The First Nonstop Transpacific Flight by Civilians—Oakland to Honolulu
Cover Image: Masthead of Ka Nupepa Kuokoa published on July 14, 1927.
Aloha Nūhou Monday!
Dear Reader,
It was 97 years ago today that Ernest Smith and Emory Bronte more or less landed safely in Hawaiʻi nei after taking off from Oakland in their monoplane, the City of Oakland, on July 14, 1927.
Prior to this historic flight, there was an attempt made in 1925 by Commander John Rodgers, U. S. Navy pilot and his crew. They took off from San Diego and landed in the ocean off Kauaʻi, where they remained for nine days before being rescued. On June 29, 1927, just a couple of weeks earlier than Smith and Bronte, Lieutenants Lester Maitland and Albert Hegenberger took off from Oakland, and landed here 25 hours, 49 minutes, and 30 seconds later.
The Maitland and Hegenberger flight was planned as a race with Smith and Bronte, but due to plane problems, the latter postponed their flight until July 14.
Image: “E Lele Hou Mai Ana He Moku I Keia La.” Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, July 14, 1927, p. 6.
A PLANE WILL BE FLYING THIS WAY ONCE AGAIN TODAY.
This Thursday morning, an airplane will leave Oakland for Honolulu, according to a wireless report received in this city yesterday.
Ernest Smith will steer that plane called the City of Oakland, and besides him on board will be Captain Emory Bronte, the pilot.
This haole aviator who turned back because of plane troubles after following the two lieutenants to whom belonged the first plane to arrive in Hawaiʻi.
Smith and his partner will leave Oakland at 7 o’clock in the morning, which is like 5:30 Honolulu time. And if the plane flies 24 hours from Oakland and arrives here in Honolulu, then it will arrive at 3 o’clock Friday morning.
Because it was known about the problem encountered by the first plane that arrived here, that being its going off course on its way to Kauaʻi, the large military searchlights will be turned on Friday night to light up the sky so the men aboard the plane will know where they are to land their vessel on Wheeler airfield at Leilehua.
Their plane running out of fuel, Smith and Bronte reported they were going down nearly 500 miles northeast of Pāʻia and needed help. Memories of the plight of John Rodgers and his crew just two years earlier were still fresh in the minds of Hawaiʻi’s people and as a result, the fate of the City of Oakland was a subject of much rumor. Contrary to initial reports, Smith and Bronte had enough fuel to reach Molokaʻi, where they landed atop a giant kiawe tree. The two aviators were uninjured; the plane was not so lucky. Their flight was a success.
Image: First civilian flyers across the Pacific. Ernest Smith (pilot) and Emory Bronte (navigator) make the California–Hawaii hop in 24 hours, landing (forced to crashing finish through lack of gas) on Molokai Island early in the morning of July 15. Wreathed with Hawaiian leis of Aloha (garlands of welcome), Smith is to the reader’s right and Bronte at left. They made nearly two hours better time, from the Oakland Airport to the Islands, than did the Army men, Lieutenants Maitland and Hegenberger, 16 days earlier, but they did not effect the appointed landing, Wheeler Field, nor was the civilian finish the smooth accomplishment of the first arrival, since Smith and Bronte had to “bust their boat,” though in both cases the Glory is the same fine brand. Photo by Williams, 1927. Paradise of the Pacific, August 1927, p. 5. Bishop Museum Archives, SP 223138
This post is part of He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers, a partnership between Bishop Museum and Awaiaulu with assistance from Kamehameha Schools. Mahalo nui loa to Hawaii Tourism Authority for their support. Learn more about this project here.
