Interview of Fred L. Austin by Brian Shoemaker

• Main Author: Austin, Fred L.
• Other Authors: Shoemaker, Brian
• Format: Audio
• Language: English
• Published: Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program 2005
• Subjects: Aeronautics > Polar regions > Interviews; Polar regions > Discovery and exploration > Interviews; Austin; Fred L > Interviews; Operation Polecat/Rockwell Polar Flight (1965); Antarctic; Arctic; Balchen; Byrd; Catalina; Finch; Loren; Saunders; The Antarctic; Trona; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1811/6042

Harrison Finch, pilot on the Rockwell Arctic Flight, pp. 1, 4-6, 9-10, 19 Lowell Thomas, President of the Explorer’s Club, pp. 4 Bob Prescott, owner of the Flying Tiger line of airplanes, pp.5 Colonel Rockwell, chairman of Rockwell Manufacturing Company, pp. 5, 7 Dr. Serge Korff, Chief Scientist for the Rockwell Arctic Flight, pp. 6, 22-23 Sir Philip Foreman, Managing Director, Short Brothers Incorporated, pp. 24 Navy Captain Newt Laurent, head of the United States Weather Bureau, pp. 6 Loren DeGroot, scientist, pp. 6 Captain Bob Buck, pilot on the Rockwell Arctic Flight, pp. 9 Jim Gannett, pilot on the Rockwell Arctic Flight, pp. 9 John Larsen, Chief Navigator for the Rockwell Arctic Flight, pp. 10 Goody Lyons, Communicator (in charge of clearances) for the Rockwell Arctic Flight, pp. 11 Bernt Balchen, pilot for Byrd, passenger on Rockwell Arctic Flight, pp. 12-13 Peter Meskita, inertial navigation scientist, pp. 16 Dr. Burendahl, inertial navigation scientist, pp. 16 Admiral Fred Bacudas, Commanding Officer of the Antarctic, pp. 16-17 John DeMuth, Collins radio systems operator, pp. 18 Dave Saunders, Austin’s attorney, pp. 19-20 Bunny Loeb, New York Times publisher, pp. 20 The media can be accessed here: http://streaming.osu.edu/knowledgebank/byrd/oral_history/Fred_Austin.mp3 Fred Austin and Harrison Finch, pilots for Operation Polecat (also known as the Rockwell Polar Flight), were the first men to fly around the world via the Poles. Austin was trained in a single-engine bi-plane in Trona, California, near the Mojave Desert. He took over his instructors business for a few years after his initial licensure and then became employed by Catalina Airlines. Two years later he moved on to a co-pilot job with TWA, and in 1942 was promoted to captain. In 1947 he moved to the TWA International Division and flew DC-4s. In 1948 the airline purchased Lockheed Constellations and Austin flew this style of aircraft for three years. He spent time as the Director of Operations for TWA in New York and in 1959 became the ...