Round-the-World Flights


Pan American Round-the-World Press Ceremonial Flight



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Flown Cover Plane Cachet Statement Hugh H. Gordon Winging Round-the-World
Pix #1 Pix #2 Pix #3 Pix #4 Pix #5


13 Day Round-the-World Press Ceremonial Flight "Passengers departed with anticipation & arrived with satisfaction."
Early in 1947 Pan Am was lobbying in Congress to become the focal core of a new exclusive unified airline (Community Company) representing the American Flag round-the-world. Opponents of the Congressional Bill printed a booklet, "The New Monopoly Aviation Bill" stating that the formation of the "Community Company" would eliminate transportation competition and be alien to our nation's foreign policy. It was stated that the real competition in international air transportation was not between US air carriers but between nations. The US could not regulate that competition, the US could only meet it. International transportation under the American flag stood at a crossroads. Congress defeated the formation of the Community Company. The concept of an exclusive unified airline was dead to everyone except Juan Trippe of Pan American Airlines. Trippe now considered merging Pan American with TWA or American Airlines. Such a merger would give him US domestic routes in addition to his established international air route superiority. Discussions with Howard Hughes of TWA produced no results. Discussions with Cyrus Rowlett Smith of American Airlines yielded international route additions but Pan Am's petition for US domestic routing failed. Trippe put much effort in lobbying his causes with influential friends and associates. To this end, he arranged a gala ceremonial journey round-the-world on one of Pan Am's newly acquired Lockheed Constellations, the "Clipper America." This Press Flight would depart New York on June 17, 1947, nine days before the formal inauguration of Pan Am's (FAM-14/18) round-the-world flight service via Calcutta, India. Passengers & Affiliation: Thomas H. Beck Cromwell-Collier Publishing Company Paul Bellamy Cleveland Plain Dealer Erwin J. Canham Christian Science Monitor Gradner Cowles Jr. Des Moines Register-Tribune/Look Magazine Barry Faris International News Service Marshall Field III Chicago Sun Frank Gannett Gannett Newspapers Mrs Oveta Culp Hobby Houston Post Roy W. Howard Scripps-Howard Newspapers David S. Ingalls Cleveland Clayton Knight Artist & Illustrator Roger Lapham Mayor, San Francisco J. Loy Maloney Chicago Tribune M.T. Moore Time-Life-Fortune Publications Ralph Nicholson New Orleans Item Paul Patterson Baltimore Sun Mrs Ogden Reid New York Herald-Tribune Francis H. Russell State Department James G. Stahlman Nashville Banner Juan T. Trippe Pan American World Airways Crew: Capt Hugh H. Gordon Pilot Capt Gordon F. Maxwell First Officer S. B. Robinson Second Officer J. R. Dailey Third Officer D. Fowler First Engineer E. J. Demas Second Engineer H. Simpson First Radio Officer J. Gordon Second Radio Officer R. Tunstall Purser Alice Lemieux Stewardess Itinerary: Departed La Guardia Airport, New York 06/17/47 Gander, Newfoundland Shannon, Ireland London, England Istanbul, Turkey Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Karachi, Pakistan Calcutta, India Bangkok, Thailand Manila, Philippines Shanghai, China Tokyo, Japan Guam Wake Island Midway Island Honolulu, HI San Francisco, CA Chicago, IL Arrived La Guardia Airport, New York 06/30/47


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