Full name James Joseph Mattern First flight JN-4 Jenny | Name Jimmie Mattern Role Aviator | |
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Born March 8, 1905
Freeport, Illinois, USA ( 1905-03-08 ) Spouse Della, 1927-1937
Dorothy Harvey, married May 18, 1937 - 1988 Known for Two failed around the world aviation record attempts Died December 17, 1988, Palm Desert, California, United States | ||
Jimmie mattern his plane the texan at weeks field fairbanks
James Joseph 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.
Contents
- Jimmie mattern his plane the texan at weeks field fairbanks
- Personal life
- Aerial circumnavigation record attempts
- Honors
- References
Starting in 1938, Mattern was a Lockheed test pilot on the P-38 Lightning and during the war helped develop the 'Piggyback' two-seat version that significantly reduced training accidents. In 1946 he was diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic with a ruptured blood vessel in his brain (perhaps due to repeated excessive G-forces experienced while demonstrating P-38s) 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. He also marketed aviation calculators known as the Mattern computer, a course and mileage slide rule, in the late 1940s.
Personal life
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. He remained married to Dorothy until his death in 1988. Dorothy died in January 2002.
Aerial circumnavigation record attempts
July 5, 1932: Mattern and Bennett Griffin flew "The Century of Progress", 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 record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean: 10 hours, 50 minutes.
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.