Jim Hardy, as a young seaplane pilot in WWII
Pearl Harbor survivor and WWII seaplane pilot Jim Hardy thought he had seen it all. On Dec. 7, 1941 he watched helplessly, dodging bullets and bombs, as Japanese aircraft destroyed his squadron at Ford Island. He went on to fight as a seaplane pilot in both the Pacific and Atlantic theatres of war, retiring from the Navy in 1961.
Now, at 96, he lives a quiet life in Coronado with his wife. Recently one of his daughters asked if he would ever consider flying in a seaplane again. Jim smiled big and said, “You bet I would.”
Word reached Michael Steel, of San Diego Seaplanes. The young entrepreneur currently conducts exciting seaplane aerial tours directly from San Diego Bay and Catalina Island.
At left, Jim Hardy today, relaxing in his Coronado home
“I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this,” said Steel. “I have such a deep respect for our veterans, and when I heard Jim was a former seaplane pilot, I knew we had to make this happen.”
On Sunday, March 16, the two men will gather at Coronado’s Centennial Park at 9:30 a.m. Fittingly, there is a bronze plaque in the park commemorating this location as the birthplace of naval aviation more than a century ago.
Steel will fly in with his blue seaplane on the peak tide, and Commander Jim Hardy will board the plane from the beach for one more seaplane flight. “Excited?” said Hardy. “I try not to be excited about anything at my age. But yes, it will be nice to fly again.”
Hardy had a deja vu experience in 1969. He was mowing his lawn when he heard a frighteningly familiar sound. He looked up to see three Japanese Zeros coming in low towards Coronado’s North Island Naval Air Station, near his home.
“I saw those red meatballs on the wing and thought, “Oh no, here we go again,” said Hardy. “It gave me chills. I admit that, for a few moments, I wasn’t sure what was happening.” Soon neighbors began to come out, and they explained Hollywood was filming for a new movie, “Tora Tora Tora,” and the planes were landing at North Island to refuel.
Massive PBY seaplanes lifting off from San Diego bay were once a common sight. Many remember car-carrying ferryboats slowing to a crawl to allow the bulky, gravity-defying PBYs to pass – groaning under full power to obtain lift off as they powered into the wind.
San Diego Seaplanes is the only seaplane operation currently operating in Southern California. Michael Steel has been flying commercial seaplanes for more than 30 years. He has been busy this month with local seaplane whale watching flights along our coastline, but other packages include sunset flights, romantic beach picnics, birthday flights, corporate events, and even honeymoon or full moon flights.
This is the seaplane that will be taking Commander Jim Hardy on a watery lift-off and short flight over Coronado. The plane is owned and operated by San Diego Seaplanes
Steel recently was recruited to fly the replica, 100-year-old Triad seaplane, on loan from the San Diego Air & Space Museum, for the 2011 US Navy celebration of a Century of Naval Aviation. He also designed and flew the seaplane in the mega-budget Kevin Costner film, “Waterworld.” He has flown seaplanes for numerous major Hollywood movie studios.
On Sunday, March 16, at 9:30 a.m., Commander Jim Hardy will be on site at Coronado’s Centennial Park, surrounded by family and friends. He is scheduled to board the seaplane at 10 a.m. For more information on access and photos pertaining to Commander Hardy’s return to the air, contact Joe Ditler, Coronado publicist and historian, at (619) 742-1034 or [email protected].
In February, San Diego Seaplanes gave free rides to children of active duty military in Coronado as a way of supporting our military. For more information on San Diego Seaplanes, call 1-800-SEA-PLANe (800-732-7526), or visit SanDiegoSeaplanes.com.
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This story was created by Joe Ditler and Part-Time PR, helping Coronado businesses to be heard. For more information write or call [email protected] or (619) 435-0767.
