Pan Am at War: How the Airline Secretly Helped America Fight World War II
by Mark Cotta Vaz & John H. Hill
A compelling new book on Pan Am has just been published. "Pan Am at War: How the Airline Secretly Helped America Fight World War II" by Mark Cotta Vaz & John H. Hill is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Skyhorse Publishing
Pan Am at War chronicles the airline’s historic role in advancing aviation and serving the national interest of the United States before and during World War II. From its inception, Pan American Airways operated as the “wings of democracy.” First to span the oceans and operating across six continents, it placed the country at the leading edge of global air transport. Behind the scenes, Pan Am was deeply involved in helping America to prepare for, and win, World War II.
Utilizing government documents, declassified Freedom of Information Act material, and company records including an unpublished corporate history, the authors reveal Pan Am’s stunning role as an instrument of American might:
• The close working relationships with government agencies and military forces
• The secret building of air bases in Latin America and elimination of Axis interests that threatened the Panama Canal
• Forging an air route to Asia linking mid-Pacific islands that became household names
• Creating trans-Atlantic and trans-Africa supply lines for sending lend-lease equipment to Allied forces
• Pioneering dangerous “hump” routes and airlift operations over the Himalayas for a lifeline to China and Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist government
• The high-risk, seventeen-thousand-mile journey that took President Roosevelt to the Casablanca Conference with Winston Churchill
• Daring special mission flights that included uranium transport for the atomic bomb
Filled with larger-than-life characters and revelations of the vision and technology it took to dominate the skies, “Pan Am at War” provides a gripping unknown history of the American Century
Pan Am at War: How the Airline Secretly Helped America Fight World War II by Mark Cotta Vaz & John H. Hill published 02/12/2019. Available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Skyhorse Publishing
