The Weather Bureau had predicted good weather for takeoff on Wednesday, January 10, 1934. The weather was almost too good. By 0900, when VP-10 was scheduled to takeoff, the surface of San Fransico Bay was like glass and there was no wind.
The calm surface meant the flying boats would have to work to break the surface suction that occurred on their takeoff runup. The lack of wind meant there would be no help from a headwind to get the necessary lift to break the surface tension.
This, combined with the aircraft overloaded with fuel, meant take-off was going to be a problem.
500 people showed up at Paradise Cove, and many more awaited the start in San Fransisco. What should have been an easy event turned into a nightmare that almost cancelled the trip.
Plane Four got into the air a half hour after starting its engines, but it would not be until 1300 Plane One joined it.
The two planes orbited the Bay as small boats and other seaplanes ran in front of the remaining aircraft to make waves to break up the surface (Right).
LTCDR McGinnis actually contemplated having to call off the attempt due to ‘good weather’. However, perseverance paid off and by 1411 all planes were in the air and by 1427 had formed up in a V-formation
and passed over the Golden Gate Bridge, which had just completed its first cable (Right). Now, over 2,400 miles of open ocean lay between the squadron and Pearl Harbor.
At 1752 the first station ship, USS Sandpiper, sighted the squadron, but by 1900 a fog began to settle in. This created problems as the aircraft needed to remain in visual contact with each other while maintaining a safe distance. The squadron left its planned height of 1,500 ft and rose to 2,000 ft. It tried to find clear air by diving down to just 500 feet off the water and rose up to a height of 5,000 feet with no luck. At one point, the second section of the flight became seperated (P2Y 4, 5 and 6)and went up to 5,000 ft but could find not clear air. Just after midnight, the section spotted the lights of the USS Schenck at the 900-mile mark and made radio contact, and soon after reconnected with the first section.
Despite flying blind in the fog banks, their Speery gyro directional instruments were credited with keeping the squadron flying straight and level.At the 1,200-mile mark, as the formation flew over the USS Breeze it was noticed that LT J. Perry’s aircraft (VP-10F 5) was missing from the formation. A break in the fog allowed LT Perry to rejoin the squadron, but McGinnis radioed they lost sight of his aircraft again after passing over the USS Whippoorwill. LT Perry would finally form up again after sunrise.
The day broke with a hazy instead of the clear weather predicted by the weather crew on the USS Gannet. It was an irritation, but was manageable, and the whole squadron passed over the USS Wright and USS Pelican guardships without incident. However, 600 miles out of Pearl Harbor the flight picked up a tail wind and the sky cleared. 350 miles out LTCDR McGinnis sent the routine message, "Request permission to moor and land at assigned beach." While the Navy did not want to portray this event as a daredevil adventure, it did not hesitate to publicize it, even though its only public statemnt was that it was a "routine transfer". This would be a record-breaking flight, and they wanted to make sure the public knew the Navy was behind it. Besides having commemorative postcards issued, there were also press releases about the progress of the flight.
Though the Navy publicly had stated it was a "routine transfer", the news flashes had already generated substantial interest and even before the arrival cars were assembling along the roads along Diamond Head, Kahala, Koko Head, and Makapuu Point. Large crowds began to assemble at Waikiki and Honolulu harbor. As the Honolulu Star reported, "As the hour for arrival approached, thousands of people clambered to the roofs of downtown buildings. Vantage points on the heights, such as Alewa Heights, Pacific Heights, Punchbowl, Round Top, Wilhelmina Rise and Kaimuki began to take on life."
Link for news of the flight: News of the Flight
