Nat Browne Record Flight Attempt Photograph Album and Negatives
Contents of the Collection
The Nat Browne Record Flight Attempt Photograph Album and Negatives is a small collection comprised of visual materials related to Nat Browne's May 30, 1932 attempt to fly solo from Seattle, Washington to Tokyo, Japan in his modified Fokker Universal "Lone Star."
The photograph album contains 56 black-and-white 4x5-inch vintage prints taken by photographer Harry A. Kirwin at Boeing Field in Seattle. On the inside of the front cover of the album is the inscription: "Nat Brown and his Seattle-Tokyo Plane / Boeing Field, Seattle / Memorial Day, 1932 / All photos by Harry A. Kirwin, Seattle." It is unknown who compiled the album.
The bulk of prints depict Browne and his aircraft. Some prints show Browne with other individuals, including Frank Brooks, a member of his aerial refueling team. Other individuals are identified as "refuelers" and by last name only: Nelson, Ogawa, and Whaley. One image features a group of four men, one of whom holds a camera and is possibly Kirwin. A few prints include views of Boeing Field (King County Airport) buildings, spectators and official sponsors, and the ramp that Browne used to help his aircraft take off at speed. A number of prints have very brief captions, such as "Nat himself" or "On the ramp." Twenty-four of the prints have corresponding negatives.
Dates
- Creation: 1932 May 30
Creator
- Browne, Nathaniel C., 1895-1979 (Former owner, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research and is accessible in the Dahlberg Research Center by appointment. For more information contact us.
Conditions Governing Use
The Museum of Flight (TMOF) Archives is the owner of the physical materials in the archives and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from TMOF archives before any publication use. TMOF does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners. Consult repository for more details.
Biographical Note: Nat Browne
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 failed attempt took place on May 30. 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. 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. He had a few children between his marriages. Nat Browne died on August 29, 1979 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Biography derived from collection materials and records on Ancestry.com.
Full Extent
0.20 Cubic Feet (1 2-inch letter-size document box)
Language
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated to the Museum by Clara Browne, widow of Nat Browne.
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Processing Information
The album has been disassembled for preservations reasons. The covers and photographs were sleeved in polypropylene. Original order was maintained.
Subject
- King County International Airport (Organization)
- Browne, Nathaniel C., 1895-1979 (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Nat Browne Record Flight Attempt Photograph Album and Negatives
- Status
- Completed Level 2
- Author
- Jenn Parent
- Date
- 2026 April
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Edition statement
- 1st Edition
Repository Details
Part of the The Museum of Flight Archives Repository
9404 East Marginal Way South
Seattle Washington 98108-4097
206-764-5874
curator@museumofflight.org