AAIIRRPPOOSSTT JJOOUURRNNAALL

The Official Publication of the American Air Mail Society

December 2015 Volume 86, No. 12 Whole No. 1026

Happy Holidays! Zeppelins & Aerophilately Ask for our Free Price List of Worldwide Flight covers and stamps. The following is a small sampling – full list on Website!

United States 1934 Catapult 557, 698 (2) to Berlin then forwarded to Aden! Bremen ...... $750.00 C13 FDC--F-VF stamp on unusual front of pictorial airmail enve - lope, flown to Seville with Seville + NY/Chicago RPO Receiving B/S—interesting usage ...... $750.00 Germany 1935 9th South America flight stamped "Sample" in German. S.313B ...... $475.00 Afghanistan 1933 4th South America Flight. Sent via Turkey to Brazil (S.223 B) ...... $3,900.00 Algeria 1933 2nd South America Flight sent to Brazil S.214Aa . . . . . $575.00 Andorra 1933 2nd South America Flight Barcelona drop S.214C. . . . $1,250.00 Austria 1932 (June 22) Catapult cover to New York sent by registered Europa mail to Costa Rica. Stamped "Received in ordinary mail N.Y.P.O. Var - ick S." Backstamped Berlin, New York and Costa Rica on reverse. K111AU cv $800.00 Hab. 89...... $750.00 Bahamas (January 29) First flight from Nassau to Miami. Return address is Royal Bank of Canada. Violet 2-line cancel "Air Service Nassau to Miami," backstamped Miami. Rare item in good condition!. . . $300.00 Belgium (August 28) Balloonpost from Gordon Bennett Balloon race, launched from Warsaw. Winning balloon addressed to pilot, Belgica De Muyter. Russian receiving cancel...... $100.00 Henry Gitner Philatelists, Inc. PO Box 3077T, Middletown NY 10940 Email: [email protected] — http://www.hgitner.com

DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 485 In This Issue of the Airpost Journal Letters to

— ARTICLES — the Editor Pan American Ghosts: San Francisco-Shanghai via Aleutians Great Circle Flights 1946 ...... 492 Hermanos or Hermann? Larry Weirather Jim Hester made an interesting observation ( Letters to the APJ Cover Story: The Couzinet 70 Arc-en-Ciel (Rainbow) ...... 498 Editor, October 2015) on possible confusion over the use of “Hermanos” William Kriebel on a letter from Dakar, Senegal to Buenos Aires. I have to admit that I World’s Shortest Airmail Flight? ...... 456 assumed the use of “Hermanos” as “Hermann” was due to the writer Steve Swain being German speaking and unfamiliar with Spanish. The ‘LATI Substitute’ Service of Pan American Airways, Part 4 ...... 508 I was wrong. Scratching through the John Wilson Boletin Oficial de la Republica reveals that there was indeed a “Kalwil Hermanos” company Argentina in existence in Buenos Aires. I am grateful to Jim for his adding another — COLUMNS and FEATURES — detail to the Kalwil story. It’s amazing what a single cover can reveal. Airmail Elsewhere in Print ...... 504 The immigration records of Argentina show that a group of A Note from the Editor ...... 491 Canadian Air Mail Notes ...... 514 three Kalwil families escaped between May and November 1939, Letter to the Editor ...... 487 arriving in Buenos Aires on three different ships. They were the lucky President’s Message ...... 488 ones. Not all of them escaped. John Wilson — NEWS — News of the Shows ...... 513 — DEPARTMENTS – APJ Ads ...... 528 Looking for that perfect Membership Report ...... 527 holiday gift? Editor and Advertising Vickie Canfield Peters 11911 E Connor Road Valleyford WA 99036 Give a membership to the vcanfi[email protected] Staff Writers and Columnists Joe Kirker Alan Warren American Air Mail Society! Chris Hargreaves Bob Wilcsek Lee Downer Copyright 2015 The American Air Mail Society . The Airpost Journal (ISSN 0739-0939) is pub - lished monthly by the American Air Mail Society, 11911 E. Connor Road, Valleyford WA 99036. See the society pages for Periodical postage paid at Spokane WA 99201 and additional post offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to American Air Mail Society, 7 First St., Westfield NY 14787. Domestic sub - scription rate $30 per year; $5 per copy. membership information. Opinions expressed in features and columns in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the society. Running an ad does not endorse the advertiser.

PAGE 486 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 487 The next AAMS convention is in conjunction with Chicagopex 2016 in mid-November. All of this is too long to delay progress, so I will President’s call on your new Board of Directors in January to establish objectives and Jim Graue Message priorities for moving forward before the year is lost.

The AAMS elec2tio0n1 fo5r oEffilcercs tainod ndirectors for the two-year World Stamp Show New York 2016 terms 2016 – 2017 is history. Tentative Meeting / Program Schedule Revised October 30, 2015 As no position was contested, the outcome is no surprise to any - Saturday noon – 1 p.m. AAMS Membership Meeting 1E07 one. For the record, here are the official results as compiled and reported May 28 1 – 2 p.m. AAMS Program 1E07 by Allen Klein and Bill Keesling: – Cheryl Ganz Ways to Collect Zeppelin Mail President Jim Graue 158 2 – 3 p.m. AAMS Program 1E07 Donald David Price 1(write-in) Gerhard Zucker’s Project for Rocket Mail Over Vice President Sam Pezzillo 155 – Chris Hargreaves Treasurer Stephen Reinhard 158 Niagara Falls in 1936 Sunday 10 – 11 a.m. Program: 1E08 Secretary Bill Fort 155 SCADTA First Issues May 29 2 – 3 p.m. AAMS Program 1E07 Directors (4) Steve Tucker 156 David Crotty 150 ATC Carried Mail in Africa During World – David Crotty David Ball 148 War II Patrick Walters 148 Tuesday 11 a.m. – noon AAMS Program: PAA Crash Mail 1E16 To those members who voted, thank you for your positive sup - May 31 port. We trust that the 18 percent turnout reflects the uncontested elec - Thursday 2 – 3 p.m. Wreck & Crash Mail Soc. Program 1E06 tion rather than dissatisfaction. June 2 Rare & Unusual Interruptions of Mail Friday 1 – 2 p.m. Wreck & Crash Mail Soc. Program 1E11 NexWt yoeralr d– S20t1a6m – pth eS Uh.So. who sNtse iwts o Yncoer-ak-d 2ec0a1d6e FIP World June 3 What’s Eating Your Mail? Philatelic Exhibition, this time in on May 28 – June 4. We 1 – 2 p.m. Space Unit Program: TBA 1E11 are sharing space with Metropolitan Air Post Society (MAPS) and the 2 – 3 p.m. Space Unit Membership Meeting 1E11 Crash & Wreck Mail Society. We hope that proves beneficial to all and serves as a prime meeting spot for airmail / aeropostal history collectors. Saturday 2 – 3 p.m. AAMS Program: TBA 1E07 We are exploring our options for an AAMS hospitality suite June 4 where those who share a special interest in aerophilately can gather at any time for quiet relaxation, conversation, trading and other informal activity . . . and an AAMS auction. ExhibitWingh ise arne aAspreect tohf oeu Ar heorboby E thxaht isb aidtms? ittedly demand - The World Stamp Show New York 2016 will capture the atten - ing of time, resources and a high level of dedication. Relatively few col - tion of most philatelists for the next seven months or so. Several national lectors engage in exhibiting. stamp shows have been granted a year off to accommodate the focus on That said, exhibiting has a special place in challenging the collec - New York. Most, if not all, WSP shows usually held in May or June will tor to advance beyond “accumulation” and “basic collecting” to under - take a bye so as to not conflict with New York 2016. APS Stampshow will take the research, study, “targeted” collecting, dedication, patience and be August 4-7 in Portland, Oregon . outright stubborn persistence necessary to assemble, organize, write, lay -

PAGE 488 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 489 out and present a clear, comprehensive and attractive exhibit. The final Surely we can and should do better. Aero exhibits wave the flag result invariably serves to entertain, educate and broaden the knowledge for airmail in a special way and for an audience with great potential for of the viewers, displaying aspects of the exhibit subject previously increasing our ranks. Let’s increase our active participation in exhibiting unknown or underappreciated. It may even provide the inspiration to aerophilately / airmail. It will be a win-win for all! take up exhibiting! The great success of both Aerophilately 2007 and Aerophilately 2014 attest to the potential of exhibiting aerophilately in any aspect. These include: A Note from the Editor • Aerophilately: Development and operations of the transport of mail by air. Vickie Canfield Peters • Traditional: Creation, production and usage of airmail stamp(s). • Postal History: Airmail processing, marcophily. The ever-vigilant and ever-diligent Don Lussky called me this • Postal Stationery: Creation, production and usage of airmail postal week to tell me that the “unreported crash cover” article on Page 461 of stationery (e.g., postal cards, aerograms, air letter sheets). the November was, in fact, reported. According to Don, Airpost Journal • Illustrated Mail: Advertising, promotion, first day of issue. the cover is listed under Crash 750102 in the . American Air Mail Catalogue • Astrophilately: Access to and exploration of space. Thanks, Don. • Display * * * The range of “airmail collecting” encompasses all these and more. Simine Short emailed me an interesting article copied from a In spite of the broad range of possibilities and fascinating subject March 10, 1907, Detroit, Michigan, newspaper. I thought it worth reprint - potential, as clearly seen at the two aerophilately exhibitions noted ing a portion here: above, aero exhibits are infrequently found in any appreciable number at “Letters by airship is the latest novelty of the French postal sys - national level stamp shows. A survey of the 30 nationals of the past 12 tem. A short time ago a party of military aeronauts ascended from months revealed the following: Meudon and steered for the war office in Paris. When over the building Major Award Multi-Frame Single Frame Total the airship was brought to a halt and a letter addressed to the minister of Aerophilately 4 23 7 34 war, Gen. Picquart, dropped from the car. Through their glasses the Traditional 1 13 4 18 aeronauts watched the missive in its descent and, as soon as it had been secured, turned the aerostat and made their way back to Meudon. Stationery 9312 “A very ingenious method is employed to facilitate the delivery Illustrated 33of letters to the islands of the Tonga group in the Pacific. These islands, Astrophilately 44guarded as they are by dangerous rocks and breakers, are difficult and Display hazardous to near approach and would often, were the ordinary routine Total 5 52 14 71 of delivery employed, have to go letterless. To obviate this the steamer that carries the mail is supplied with sky-rockets, by means of which let - APS Stampshow accounted for three of the five “major” awards, i.e., Prix d’Hon - neur or Grand Award. ters are projected across the danger zone to the shore.” In the 30 shows surveyed, four had no aero exhibit. The highest * * * number of aero exhibits at one show was eight (SEAPEX). The AAMS My thanks to Steve Turechek for the holiday cover on the front convention exhibition for the year surveyed was NAPEX, where only six of this month’s issue. Its message is one both Jim and I would like to aero exhibits were shown. Discounting APS Stampshow, aero exhibits extend to our members: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, or, in averaged only 2.1 per exhibition with two grand award winners. the spirit of political correctness, Happy Holidays!

PAGE 490 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 491 Pan American Ghosts: San Francisco-Shanghai via Aleutians Great Circle Survey Flights 1946

Larry Weirather In 1931, Charles and Anne Lindbergh left New York for a trip to Nanking, China, by way of Canada, Alaska, Russia and Japan in their Lockheed Sirius (One Who Flies Like a Big Bird). Anne art - Tingmissartoq fully documented the trip in her book, . As technical North to the Orient advisor and route surveyor for Pan American Airways, the Lone Eagle was tasked with finding and assessing the feasibility of a Great Circle Air Figure 1 Route. Commemorative covers for this flight are listed in The American PAA Constellation L-049 Clipper Hotspur . Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. Air Mail Catalogue. Due to ice, fog, wind, radio interference and lack of facilities, stake its claim on a northern route. The United Nations Relief and Reha - Lindbergh had his doubts about the route as a commercial venture. bilitation Administration (UNRRA) chartered PAA to provide six weekly Upon finishing the trip, Lindbergh reported to President Juan flights to transport UNRRA personnel and medical supplies from San Trippe that, at best, the route was feasible with existing aircraft; where - upon Trippe began buying up some Alaskan airlines in preparation for Great Circle service to China. He already had an interest in funding an airline in Alaska as early as 1926. This northern route would save some 1,500-2,000 miles over a mid-Pacific crossing, which the airline later cre - ated (F.A.M. 14). All looked good for northern route creation until the Russians refused landing rights because the would not recognize the Soviet government. Severe weather conditions in the Aleutians revealed the dangers and perhaps impossibility of maintaining regular schedules. Trippe tabled the route as World War II approached. The airline's atten - tion turned to cooperating with the U.S. Navy to establish island-hop - ping bases across the mid-Pacific. Fast forward to 1946. As famous as the Lindberghs' flight was in 1931, equally unheralded are Pan American Airways' first commercial Great Circle survey flights in 1946. PAA battled other airlines to keep its near monopoly on international routes. With the advent of long-range landplanes able to fly above the weather and with more air bases created during the war, a Great Circle Route was up for grabs. In the spring of 1946, opportunity knocked for Pan American to Figure 2

PAGE 492 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 493 Francisco to Shanghai beginning in March using the airline's just-deliv - Tokyo before making a quick departure for Seattle and San Francisco. ered L-049 Constellations (Figure 1). The “Connies” flew from San Fran - He wrote, "We are now flying @ 10,000' about midway between Adak cisco using the old prewar F.A.M. 14 flying boat routes, Honolulu-Mid - Alaska and Chitose where we'll land to refuel and thence to my 'home.' way-Wake-Guam-Manila, then on to captured bases in Tokyo and Ha!" (Home meant Atsugi Air Base outside Tokyo where he stayed in Shanghai. temporary, crude, steel, drafty, freezing Army transit quarters.) Return flights were a different story. PAA used the flights to sur - On the back of the cover (Figure 3), Goodson scribbled, "Send vey the Great Circle Route, flying variously Shanghai-Tokyo-Chitose my wool shirt. Russ." It was cold in the Far East that spring and stops (Hokkaido, northern Japan)-Shemya (Aleutians) or Adak-Seattle-San like Shemya had only recently opened up after winter and bad spring Francisco. At least one flight originating in San Francisco also flew the white-out weather conditions had kept military personnel in bed some Great Circle route back to the Far East. days just to keep warm. On the back of the cover, someone at PAA's San This was the case with the out-of-the-mail cover shown in Figure Francisco base had written to Goodson' wife, "Hi, Dot--Prunty brought 2. The cover contained a letter that PAA flight engineer Russell N. Good - this in. Got in late Sat night." son on UNRRA flight #3 (NC88847 Clipper ) wrote to his wife, PAA Chief Flight Engineer Earl Prunty, a longtime friend of Hotspur Dorothy, in California. Before and during the war, Goodson was flight Goodson, worked for the airline even before its first trans-Pacific flight engineer on both the M-130 and B-314 Clipper flying boats, both Atlantic and laid claim to being one of the first two residents of Treasure Island. and Pacific. In 1937, he sailed on the four-masted schooner In November 1935, he was sent to Hawaii to prepare for the first regular Trade Wind from Honolulu to Pago Pago by way of Kingman Reef to help open an F.A.M. 14 Clipper mail flight to Manila. Now, 11 years after that epic air route to New Zealand. flight, he brought in another cover that had crossed the Pacific partially Dated 10 April 1946, he began his letter saying he needed to east-to-west and completely west-to-east by PAA. write while flying because the Clipper would remain only a short time in At this time PAA had restored its trans-Pacific service only as far as Hawaii from the west coast, but had not rebuilt its other Pacific Clip - per bases. The Navy had only recently released wartime PAA crews and aircraft from military service so the airline could resume commercial operations to Hawaii beginning November 16, 1945. Survey flight crews were not sure what they would find. Goodson said, "Wake surely isn't as I left it -- It's a mass of craters and twisted steel structures with only crude temporary quarters standing. We left @ midnight with no great apprehension for Tokyo, which first was visible as Fujiyama (really a marvelous sight to see), and landed in the recaptured field of Atsugi which is approximately 40 mi. from Tokyo. On our way we flew @ a low altitude over the remains of the atom destruction (seems too horrible even for Japan) -- the country of cities absolutely leveled -- only three concrete structures (skeletons) remain to remind one of a city once as large as Seattle." Upon reaching the Aleutians, Japan and the China Sea, the sur - vey crews mostly depended on the good graces of the Army, Navy and UNRRA for fuel, food and lodging, such as it was. UNRRA did treat Goodson to a cocktail party in Shanghai before he was eaten alive by fleas in what passed for a hotel. Figure 3 UNRRA, not to be confused with the United Nations, preceded

PAGE 494 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 495 the U.N. and began work in China in 1944, becoming the largest UNRRA return trips. Those stranded became "Pan American Ghosts," as ethereal - project in the world, first with headquarters in Chungking (reached from ly forgotten as the survey flights would soon become. India by flying “over the Hump") and then in postwar inflationary Such was the case of Dr. Wilbur A. Sawyer. This UNRRA Direc - Shanghai. Benjamin Harrison Kizer, director of UNRRA in China, had tor of Health was one of the more important people in China. He was ulterior motives for the six Great Circle flights, as did PAA. The former previously Director of the Rockefeller International Health Division and Spokane, Washington, attorney and father of Pulitzer Prize poet Carolyn developed the first effective yellow fever vaccine. He fought to stave off Kizer revealed much when he wrote to his hometown newspaper about various disease outbreaks in China, but now needed transport home. On the flights. Easter Sunday, April 21, he penned a letter home that read in part: He reported that UNRRA chartered the six flights to move 125 I had plans to leave for home on the Constellation, but now it is much-needed personnel from San Francisco to Shanghai by way of Hon - announced that it will take no passengers on the return run. What a olulu, but the flights would return empty using the Great Circle or north - disappointment for all ten of the UNRRA people listed to return. We ern route to Seattle. proceeded at once to try and get places for at least 2 or 3 of us on the These flights would prove the superiority of the northern route army ATC plane, only to be told that the ATC would soon fold up with stops at only Adak and Tokyo. With so few stops and record-setting and would take no more civilian passengers . . . . . now am definitely total hours of flying time, rather than the many stops and days it took to a 'Pan-American Ghost.’ cross the mid-Pacific, he predicted daily flights on PAA's fast, long-dis - PAA would also become a ghost on the Great Circle Route. In tance, new Constellations would soon be in the works. As a great propo - trying to break up the airline's monopoly, the Civil Aeronautics Board nent of the northwest, he envisioned post-war trade with Japan and awarded Northwest Airlines the Great Circle Route to the Far East, China would be a boon for such cities as Seattle, Portland, Spokane and resulting in the F.A.M. 28 first flight in September 1946, Seattle to Vancouver. The survey flights benefited UNRRA, PAA, the Pacific Anchorage. Although the numbers of passengers in Northwest's DC-4s Northwest and Kizer. were somewhat sparse, Northwest extended the route to Shanghai in PAA scrambled to prepare the route. One of its DC-3s was dis - July 1947. Pan American bitterly fought the Northwest contract, but patched from Seattle to Adak on March 24 to prepare for the first Con - Northwest had extensive experience delivering war supplies to Alaska. stellation flight, which concluded at Mills Field, San Francisco, on March To salve its wounds, Pan American could claim it had flown the 30. Initial Connie trips across the mid-Pacific picked up ground crew first commercial transport over the Great Circle in record time, despite along the way to be able to handle the new Lockheed Constellations in most publications giving Northwest credit for pioneering the route. Japan and China. This required ferrying PAA meteorologist John A. Day Goodson's cover might have claim on being the first carried on commer - from Manila to Japan because the airline had no weather forecasters for cial transport over that route. While it exhibits no airmail franking, it cer - the Far East and Great Circle Route. Lockheed technicians were also on tainly was produced in the "air" at a time when PAA was not certified to board since the Constellations, including Clipper and Clipper carry mail on the Great Circle. Most civilian mail from China had to be Hotspur were new to the crews and ground staff. routed by ship to Singapore and then to Australia and onward, or west - Golden Gate Goodson served as flight engineer on the last of the six ward through India and across the Atlantic. UNRRA/survey flights, departing Shanghai May 26. Ironically, or coin - Pan American was lucky to pull off the six flights since all 58 cidentally, while Goodson was in the air the next day, the ardent sup - Constellations in existence, including PAA's 22, were grounded June 11 porter of the flights, UNRRA China Director Kizer, was fired by his boss, due to accidents involving excessive engine fires. They would not return Fiorello La Guardia. As the airline closed its Great Circle operations, pas - to service until August 24. sengers on the final flight included PAA staff returning to the United Despite the sometimes near helter-skelter nature of the record- States, a CNAC employee and two mine managers. While UNRRA staff setting Constellation flights, crews did have down time to shop and sped to Shanghai on the six flights, others found travel back to the U.S. explore in China and Japan, as evidenced by gifts they brought back. difficult because the airline wasn’t chartered to transport passengers on The crew of Clipper , departing Shanghai May 16, brought Golden Gate PAGE 496 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 497 back Chinese dolls, porcelain bowls, lacquer tea sets, camphor chests, jade, bamboo fiddles and other objects. If crews had time to shop, there may also have been time to prepare a souvenir cover. Old hands on the flights, like Goodson, were accustomed to souvenir and first-flight covers from their prewar flying boat days. Do any such covers exist, probably postmarked Shanghai or Tokyo? Or are they just ghosts?

Sources for additional information: "Circle Route Clipper Here." . March 30, 1946: 1. San Mateo Times "First Flight by Commercial Transport from Orient to U.S. by Clipper." . March 30, 1946: 1. The Bakersfield Californian "Flights to Far East for UNRRA Set, Pan American Will Operate Service to Transport Personnel, Medical Supplies." The New York Times. March 21, 1946: 4. "Orient Route to Bring Orient Closer to Spokane." Spokane Daily May 4, 1946: 1. Chronicle. Pan American Airways--Flight Arrangements China 1946-1946. National Archives. Washington, D.C. AG-018-012. Box S-0517-0133. File S-1536-0000-0410. Honolulu, Hawaii, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1900-1959. National Archives and Records Administration. www.ancestry.com. "Record Set by Clipper Plane." March 30, Harrisburg Telegraph. 1946: 3. Cover Story: The Couzinet 70 United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. UNRRA in China, 1945-1947. UNRRA: Washington, D.C., 1948. Arc-en-Ciel (Rainbow ) "U.S. Orient Hop Prepared." (Klamath, Oregon). Herald and News March 25, 1946: 8. William Kriebel The Wilbur A. Sawyer papers: Letter from Wilbur A. Sawyer to Margaret Sawyer. Profiles in Science. National Library of Medicine. pro - I recently received a scan of this cover. The sender was seeking files.nlm.nih.gov/LW/B/B/M/S. information and this is what I told him. The Couzinet landplane was designed by Rene Couzinet (a 23 year-old Frenchman) in 1928, in collaboration with Marcel Maurice Drouhin. Their aim was to develop an aircraft that could cross the South Atlantic from east to west. Their enthusiasm generated considerable Aerophilatelic Writers Wanted. monetary support from the populace and their first model was built. But, No experience necessary. in August of that year, it crashed on a test flight, killing Drouhin. (It’s just the job for YOU!) A second plane was built. Like the first model, it was a low-wing monoplane powered by three engines. Unfortunately, it was destroyed Write an article today and send it to the editor: by fire shortly before it left the factory. A third plane, the Couzinet 70, was named . With the vcanfi[email protected] Arc-en-Ciel legendary Jean Mermoz (1901-1936) at the controls, co-pilot Carretier,

PAGE 498 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 499 navigator Mailloux, radio operator Manuel and mechanic Jousse, along with Couzinet, it crossed from St. Louis, Senegal to Natal, Brazil, on Jan - World’s Shortest Airmail Flight? uary 16, 1933, in 14 hours and 27 minutes. It then went on to Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. Steve Swain The return flight, with the same “cargo,” plus some mail, left Natal in the early morning hours of May 15, 1933, but 500 miles from its In an effort to help the airline companies during the depression destination, one engine had to be shut down and Mermoz headed for years and promote airmail service, a significant nationwide public rela - Dakar, the nearest landing site. Duration of the crossing was 17 hours tions campaign was launched nearly 80 years ago. The brainchild of and 10 minutes. Back in Paris, the men were treated as heroes! Postmaster General James A. Farley, Air Mail Week, – celebrating 20 There exist some envelopes or cards, commemorating this flight years of airmail service in the U.S. - encouraged every U.S. citizen to with a special green label. (This is obviously a “souvenir,” as the mail send an airmail letter between May 15 and 21, 1938. The campaign had a rate should have been R2$500, not 700 Rs. The 250 Rs surcharge, intend - catchy slogan: “Receive Tomorrow’s Mail To-day!” ed as a tax, was not collected after these stamps were issued.) Each town across the nation was invited to create its own cachet, After these flights, the aircraft was extensively remodeled and a commemorative design or slogan to be printed on the envelopes. These renamed Couzinet 71, but was still called It began a run to cachets were available for use the entire week, but most covers were Arc-en-Ciel. South America on May 28, 1934, and in June started monthly crossings. mailed on Thursday, May 19, the day designated for the covers to be car - Couzinet emigrated to Brazil during World War II and died there, an ried on special one-day-only National Air Mail Week flights that linked apparent suicide, in 1956. the thousands of participating cities, towns and localities. I’m always searching for additions to my airmail week cover col - lection that have unique, intriguing cachets or markings. One such cover that caught my eye in an online dealer’s inventory is shown (Figure 1) Airpost Journal Advertising Rates with a cachet announcing “WORLD’S SHORTEST MAIL HOP – MAY Size B&W Rate Color Rate 18th, 1938 – FROM CLOVER FIELD TO LOS ANGELES.” This bold Quarter Page $40 $55 statement is echoed with “BY WAY OF WORLD’S SHORTEST AIRMAIL Half Page $65 $100 Full Page $110 $160

Two-page $220 $320 Page 1 $120 $170 Inside cover $120 $170 Outside Cover $140 $190 A Contract Rate discount is available for advertisers who have either appeared in 12 consecutive issues of the or who contract for at least a year. The Airpost Journal discount is 10 percent. Figure 1

PAGE 500 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 501 FLIGHT” applied below the cachet using a typewriter. Just how short According to MapQuest (Figure 3), the driving distance from was the flight? Santa Monica (Clover Field) to Los Angeles is 16.5 miles. The flying dis - The cover’s cachet notes that the flight it was commemorating tance – without the twists and turns of a highway - would more than originated at Clover Field, a 15-acre landing site named for World War I likely be somewhat less, possibly 13 miles, give or take. pilot Lt. Greayer "Grubby" Clover. Today, Clover field is the Santa Moni - Either would be a very short air route. Whether or not that sup - ca airport. In 1922, the Douglas Aircraft Company moved to an aban - ports a declaration of the “world’s shortest airmail flight” would require doned movie studio in Santa Monica and began making military planes. additional research. I think it is fair to say that this cover’s cachet and the At nearby Clover Field, Douglas tested their aircraft. additional marking were inspired by the excitement and hyperbole sur - rounding the national airmail event, but intriguing nonetheless. I am very pleased to include this cover in my 1938 airmail week celebration collection. Want to buy, trade or sell? Take advantage of the classifieds ads fea - tured monthly in the APJ

Figure 2 That’s why the image of the Douglas-built Mainliner airplane is part of the cover’s cachet. The Mainliner (Figure 2) was being promoted in the initial years of its availability as the state-of-the-art equipment for both business and personal travel. A 1937 United ad boasted, "Mainliner Sleeper service -- a new standard of luxurious night travel. Dinner in New York -- breakfast in California."

For more than half a century . . . Since 1939, first day cover hobbyists have been building collections with Artcraft covers, the world’s most honored cachet. It’s no wonder as every Artcraft cachet is a distinc - tively designed work of art that is engraved by master crafts - men on quality envelopes. Artcraft Engravings are available r o n for all U.S. and U.N. new issues; they are sold at stamp e f o it ti es shops throughout the country or can be ordered direct. r a ic W rm pr fo d in n THE WASHINGTON PRESS a Figure 3 Publishers FLORHAM PARK, NJ 07932

PAGE 502 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 503 ing. A late use in 1942 is recorded. However, the author still seeks infor - mation about the marking that might lead to a definitive reason for its use. Airmail Elsewhere in Print John Roe reviews the pioneering trans-Atlantic airship flights before 1940 in the October . His focus is on Zep - Gibbons Stamp Monthly Alan Warren pelin mail between Paraguay and Europe from 1928 to 1937. In the same issue Steve Pendleton tells the story of the British post office on Canton [Copies of the complete articles can usually be obtained from the American Island in the Pacific Ocean. Pan Am began to construct a supply base and Philatelic Research Library in Bellefonte, Pa.] hotel in 1939. Following several proving flights, the first mail flight took Stephen Suffet begins a series on late usages of the Prexies in place July 15, 1940. September’s Late, in this case, refers to Prexies United States Specialist. Knut Arveng offers an overview of ’s flights that were still on sale at some post offices even as the Liberty series with and without mail in issue 3/2015 of the Norwegian journal INFO, began to appear. He shows a 1959 airmail letter sent from Texas to Pit - published by the Oslo Filatelistklubb. cairn Island that went by air to New Zealand and then by steamship to Ken Lawrence discusses World War II airmail from the United its destination. The cover bears a pair of 25¢ Prexies to pay the double States to Turkey in the October . His focus is on the United States Specialist half-ounce rate. It left Texas July 27 and arrived at Pitcairn August 13. south Atlantic route and information recently found in Walter Kurth continues his study of – LZ 130 The Official For - Graf Zeppelin II published monthly for business mailers. with Part 2 in the September He shows examples eign Air Mail Guide German Postal Specialist. Lawrence examines mail that was in transit that fateful day of from some of the 1938 and 1939 flights concluding with the last flight, December 7, 1941, in the October 19 issue of . One Linn’s Stamp News August 20, 1939, from Essen to Müllheim. Part 3 in the October issue lists example is a letter sent from New York to Tehran early in December. It flights that were proposed for 1939 and shows some mail prepared for was intended to go trans-Pacific but was censored and returned from these flights, along with other memorabilia. Honolulu to the U.S. where it was rerouted trans-Atlantic, arriving in Pradip Jain describes the routes between Cairo, India and Aus - Iran in April 1942. A two-ocean letter addressed to England left Singa - tralia during the period 1918-1929 in the September London Philatelist. pore November 20, 1941. It entered the U.S. at San Francisco and was Topics covered include the RAF Cairo to Delhi survey flight in 1918, the flown from New York to and then on to Surrey to India first through-flight 1918-1919, Mesopotamian Another two-ocean cover left Honolulu December 2 and went Expeditionary Force (January, February and March 1919), the England- the same way through San Francisco, New York and Lisbon to London to-Australia air race 1919-1920 and the establishment of routes 1921-1929. from where it was flown to Stockholm, Sweden. A registered airmail let - Part 2 of Ken Lawrence’s series on U.S. mail across the Atlantic ter to Massachusetts left China November 16. It went by air via Burma to by land-based aircraft 1942-1946 appeared in the September 21 issue of Durban, South Africa, where it was placed aboard a ship to New York, . He reviews the Cannonball Express, the Fireball Linn’s Stamp News arriving in Boston February 20, 1942. Lawrence identifies some of the Express and the reopening of North Atlantic air transport service. In 1946 Clipper aircraft and flights used. Miami stopped serving airmail to Africa and Asia, and with the restora - John Lewington presents a profile of pioneer Canadian airmail tion of fully commercial foreign airmail service, New York became the pilot Edward Cherry Burton in the September issue of The Canadian focus for trans-Atlantic operations. In September 1918, Burton conducted a successful demon - In the July-September Chris Hargreaves continues Aerophilatelist. BNA Topics, stration mail flight from Toronto to in a Curtiss JN4. He flew his reporting on the mysterious “boxed D.w.” markings found on airmail eastern mail routes and in 1931 took part in a record five-day mail ser - covers that seem to be associated with Winnipeg. He now has 43 covers vice from London to Montreal. Burton was the first to safely escape by with this marking that seems to escape a logical answer. Recent evidence parachute in Canada when he encountered fog and ran out of fuel in does not seem to support that weather has anything to do with the mark - December 1931.

PAGE 504 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 505 PAGE 506 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 507 Effective interception and examination of airmails at The ‘LATI Substitute’ Service of did not come to fruition until September/October 1940, so for the first year of the war in Europe, Axis mail was passing through with only a Pan American Airways limited chance of being intercepted. At the other important censor sta - Part 4: The Politics tion for European mail destined for South America, Trinidad, transit mail was not subject to examination until August 16, 1940. At this point, John Wilson the censorship “ring” should have been fairly complete. The LATI opera - From a detailed reading of Reference [1], it is evident that prepa - tions constituted a major breach in the “ring” and made British efforts at rations for the imposition of British censorship (more correctly described interception of airmails to South America seem almost futile. The Ger - as “interception” when applied to mail) was ready to use for a consider - man espionage controllers must have been delighted and the British gov - able time before being formally introduced at 4 p.m. August 31, 1939. ernment dismayed. Postal censorship (interception) started on September 1, 1939, in The situation is summarized from the British standpoint in an the King Edward building of the British General Post Office in London. extract from a report held at the United Kingdom National Archive [2]: Overseas censor stations in countries allied to or controlled by the British were also brought into operation on or shortly after September 1, 1939, During the two years preceding Pearl Harbor the most severe with the intention of constructing a censorship “ring” through which thorn in the side of Censorship in the Western Area was the LATI air Axis messages had to pass and could be examined. It was difficult to service, carrying mails as well as goods and passengers between Axis ensure this “ring” was complete because at this time there was a large Europe and South America, without possibility of interception at any gap in the relating to mail carried by air from Axis British control point. To quote a United States newspaper Europe to North and South America. (Newsweek, March 23, 1942) “Three months after the war began, a As stated in [1], trans-Atlantic traffic into and out of Europe in Rome to Rio de Janeiro air service was established by LATI (Linea 1939 was intercepted in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar. With the Aerea Transatlantica Italiana). Passage on the tri-motored Savoia entry of Italy to the Axis and the disruption to Mediterranean traffic, the Marchetti planes cost $2000, but paying customers are few. Most of main body of the Gibraltar censor station was withdrawn in June 1940 the seats were filled by Axis agents. The holds on westbound trips “and the whole subject of trans-Atlantic communications was considered were crammed with propaganda, films, chemicals and cameras, on the anew.” [1 para. 1225] Paragraph 1226 goes on to say: eastbound with mica, tungsten and other valuables. LATI was unhampered by British Contraband Control.” The United States still remained neutral and the problem was to (Note: The writer of this memorandum incorrectly identified the “T” in arrange for the interception and examination of Trans-Atlantic mails “LATI.” The correct word was “Transcontinentali.”) at some point between Europe and North and South America. [1 para. 1228] details what happened: Despite representations by the British government to the govern - ment of the United States, there was a great reluctance on the part of the The first airmail removed for censorship at Bermuda was from an east - U.S. to take any action or offer any assistance to the British over the bound Clipper on 18th January 1940. The removal of this and subse - activities of LATI during 1940. The dislike of anything that involved quent mails from the Pan American Clippers, although revealing an “censorship” had already been demonstrated by the “Bermuda incident” extensive traffic with enemy countries in cash, securities, precious with the mail-carrying Clipper service, but as more and more evidence stones, industrial diamonds etc., caused some protests in the Press of was presented, not only of uncensored cargo but of actual reports that the United States and a written protest was made by the Bermuda the LATI operation was actively spying on shipping movements in the office of Pan American Airways . . . negotiations supported by the South Atlantic and informing German U-boat crews of locations, the knowledge that for the type of aircraft used, the Bermuda call was an United States began to take a more serious view. A letter from the British operational necessity during the greater part of the year, secured an Admiralty to Washington reads: agreement for calls by all flights.

PAGE 508 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 509 When enemy began devoting part of their submarine effort to LATI attacking our Freetown and Middle East convoys, LATI became a (a) A method for subsidizing a United States - Rio - Lisbon service serious menace particularly to our slow convoys. They are not only should be developed through the CAB and Post Office. known to have sent reports of details of our convoys to Rome via (b) Pan American’s consent to operate this service with a reasonable Seville, but it can not be doubted that all shipping intelligence picked subsidy should be obtained. The world turned upside down for the United States with the up by LATI planes is passed to U-boats and enemy aircraft by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. It is hard to deter - quickest route available . . . You should therefore create an early mine whether or not this had an effect on the timing of ending the LATI opportunity to represent informally to U.S. Naval Staff the sinister service, but by December 16, 1941, all fuel supplies to LATI aircraft had part played by LATI in the battle of the Atlantic and our common [3] been stopped and the flights ceased three days later. That this was a sud - interest in its early suppression. The American government was balancing conflicting require - den move is noted by Beith [4]: ments in their consideration of the LATI problem. They did not want to Owing to the abrupt nature of the end of the service, covers can be affect relationships with South American countries, particularly Brazil, found which were posted in Europe and in South America, only to be but were prepared to help the British war effort by supplying munitions returned to sender marked ‘Service Suspended’ in the appropriate and hardware via the South Atlantic. There was growing pressure from (See cover illustrated in Part 3 of this series.) language. anti-intervention groups in the United States, notably the “America First Committee.” South American countries that had enjoyed excellent air - Anti-Intervention Politics mail connections with Europe through the 1930s with German and During 1941 the position of President Roosevelt in support of French service, and now with Italian LATI, did not want cessation or Britain was not helped by the activities of the “America First” members interruption of this link. Brazil and Argentina were also strongly against any form of British mail interception Any agreement to stop the LATI service was incumbent upon “someone” providing an equivalent service. Sensibly, that could only be provided by Pan American Airways since they were the only company possessing aircraft capable of replacing the Italian LATI system. By the beginning of 1941, active consideration was being given to the provision of a “LATI substitute” service by Pan American Airways . . . first mooted [1 para. 246]. The relationship with Brazil is also men - in January 1941 tioned in the same paragraph . . . the US Government was reluctant to press the Brazilians harshly . . . in view of the key position which Brazil had assumed in the U.S. policy of consolidating an anti-Axis Latin-American bloc.” By August 1941 a measure of agreement had been reached. Pan American Airways was prepared to offer a “LATI substitute” service by flying the existing LATI South Atlantic route. The route passed through Lisbon-West Africa-Natal (Brazil) and could therefore pick up or unload South American mail that had been carried by LATI. However, the main point of the exercise, that of mail interception, was still not resolved at this stage. A 20-page U.S. State Department report titled, “Analysis of possible methods of eliminating Axis influence in Brazilian aviation,” dated August 1941, concluded:

PAGE 510 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 511 who were fiercely opposed to any United States involvement in “Foreign Wars.” Juan Trippe, president of Pan American Airways, must have been particularly disappointed in the activities of Charles Lindbergh, who was closely involved in the development of Pan American services to the News of the Shows Caribbean and South America, but who now became a vociferous anti- involvement campaigner. How vociferous was demonstrated in a speech National Topical Stamp Show 2015 Lindbergh made in Des Moines, Iowa, in which he said, among similar July 31 - August 2, 2015 Clackamas, Oregon passages: Gold Ray E. Cartier In selecting these three groups as the major agitators for war, I How We Got Men to the Moon have included only those whose support is essential to the war party. Also: APS Excellence 1940-1980, ATA Space Unit Award If any one of these groups -- the British, the Jewish, or the Adminis - tration stops agitating for war, I believe there will be little danger of our involvement. A telling photograph [5] of Lindbergh addressing an “America Omaha Stamp Show 2015 First” rally in New York on May 23, 1941, perhaps demonstrates some of September 12-13, 2015 Omaha, Nebraska the more dubious elements of the movement. Although it could be said Vermeil Michael Ley that Lindbergh, on the right, was acknowledging the audience, there can Uruguay – Pegasus Stamps of 1929-1945 Also: AAPE Award of Honor be little doubt about the full-blown Nazi salute being given by someone in the lower left corner of the picture. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor changed everything, Single Frame Gold Kathryn Johnson including the “America First” movement. On December 11, 1941, the Ceylon Airgraph Stationery Forms committee voted for dissolution and the organization disbanded. Single Frame Silver Bronze Bob Baltzell Kansas City’s Remarkable Airmail History 1921-1934 References Also: AAPE Novice Award [1] H.B.M’s Home Office. History of the Postal and Telegraph Cen - . (Public Records Office Ref - sorship Department 1938-1946 Vol.1 and Vol. 2 erence DEFE 1/333). [2] “San Juan, Policy and Staff.” File DEFE 1/197 held at the U.K. SESCAL 2015 National Archive, Kew, London. October 2-4, 2015 Los Angeles, California [3] “Suppression of LATI.” File CAB 122/139 held at the U.K. Gold Allen Klein Macon National Archive, Kew, London. Salute to USS Also: Military Postal History Award [4] Beith, Richard, The Italian South Atlantic Air Mail Service 1939- Stephen Tucker , (Chester, Richard Beith Associates, 1993) Pan American’s Pacific Clippers 1935-1942 1941 [5] United Press photograph NXP 1550542. Original in private collection, John Wilson. Single Frame Reserve Grand Award and Gold Dickson Preston Hindenburg Graf Zeppelin Processing and Passenger Mail 1928-1937 Have a question, concern or comment? Volunteer! It’s good for everybody. Write a Letter to the Editor!

PAGE 512 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 513 Canadian Air Mail Notes

Chris Hargreaves

Figure 2 Winnipeg to Edmonton, December 10, 1928

Figure 1 Winnipeg to Calgary, December 10, 1928

The Perplexing Experimental Prairie

ATihrims searviilc eS opeerravteidc feor ian th rDee-ewceeekm perbioed rfr o1m9 M28onday, Figure 3 Map showing first three sectiomns of service. December 10, to Saturday, December 29, 1928, between Winnipeg, Regi - • a flight from Calgary that left at 7:00 a.m. MT and arrived in Regina na and Calgary (Figure 1); and between Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon at 11:45 a.m. MT, and and Edmonton (Figure 2). The service was originally planned to operate • a flight that left Edmonton at 7.00 a.m. MT, and arrived in Regina at each day except Sunday, but flights were added on Sunday, December 23 11:30 a.m. MT because of an increase in mail in the days before Christmas. [1] After mail was exchanged in Regina: The service was contracted to Western Canada Airways, which • the aircraft from Calgary left immediately to return to Calgary, operated it in three sections (Figure 3): arriving there at 4:15 p.m. MT • a westbound aircraft left Winnipeg at 9:15 a.m. Central Time (CT) • the Edmonton aircraft also left Regina immediately and arrived back and arrived in Regina at 11:15 a.m. Mountain Time (MT) (12:15 p.m. CT). in Edmonton at 5:15 p.m. MT (Figure 4) The Winnipeg plane then left Regina at noon MT and arrived in In Regina this aircraft met: Winnipeg at 4:15 p.m. CT [2]

PAGE 514 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 515 Figure 4 Fokker Super Universal, G-CASK, poses for a newsreel camera before leaving Winnipeg on the inaugural flight to Regina.

Figure 6 Winnipeg to Saskatoon to England, December 13, 1928

Figure 5 Edmonton to Winnipeg, December 18, 1928 This service was intended to not only speed up mail between the major Prairie cities, but also to connect with trains to the west and east coasts, thereby speeding up mail across the country. Airmail from Win - nipeg to Vancouver, for example, would be transferred in Calgary to a train that had left Winnipeg the day before. A Post Office announcement read: “Considerable saving of time is effected, 20 hours on East-bound to Montreal, and 24 hours West-bound Montreal to Vancouver.” Figure 7 Airmail had to be franked at the rate of 5 cents for the first ½ Edmonton to Winnipeg to England, December 13, 1928

PAGE 516 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 517 ounce / 10 cents per additional ounce. The rate was introduced on Octo - ber 1, 1928, for airmail to addresses in Canada and the U.S.A. (The stepped-up rate for mail over one ounce was to discourage the sending of small parcels by airmail, since the aircraft had a limited capacity. Mail was still flown at the regular postage rates to isolated communities, such as on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence.) [3] Most flight covers are franked with Canada’s first airmail stamp, issued on September 21, 1928 (e.g. Figure 1.) However, one could use regular stamps to pay the airmail rate, (e.g. Figure 2), but airmail stamps were not to be used on ordinary mail. Although the basic airmail rate was 5 cents, covers are regularly found franked at 7 cents (e.g. Figure 5.) The inclusive airmail rate was still a new innovation and it seems many people thought they still had to pay the 5 cent airmail fee in addition to the regular 2 cents postage. There was further confusion about the rate for covers to Eng - land. Although this was also 5 cents for the first ounce, the rates for air - mail covers continuing to overseas destinations were not publicized by Figure 9 the post office. [4] Winnipeg to Calgary to North Dakota, December 10, 1928 At this time the regular rate for letters within Canada was 2 cents and to England was 3 cents. Some people thought the air mail rate to England would also be 1 cent higher and franked their covers with 6 cents (e.g. Figure 6.) Others thought the airmail rate was a surcharge, and franked their covers with 8 cents (e.g. Figure 7.) To add to the confusion, the airmail rate to places elsewhere in

Figure 8 Figure 10 Edmonton to Winnipeg to France, December 11, 1928 Winnipeg to Regina December 17, 1928

PAGE 518 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 519 Another feature of the experimental service was that a different colored cachet was used each week and in each direction. However, this variety of colors was not mentioned in the post office announcement about the cachets! As a result, covers flown after the first day are much less common than those flown on December 10. • In the first week, westbound cachets were red, (e.g. figures 1, 2, 6 and 9), and eastbound cachets were purple, (e.g. figures 7 and 8). How - ever, these colors look very similar on most covers today. • In Week 2, westbound cachets were blue (Figure 10) and eastbound cachets were black (Figure 5). • In Week 3 the westbound cachets were green (Figure 11) and the eastbound cachets were red (Figure 12). BUT, FIGURES 11 AND 12 WEREN’T FLOWN! The experimental flights were made during December and bad weather and/or mechanical failures often caused problems. Gord Mallett Figure 11 has done extensive research on these flights and discovered the flight Regina to Edmonton, December 29, 1928 reports for December 10 - 29 in the Western Canada Airways / Canadian Airways Collection in the Manitoba Provincial Archives. These reports established that during the three-week period, only 90 of the 152 “legs” of the service were completed on schedule. [5] This created a dilemma for the post office: It had stated that a commemorative cachet would be applied to covers when the fee for air mail service was paid but the priority of the post office was to deliver mail as quickly as possible. The result was that a cachet was always applied to covers franked for the airmail service, but covers were still sent by the fastest available route. If there was a problem with the airmail service, a post office did not hold covers for the next flight: the covers were sent on by rail. Gord produced a series of charts showing what happened to each scheduled flight. These charts were published in The Canadian . [5] Using these charts, the fate of each cover illustrated can Figure 12 Aerophilatelist Edmonton to Regina, December 29, 1928 be established: Europe was still a surcharge! The cover to France shown as Figure 8 was • December 10: figures 1 and 9 (Winnipeg to Calgary) and Figure 2 correctly franked 8 cents surface mail to Europe + 5 cents air mail + 10 (Winnipeg to Edmonton) were flown on schedule. cents registration! • December 11: Figure 8 (Edmonton to Winnipeg) flown on schedule. Some covers were deliberately overfranked. Figure 9, for exam - • December 13: Figure 6 (Winnipeg to Saskatoon) no flight from Win - ple, is franked 34 cents! However, such philatelically overfranked covers nipeg; the mail was sent by train. Figure 7 (Edmonton to Winnipeg) the were very unusual in 1928 and are found much less frequently than they aircraft had to land for repairs between Edmonton and Saskatoon. The are for later first flights. mail arrived late in Regina and was sent on to Winnipeg by train.

PAGE 520 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 521 • December 17: Figure 10 (Winnipeg to Regina) flown on schedule. • December 18: Figure 8 (Edmonton to Winnipeg) flown on schedule to Regina, but there was no flight from Winnipeg. The mail was sent from Regina to Winnipeg by train. • December 29: Figure 11 (Regina to Edmonton), and Figure 12 (Edmonton to Regina) not flown. According to the , the flight on December 13 Winnipeg Free Press was impossible because of fog and the December 19 flight was canceled because of snow and low clouds. On December 29, the temperature in Edmonton was 8 Fahrenheit (- 13 Centigrade) with snow forecast. [6] After the experimental airmail service finished, the post office decided to establish a permanent airmail service from Winnipeg via Regina and Moose Jaw to Calgary; and from Winnipeg via Regina, Saskatoon and North Battleford to Edmonton. It was planned to inaugu - rate this permanent service in September 1929, but the start was delayed due to problems installing lighting and in establishing intermediate land - ing fields. The permanent service began on March 3, 1930, at which time it also included a stop at Medicine Hat, between Regina and Calgary.

Acknowledgements I want to thank Gord Mallett and Dick McIntosh, with whom I have had many enjoyable discussions, and much correspondence, about these and other covers.

References [1] Section 5 revised. - A copy of Air Mails of Canada and Newfoundland, the revised section is being circulated for peer review: for more informa - tion contact Dick McIntosh at [email protected] [2] t by Ken Molson Pioneering in Canadian Air Transpor [3] The North Shore air mail service was described in my columns in the December 2014 and March 2015 issues of the Airpost Journal. [4] by George Arfken and Walter Air Mails of Canada: 1925 - 1939 Plomish, page 52. [5] “Experimental Air Mail Flights In The Prairie Provinces” by Gord Mallett, June 2005. This issue, #63, can be The Canadian Aerophilatelist, viewed online at www.aerophilately.ca -Gord has also produced a DVD of his research and exhibit about the Experimental Prairie Air Mail: for more information contact Gord at [email protected] [6] Back issues of the can be viewed at www.newspa - Winnipeg Free Press perarchive.com

PAGE 522 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 523 American American Air Mail Society Membership and Subscriptions Air Mail Society Annual membership dues for new members, which includes a subscrip - tion to the is $30 domestic, $40 Canada, $50 Mexico and Dedicated to the research, study, documentation and Airpost Journal $60 worldwide. preservation of aerophilately worldwide through education, study, research and services. All foreign dues include first-class airmail shipment. Organized in 1923, Incorporated in 1944 as a non-profit corporation of Publication Monthly Official Publication: the state of Ohio Airpost Journal Vickie Canfield Peters, 11911 E. Connor Road, IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization APS affiliate #77 Editor and Advertising: Valleyford WA 99036 ([email protected]) Jim Graue, 11911 East Connor Road, Valleyford WA 99036 PRESIDENT: ([email protected]) Publications Committee David E. Crotty, Ph.D., PO Box 16115, Ludlow KY Jim Graue, 11911 East Connor Road, Valleyford WA 99036 VICE PRESIDENT: Chairman: 41016-0115 ([email protected] ) ([email protected]) Dr. Robert Dille, 335 Merkle Drive, Norman OK 73069- SECRETARY: 6429 ([email protected]) Member Services Don Lussky, 1332 N. Webster St., Naperville IL 60563 Stephen Reinhard, P.O. Box 110, Mineola NY 11501 Auction Manager: TREASURER: ([email protected]) Greg Schmidt, 1978 Fox Burrow Court, Publications Sales Manager: Mark Banchik, P.O. Box 2125, Great Neenah WI 54956 ([email protected]) IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT: Neck NY 11022 ([email protected]) J.L. Johnson, Jr., 248 Shore Ave., Eastern Merchandise Sales Manager: Point, Groton CT 06340 ([email protected]) DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Kent Kobersteen Steve Tucker David Ball Pat Walters Len Lukens. 4601 South Pacific Highway, #2, Phoenix OR Historian: 97535 ADVISORY EXECUTIVE BOARD (Past Presidents): Cheryl Ganz Jonathan L. Johnson, Jr. Stephen Reinhard Judi Washington, 7 First St., Westfield NY 14787 A.D. Jones Kendall C. Sanford Allen Klein Membership Secretary: Derrick Pillage Greg Schmidt Mark Banchik ([email protected]) Samuel J. Pezzillo Andrew McFarlane David Crotty ([email protected]) Webmaster: LEGAL COUNSEL: Robert J. Horn, Jackson Lewis LLP, 10701 Parkridge Blvd., Suite Ken Sanford, 613 Championship Drive, Oxford Convention Coordinator: 300, Reston VA 20191 ([email protected]) CT 06478-3128 ([email protected]) Application for Membership Applicant to provide two references, philatelic preferred. Advance Bulletin Service Applicants under the age of 18 must be guaranteed by parent or guardian. Bulletins for future first flights and airport dedications can be sent to Membership may be terminated in accordance with AAMS Bylaws. members providing their names and email addresses to Alan Lieberman at [email protected]. Write to the treasurer for membership application (address above). PAGE 524 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 525 AAMS Membership Report October 2015 Submitted by Judith Washington, Membership Secretary

Reinstatement 10145 David Y. Lu

Lapsed 10578 Ronald Seilheimer 11715 Carney J. Campon 12054 Mark W. Hurst

— Summary — Total Membership — September 2015 ...... 886 Reinstatements ...... 1 Lapsed ...... - 3 Total Membership — October 2015 ...... 884

Key to Abbreviations Used to Designate

AM - AirpostS stpamecpsi,a mlintties ofG NL -e Gwlid eMr Feligmhtbs ers AU - Airpost stamps, used RP - Rocket Posts AS - Semi-official stamps NAW - National Air Mail Week SC - SCADTA CC - Crash Covers JF - Jet Flights OF - Transocean Flights HF - Helicopter Flights DC - Dedication Covers PC - Pioneer Covers Z - Zeppelin covers HC - Historical Flight Covers CF - Canadian Flight covers SF - Supersonic Flights 1D - First Flight Covers PA - Pilot Autographs PIX - Photos and assoc. materials PB - Paris Balloon posts ASTRO - Astrophilately EL Etiquettes and Labels BC - Balloon Covers (not from Paris) APS - Aeropostal Stationery CL Lindberghiana FF - Foreign Flights AE - Amelia Earhart GF - Governmental Flights AL - Aerophilatelic Literature FAM - FAM covers FFUS - First flights by U.S. airlines CAM - CAM covers X - Interested in exchange

PAGE 526 AIRPOST JOURNAL DECEMBER 2015 PAGE 527 American Air Mail Catalogue, AAMS EXCHANGE DEPARTMENT 7th Edition, Volume One, now available! APJ ADS BUY — SELL — WANT LIST

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