Miss Veedol was the first airplane to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. On October 5, 1931, Clyde Pangborn and co-pilot Hugh Herndon landed in the hills of East Wenatchee, Washington, following a 41-hour flight from Sabishiro Beach, Misawa, Japan, across the northern Pacific. The flight won the pair the 1931 Harmon Trophy in recognition of the greatest achievement in flight for that year.
Miss Veedol
This monument in Misawa, Japan, commemorates the flight of Miss Veedol.
Clyde Edward Pangborn, nicknamed "Upside-Down Pangborn", was an American aviator and barnstormer who performed aerial stunts in the 1920s for the Gates Flying Circus. He was its half-owner, chief pilot and operating manager, working in partnership with Ivan R. Gates. In 1931, Pangborn and co-pilot Hugh Herndon Jr. flew their plane, Miss Veedol, on the first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean.
Clyde Pangborn
Pangborn and Herndon in Japan in 1931