"FISH" HASSELL 1893-1974

"Fish" Hassell & Curtiss F Boat - 1916 From the collection of Jerry Blanchard,

 

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"Fish" Hassell, 1970

SELECTION FROM WALTER LEES JOURNAL      In the early fall of 1915, Ray Morris came thru Chicago on his way to the Curtiss Co. in Buffalo. When he saw the crate I was flying, he was quite perturbed. A week later, he had the Curtiss Co. wire me an offer as instructor on the Curtiss F-Boat at Buffalo. Of course, I jumped at the chance. Wish I could remember the salary I received.      We flew the boat from the hangar on the lake using a long, rough ramp. We turned the boat in the hangar by hand. My first students were Al Johnson and Fish Hassell.

 

RECALLS "FISH" HASSELL'S FLYING DAYS IN G. R.

Recollections of "Fish" Hassell, former Grand Rapids aviator, now missing several days on his projected Rockford-to-Greenland flight, are revived by this picture taken in 1918 when Hassell was chief pilot for the Roseswift Aircraft company, operators of the first flying school here.      Hassell is seen at extreme left of the picture. The others are Lieut. Bishop, later an airmail pilot; Bert F. Kenyon, now identified with the Grand Rapids Flying club; M. Jewell Clark, former well known Grand Rapids man who died several years ago and a former pilot; "Frenchie" Michaelson, who first came here as mechanician for the late Ormer Lochlear, noted stunt flier killed in California, and Arthur Rosenthal, head of the Roseswift company.      In the background are the three standard planes, owned by Mr. Rosenthal and Thomas Swift, actor, who operated the company. Hassell gave many prominent Grand Rapids citizens their first rides in airplanes and made many friends here. From the collection of Lester F. Bishop Courtesy of David Balanky

 

Fish was born in Marinette, Wisconsin, the son of Ellis and Elizabeth Hassell. For a time, he was sent to a school to study for the ministry. But that didn't take. After leaving Rutgers University, he decided on an aviation career and took flying lessons from Glenn Curtiss in Hammondsport, N.Y.      On June 15, he soloed and immediately entered into barnstorming. A fancier of Seaplanes, Hassell while flying one over Reed's Lake near Grand Rapids, suddenly lost his power and wound up in the drink. That incident gave him the nickname "Fish", a name that still holds to this day.      When the United States entered the war, he became a second lieutenant in the Army Signal Corps. Here he was made a flight instructor and taught many of our overseas combat pilots to fly.      After the war, Hassell went barstorming again, and for a time worked for the U.S. postal system. During this time, his great dream of flying the great circle course to Europe was developing. He wrote voluminous articles and a book, "The Hiking Viking", in which he pointed out the advantage of such a route.      The people of Rockford, Illinois became interested and decided to back his scheme. A Stinson Detroiter monoplane was obtained and planning of the flight began. As his co-pilot and navigator, Hassell selected Parker "Shorty" Cramer, and together they began making test flights in the vicinity of Rockford. They set the date for the take-off as July 26, 1928. When the appointed time arrived, they took off with the crowd cheering. But the fuel load proved too heavy and they wound up in a corn field west of the river.      After repairing the plane, they again took off on August 16, 1928 and headed for their first scheduled refueling stop, a base on the Sondre Stromfjord in south-west Greenland. After twenty hours in the air, they failed to find the base and were forced to make an emergency landing. The two adventurers set out to walk to the base. Fourteen days later, they encountered a group of Eskimos who brought them into the camp, just as they were about to be given up for lost.      From the base, they worked their way to Holstenborg, on the coast where they got passage on a tramp steamer to Europe. From there, they made their way back to the United States and Rockford.      Robert Carlin, district manager of National Airlines in Houston, an aviation buff and a native of Rockford, started a crusade to bring the plane back to Rockford. The Hassell family joined in. Parker Cramer, in the meantime, had lost his life in another exploring adventure.      On September 11, a Sikorsky helicopter lifted the "Greater Rockford" from its resting place. Unfortunately, however, the first step proved to be the easiest. As the Hassell-Cramer flight was not a military one, there was reluctance to place the now disassembled plane in the belly of a big transport plane and return it to the United States. Finally, arrangements were made with a private aircraft leasing company, and the flight was made. On June 17, 1969, the "Greater Rockford" came home.      "Fish" or B. R. J. Hassell died in 1974. He was an original member of the Early Birds of Aviation. The photo and text were taken from the January 1970 issue of the CHIRP The Official Publication of the EARLY BIRDS OF AVIATION, INC.   2000 GREATER ROCKFORD PLANE ON EXHIBIT      In 1968, After long and complicated negotiations, arrangements were finalized and the recovery team included Hassell's son, Vic, and 'Shorty' Cramer's brother, Bill. The plane was taken to the Sondrestrom Air Base at Mount Evans for storage until plans could be made to get it back to Rockford. In June, 1969, a C-46 cargo plane brought the Greater Rockford back to the United States, but it later found it's way to an aviation exhibits center in Kissimmee, FL. In 1975, the plane was brought from Florida to Rockford and placed unders the restoration efforts of the Aviation Technology Department at Rock Valley College; Rob McCarthy, an RVC student, was closely involved with the restoration project.      Over several years, numerous donors and persons were directly involved or monetarily contributed to the restoration of the 1928 Stinson Detroiter. Among those interested in seeing the plane fully restored was the Rockford Museum Center. Also involved were Sundstrand Aviation of Sundstrand, and the reputable restorers Garner "Gar" Williams with assistant Mike Warner of Naperville, IL.      The Greater Rockford was dedicated to the Aviation Gallery of the Rockford Museum Center in 1988, 60 years after Bert hassell's attempted flight.      Recommended reading: Fish Hassell; A Viking with Wings, by Col. Bert R. J. Hassell, Mary Hassell Lyons and Dean Todd, eds., Maverick Publications 1987, ISBN 0-89288-171-2(HB), ISBN 0-89288-170-4(PB), for more details. Personal Communication from Rosalynn Robertson, Curator and Maralyn Kloweit, Midway Village & Museum   Midway Village & Museum 6799 Guilford Road Rockford, IL 61107 Phone: (815) 397-9112/ FAX (815) 397-9156 Open Monday through Friday, 10:00a.m. - 5:00p.m. April through October, the hours are extended to weekends 12:00 noon - 5:00 p.m. Admission: $5 adults, $3 Youth 3-15 years Reserved group tours available year-round. E-mail to Midway Village & Museum   Back