hit a gopher hole on the runway while taking off from San Diego and wrecked the landing gear and propeller.[12]:182City of Peoria (Parkhurst/Lowes) was delayed by sandflies, and Bluebird (Giles) was stuck at Detroit with engine issues.[12]:182[21]
Oklahoma (Griffin/Henley) took off on August 4 for an intended nonstop flight from Bartlesville to San Francisco,[22] but was forced down near Amboy by a broken exhaust pipe;[12]:181 after effecting repairs, Oklahoma took off again at approximately 7AM on August 5, but the aircraft came down again 7 miles (11km) outside of Los Angeles due to heavy fog.[20]
Spirit of John Rodgers (Covell/Waggener) was also forced down twice during a flight from Brea to San Diego: first near Santa Ana by fog during a test flight on August 5;[12]:181–182[20] then again after an oil feed line broke on August 6, forcing the plane down at Escondido. The Tremaine Humming Bird monoplane, which was designed and built by William D. Tremaine, had a wingspan of 47feet 6inches (14.48m) and a low wing configuration, unusual for the time.[23]
Meanwhile, Mildred Doran, Auggy Pedlar, and navigator Manley Lawing were flying into Oakland when their aircraft developed engine trouble due to fouled spark plugs. They successfully landed near Mendota in a wheat field in the San Joaquin Valley, but damaged the landing gear in the process and had trouble making repairs because they no longer had any tools. Doran went to Modesto, California to secure tools and a mechanic;[24] she quipped "We threw [the tools] off at Long Beach because they were in the way and cluttering things up."[5][12]:182 Lawling was later replaced by Vilas R. Knope when Lawing could not satisfy the race committee of his navigational skills.[25] He reportedly got lost over Oakland.
James L. Giffin announced he needed US$15,000 to complete a giant triplane under construction in July 1927; at the time, he was planning to fly it from Los Angeles to Tokyo via Hawaii.[26] After a short test flight on August 10, Giffin confidently predicted they would rest upon arrival in Honolulu, then continue to Australia nonstop, a distance of 4,100 miles (6,600km). Giffin's intended final destination was Paris, a flight of 30 days in total via Borneo, India, Constantinople, and Rome.[27]
Goddard had already built and tested El Encanto and anticipated it would reach speeds of 120mph (190km/h) at takeoff, speeding up to 140mph (230km/h) when nearing Honolulu as fuel was consumed, lightening the aircraft. El Encanto means "The Enchanted" and was designed by Goddard after the streamlining of a salmon.[28]
Woolaroc, piloted by Goebel, was originally intended to carry Lieutenant W. J. Slattery as navigator.[21] Goebel departed from Bartlesville on a nonstop flight San Francisco on August 6.[29] In test flights before the race, Goebel's Woolaroc encountered gear issues that required Goebel to hang outside the plane to fix.
Martin Jensen and Robert Fowler competed over the purchase rights for the same Breese-Wilde Model 5; Jensen won that race after his wife Margaret raised US$15,000 from local backers in Honolulu, and Jensen took delivery of Aloha on August 8.[12]:178 Fowler, left without an airplane for the contest, was forced to withdraw.[12]:183,185 Because Aloha was only completed when the race was nearly about to begin, the preparations for the contest were rushed; the fuel tanks on Aloha only held 130 US gallons (490L) and the original plan was to add sufficient spare fuel capacity via forty-nine portable 5USgal (19L) containers,[21][30] requiring the navigator to fill the central tank, then transfer fuel to the 50USgal (190L) tank in use via a hand pump; the plane was later retrofitted with a 405USgal (1,530L) tank, obviating the need for the complicated refueling plan, which would have required the passing of written messages between the two men.[31]:84
Three crashes in three days (Aug 10–12, 1927) leading up to the start of the race
Two days after they drew the thirteenth position, on August 10 United States Navy Lieutenants George W. D. Covell and R. S. Waggener took off from San Diego, California in their Tremaine Humming Bird named Spirit of John Rodgers to fly to Oakland; after flying into a fog bank, the aircraft crashed into an ocean cliff at Point Loma, killing both men.[32][33] Waggener had replaced Lt. Leo Pawlikowski as navigator; Pawlikowski had developed an abscess on his back which required surgery, and the doctors would not allow him to participate.[12]:179–180 William Davis, a Navy Lieutenant who would serve as the navigator for Art Goebel on Woolaroc, was granted leave to participate in the race; he had planned to catch a ride with Covell and Waggener to San Francisco, but the leave was not granted in time, and he took a train from San Diego instead.[31]:83
The next day, shortly after British ace Arthur V. Rogers took off for a test flight on August 12 in the twin engine Angel of Los Angeles at Western Air Express Field at Montebello, California, the aircraft reached an altitude of 200 feet (61m) and began acting "queer";[36] Rogers jumped out of the plane as it suddenly dived towards the ground, but died as either his foot or parachute snagged on the aircraft as it crashed.[37][38][39] Leland A. Bryant, the designer of the aircraft, was to have served as Rogers's navigator, but was not onboard during the test flight.[40]
Withdrawals and disqualifications
Maj. Livingston Irving was the first pilot to qualify for the contest.[24] During the pre-race inspections, Major Clarence Young declared that up to ten of the fifteen entries may be disqualified for inadequate fuel capacity; the rule stated that a single-engine aircraft was required to carry 460 US gallons (1,700L) of fuel, a nominal capacity of 400 US gallons (1,500L) plus a 15% reserve.[41] Another rule was interpreted to require pilots to hold commercial licenses, which five unnamed pilots did not have.[30]
Arose a horde of pompous men to boss the job, as you may ken; made sets of rules to puzzle, fool, as though the racers saw no school; they plotted charts, allotted starts, ruled on gas tanks, criticized parts, befuzzled everything worse 'n tarts till they wracked people's nerves, upset hearts — pray tell me why.
The race, originally scheduled to start on August 12, was postponed on August 11, in light of the numerous mechanical issues, failed qualification tests, and poor weather.[12]:184 Several contestants protested the delay, and the Honolulu chapter of the National Aeronautic Association refused to endorse the recommendation of the Oakland chapter to postpone, meaning the race would proceed.[43] However, nine of the contestants agreed to postpone the contest late in the evening of August 11, which would give the teams time to rest and pass the stringent qualification tests; the deadline to qualify was extended to 10AM on August 15.[21]
A three-part qualification test was administered to the navigators by Naval Lieutenant Ben H. Wyatt, consisting of a written, oral, and flying examination. For the flight exam, the pilot and navigator were sent over a predetermined course and upon their return, quizzed to determine which points they had passed. By August 11, none of the crews had passed the test. Pedlar's Miss Doran was found to have inaccurate compasses.[44] Later, it was noted that only two teams had qualified (El Encanto and Golden Eagle), with one more likely to qualify (Oklahoma) by the original date of Friday, August 12.[21] On August 12, four crews had passed: Oklahoma (Griffin/Henley), El Encanto (Goddard/Hawkins), Pabco Pacific Flyer (Irving), and Golden Eagle (Frost/Scott).[45]Miss Doran (Pedlar/Knope) passed with a new navigator on August 13.[46] By the qualification deadline of August 15, nine crews had passed the tests;[47]Dallas Spirit was the final qualifier.[48]
On August 10, Hollywood pilot and actor Frank Clarke either withdrew or was disqualified from participating in the race with his navigator, Jeff Warren, in Miss Hollydale, an International F-17 biplane.[49][50] Clarke announced he would attempt the world endurance record instead and took off abruptly on August 13 with his sponsor, Charley H. Babb, leaving the other contestants fuming.[51] One day later, Clarke sent a telegram to the race sponsors from Los Angeles, apologizing for the furor and officially withdrawing from the race.[52]
On August 15, Frederick Giles was disqualified as he had not arrived in time to meet the navigation qualification test deadline.[47] Giles would go on to attempt a solo flight from San Francisco to Honolulu in November as the first leg of a planned flight to Australia.[53] A missing component on the Miss Doran compass sparked fears of vandalism the night before the flight.[54]
The Air King (City of Peoria) flown by Charles Parkhurst Lomax and Ralph C. Lower Jr., was disqualified at 11:15AM on the 16th, less than an hour before the first plane would start, because its 370-gallon tanks were estimated to give the plane a range 300 miles short by inspectors.[55]
Final participants
Entrants lined up to take off from Oakland on August 16, 1927. Oklahoma is at the start of the runway. From left to right the others are: Aloha, Dallas Spirit, Miss Doran, Woolaroc, El Encanto, Golden Eagle, City of Peoria, and Pabco Pacific Flyer
The race began on 16 August, by which time the starting line-up had dwindled to nine aircraft, with one of the nine disqualified just before the start of the race. In order of start, they were:[47][56]
DQCity of Peoria, an Air King biplane, NX3070, flown by Charles Parkhurst and navigated by Ralph Lowes, disqualified the day of the hop-off for inadequate fuel capacity
The fifteen competitors were seen off by a crowd estimated to include 75,000 to 100,000 persons on August 16, 1927. Weather was predicted to have a high fog on takeoff and showers along the route. A fog bank started at the Golden Gate and the entire route was overcast.[58] At Oakland Municipal Airport, clearance to depart was not granted until just before noon; the fog that had lain over the airport did not lift until 10:40AM.[12]:187
The initial takeoffs were plagued with trouble, as several of the heavily-laden aircraft struggled to take off. Oklahoma took off first, just after 12PM.[12]:187[59] The crew would eventually abort the flight over San Francisco with an overheating engine.[57] She was followed by El Encanto at 12:02PM,[59] which failed to clear the runway before she swerved and crashed, smashing the port wing 4,800 feet (1,500m) from the starting line.[12]:187Pabco Flyer, starting at 12:09PM,[59] lifted momentarily into the air, then crashed some 7,000 feet (2,100m) feet from the start.[12]:187 Their crews were not hurt. Golden Eagle took off smoothly at 12:30PM and flew out of sight.[59]Miss Doran succeeded in taking off at 12:31PM.[59] The final three, Aloha (at 12:33PM), Woolaroc (12:34PM), and Dallas Spirit (12:36PM) all took off uneventfully.[59]
Oklahoma passed through the Golden Gate at 12:20PM, followed by Aloha at 12:48.[55] Aircraft then began to return: Oklahoma returned to Oakland and Dallas Spirit turned back shortly after taking off, both returning at approximately 1:08PM;[55]Oklahoma had ripped the fabric covering the fuselage, and Dallas Spirit was having issues with its tail gear.[12]:188[60]Miss Doran circled back and landed approximately ten minutes later (1:24PM),[59] its engine "sputtering like a Tin Lizzie."[12]:187[61]
Miss Doran and Pabco Flyer would make second attempts to take off; Pabco Flyer crashed a second time at 1PM,[59] rendering it unflyable, but Miss Doran succeeded at 2PM.[12]:188[59] Of the fifteen teams that participated in the draw, just four were on the course: Golden Eagle, Aloha, Woolaroc, and Miss Doran.
Results
Dole (center) awards prizes to Goebel (L) and Jensen (R)
Woolaroc flew a great-circle route, flying at an altitude of 4,000 to 6,000 feet (1,200 to 1,800m), above the cloud cover. The navigator, Davis, used sextants and smoke bombs to calculate course and wind drift; although the radio beams from the picket ships stationed along the route helped guide the aircraft, Davis used it only to check the course plotted via traditional instruments. Of the four aircraft headed to Hawaii, only Woolaroc had a two-way radio capable of sending and receiving messages. In fact, Davis had packed a spare radio and repair parts based on Bronte's prior experience in July.[31]:81 The crew radioed Wahiawa Radio Station, next to Wheeler Field, when they were approximately 200 miles (320km) out with an estimated remaining time of 21⁄2 hours.[31]:82 They were greeted in Hawaii by a crowd estimated between 25,000 and 30,000, and escorted by a Boeing PW-9 out of Wheeler Field. Goebel and Davis won the race in 26 hours, 17 minutes, earning them the US$25,000 first prize. The wife of Martin Jensen anxiously asked them if they had sighted Aloha, who had left ahead of Woolaroc; they replied they had not, adding to her anxiety.[31]:82
Aloha arrived approximately two hours later, in 28 hours, 16 minutes, earning Jensen and Schluter the US$10,000 second prize. Out of his $10,000 winnings, pilot Jensen gave his navigator Schluter only $25.[62] Jensen flew much of the way at a low altitude of 10 to 50 feet (3.0 to 15.2m) above sea level, helping fuel economy but making it impossible to sight the stars for navigation.[31]:84 Three times during the flight, Jensen attempted to climb to 4,000 feet (1,200m), but went into a tailspin each time; once Jensen inadvertently commanded a shallow dive and skimmed the water with the landing gear, prompting him to rise to a safer altitude of 500 feet (150m).[31]:86–87 Two and a half hours were consumed while circling in order for the navigator to determine their position from the sun. When they landed, Aloha had only 5 US gallons (19L) of fuel remaining; in order to ensure the engine never starved for fuel, the crew needed to pump the gravity-fed tank to overflowing.[31]:87
Three aircraft disappear; seven more die
Golden Eagle: Frost (L) & Scott (R)
Miss Doran: Knope, Doran, and Pedler (L–R)
Dallas Spirit: Erwin (L) & Eichwaldt (R)
Aircraft crews that disappeared over the sea, Aug 16 & 19
Neither Golden Eagle nor Miss Doran was ever seen again.[12]:188[63]Golden Eagle had a radio capable of reception only and could use the shipboard radio signals for navigation.[31]:81 Dole put up a US$10,000 reward for anyone who found either plane; this was matched by each plane's sponsors, for a total of US$20,000 reward for each aircraft.[31]:87
According to Wyatt, the radial engine of Miss Doran was missing four of nine cylinders when it returned to Oakland; he believed the aircraft had gone down shortly after entering the fog bank just off the Golden Gate.[64]
The search for the Golden Eagle and Miss Doran was aided by three submarines, USSR-8, USSS-42, and USSS-46. After repairing Dallas Spirit, Erwin and Eichwaldt joined the search, leaving Oakland for Honolulu on August 19.[58][12]:189–190 Their last radio message, received at 9PM that night, was that they were in a tailspin approximately 600 miles (970km) out to sea.[65][66]Dallas Spirit was also never seen again.
A silver-colored piece of an aileron washed ashore at Redondo Beach in October 1927; it may have come from Dallas Spirit, based on the color.[67] The reward was withdrawn by James Dole in March 1928.[68] In April 1929, the wreckage of an unidentified aircraft washed ashore near Carmel.[69] The final search for the missing aviators concluded in June 1929, as Jack Frost's brother followed up a theory the Golden Eagle may have crash landed on Mauna Loa.[70]
Aftermath
In the days after the race, the disqualified owners of the Air King charged that race officials should have disqualified the Golden Eagle, because it also had only 350 gallons of fuel capacity when it took off.[71][72] In a bitter conclusion, the father of the sponsor of the race, Rev. Charles F. Dole, died on November 27, 1927.[73]
Goebel and Davis returned on the Matson linerSSManoa to an impromptu parade in San Francisco where they doubted there would be any survivors of a sea ditching.[74][75]Woolaroc has survived and is on display at the Woolaroc Museum in Oklahoma, which started as a hangar to store and display the plane.[76]
Both Ernie Smith, pilot of the first civilian nonstop flight to Hawaii, and Ben Wyatt, navigation examiner for the Dole Air Race, criticized the race after its conclusion. Smith called it "stunt flying – not practical with land planes. And now there are six men and a girl out there somewhere battling for their lives. All for $35,000. It isn't worth it."[77] Wyatt believed that "[no] scientific value can be derived from such flights [with land planes]."[78]
On September 16, SSMaui spread flowers and a floral Bible made by Miss Doran's students was released on the spot where the last message was received from the Dallas Spirit. Each of the seven who died was eulogized and Tennyson's poem "Crossing the Bar" was recited.[66]
Constance Erwin, the wife of Bill, who piloted Dallas Spirit, gave birth to a son, named Bill, on October 12, 1927.[79][80]
Finished with 1+1⁄2 US pints (0.71L) of gas. Name originated from the "woods, lakes, and rocks" on the lands of the corporate sponsor, Phillips Petroleum.
Originally to be navigated by Erwin's wife, Constance. Forced to return with engine trouble. Lost at sea while searching for missing Miss Doran and Golden Eagle.
Entrants that withdrew, crashed, or disqualified prior to race start
Aircraft
Start
Pilot
Navigator
Livery
Finish
Notes
Ref.
Make & Model
Name
Registration
Image
Draw
Launch
Air King biplane
City of Peoria
NX3070
3
—
Charles Parkhurst
Ralph Lowes
Silver
DQ
Disqualified for inadequate fuel capacity. Alternate pilots Dick Grace or Ernest Smith; Smith was the first civilian to fly nonstop to Hawaii, crashing on Molokai in City of Oakland.
1 2 Smith, Ernie (January 1931). "Ocean Flights Are the Bunk!". Popular Aviation. Vol.8, no.1. Aeronautical Publications. pp.22–24, 58. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
↑ Plane and Pilot. July 1967.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
↑ Smith, Ernie; Conant, Paul (October 1939). "Ernie Smith Says 'I Was a Hero'". Popular Aviation. Vol.XXV, no.4. Ziff-Davis. pp.42–43, 65, 88–89. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
↑ "THIRD DOLE FLIER KILLED IN CRASH AT LOS ANGELES". The New York Times. 12 August 1927. Accident to Capt. A. V. Rogers Makes Three Planes Wrecked Among Entrants. HIS WIFE SEES THE TRAGEDY Parachute Leap Apparently Failed After Plane Nose Dived at 150 Feet. NINE REMAIN IN THE RACE They Seem Thankful for Their Decision to Put Start Off Until Tuesday.
↑ "DOLE PRIZE FLIERS GUARD THEIR AEROS AS TAKE-OFF NEARS". The Washington Post. 16 August 1927. Missing Compass Causes Talk of Vandalism in Tense Camp. KING OF AIR UNABLE TO PASS FULL TESTS Eight Machines Qualify to Fly Over the Pacific at Noon Today. DOLE PRIZE AIRMEN GUARD THEIR PLANES
↑ "THWARTED DOLE RACER PLANS FLIGHT TO TOKYO: Pilot of Dallas Spirit, Disabled by Wind, Repairs Plane for New Start West. WEATHER DICTATES MOVE". The Washington Post. 18 August 1927. p.3.
↑ "Winner of $10,000 in Dole Race Gives Only $25 to His Navigator", Boston Daily Globe, August 25, 1927, p8
↑ "FLOWERS CAST ON SEA FOR LOST DOLE FLIERS: Steamer Halts in Pacific While Tribute Is Paid to Six Men and Young Woman". The New York Times. 17 September 1927.
↑ "RULES WAIVED FOR LOST DOLE PLANE, IS CHARGE: Golden Eagle Had Less Fuel Than Required, Airways System Declares. TELEGRAM TO M'CRACKEN". The Washington Post. 19 August 1927.
Hyatt, Gary W. (October 2009). Winners' Viewpoints: The Great 1927 Dole Race. self (Oldairfield, LLC). ISBN9781520437200.
LaVO, Carl (2013). "5: Worlds to Conquer". Pushing the Limits: The Remarkable Life and Times of Vice Adm. Allan Rockwell McCann, USN. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp.43–58. ISBN978-1-61251-334-8.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
