China Clipper flight departure site when Sikorsky S-42 "Samoan Clipper" exploded over Samoa in January, 1938. "Hawaii Clipper" disappeared westbound from Guam to Manila in July, 1938. There were unsubstantiated rumors of Japanese involvement, similar to those arising from the disappearance of Amelia Earhart a year earlier. Earhart's navigator, Fred Noonan, had been navigator aboard "China Clipper" during the initial airmail flight. Boeing 314 flying boats "Honolulu Clipper" (NC18601) and "California Clipper" (NC18602) joined the surviving Martin M-130s in 1939, and "Pacific Clipper" (NC18609) and "Anzac Clipper" (NC18611) extended service to New Zealand and Australia in 1941. "Philippine Clipper" returned to Wake when it received
Tommy Noonan half-brother of actor John Ireland. Noonan was the son of Michael James Noonan and Grace Ferguson. His father was a vaudeville comedian and a native of Galway County, Ireland. His mother, a piano teacher, was from Glasgow, Scotland. He attended New York University. In 1934, Noonan and Ireland made their stage debuts with a New York-based experimental theater. They later appeared together in three films, including "I Shot Jesse James" (1949). Noonan had a repertory company of his own prior to World War II. On Broadway, Noonan appeared in "How to Make a Man" (1960) and "Men to the Sea"