The Army Air Forces Pan American Goodwill Flight of 1926-1927 Collection

In 1926, the administration of United States President Calvin Coolidge sought ideas for ways to build relationships between itself and the countries of Central and South America. Chief of the Army Air Forces, Major General Mason proposed a goodwill visit by Army Air Force pilots to twenty-three countries in the Caribbean and Central and South America. The State and War Departments approved this idea, and planning began for the flight to start in the fall of 1926. The route that was selected covered over 23,000 miles vising the capitals of every country in Latin and Central America, save Lima, Peru’s capital, which was at too high an altitude for the aircraft to reach. It also visited the Caribbean islands of Trinidad, Jamaica, and Guadeloupe.

The aircraft selected for the flight was the Loening OA-1 Amphibian. The OA-1 was a two seat, bi-wing, floatplane in service with the United States Army and Navy. The five planes were named after five American cities: The New York piloted by the Flight’s overall commander Major Herbert A. Dargue and Lieutenant Ennis Whitehead; The San Antonio piloted by Captain Arthur McDaniel and Lieutenant Charles Robinson; The San Francisco piloted by Captain Ira C. Eaker and Lieutenant Muir Fairchild; The Detroit piloted by Captain Clinton Woolsey and Lieutenant John Benton; and The St. Louis piloted by Lieutenant Bernard Thompson and Lieutenant Leonard Weddington. The five aircraft and ten pilots departed Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas, on December 21, 1926.

The flight was marred by a tragic accident that cost the life of two of the pilots. En-route to Buenos Aires, on the Argentine leg of the flight, The New York and The Detroit collided in mid-air. Dargue and Whitehead were able to parachute from the stricken The New York, and landed safely. Benton and Woolsey were unable to extricate themselves from their aircraft, and were killed on impact with the ground. The remaining eight members of the expedition arrived at Bolling Field, Washington, D.C. on May 2, 1927, the entire flight having taken 133 days. President Coolidge personally greeted the men, and presented them with the Distinguished Flying Cross, an award, which had only just been authorized in July of the previous year. The group also received the Mackay Trophy, an award presented by the American War Department to the most meritorious flight of the year.

Major Dargue went on to recount the exploits of the flight in an article for National Geographic Magazine, published in 1927. Other members of the expedition went on to long careers with the Air Forces, with Fairchild, Eaker, and Whitehead reaching the rank of General during World War II. Eaker and Fairchild’s plane, The San Francisco was the only aircraft to complete every stage of the flight, and is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Source

Dargue, Herbert A. 1927. "How Latin America Looks from the Air." "National Geographic," 52 (July-Dec), 451-502.

Source

Frisbee, John L. 1985. "Valor: The Greatest Gift." "Air Force Magizine," 68 (9), 226.

Source

Parton, John. 1986. "Eaker's Pan American Mission." "Air Force Magazine," 69 (9), 179-187.