| Jimmie Mattern | |
|---|---|
James Mattern in Berlin following an aborted attempt to fly around the world in 1932. |
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| Full name | James Joseph Mattern[1] |
| Born | March 8, 1905 Freeport, Illinois, USA |
| Died | December 17, 1988 (aged 83) Last Residence, Palm Desert, Riverside, California[2][3] |
| Spouse | Della, 1927-1937 Dorothy Harvey, married May 18, 1937 - 1988 |
| Aviation career | |
| Known for | Two failed around the world aviation record attempts |
| First flight | JN-4 Jenny |
James Joseph "Jimmie" Mattern (March 8, 1905 – December 17, 1988) was an American aviator. Mattern undertook a number of aviation world records, including twice attempting to break the world record for aerial circumnavigation set by Wiley Post and Harold Gatty. Both attempts failed, the second in 1933 resulted in a crash landing and subsequent rescue by Eskimos and Sigizmund Levanevsky in Siberia. In a twist of fate, Mattern would join the search for Levanevsky after he went missing in 1937. Levanevsky was never found.
Starting in 1938, Mattern was a Lockheed test pilot on the P-38 Lightning and developed a technique that significantly reduced training accidents. In 1946 he was diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic with a ruptured blood vessel in his brain and was unable to fly again because of the condition. After losing his ability to fly, Mattern and his wife became real estate brokers and then operated a travel agency. He also supported the space program, attended three Apollo launches and had his pilot's license carried to the moon aboard Apollo 11.[4] He also marketed aviation calculators known as the Mattern computer, a course and mileage slide rule, in the late 1940s.
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James Mattern was born March 8, 1905 in Freeport, Illinois to Phillip and Caroline (née Kennedy) Mattern. He also had two older brothers and an older sister. Mattern married Della M. in Los Angeles in 1927. He requested a divorce in Chicago, Illinois in 1937 stating that Della had left him in 1932 and was living in Washington. On May 18, 1937, the day after his divorce was finalized, Mattern was married to Dorothy J. Harvey, a showgirl, at Berwyn Methodist church.[5] He remained married to Dorothy until his death in 1988. Dorothy died in January 2002.[6]
July 5, 1932: Mattern and Bennett Griffin flew "The Century of Progress",[7] a Lockheed Vega, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, from Floyd Bennett Field, New York to Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, and then non-stop to Berlin, Germany in 18:41 hours. This failed round-the-world flight attempt ended in an emergency crash landing at Borisov, Belarus, USSR on July 7, 1932. They did, however, set a new record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean: 10 hours, 50 minutes.[8]
June 3, 1933: Mattern flew a rebuilt "Century of Progress", largely a different aircraft, and this time solo, from Floyd Bennett Field across the Atlantic. On June 14, 1933, he made a forced landing in Siberia, where the "Century" was abandoned. He was eventually rescued by Eskimos and flown to Nome, Alaska by Sigizmund Levanevsky. Mattern flew the rest of the way back to New York.