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
Dampier Strait (Papua New Guinea) Dampier Strait (Papua New Guinea) Dampier Strait in Papua New Guinea separates Umboi Island and New Britain, linking the Bismarck Sea to the north with the Solomon Sea to the south. The strait is named after the first European to sail through it, British navigator William Dampier in 1700 in . Dampier described his discoveries in his "A Continuation of a Voyage to New Holland" Ch. 4 New Britain Discovered in these terms: NEW BRITAIN. The easternmost part of New Guinea lies 40 miles to the westward of this tract of land, and by hydrographers they are made joining together: