Aviation in the Sound: 1917 to 1941

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A History of Prince William Sound, Alaska

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From Native bidarkas to sailing vessels to steamers, transportation and shipping in Prince William Sound had traditionally been water-oriented. However, the conditions here, as elsewhere in Alaska, were especially conducive to the use of aircraft. A trip that might take two days by boat was only an hour by plane.

In 1928, the enthusiasm for aviation, which had taken the rest of the nation by storm, was introduced to the Sound by Owen Meals of Valdez. During the winter of 1927-28, Meals traveled to Denver, Colorado for flying lessons. On returning to Valdez, he received shipment of a three place, open cockpit aircraft which he named the "Spirit of Valdez." Meals made his first flight over the Sound on June 11, 1928. By the end of the summer, he had logged 67 flights before crashing on a bar on the Copper River, which somewhat dampened his flying aspirations but not his interest in aviation. Meals continued to maintain a hangar on a small air strip outside of Valdez.

In 1932, a rather ragged looking man, who had arrived in Valdez as a stowaway on a steamer from Seward, approached Meals. He offered to repair the Eaglerock aircraft in Meal's hangar for the option of leasing the plane to start an air service. The man's name was Bob Reeve. Reeve had flown for Pan American Airways in South America since 1929.

Reeve practiced the technique of making take offs and landings on skis from the Valdez Duck Flats just to the west of Old Valdez. He had to time his landings and take offs at low tide when the slick mud of the flats was bared. The technique allowed him to make summer landings both in Valdez and on nearby glaciers.


Bob Reeves, the "Glacier Pilot," freighted supplies to the Rough and Tuff Mine by landing on the glacier. Planes significantly reduced the time and cost of freighting supplies to remote mines. Photo courtesy of the Valdez Museum and Historical Archives.


In 1933, as the gold prospecting boom surged, Reeve joined forces with Owen Meals, purchased a Fairchild, and began promoting their flight service throughout the territory. He used his new technique to ferry supplies from Valdez to the Big Four Mine located at the 6,000 foot level near the head of Mineral Creek. Reeve would take off from the Valdez mudflats and land on a glacier near the mine. Soon, he was doing a booming business. In the first week, he hauled 40,000 pounds of mining equipment piece by piece to the mine site including a complete milling unit. He was able not only to deliver these supplies more quickly but for less. His rates were five cents a pound, whereas traditional means would have cost thirty-five cents a pound and required months of packing. By 1936, Reeve was making routine flights to the Rough and Tuff claim located on a ridge in the middle of Columbia Glacier earning himself a reputation as Alaska's "Glacier Pilot." Reeve's flying service made the three day automobile trip to Fairbanks in only a few hours. The planes also serviced mines in the Copper River area unreachable by road or railway. After World War II, Reeve established the successful Reeve Aleutian Airways.

Bush pilots have become an institution in Alaska. Many residents in remote areas rely on these skillful and daring men and women for mail, groceries, supplies, and transportation. In fact, even today, bush pilots make the summer mail run to remote locations throughout the Sound.

In 1924, the U.S Army selected Cordova as a stopover for four military planes attempting the first round the world air flight. Then in May of 1929, Clayton Scott of Gorst Air Transport landed his amphibious plane on Orca Inlet in front of Cordova making the first commercial crossing of the Gulf of Alaska. Cordovans soon became aware of their strategic location for this new form of transportation.



Cordova residents greeting Clayton Scott and the "Alaska" at Eyak Lake following the first commercial passenger flight across the Gulf of Alaska. Courtesy of the Hazelet Collection.

 

Harold Gillam began operating an air service out of Cordova in 1931 with three planes-one of them an amphibian. However, he was plagued by six crashes in his first six months. Gillam preferred carrying passengers to freight and had the reputation of being quite a daredevil. He was known to his peers as "thrill 'em, spill 'em but never kill 'em Gillam." Alaskan aviators had three classifications for weather during this period-"Pan American" (clear with unlimited visibility), the usual "good, bad, and indifferent," then there was "Gillam weather"-weather in which only Harold would fly. Gillam served mainly the railroad route to the Kennecott mines.

Starting in 1925, the Alaska Territorial Legislature authorized the use of Territorial Road Funds, which were managed by the Alaska Road Commission, for the construction of airfields. The same year, the Alaska Road Commission adopted a standard size for airfields, 1,400 by 600 feet. Over the next six years, they constructed over 70 airfields, including fields at both Valdez and Cordova. In 1934, an airfield at Eyak Lake was constructed with Public Administration Funds. The Thompson Pass Airfield was built in 1936.

Better airfields led to the establishment of commercial companies in Cordova and Valdez. Kirk Kirkpatrick started Cordova Air Service in 1935. In 1939, Merle "Mudhole" Smith purchased Cordova Air Service which later became Cordova Airlines. Smith's name "Mudhole" commemorates one of his more memorable unsuccessful takeoffs. Early on, Smith's air service served both the Sound and the Copper River settlements. Later Cordova Airlines offered service to Anchorage, Valdez and the communities of southeast Alaska.

Bush pilots from Cordova made bush deliveries to the canneries and mining communities throughout Prince William Sound. Cordova's Eyak Lake made a perfect fresh water seaplane base in the summer and during the winter, when frozen, was perfect for skis.

Throughout this period, Capt. Billy Mitchell lobbied intensively for the strategic importance of Alaska and the need for airports. While the military ignored Mitchell, the Dept. of Commerce listened. In 1935, the Department of Commerce proposed several routes for Alaska. Route 4 connected both Valdez and Cordova with Juneau and Fairbanks. In 1937-1938 Congress appropriated $214,117 for the construction and maintenance of Alaskan airfields. The Valdez and Cordova airfields were extended to 3,000 feet allowing for a new airmail route linking the two Prince William Sound ports with Fairbanks.

Finally, in 1941 as the World War II raged in Europe and Japan had already invaded Mongolia and China, military experts acknowledged Mitchell's warnings. Congress began considering its Alaskan defenses. Changes came abruptly: "Cordovans were jolted into full realization of what national defense means when a giant PBY naval plane dropped out of the skies and unloaded four men, who, with the rapidity and direct action of a machine gun, completely rewrote the military and economic picture of Cordova in about three hours." (TVN, 10/17/1941). The Chugach National Forest then announced it would use funds from its "forest development roads" balances to convert the railway bed to a highway between Cordova and the Airport. In October, Cordovans discovered their town would be the site of a maintenance and repair station for naval patrol vessels and the base for a squadron of navy scout planes.