Floyd Bennett, Ca. 1928 (Source: Web)

Floyd Bennett was born October 25, 1890 at Warrensburg, NY. He landed at Tucson on November 9, 1926 as pilot of the Fokker F-VII “Josephine Ford” (although not specified in the Register, the number of the airplane was NX4204). His copilot and navigator this day was Bernt Balchen, himself an arctic pilot, navigator and explorer of wide reputation. Balchen is not signed in the Register, but he was the copilot of the "Josephine Ford" as it flew around the country in 1926 (see below).

According to the Register, they carried four passengers. They were eastbound, arriving from San Diego, CA on to 9th, staying overnight, and making their way to El Paso, TX at 8:15 the morning of the 10th.

Fellow passengers, all of whom signed the Register, were Charles F. Kunkel, a representative of the Guggenheim Fund, John McPhail, mechanic, and G.O. Noville, photographer.  Donald Keyhoe was along as the resident writer for the crew.

Bennett and Balchen (image right) were Richard Byrd's pilots during his attempts to reach the North and South Poles in1926 and 1929, respectively. The “Josephine Ford” was Byrd’s North Pole expedition airplane.  Whether the self-aggrandizing Byrd ever actually made it to the North Pole with the airplane is in doubt, but that’s another story (see also the right sidebar).

The image at right was taken in April 1928 just before an attempt to rescue personnel of the German airship, Bremen (see below).

The decade of the 1920s was a great period for "marketing" aviation. Lindbergh made a tour around the U.S. in 1927 to do just that during the months immediately after his trans-Atlantic flight. Wiley Post and Harold Gatty would do the same a few years later after their around-the-world adventure. There was also a proliferation of activity around record setting, racing and barnstorming, all aimed at raising aviation in the collective public consciousness.

When the "Josephine Ford" and crew landed at Tucson, they were at the mid-point of an 8,604 mile tour around the United States. They had left Washington, DC on October 7th for the two-month tour. 

Their flight was organized and sponsored by the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics, with the cooperation of the Department of Commerce.  The airplane was loaned by Byrd for the tour. Surely aviation would be promoted by the presence of this grand aircraft, with its name and "BYRD ARCTIC EXPEDITION" painted large in white upon its fuselage.

Perhaps more than any other aviator of his era except perhaps Lindbergh, Floyd Bennett left an indelible mark on aviation history. Like many of his day, he did not have a strong educational background. What he lacked in formal training, he made up for in interest, dedication and innate ability.

He left school at 15 and worked at the automobile trade for ten years. He enlisted in the Navy in 1915, trained as a pilot and served as a flight instructor during WWI.

While in the Navy, he was selected by Byrd as one of the pilots for the McMillan Expedition to the Arctic in 1925. They did not make it to the pole and the expedition was scrapped.

After returning to the U.S., Byrd and Bennett worked out plans for another attempt. Bennett took leave from the Navy and they arrived at base camp (Spitzbergen) on April 29, 1926. On May 9, 1926 they took off for the pole, over 700 miles away. Did they get to the pole? Do the math and follow along with the discussion in the right sidebar.

Bennett was named chief pilot of Byrd's planned trans-Atlantic flight in 1927, but was injured in a crash of the Fokker "America" and was unable to go. Balchen did.

The following year, on April 19, although ill with a cold, he agreed to take part in the aerial rescue mission of the crew of a German airship, the Bremen, which had gone down in Newfoundland. His illness worsened and he was forced to leave the mission in Quebec.

Floyd Bennett died of complications from pneumonia, April 25, 1928 in Quebec, Canada.

Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, NY was named in his honor.

Below, from site visitor Joe Kranz, is a U.S. postal cachet from June 26, 1930 commemorating the dedication of Floyd Bennett Field. It is signed by Bennett's widow.

U.S. Postal Cachet Commemorating the Dedication of Floyd Bennett Field, June 26, 1930 (Source: Kranz)

---o0o---

Dossier 2.1.50

UPLOADED: 03/08/06 REVISED: 05/01/06, 02/13/09, 06/28/11, 05/16/12, 12/22/22