Japan and the U.S. at War by December 7, 1941

The "China Clipper" incident in San Francisco.

In 1935 FBI agents arrested two Japanese nationals found aboard a Pan Am M-130 on

the night before its inaugural mail flight to Manila. They were in the process of tampering with the aircraft's direction finding equipment, which could have resulted in the "China Clipper" becoming lost at sea during it's long Pacific flights. This information was confidential and not made public until after WW-II.

Japan refused to give PAA weather information (a courtesy extended by most countries

experts to decipher the Japanese weather

messages sent to Japanese aircraft, and turned the information over to Pan Am. This project aided the later cracking of Imperial Navy codes.

Historical Background : How the 1930's led up to Japan and the U.S. at War

Japan refused to give Pan Am weather information (a courtesy extended by most countries

to commercial aircraft), even though they had very extensive weather stations throughout the Pacific. The result, which may have played a role in the outcome of WW-II, was that the U.S. Navy assigned language and cryptography experts to decipher the Japanese weather messages sent to Japanese aircraft, and turned the information over to Pan Am. This project aided the later cracking of Imperial Navy codes.

Historical Background : How the 1930's led up to Japan and the U.S. at War The "China Clipper" incident in San Francisco.

In 1935 FBI agents arrested two Japanese nationals found aboard a Pan Am M-130 on the night before its inaugural mail flight to Manila. They were in the process of tampering with the aircraft's direction finding equipment, which could have resulted in the "China Clipper" becoming lost at sea during it's long Pacific flights. This information was confidential and not made public until after WW-II.