Clyde Edward Pangborn
Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Service

Clyde Edward Pangborn was born on 28 October 1894 in Bridgeport, WA, the son of Max and Opal Lamb Pangborn. His exact birthdate is uncertain. He used 1893, 1894, 1895, and 1896, on various documents, changing his age to appear older or younger as needed. The 1900 Federal Census lists Clyde Pangborn (b. October 1893) and his brother Percy (b. Jan 1891) living with their mother Ola [sic.] in Spokane, WA. Census day was 1 June 1900. "1895" was used on his World War I draft registration in Shoshone, ID. When he was two years old, his parents divorced and he moved to Idaho with his mother. He graduated high school in 1914 and enrolled in the University of Idaho, where he studied civil engineering for two and a half years.

Following college, Pangborn worked briefly as an engineer for a mining company before joining the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I. He completed flight training and subsequently stationed as a Flight Instructor at Ellington Field in Houston, TX. While teaching cadets how to fly the Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" biplane, Pangborn learned to roll his plane onto its back and fly upside-down for extended periods, earning him the lifelong nickname "Upside-Down Pang" from his fellow pilots.

After the war, he was one of many former military pilots on the barnstorming circuit. He co-founded and was chief pilot of the Gates Flying Circus which operated from 1921-28. Pangborn also participated in the MacRobertson Trophy Air Race from London to Melbourne, Australia, coming in second, but close enough that it was considered a significant feat.

First Non-stop Flight Across the Pacific Ocean

Pangborn, with co-pilot Hugh Herndon, Jr., made the first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean. They flew 4,500 miles from Misawa, Japan, to East Wenatchee, WA, in just over 41 hours, landing at Fancher Field (now Pangborn Memorial Airport) on 5 October 1931. The planned landing was Seattle but it was fogged in, as was Spokane. East Wenatchee is roughly half way between the two cities.

Many consider his greatest contribution to be his work recruiting American pilots for the RAF and secretly ferrying fighter planes and bombers to the British in North Africa and Australia prior to the U.S. entry into World War II.

Awards and Honors

The Harmon Trophy
White Medal of Merit (Japan)
King's Medal (England)
The Admiral Moffett Maritime Aviation Trophy
Pangborn was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1995.

Death and Burial

Clyde Edward Pangborn died on 29 March 1958 in New York, NY. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA.