Basil Lee Rowe (1896-1973) enjoyed a long and successful career in aviation, initially as a military exhibition pilot, barnstormer, air racer, charter operator, flight instructor, aircraft salesman, and rumrunner, before moving to the West Indies to start an airline, the short-lived West Indian Aerial Express, bought out by Pan American Airways in 1928. Rowe became a pioneering senior pilot for Pan Am, flying with them for 28 years before his retirement in 1956. This collection includes scrapbooks, photo albums, memorabilia, and first day covers, in addition to the draft manuscript for Rowe's 1956 autobiography, Under My Wings.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of Rowe's pilot's log books covering his career from 1927 to 1956, assorted periodicals, cartoons featuring Rowe, scrapbooks and photo albums assembled by Rowe (featuring newspaper clippings, photographs, and ephemera), several draft manuscripts of Rowe's 1956 autobiography Under My Wings, and first day air mail postal covers collected by Rowe.
Arrangement:
Materials in this collection are grouped into series by format. See individual series Scope and Content notes for details on arrangement within that series. Note that with the exception of the chronologically arranged flight log books, Rowe did not appear to organize his materials in any particular order.
Biographical / Historical:
Basil Lee Rowe, born February 10, 1896, grew up in the small town of Shandaken, New York, in the Catskill Mountains. He began his flying career in 1914 as an apprentice to aviator Turk Adams after seeing Adams fly at a local county fair. Impatient to become a military pilot, Rowe arranged to join the Royal Canadian Air Force, but was sidelined by a ruptured appendix before he could get to Canada. By the time Rowe had recovered, the United States had entered World War I and Rowe was able to join the Aviation Section of the U. S. Army Signal Corps; he was sent to Texas. During the Third Liberty Loan drive, Rowe was assigned to a group of fliers who were to give exhibition flights; after his discharge, he used his savings to buy a used Avro biplane and barnstormed around the East Central United States, using Hadley Field (New Brunswick, New Jersey) as his home field. Rowe soon bought a second aircraft, hired pilot William S. "Bill" Wade, and moved his base of operations to the Aeromarine Base at Keyport, near Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Rowe prospered through the early 1920s, and his troupe the "Rowe Fliers" (including at various times wingwalkers Bill Stacy and Marguerite L. "Peggy" Roome) toured the eastern US giving exhibition flights and passenger rides. In the winter, Rowe moved his operation to Florida, and, with a rebuilt Curtiss Seagull, ferried passengers eager to escape Prohibition from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas--with a bit of rumrunning on the side. Back in New Jersey, Rowe formed the Chamberlin-Rowe Aircraft Corporation with fellow aviator Clarence Chamberlin to buy and resell Army surplus aircraft; the short-lived business went bust in 1924 when the government finished selling off its aircraft. Rowe, a talented racing pilot, kept busy from 1924 through 1926 on the racing circuit, winning numerous prizes.
By the end of 1926, at the age of thirty, Rowe felt that he had reached a turning point in his life. Dismayed by the increase in US government regulation of aviation, Rowe moved his operations to the West Indies, settling in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. With Bill Wade, Rowe rapidly established a business flying charters around the country, with flights to neighboring Haiti and Puerto Rico. In June 1927, with financial backing provided by sugar industry businessmen and the government of the Dominican Republic, Rowe founded West Indian Aerial Express (abbreviated variously as WIAE or WIAX) to provide airline service between Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, hoping to be well positioned to bid on future US foreign air mail routes. With this in mind, Rowe returned to the Unites States and purchased a Fairchild FC-2W floatplane (christened "La Niña") and a larger Keystone K-47 Pathfinder trimotor (the former "American Legion," r/n NX179, rebuilt by the Keystone factory following a crash in April 1927 and rechristened as "Santa Maria"). To his dismay, Rowe was forced to acquired a US transport pilot license in order to be allowed to fly the "Santa Maria" back to Santo Domingo; he hired Canadian pilot Cy Caldwell to ferry "La Niña." On the way south in mid October 1927, Rowe found himself and his two aircraft in Florida just as Pan American Airways (PAA), which had been successful in obtaining a temporary contract to deliver mail from the US to Cuba, found itself without any aircraft able to fly out of their Key West, Florida, field to fulfill the contract before it expired. PAA struck a deal with Rowe to lease "La Niña" (piloted by Caldwell) to fly the first Pan American Airways flight on October 19, 1927.
With its two new aircraft, West Indian Aerial Express started regularly scheduled twice-weekly flights on December 1, 1927, between Cuba, Haiti, Santo Domingo, and Puerto Rico, later extending the routes to St. Thomas and St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. On June 30, 1928, WIAX filed a bid with the US government for air mail service on the route from Key West to Puerto Rico, but was outmanuevered by the more politically-savvy Pan American Airways which won the contract. A final crippling blow was dealt to WIAX in September 1928 when a severe hurricane hit their base in San Juan, Puerto Rico, destroying "La Niña" and two older Waco biplanes. Rowe made his last flight in the "Santa Maria" on September 20, 1928, before turning the aircraft over to Pan American. On October 16, 1928, PAA purchased WIAX, with Rowe becoming PAA's senior pilot.
During his first ten years with Pan Am, Rowe flew a record number of hours and surveyed most of the new air routes through the Caribbean to Central and South America, several times flying with Charles Lindbergh. When the US entered World War II, Rowe was assigned to Pan Am's Africa and Orient Division to serve with the US Army Air Forces Air Transport Command on their supply route across the South Atlantic and Africa to India and China (the "Cannonball Run"). His wife, Florence May Sharp, whom Rowe had married in 1930, served as an aircraft spotter during the war. During the Korean Conflict, Rowe was once again pressed into service, and was transferred to Pan Am's Pacific Division to fly transpacific supply routes and medical evacuation flights. May's early death in 1943 left Rowe a widower at his retirement from Pan Am in 1956. At their Coral Gables, Florida, home he wrote his autobiography, Under My Wings (The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., New York, 1956) and remained active as a tennis instructor until his death on October 28, 1973.
Related Materials:
See related collection Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, NASM.XXXX.0487.
Basil Lee Rowe air racing medals in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum collection:
Medal, 1926 National Air Races [Winner, Relay Race], A19690242000.
Medal, 1926 National Air Races [Winner, Relay Race], A19690243000.
Medal, Aviation [Dayton Air Race], A19690244000.
Medal, Third Annual Dayton Air Race Winner, A19690245000.
Medal, 1926 National Air Races [2nd Place, Free-For-All Race, 510 cu. in. Class], A19690246000.
Medal, 1926 National Air Races [Winner, First Elimination, 500 cu. in. Class], A19690247000.
Basil Lee Rowe air racing trophies in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum collection:
Trophy, Allen W. Hinkle, Basil L. Rowe, A19690238000 [Allen W. Hinkle Trophy for Two, Three, and Four Place Airplanes, 1924]
Trophy, Glenn H. Curtiss, Basil L. Rowe, A19690239000 [The Glenn H. Curtiss Trophy for Two Seater Low Horsepower Airplane, National Air Races, Mitchel Field L. I., 1925]
Plaque, B.B.T. Corporation, National Air Races 1926, A19690240000 [B.B.T. Corporation of America Relay Race for Commercial Planes won by Basil L. Rowe, Charles S. Jones, A. H. Kreider]
Plaque, 1926 National Air Races, Benjamin Franklin Trophy, A19690241000 [Benjamin Franklin Trophy donated by Joseph A. Steinmetz, Relay Race for Commercial Planes won by Basil L. Rowe, Charles S. Jones, A. H. Kreider]
Provenance:
Basil Lee Rowe, gift, 1969; United States Air Force Museum, transfer, 1973; NASM.XXXX.0019
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of memorabilia relating to Elisabeth Piloty's flight aboard a Pan American Airways (Pan Am) Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser from Frankfurt, Germany to New York in August 1951.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of memorabilia relating to Elisabeth Piloty's flight aboard a Pan American Airways (Pan Am) Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser from Frankfurt, Germany to New York in August 1951. The items, many of which are mounted on scrapbook pages that measure approximately 12 inches by 10 inches, include brochures on the aircraft as well as one on U. S. Customs procedures; a time zone calculator; photographs taken in New York City; and a handwritten account (in German) by Piloty about her travels. Some translation has been provided by the donor.
Arrangement:
This collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
In August 1951, Elisabeth Piloty (b. 1924) traveled from Munich, Germany to San Antonio, Texas to marry Sergeant First Class (SFC) John T. Anderson, who she had met at the U. S. Army's 98th General Hospital in Munich. After traveling to Frankfurt, Piloty departed for New York on a Pan American Airways (Pan Am) Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser. After arriving in New York and spending some time sightseeing there, Piloty made her way to Greensboro, North Carolina where she was met by her sister and her future mother-in-law and husband to be.
Provenance:
Susan Stilley, Gift, 2019, NASM.2019.0041
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
William John Eck: First Pan American Airlines Transatlantic Flight Scrapbook
Extent:
0.33 Cubic feet (1 scrapbook)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
Azores
New York, New York
Date:
June 12, 1939, through April 22, 1940
bulk June 28, 1939, through July 4, 1939
Summary:
This collection consists of a scrapbook, "To Europe By Air," assembled by railroad executive William J. Eck to document his trip June 28 to July 4, 1939, on Pan American Airways' (PAA) first transatlantic passenger flight on the Boeing Model 314 Clipper "Dixie Clipper" flying boat and containing information on its crew, passengers, and ports of call.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a scrapbook, "To Europe By Air," assembled by William J. Eck to document his trip on Pan American Airways' (PAA) first transatlantic passenger flight, and containing information on the Boeing Model 314 Clipper "Dixie Clipper" (r/n NC-18605) flying boat and its crew, passengers, and ports of call. The scrapbook is particularly rich in ephemera, with many illustrations trimmed from brochures used to embellish the black paper album pages. Contents include ephemera from the Pennsylvania Railroad (on which Eck started and ended his trip from his home in Washington, D. C.), Pan American Airways (PAA), Air France, Hotel Aviz (Lisbon), Splendide Hotel (Marseille), Hotel Plaza-Athenée (Paris), and various tourist sites; photographs; telegrams; greeting cards; maps; menus; post cards; postage stamps; a first day cover; newspaper clippings (predominantly in English, but also in Portuguese and French); PAA receipts and press releases; copy photographs of Eck's PAA tickets, ticket folder, and baggage claim check; photographs of commemorative cigarette cases presented to Eck and PAA pilot R. O. D. Sullivan; and clippings and ephemera relating fellow passengers' stories: Russell Sabor, James McVittie (who continued on to Chicago immediately after landing in New York on the return trip), Gwladys Whitney (Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney), Anne Lyon Haight (Mrs. Sherman Post Haight, who also flew aboard the Clipper that inaugurated the mail route between North and South America in 1931). Also included is a transcript of interviews with the passengers recorded on board the "Dixie Clipper" during the eastbound flight: Russell Sabor, William J. Eck, Mrs. Sherman Haight, Captain Torkild Rieber, Clara Adams, C. V. Whitney, Mrs. Juan Trippe, Mr. and Mrs. Graham B. Grosvenor, Mr. and Mrs. E. O. McDonnell, Roger Lapham, James McVittie, and Louis Gimbel; and on the westbound flight: J. Carroll Cone (Manager of the Atlantic Division of Pan American Airways Company).
Arrangement:
The scrapbook is arranged chronologically.
Biographical / Historical:
William John Eck (1876-1957) graduated from Iowa State University in 1895 with a degree in electrical engineering and went to work in the telephone industry. In 1898, at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Eck joined the United States Army and was sent to the Philippines; after a year Eck transferred to the U.S. Quartermaster Department and spent his next three years at sea, eventually making a trip around the world. After leaving the Army, Eck switched to the railroad business, joining the Southern Railway in 1905. Over time, travel—particularly air travel—became a serious hobby for Eck, and by the early 1930s, he had become a pioneer passenger on several early airline routes. In 1931, after chatting to Pan American Airways (PAA) pilots on a flight to Santiago, Chile, Eck contacted PAA to apply for a ticket on PAA's first transatlantic passenger flight, whenever that might occur. Eight years later, Eck was delighted to be contacted by PAA with the news that he had been designated Passenger No. 1 on the historic flight, departing Port Washington, New York, on Wednesday, June 28, 1939, aboard the Boeing Model 314 "Dixie Clipper." The flight, carrying 22 passengers, was made via Horta, Azores, with an overnight stay at Lisbon, Portugal, on June 29, finishing at Marseille, France, on June 30. Eck continued on to Paris via a land-based Air France flight. Eck and many of the outbound passengers were also on the return flight of the "Dixie Clipper," departing Marseilles on Sunday, July 2, and following the same route to return to New York on Tuesday, July 4, 1939. At the time of the flight Eck, a resident of Washington, D. C., was Assistant to the Vice President, Southern Railway Company. The newspapers noted that Eck, a widower who had recently married his second wife, Emily Magdalene Kleb, three months earlier on March 20, 1939, was unable to take her along on the flight as he had only the single ticket bought well before their marriage.
Provenance:
Unknown gift, circa 1940-1967.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This collection consists of six cubic feet of material mostly relating to the Pan Am Communications Department and their work in Latin America. This material includes the following types of material: photographs, charts, drawings, weather memos, reports and manuals. This collection also includes material relating to Pan Am employees, such as retirement, insurance, union, travel policies, and general Pan Am memorabilia.
Biographical / Historical:
Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) was active in the airline industry from 1927, when it established a regular scheduled international service, to its bankruptcy in late 1991. Pan American was the first American airline to operate a permanent international air service. From its first route between Key West and Havana, Pan Am extended its routes into the rest of the Caribbean, Central America and South America. In 1936, Pan Am inaugurated passenger service in the Pacific, and began service in the Atlantic in 1939. Pan Am started around-the-world commercial air service in 1947. Besides setting many "firsts" with routes, Pan Am also established "firsts" in the aircraft technology they chose, such as being the first to use Boeing 747s in regular scheduled services.
Provenance:
Margaret Jones, Gift, 2015
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists primarily of camera duplicates of 4x5" color transparencies of images taken by contract photographer Ross Chapple for possible inclusion in 1997 book, Air and Space. All images are of aircraft or artifacts in NASM collections. Folder one includes images of: Convair XFY-1 Pogo (4 dupes), Douglas A-4C Skyhawk (5 dupes), Grumman G-21 Goose cockpit (8 dupes), Martin B-26B Flak Bait nose interior (8 dupes), different view of same with negative number noted as 97-15364 and photographer listed as Avino/Long (1 transparency) and Sikorsky JRS-1 (S-43) (5 dupes). Folder two includes images of: Supermarine Spitfire (10 dupes), view of NASM Air Transport Gallery (7 dupes), view of NASM Space Hall (5 dupes), view of Lunar Lander (3 dupes), close-up of Pan Am memorabilia with Boeing 314 model (6 dupes) and close-up of Buck Rogers artifacts including books and toys (5 dupes).
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
NASM contract, contract, 1997, 1997-0046, NASM
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Pan American's Pacific pioneers : the rest of the story : a pictorial history of Pan Am's Pacific first flights, 1935-1946 / by Jon E. Krupnick ; foreword by Jimmy Buffett
Title:
PAA
Pacific pioneers, the rest of the story : a pictorial history of Pan Am's Pacific first flights, 1935-1946
Rest of the story : a pictorial history of Pan Am's Pacific first flights, 1935-1946
Pictorial history of Pan Am's Pacific first flights, 1935-1946
![view Pan American Airways (Pan Am) Collection [Jones] digital asset: Finding aid](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?max=170&id=https://sirismm.si.edu/siris/findingaid.gif "Finding aid")
