Biographical Note

Nat Browne (1895-1979) was an American pilot. He is best known for an attempted Seattle-to-Tokyo flight in his modified Fokker Universal "Lone Star" in 1932.

Nathaniel Christopher "Nat" Browne was born on March 31, 1895 in Oklahoma. In August 1918 he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a pilot in the Signal Corps. He was released just a few months later in November of that same year. After his service, Browne flew as a barnstormer and test pilot and was one of the first pilots to fly the Andes on a regular basis during the 1920s.

In May 1932, Browne made two attempts at a solo transoceanic flight from Seattle to Tokyo in the modified Fokker Universal "Lone Star" in hopes of winning a $25,000 prize sponsored by the city of Seattle and Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper. On May 29, during his first attempt, a broken oil line forced him to turn back to Seattle after reaching Vancouver, British Columbia. He returned to Boeing Field to repair the aircraft. His second attempt took place on May 31. The plan was for mechanic Frank Brooks to accompany him during takeoff, then parachute to safety once the aircraft’s fuel tanks were filled midair. However, the attempt quickly went wrong. Shortly after takeoff, the "Lone Star" collapsed and crashed into Puget Sound. Both men managed to parachute to safety with only minor injuries, but the aircraft was destroyed. The exact cause of the crash was never determined.

From 1932 until 1955, Browne served as a mail, freight, and passenger pilot in Alaska. He also assisted the government in developing the Distant Early Warning system in the Arctic during the 1950s. In 1955 he retired from professional flying and operated a mine in the Goodnews Bay area of Alaska until he relocated to California in 1959.

Browne married Mary Elizabeth Battenfield Brown (1895-1927) on April 15, 1916 in Amarillo, Texas. The couple had two children. After her death he married Bertha Lillian Harris (1904-) on September 19, 1929 in Montevideo, Uruguay. By 1940 he was married to Margaret Rose Jung Smeaton (1913-2005). On October 10, 1945, Browne married Clara Halverson (1914-1997) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The couple had a son. Nat Browne died on August 29, 1979 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Occupations

• Air pilots

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