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Harold Blackburn signed the Register on Monday May 18, 1931 as a military pilot. He carried Sgt. Peck as his single passenger. They were based at San Diego, CA, Rockwell Field. They were southeast bound from San Diego to Nogales, AZ in an unidentified deHavilland aircraft. They noted in the Remarks column of the Register, "checking strip maps".
There is surprisingly little Web-based information on Blackburn. Equally surprising, I did not find a biographical file for him at the Smithsonian. This in the face of his legendary status as a long-time TWA pilot who rubbed shoulders with the likes of Register pilot Paul Richter. Below, an undated article courtesy of Ruth Richter Holden.
Undated Article
(Source: Richter Holden)
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Undated Article, Continued
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Mike Gerow points out a 1956 New Yorker magazine article cited here. It documents one of his Paris flights alluded to above. The precis for the New Yorker article:
"Blackie" By Bill Cass, 2016 (Source: Woodling)
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"PROFILE of Capt. Harold F. Blackburn, veteran TWA pilot, who has spent 20,000 hours in the air, has flown 4 million miles, & has made 569 Intercontinental flights. Account of Capt. B's activities, from the time he left his home until he landed "The Star of Mexico" at Orly Field at Paris, Hour-by-hour account of what went on in the control cabin during the flights; landing & takeoff at Shannon. During the flight Blackburn gave his view of life & religion. "You've got to be religious to fly," he said. He is a native of Urbana, Ill, & took his first airplane ride at the age of 17, & decided then that there was nothing else for him. He attended Colorado A & M College for 2 years, but had to return home to help support his family. After that he worked as a mechanic, auto salesman, then formed his own orchestra and toured the country. In '28 he tried to join the Air Corps but failed the examination & had to take additional courses at the U. of S. California. He received his wings in '30, was released from the Air Corps in '32, and joined the TWA in '35. During the war he was superintendent of TWA's Intercontinental Div., which was part of the Air Transport Command, and managed, though technically a civilian, to fly six combat missions over Europe."
A cinema verite movie was made of his final transatlantic flight at age 60. It is described here. Blackburn's biography (1962) by John Bainbridge, is entitled "Like a Homesick Angel". Another biography by Bill Cass is available (March, 2016). The book cover is at right.
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UPLOADED: 06/19/08 REVISED: 06/16/11, 03/13/16
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