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Kingman Reef
Kingman Reef (/ˈkɪŋmən/) is a largely submerged, uninhabited, triangle-shaped reef, geologically an atoll, 9.0 nmi (20 km) east-west and 4.5 nmi (8 km) north-south, in the North Pacific Ocean, roughly halfway between the Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa. It has an area of 3 hectares (0.03 km2; 7.4 acres) and is an unincorporated territory of the United States in Oceania. The reef is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as the Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuge. It was claimed by the United States in 1859 and later used briefly as a stopover for commercial Pacific flying boat routes in the 1930s going to New Zealand; however, the route was changed with a different stopover. It was administered by the Navy from 1934 to 2000 and thereafter by the Fish and Wildlife Service. It has since become a marine protected area. In the 19th century, it was noted as a maritime hazard, earning the name Hazard Rocks, and is known to have been hit once in 1876. In the 21st century, it has been noted for its marine biodiversity and remote nature. Hundreds of fish and coral species are on and around the reef.
Kingman Reef was discovered on June 14, 1798, by the American captain Edmund Fanning of the ship Betsey. It was first described by Captain W. E. Kingman (whose name the island bears) of the ship Shooting Star on November 29, 1853. It was claimed in 1859 by the United States Guano Company, under the name "Dangers Rock," along with several other islands. The claim was made under the U.S. Guano Islands Act of 1856, although there is no evidence that guano existed or was ever mined on Kingman Reef. The British steamship Tarta struck the reef in June 1874, and it was later surveyed by HMS Penguin (1876) in 1897, establishing that Kingman Reef was the same hazard previously charted as Caldew Reef and Maria Shoal, among other names.
On May 10, 1922, Lorrin A. Thurston became the first person to raise the American flag on the atoll and read an annexation proclamation. The Palmyra Copra Co. intended to use Kingman as a fishing base, as demand for copra had declined after World War I and Palmyra Island lacked a suitable anchorage. Thurston formally claimed Kingman for the United States by reading the following declaration while standing on its shore:
Be it known to all people: That on the tenth of May, A.D. 1922, the undersigned agent of the Island of Palmyra Copra Co., Ltd., landed from the motorship Palmyra doth, on this tenth day of May, A.D. 1922, take formal possession of this island, called Kingman Reef, situated in longitude 162 degrees 18' west and 6 degrees 23' north, on behalf of the United States of America and claim the same for said company.
A copy of the declaration, along with a U.S. flag and clippings from The Honolulu Advertiser newspaper, were left on Kingman to document the claim.
On December 29, 1934, the U.S. Navy assumed jurisdiction over Kingman Reef. In 1935, the reef was visited by William T. Miller, representing the U.S. Bureau of Air Commerce.
In 1935, Pan American Airways wanted to expand its routes to the Pacific and include Australia and New Zealand in its "Clipper" air routes, with a stopover in Pago Pago, American Samoa. However, an additional stopover point was sought. It had been decided that the Kingman Reef lagoon, located 1,600 miles (2,600 km) north of Samoa, would be suitable for overnight stops for planes en route from the U.S. to New Zealand. A supply ship, the North Wind, was stationed at Kingman Reef to provide fuel, lodging, and meals. On March 23, 1937, the S42B Pan American Clipper II, named Samoan Clipper and piloted by Captain Ed Musick, en route from Hawaii to American Samoa, became the first flight to land in Kingman Reef's lagoon.
During the next several months, Pan Am successfully used the lagoon several times as a halfway station for its flying boats (Sikorsky S-42B) when they traveled between those two points. However, a Clipper flight on January 11, 1938, ended in tragedy. Shortly after the early-morning takeoff from Pago Pago, as it was bound for New Zealand, the plane exploded. The right outboard engine had developed an oil leak, and the aircraft burst into flames while dumping fuel; there were no survivors. As a result of the tragedy, Pan Am ended flights to New Zealand via Kingman Reef and Pago Pago. It established a new route in July 1940 that used Canton Island and New Caledonia as stopovers instead.
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Kingman Reef
Kingman Reef (/ˈkɪŋmən/) is a largely submerged, uninhabited, triangle-shaped reef, geologically an atoll, 9.0 nmi (20 km) east-west and 4.5 nmi (8 km) north-south, in the North Pacific Ocean, roughly halfway between the Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa. It has an area of 3 hectares (0.03 km2; 7.4 acres) and is an unincorporated territory of the United States in Oceania. The reef is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as the Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuge. It was claimed by the United States in 1859 and later used briefly as a stopover for commercial Pacific flying boat routes in the 1930s going to New Zealand; however, the route was changed with a different stopover. It was administered by the Navy from 1934 to 2000 and thereafter by the Fish and Wildlife Service. It has since become a marine protected area. In the 19th century, it was noted as a maritime hazard, earning the name Hazard Rocks, and is known to have been hit once in 1876. In the 21st century, it has been noted for its marine biodiversity and remote nature. Hundreds of fish and coral species are on and around the reef.
Kingman Reef was discovered on June 14, 1798, by the American captain Edmund Fanning of the ship Betsey. It was first described by Captain W. E. Kingman (whose name the island bears) of the ship Shooting Star on November 29, 1853. It was claimed in 1859 by the United States Guano Company, under the name "Dangers Rock," along with several other islands. The claim was made under the U.S. Guano Islands Act of 1856, although there is no evidence that guano existed or was ever mined on Kingman Reef. The British steamship Tarta struck the reef in June 1874, and it was later surveyed by HMS Penguin (1876) in 1897, establishing that Kingman Reef was the same hazard previously charted as Caldew Reef and Maria Shoal, among other names.
On May 10, 1922, Lorrin A. Thurston became the first person to raise the American flag on the atoll and read an annexation proclamation. The Palmyra Copra Co. intended to use Kingman as a fishing base, as demand for copra had declined after World War I and Palmyra Island lacked a suitable anchorage. Thurston formally claimed Kingman for the United States by reading the following declaration while standing on its shore:
Be it known to all people: That on the tenth of May, A.D. 1922, the undersigned agent of the Island of Palmyra Copra Co., Ltd., landed from the motorship Palmyra doth, on this tenth day of May, A.D. 1922, take formal possession of this island, called Kingman Reef, situated in longitude 162 degrees 18' west and 6 degrees 23' north, on behalf of the United States of America and claim the same for said company.
A copy of the declaration, along with a U.S. flag and clippings from The Honolulu Advertiser newspaper, were left on Kingman to document the claim.
On December 29, 1934, the U.S. Navy assumed jurisdiction over Kingman Reef. In 1935, the reef was visited by William T. Miller, representing the U.S. Bureau of Air Commerce.
In 1935, Pan American Airways wanted to expand its routes to the Pacific and include Australia and New Zealand in its "Clipper" air routes, with a stopover in Pago Pago, American Samoa. However, an additional stopover point was sought. It had been decided that the Kingman Reef lagoon, located 1,600 miles (2,600 km) north of Samoa, would be suitable for overnight stops for planes en route from the U.S. to New Zealand. A supply ship, the North Wind, was stationed at Kingman Reef to provide fuel, lodging, and meals. On March 23, 1937, the S42B Pan American Clipper II, named Samoan Clipper and piloted by Captain Ed Musick, en route from Hawaii to American Samoa, became the first flight to land in Kingman Reef's lagoon.
During the next several months, Pan Am successfully used the lagoon several times as a halfway station for its flying boats (Sikorsky S-42B) when they traveled between those two points. However, a Clipper flight on January 11, 1938, ended in tragedy. Shortly after the early-morning takeoff from Pago Pago, as it was bound for New Zealand, the plane exploded. The right outboard engine had developed an oil leak, and the aircraft burst into flames while dumping fuel; there were no survivors. As a result of the tragedy, Pan Am ended flights to New Zealand via Kingman Reef and Pago Pago. It established a new route in July 1940 that used Canton Island and New Caledonia as stopovers instead.