San Francisco arrival August 1942 query

[Paul Crook]

I have been told one of my late relatives worked for De Havilland Australia but arrived in San Francisco on August 21st 1942 on an 'Army bomber' from Sydney. Anyone got any idea what type of aircraft this might have been?

Thanks

Paul Crook

 

[parsifal]

Its a hard question, since your relative may have hitched a ride on any number of the special charters and aircraft transfers.

Pan Am pioneered the first transpacific commercial flights in 1935, mail only, but added a passenger service in 1937. These were generally discontinued after war with japan broke out. not sure of the aircraft used.

The USAAF began a regular transport flight across the pacific to a wide range of destinations across the eastern hemisphere, including Australia in mid-1941. These were forerunners to the establishment of Air transport command, I think in November 1941. The principal mount was the B-17D. AFAIK this service continued on a reduced scale into the early part of 1942, up to about march or April. It was not a regular service.

There was only one regular service connecting the Sth Pacific to California, which did not commence services until 1943. ATC moved 23rd Ferrying (later Transport) Group to Fairfield-Suisun AAB on 29 May 1943. Placed under jurisdiction of 1503d AAFBU, West Coast Wing, Pacific Division, ATC. Ferrying of new aircraft to Hickam Field from aircraft manufacturing plants in Southern California utilized Long Beach AAB and San Diego Municipal Airport (at hickham the a/c underwent conversion to tropical standards with resultant loss in performance from the published values) was conducted under jurisdiction of 1572d AAFBU. There was a reciprocal service from Hickham which I think used mainly B-17s. So likely in my view that your relative entered California aboard a B-17 within that basic command network.

The focus of this early war arrangements were the air links the US intended to open to the Philippines, initially it was intended to use the central pacific route, but as the threats to this route increased prior to December 1941, To provide a safer air ferry route, the Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu District created a new southern route to the Philippines in the fall of 1941 starting at Hickam Field, Hawaii Territory, with transit airfields located on Palmyra, Canton, Fiji and New Caledonia. From there the USAAF planned to establish routes to Williamtown near Newcastle, then Darwin and then finally onto the Philippines.