The Nome nugget., 1942-02-13
NEW CLIPPER ROUTE
 TO CHINA IS OPENED
Spans Two-ThirdS Of Word East of IT. S. With Stops at Undescribed Places

 The American air route to the Far East smashed by the Japanese attack in the Pacific on Dec r has been reformed on a l6800-me arWay spanning tWo-thirds of the world east of the United States Pan American AirWays disclosed recently
 The new link is flown in week at an average speed throughout of 100 miles an hour including stops. Ii pioneers nearly $500 miles of route between Af rca and Burma across the stormy Indian Ocean. De- tails of operations, equipment and terminal location were withheld
 Previously established links. il was confirmed. CT some 1000 miles of the distance These are 10000 miles of the airlines new service between New York and Khartoum, Egypt via South America, and 2000 miles between Rango0n, Burma and Hong Kong, China, on China National Aviation Corporation ' oe arlines operates C.NAC with the Chinese Govern ment. T only confirm that there is new line of communication from the Far East said l. W. Van Du- sen vice president of the airline Yes, all of the links making it up are operated by Pan American AirWays
 Returns by New Route
 Existence of the through route to China came to light during press interview held for Captain Fred s. Ralph commander of the arline's Hong Kong clip per destroyed without loss of life in the first Japanaa air raid Hong Kong on the morning of Dee. r Cap tain Ralph returned recently to this country on clipper flying the new route westward from China. It made clear that he did not arrive the Pacific Clipper which made 24686-mie flight from New Zealand after in the Pacific closed it's island bases for flight back to San Francisco
 Describing his experiences of the last month. the captain pointed out that his trip home his wife end
 
 throughout seven days. He waited three weeks in Chungking before being able to start home Six other clipper crew members accompanied him. A lieuteant in the Royal Naval Reserve and trained as a Navy pilot in dive bombing, Captain Ralph commented he would like to tell but I'm ted,' when asked about details of the initial Japanese raid on Honk Kong. The clipper an S42B, four-engined Sikorsky fly ing boat that valued at $250 900 when it entered the airline service about six years ago Ready take off and loaded with gasoline, the craft at its dg at Paitek airport on the KoWoon mainland of Honc Kong when the Japanese raid began. Enemy planes in a group of thirty-fVe, said the captain machine gunned the clipper after oosing their bombs fuel tanks and radio stations. ncendiary tracer bullets fired the gasoline tanks of the craft which burned the water
 When the attack started at 7:50 am CIong Kong time on Dec 8, crew members had just enough time to find refuge off the airport and Captain Ralph forced to hide behind a concrete pipe, one of many the Chinese had placed the field months before to prevent Japanese plane landings.
 Previously twenty-seVen passengers seeking to go to Manila had been sent back to their hotels he tinued, receipt of word that the flight would be cancelled. Something amiss that morning, he called in outlining the timetable of events. "The and ordered at 5:30 to get ready for an early start" he explained. We showed up al the airport about 6:15, At 710 word that the flight delayed and the passengers went back to the city. At 715 word came of the Japanese declaration of war Great Britain We got some of our belong ings out of the ship and still at it when the Jap-