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AAIIRRPPOOSSTT JJOOUURRNNAALL

The Official Publication of the American Air Society

January 2014 Volume 85, No. 1 Whole No. 1003

January’s featured article — The Founding of Western Air Express Part 1 & Ask for our Free Price List of Worldwide Flight covers and stamps. The following is a small sampling – full list on Website!

United States 1928 US C11 on commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the First Flight made by the Wright brothers. VF. Signed by Orville Wright ...... $700.00 1934 (Jun 27) Trans Atlantic Flight NY – Warsaw with mixed frank - ing of US and Poland. Signed by amateur pilots, Ben and Joe Adamowiscz. Sold with magazine photo of plane...... $125.00 Bahamas 1919 (Jan 29) First flight Nassau to Miami. Return address is Royal Bank of Canada. Violet two-line cancel "Air Service Nassau to Miami", backstamped Miami. Rare item in good condition! ...... $500.00 Colombia 1927 Colombia / European sized blue airmail cover with dual franking. Sent registered from Hamburg, Germany with 70pf metered postage to Colombia. Two SCADTA stamps added, 20c and 60c with machine "A". The 20c has red "R" overprint added as well. Stamps were canceled in transit and tied by "Servicio de trans - portes Aereos, Barranquilla, 28.11.1927" ...... $400.00 Germany 1933 (Aug 25) Balloon Post Card from Hamburg Air Show for Ger - man Airmail. 30pf red Balloon label. There is a small plate error on "D" in the red overprint ...... $900.00 1933 (June) Balbo North Atlantic Flight cover with C49 sent from Orbetello, Italy to New York with 'Forwarded' auxiliary marking. Reg - istered cover with appropriate transit and receiver markings on reverse. Airmail label overlaps the left margin of triptych and there is one folded perf at top. Neatly slit open at bottom with some general wear and toning. Wonderful item! ...... $2,500.00 Henry Gitner Philatelists, Inc. PO Box 3077T, Middletown NY 10940 Email: [email protected] — http://www.hgitner.com

JANUARY 2014 PAGE 1 In This Issue of the Airpost Journal Letters to — ARTICLES — The Founding of Western Air Express, Part 1 ...... 10 the Editor Bob Dille San Lorenzo, A Complex Crossroad ...... 24 Edgardo Alegr ía Reichmann — NEWS — What About Brazil? Obituary: John C.W. Field ...... 39 Another fine journal. Aerophilatelic Programs Available on CD ...... 21 Chris Hargreaves asked for comments "via the editor." In his News of the Shows ...... 40 table (December 2013 , pp. 515-516) he fails to list Brazil. Airpost Journal Surely there was mail service to the largest of the 13 countries in South — COLUMNS and FEATURES — America! Airmail Elsewhere in Print ...... 15 I am also curious as to why the rates to Argentina, Chile, Guest Editorial by John Wilson ...... 4 Paraguay, and Uruguay are so much higher. Is it simply because they are Letters to the Editor ...... 3 further south? President’s Message ...... 6 Bill Kriebel — DEPARTMENTS – APJ Ads ...... 44 That’s What It’s All About Index to the Airpost Journal, Volume 84, Calendar Year 2013 ...... 17 What a pleasure to read the letter from Karl Winkelmann Membership Report ...... 41 (December 2013 ) giving the explanation and location of the “Service APJ Suspended” endorsement on my cover from Argentina to Lebanon fea - tured in the November issue. This shows clearly what a great privilege it is to be a member of such a fine organization.

Have a Question or Concern? Write a Letter to the Editor! Editor and Advertising Vickie Canfield Peters 11911 E Connor Road Valleyford WA 99036 vcanfi[email protected] Staff Writers and Columnists Joe Kirker Alan Warren Chris Hargreaves Bob Wilcsek Lee Downer Copyright 2014 The American Air Mail Society . The Airpost Journal (ISSN 0739-0939) is pub - lished monthly by the American Air Mail Society, Box 110, Mineola, NY 11501. Periodical postage paid at Spokane WA 99201 and additional post offices. : Send address changes to American Air Mail Society, P.O. Box 5367, Virginia Beach VA 23471-0367. Subscription Rate $30 per year; $5 per copy. Opinions expressed in features and columns in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the society.

PAGE 2 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 3 and foreign that passed from, to or through British and Com - monwealth countries. This was the first accurate primary source of infor - mation about wartime flights to surface and I was soon answering ques - tions from collectors all over the world. Guest On my (first) retirement 10 years later in 1993 I decided that the report should be made freely available to collectors (The Philosophy) and after some negotiation with Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO) I Editorial was granted permission to publish the report contents, but only if I re- typed the entire 600 pages. This I did, and through a UK publisher, The free exchange of information is what it is all about, and the Chavril Press, began to distribute copies on a “not-for-profit” basis. Some depth of knowledge within the AAMS is amazing. Thank you, Karl, for time after this, towards the end of the 1990s, clandestine reproductions of the explanation, and thank you, Vickie, for producing such an interesting the actual report itself began to appear; these have been attributed to the and informative journal. late John Daynes. I do not know if formal permission to reproduce the John Wilson actual pages was sought, nor do I know how, when and where the origi - nals were obtained – certainly not from me. By this time, demand for information was still growing, and in line with my belief that research information should be made as freely available as possible, I placed my entire transcription of the report as a free-to-download resource on the website of the West Africa Study Cir - cle, and there it is still, under the title of “The Wartime Collector's Answer to a Thousand Questions.” The title does reflect the truth; the information in the report is an amazing resource and it is yours for the asking. The importance of the CAA report lies in its validity. The text was typed year by year, possibly month by month, by people who did not need to guess, surmise or express personal opinions. They were sim - ply recording the facts as presented to them and this is what makes the report a primary source. Note the term “primary.” The term is some - times difficult to define but should be in the front of one’s mind when The Civil Aviation Authority Wartime Report: The Whole Story and a Philosophy For more than half a century . . . Since 1939, first day cover hobbyists have been building John Wilson collections with Artcraft covers, the world’s most honored cachet. It’s no wonder as every Artcraft cachet is a distinc - In 1983 I was researching the wartime records of a particular tively designed work of art that is engraved by master crafts - PBY flying boat (NC-777 GUBA) when I discovered a bulky file buried in men on quality . Artcraft Engravings are available r o n the depths of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) library. This “Report 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 on the Progress of Civil Aviation 1939-45” was a revelation. It was noth - W rm pr fo d in n ing less than a month-by-month analysis of every aspect of civil aviation THE WASHINGTON PRESS a activities, including detailed descriptions of all flights, both by British Publishers FLORHAM PARK, NJ 07932

PAGE 4 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 5 look beyond the cold numbers of membership rosters to analyze “why” these trends developed, understand them and seek solution alternatives. President’s Problem identification is always a prerequisite to problem solution. Jim Graue Message assessing the value of what one is studying. In the field of aerophilatelic On Saturday, November 23, 2013, the FIP Board, meeting publishing, there have been many texts taken as “primary” when in fact at Brasilia, approved Aerophilately 2014 to be a FIP Recognition they are nothing more than someone’s opinion, often based on hearsay Exhibition. International qualified exhibits, both five- and eight- and repeated half-truths. I need not name them here. They are well frame, will be judged at full FIP level. known. For any collector or researcher interested in wartime air services, The decline in participation in organized can be quickly recent discoveries in the Pan American Airways archive held in the traced to the evolution and development of the Digital Age we are now Richter Library at the University of Miami have ranked alongside the in. The internet has changed all the games completely. Look at communi - CAA Report as truly “primary” because these records were originated cations, social interaction, availability and purchase of goods and ser - by people who were simply recording the facts as presented, without vices, everything from scientific research to leisure reading. The acquisi - needing to express opinions. It is probably true to say that armed with tion of both collectibles and knowledge about them is readily done via the CAA report and the flight records of Pan American, a collector can internet. One need no longer seek involvement or interaction through answer many, if not all, the questions about routes and times relating to local clubs, bourses, exhibitions or national societies to be engaged and a wartime cover in his or her possession. Fortunately, there is no need for advance in our hobby. anyone to transcribe these details as I was forced to do, because the The challenge for organized philately is to provide advantages Richter Library generously agreed to make the actual documents avail - and services that cannot be accessed by means of the internet, and at the able as another free-to-download resource on the same web site as the same time explore ways that the internet can be utilized to our advan - CAA Report: www.wasc.org.uk tage as a society. I would be the first to admit that I am technologically You simply cannot beat original documentation. It is quite aston - deficient, but we have members who are experts in the field. Collectively, ishing how modern technology and electronic communication can make these members can meet the challenge, without a doubt. So, consider this these images freely available right on your computer screen without the a call for them to step forward, gather together and take up the task. need to go to a library or purchase a book. One of the things that would be extremely helpful is centralized The times, “they are a’changing” (as a great American singer information on our members’ specialties so that we know whom to turn told us). to when members come forward with questions about specific areas. Sharing our knowledge is one of the most rewarding aspects of our Challenges Ahead hobby. In the not too far distant future, I hope we can conduct a survey of the membership to gather information and ideas that can give us bet - Organized philately – the national general (APS) and specialty ter information and programs going forward. (e.g., AAMS) philatelic societies – has seen an broad decline in member - in recent years. This trend is a great concern to all of these societies Aerophilately 2014 and to all collectors engaged in our hobby. Some have a dark or even fatal view of the future of philately. It is more realistic and constructive Only nine months to go! So here is some very important news. to Dr. Peter McCann is responsible for any FIP-related issues as a Volunteer! member and team leader on the jury. A formal letter from the FIP Secretary General confirming every - It’s good for everybody.

PAGE 6 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 7 thing is en route. FIP Vice President Peter McCann reported that the FIP Board was very positive about Aerophilately 2014 as they see it as a good step in confirming relationships between FIP and its individual Member Fed - erations. They hope Aerophilately 2014 will serve as a model for future Call for Papers smaller national and regional exhibitions to request FIP Recognition for specialized shows. The Eighth Postal History Symposium September 12- 14, 2014 American Philatelic Center, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania Special Points of Essential Interest to Aerophilately 2014 Exhibitors Development of Exhibits Only exhibits of one (1), five (5) and eight (8) frames will be accepted. Transoceanic Airmail Service Exhibit Classes Class 1. Aerophilately Sponsored by American Philatelic Society, American Class 2. Philatelic Research Library and the Smithsonian National Class 3. Traditional, limited to issues only. Postal Museum Class 4. Airmail postal history Class 5. Thematic, limited to airmail, aviation or astro Held in conjunction with subjects. Class 6. Postal Stationery, limited to airmail postal sta - Aerophilately 2014 tionery only Class 7. One frame exhibits of the above classes Deadline for proposals: May 1, 2014 The symposium seeks papers that address trans- Exhibit Entries and FIP Recognition All exhibits qualified for an FIP exhibition will be awarded FIP- oceanic airmail development and services. recognized medals. Possible themes: Exhibits qualified for FIP recognition will be awarded APS- • Competition in the South Atlantic not recognized national level medals. • Developments in the North Atlantic Exhibit fees are very simple and reasonable: $50.00 Entry Fee • Crossing the Pacific plus $10.00 per frame. • World War II Effects on Transoceanic Service Single Frame = $60.00, Five Frames = $100.00, and Eight Frames = $130.00. No other exhibit sizes will be accepted. These fees apply to all exhibits, Proposals for symposium papers may be submitted either as individual papers or in panels. Proposals are limited to one page to be accompanied by a whether or not FIP qualified. one-page curriculum vita with contact information. The prospectus and official entry form for Aerophilately 2014 were being finalized in December for availability in January. Consult the Email proposals to [email protected] APS and AAMS websites for updated information. Deadline for receipt of entries is May 1, 2014. We see the FIP Recognition as a major advantage in view of the

PAGE 8 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 9 upcoming international philatelic exhibition at New York in 2016. There * * * is limited space at Bellefonte, so there will be no "open" (i.e., non-compet - itive) class. PIPEX 2014 AAMS Convention News Prospectus and Entry Forms Available on PIPEX Website Only four months until our 2014 AAMS Convention at PIPEX in Donations Needed It is the FIP Recognition that drives our need for donations, as there is an FIP Recognition fee of 5,000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Coupled with other expenses (e.g., jury) we will need $10,000, so that is the target for donation revenue. Please send donations to AAMS Treasurer Stephen Reinhard, Box 110, Mineola NY 11501. Donations should be made payable to AAMS with “Aero 2014” as the designated recipient in the memo space.

Aerophilately 2014 Jury FIP-Accredited Jury: Stephen Reinhard, (chairman), Dr. Peter McCann, Santiago Cruz (Colombia), Stephen Schumann, Mark Banchik and Charles Verge (Canada). Early logo, below, and booklet pane of labels for W. A. E.

Hotel Information Portland, Oregon on May 9-11. Go Exhibition Hotel: Best Western Plus University Park Inn & Suites to the PIPEX website, www.pipex - 115 Premiere Dr, State College PA 16801 org.com for prospectus, entry forms (814) 234-8393 and complete show information. I Rate: $72.00 (APS rate) hope to see all of you there! Book reservations do not use “Central Reservations.” Space is directly; limited and reservations should be made as soon as possible. The Founding of

Fokker-10 that carried mail and passengers for W. A. E. Douglas M-2

PAGE 10 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 11 Western Air Express Part 1 of 3

Bob Dille The fourth and last leg of the transcontinental route for airmail service by the U. S. Post Office Department was completed to San Francisco on Cover,” July 2013, p. 328, I reported on the Kelly Bill, passed Febru - APJ September 8, 1920. Because of ary 2, 1925, and the 's solicitation for bids due in July a far greater role in aviation, 1925 to perform contract airmail service. many in Los Angeles were bit - W. A. E. purchased a Douglas M-2 Mail Plane that had won a ter that their city had not been Post Office Department design competition. selected as the Western termi - When bids were opened November 7, as scheduled, only five nus. However, they took no had been approved and, of these, the proposal from W. A. E. to carry the effective action. mail from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City via Las Vegas had been ranked Las Vegas "visionary" fourth. They were awarded Contract Air Mail Route No. 4. They prompt - Harris "Pop" Hanshue ly arranged to buy five more M-2s. believed that carrying mail Service began April 17, 1926, with colorful ads, logos and labels was the most profitable activi - ty in aviation. He thought a route from Los Angeles through Las Vegas to Salt PIPEX 2014 May 9 - 11 Lake City, for connection to Red Lion Hotel on the River, Jantzen Beach, the transcontinental route, Fokker-32 in flight, above, and would be a great investment. Portland, OR cover signed by the Chief Pilot and car - He also believed that carrying AAMS Annual Convention ried from Kansas City to L. A., next passengers across the vast 40 booth philatelic dealer bourse page. southwest would further Seminars, lectures, and meetings increase earnings. A pair of Free admission Los Angeles investors, whose names have been lost to history, agreed. Free On-demand hotel shuttle from Portland Airport Thus was formed Western Air Express, W. A. E., with "Pop" Hanshue as the president. 750 free parking spaces In a previous article, “Rare 1926 Post Office Official Business See www.pipexorg.com for complete information PAGE 12 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 13 Now Available! Airmail Elsewhere in Print German North Atlantic Catapult Airmail Flights 1929 - 1935 Alan Warren to promote the service. Second Edition by James W. Graue In less than nine months, W. A. E. carried 70,250 pounds of mail, made a profit and became the first to pay stockholders a dividend (reportedly $72.60 a share). In 1927, they carried 40 percent of the nation's total airmail! Recognized Hanshue still believed that carrying passengers would add to the profits, so the company purchased 10-passenger trimotor Fokker-10s. world-wide The Fokkers were constructed primarily of wood, including the wing spars, and were lighter, faster and more stylish than the corrugated as metal planes from Ford and Junkers. Western Air Express carried 258 passengers in 1926. Maude Campbell and four men made up the first passenger manifest.There were the catalog reports of passengers sitting on pull-down seats over sacks of mail and wearing helmets, overalls, goggles and parachutes on some flights. for German On one famous flight, Chief Pilot Fred Kelly signaled the pilot of the passing return flight to land in the desert so his passengers could meet movie starlet Bebe Daniels who was on Kelly's plane. Both pilots North Atlantic arrived late to their final destinations due to "headwinds," but supervi - sors did not buy headwinds from both directions at one time and place. catapult The passenger service lost money which was covered from prof - its made from carrying the mail airmail The wealthy Guggenheim family also thought that a well- equipped passenger airline could make a profit, so they offered Hanshue 350 FULL COLOR pages, expanded from 238 with and W. A. E. five new Fokker -12 trimotors with Wasp engines to fly the major additions and revised valuations Los Angeles to San Francisco route without mail for a trial period. The experiment lost money but did score well on safety, on-time operation Dozens of illustrations and overall passenger satisfaction. $60 or € 45 plus shipping Still, with great fanfare, W. A. E. introduced the Fokker-32, the first four-engine and the largest transport of its time. The Shipping: USA $5; Canada $10; Other $25 aircraft interior was luxurious and the service deluxe. However, tickets were expensive, a depression was starting and there were some mechani - Order direct from Jim Graue, 11911 E. Connor Road, Val - cal problems. The order was cut to two. leyford WA 99036 or email [email protected]

PAGE 14 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 15 The W. A. E. routes had expanded to 4,765 miles that included Felix du Temple’s tractor monoplane (1874), Wilhelm Kress’ “Drachen - Dallas and Kansas City. The new Chief Pilot, Silas A. Morehouse, who flieger” (1901) and Clement Ader’s bat-like aeroplane (1890). These signed and carried the cover shown, was in Kansas City with "America's attempts at aviation as well as many others are all depicted on postage Largest Plane,” shown on previous page. stamps from around the world as seen in Hamilton’s article. "Pop" Hanshue had yet to learn that the Douglas DC-3 would be David J. Larson, Jr. recounts the story of the U.S. Navy flying the first plane to carry passengers at a profit. boat and its 1919 trans-Atlantic achievement in the November issue of the Towards the end of the USN released four USCS Log. — To Be Continued — NC (Navy-Curtiss) airplanes. newspaper offered a ’s Daily Mail (This is an occasional column bringing attention to articles about aerophilately prize to the first aviator to fly from any point in North America to any that appear in other journals. Copies of the complete articles can usually be point in Great Britain within 72 hours. obtained from the American Philatelic Research Library in Bellefonte, PA) NC-4 entered the competition and several were deployed in the Atlantic in support of the flight. Larson tells part of the story via Andrew Cheung furnishes the first part of a series on the devel - letters written by a seaman aboard the USS that was stationed Florida opment of domestic air mail service in Guatemala in the August issue of near Ponta Delgado, Azores. The NC-4 arrived at Horta, Azores on May He begins with pioneer flights in 1926-1927 fol - The Asia Pacific Exhibitor. 19, 1919, Lisbon, Portugal on May 27, and Plymouth, England May 31. lowed by the introduction of regular domestic air service in January Thus it did not win the prize. That honor fell to John Alcock and Arthur 1929. Cheung describes the contract with Compañia Nacional de Brown the following month when they flew non-stop from St. John’s, Aviación (CAN) and the first definitive air mail stamp of Guatemala that Newfoundland to Clifden, Ireland in a little over 16 hours. was issued in June 1930. First flight covers are shown from Guatemala Lewis Tauber shows several covers marking the July 1-2, 1929, City to Retalhuleu and to Flores. Moncton, New Brunswick, first maritime air pageant in the November 5 Ian Hamilton provides the second part of his series on “those issue of Part of the rate is paid with small Queens Canadian Stamp News. magnificent men and their almost flying machines” in the November issues, indicating they were collector inspired. However, there is an . Some of the efforts include John Stringfellow’s Gibbons Stamp Monthly additional 12-cent stamp on both covers, raising the question of why Henson aerial steam carriage (1841), Horatio Phillips’ multiple stacked these letters, sent to Massachusetts, were overpaid. wing flying machine (1902), Jean-Marie Le Bris’ albatross glider (1857), Michael Goodman, editor of , reports in the Decem - Stamp Lover ber issue a description of an airmail display presented by Peter Lister at a meeting of the National Philatelic Society in the U.K. There were attempts at carrying airmail in England and Scotland at two “air shows” The Airpost Journal is in 1910, preceding the better known Coronation airmail service of Sep - tember 1911. Other air events in 1912 and 1913 had mail associated with YOUR magazine. them, and mention is made of airmail during World War I. The display continued with items in the 1920s and , ending with the outbreak of We welcome letters to the editor, book the Second World War. In the same issue, Allan Boyce describes early airmail issues of reviews, announcements of Greece, with a focus on the 1926 set of four values known as the Patago - aerophilatelic events and articles nians. Greece’s early airmail service was under contract with the Italian firm Aero Espresso Italiana with passage between Italy, Greece and . . . lots of articles! Turkey. AEI was also responsible for issuing the airmail stamps of We have a byline waiting for you! Greece. A 1933 set of three values was used only on May 27 for a special flight. The last set issued by AEI consisted of seven stamps used

PAGE 16 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 17 October 1933 to August 1935. Airports The internal rate of 3.50 drachmas was introduced in 1934 but Central Airport, Camden, New Jersey 340 there was a shortage of the 50 lepta stamp. Bisecting of the 1 drachma Hadley Airport 205 was permitted but only five examples of the bisect on cover are known. The contract with AEI expired August 31, 1935. American Air Mail Society AAMS Convention at ARIPEX 2013 32, 116, 215, 249, 250 AAMS at WESTPEX 2013 249 Airpost Journal 2013 AAMS Elections 214, 386, 505 Argentina Argentine Airmail: The 'Brigada’ Marking on Patagonian INDEX Airmail 1929-1937 303 A Tale of Two Cities (Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires) 200 Volume 84 Aviation Calendar Year 2013 Aviation Born in Dayton; ‘Grew Up’ in Los Angeles 195 Whole Number 991 - 1002 Aviators Daring Ladies Take to the Air 210 Issue Dates and Page Numbers Robert Marstrand and Isthmian Airways 517 January 1 – 44 July 265 – 308 Ruth Nichols 210 February 45 – 88 August 309 – 352 March 89 – 131, 176 September 353 – 396 April 177 – 220* October 397 – 440 Awards AAMS Major Awards for 2013 253 May 177 – 220 November 441 – 484 AAMS Literature Awards for 2012 254 June 221 – 264 December 485 – 528 *Page numbering error in March and April resulted in April – May page number FISA Honors Jim Graue with Gold Medal 254 duplication Ken Sanford Receives CAS Award 255 Wisconsin Hall of Fame Honors Ganz 477

Aircraft Boeing B-29B Pacusan Cover a Nightmare? 241 Dreamboat Book Review Saga of Mail Plane No .249 63 Abstract of Pan Am Wartime Trip Summaries from 500 Richter Library in Miami 206 (Alan Warren column) 83, 202, 384, 472 Jusqu’a Handstamps and Other Route Indications Airmail Elsewhere in Print 461 The Italian South Atlantic Airline LATI Air Mail Field Motor Truck CHI & Air Mail Field Motor Truck: A Very Scarce 457 CAM Mexican Cover Traveled on CHI & Air Mail Field Motor Truck 497 From Cowboys to Biplanes: Inauguration of CAM Route 5 244 Treasure Hunting for CAM Covers (Lee Downer column) 297, 429, 468, Airpost Journal Index to Volume 83, Calendar Year 2012 38 (Chris Hargreaves column) Canadian Air Mail Notes PAGE 18 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 19 112, 236, 376, 508 November 29, 1931 192

(Bob Wilcsek column) 69, 125 China Pan Am Notes External Mail from Unoccupied China 1942-1945 318 Pan American Atlantic FAM-22: What Was It All About? 24 Combination Covers Another Combination Cover 301 One Thing Leads o Another 427 Pan American South Atlantic Timetables: Propaganda and Deception 75 Electronic Mail Transmission Electronic Transmission of Mail in the 184 The Manhattan Project and 288 Capetown Clipper The Significance of Wartime Timetables – or Not 72 (see also Pan Am Atlantic and Pan Am Pacific) FAM FAM-14 Final Crossing: China Clipper’s Last Pre-WWII Trans-Pacific Airmail 99 FAM-14: Singapore ‘Privates’ 228, 274 Pan American Pacific FAM-22: What Was It All About? 24 A Favorite Cover and Photo ( Hong Kong Clipper Ryukyu Flight Cover F14-55a 434 at Macao in 1937) 433 The End: A Final Look at FAM-22 68 Every Cover Tells a Story 459 Final Crossing: Last Pre-WWII China Clipper’s Trans-Pacific Airmail 99 Fieldpost Airmail Fieldpost to and from the Saint-Nazaire Festung 422 Hong Kong Extension Covers Before the FAM-14 Extension 125

Great Britain Peru Great Western Railway First Aerial Excursion 464 Peruvian Airmail to Europe 1931- 1941 359

Letters to the Editor Poland 3, 47, 91, 179, 179, 223, 267, 311, 355, 399, 443, 487 Development of Airmail Services in Poland 1929-1939 9, 53, 117

(aerophilatelic exhibits) 28, 256, 345, 475 News of the Shows Poster Stamps German Aviation Poster Stamps Flugsportserie 81 (Vickie Canfield Peters) 92, 272, 400 Note from the Editor CHI & Air Mail Field Motor Truck: A Very Scarce Postmark 457 Obituaries Arnold Engel 218 Murray Heifetz 34 Post Office Department Robert Outlaw 33 Rare 1926 Post Office Official Business Cover 328 Richard A. Silva 358 President’s Message 6, 49, 94, 182, 180, 224, 268, 316, 357, 401, 446, 492 Panama Inauguration of Panama’s Intra-Province Airmail Service,

PAGE 20 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 21 PAGE 22 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 23 207 Question Corner / Central South Atlantic and the ‘South Atlantic Experiment’ 404 Cap Arcona Rocket Mail Stamps Flown After 75 Years 185

Routes Pointing the Way 503 Stamps First Airplane Stamp on the First U.S. Airmail Flight 435 U.S. 1923 Airmail Issue 200 South America A Tale of Two Cities (Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires) 200 U.S. 1928 Beacon Airmail Issue 448 U.S. 1928-1929 Lindbergh Tribute Issues 332

(see: PAA Atlantic and PAA Pacific) Trans-Ocean Airmail

U.S. Government Flights 1918-1924 Airmail for Tobacco in 1918 30 Pointing the Way 503 Saga of Mail Plane No. 249 63 The One That Got Away 65

Zeppelin

Ford Tri-Motor initially used for FAM 5 and FAM 8 flights

Development of Airmail Services in Poland 1929-1939 9

FAM 5 and FAM 8 routes Aerophilatelic Programs Available on CD

PAGE 24 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 25 The American Air Mail Society now has seven different aerophi - Ken Sanford, 613 Championship Drive, Oxford CT 06478-3128 latelic programs available on CD-ROM. Each is a PowerPoint 2010 pre - Orders must be accompanied by a check made payable to Ken sentation showing covers and related material, along with spoken narra - Sanford. Payment can also be made via PayPal to [email protected], tion. The following titles can be purchased for $10 each: but please add 50¢ to cover the PayPal fee. 1. The Dawn of Pan American Airways in Honduras Lindbergh’s Early Flights to the Canal Zone (FAM 5-1 and FAM 5- by Alan P. Bentz; 2) 2. San Lorenzo, a Complex Cross - Lindbergh’s Early Flights to the Canal Zone - Latin American Good road

Edgardo Alegría Reichmann Pan American Airways Inc. (PAA) started operations in the United States of America on October 18, 1927, when it signed a contract with the U.S. government for mail transportation between Key West, Florida and Havana, Cuba. The company, owned and directed by Juan Terry Trippe, had Charles Augustus Lindbergh as a technical consultant for the pioneer flights. PAA signed transportation contracts with different govern - ments to introduce the then novel and efficient air mail service,

After 70 years, the veil is finally lifted! Pan American Airways 1939 - 1944 PAA installation in San Lorenzo by Alan P. Bentz; by David Crotty Will Tour of 1928 3. , an all- History and Scope of Aerophilately by Roger O. Gilruth encompassing program and a good introduction to aerophilately); The 442 full-color pages include five 4. by Phillip J. Stager; chapters detailing PAA of the United States 5. operations and 350 pages of CAM 9 - Chicago-Minneapolis Route via Milwaukee, La Crosse and by Ronald S. Sarson; St. Paul - Inaugural Flights cataloged data from the University of 6. by Kendall C. Sanford; Collecting Air Crash Covers Miami Richter Library’s Pan 7. by Kendall C. Air Crash Covers of Pan American World Airways American Airways Special Collection Sanford. An eighth program, , is still FAM-14 to Singapore Straits Settlement Released in November 2013, this book is a must for all PAA being developed. Its availability will be announced upon completion. The programs are ideal for showing at stamp club meetings, for collectors. Printed in English in an 8.5 x 11-inch format for easy educational purposes or personal use. The $10 per program cost includes shipping. Order should be sent to: Order at: www.createspace.com/4166958 PAGE 26 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 27 which had good profitability. With this purpose, the company hired duras, the first time during his goodwill flight across Central America Colonel Lindbergh to study a route across Central America up to Pana - when he landed in Tegucigalpa on January 3, 1928. Although there was

North – South City South - North North – South City South - North Tue, Thur, Sat. Thur, Sat, Mon. Mon, Wed, Fri Fri, Sun, Tue 7:00 a. m. Lv ...... Miami, FL ...... Ar 4:30 p. m. 8:15 a. m. Lv ...... Brownsville TX...... Ar 12:35 p. m. 10:00 a. m. Lv ...... Habana, CU ...... Lv 2:00 p. m. 11:00 a. m. Ar ...... Tampico MX ...... Lv 11:30 a. m. 2:30 p. m. Lv ...... Cozumel, MX ...... Lv 9:15 a. m. 11:00 a. m. Lv ...... Tampico MX ...... Ar 4:50 p. m. 5:00 p. m. Ar ...... Belize, Brit. Hon...... Lv 6:00 a. m. 12:15 p. m. Ar ...... Tuxpan MX...... Ar 3:45 p. m. 1:55 p.m. Ar ...... Veracruz MX ...... Lv 2:00 p.m. Wed, Fri, Sat. Wed, Fri, Sun. 8:30 a. m. Lv ...... Belize, BH ...... Ar 12:15 p. m. Tue, Thur, Sat 11:00 a. m. Lv ...... Tela, HN ...... Lv 10:45 a. m. 8:00 a. m. Lv ...... Veracruz MX ...... Ar 1:00 p. m. 1:30 p. m. Lv ...... San Lorenzo, HN ...... Lv 8:30 a. m. 10:00 a. m. Ar ...... San Jerónimo MX ...... Ar 10:45 a. m. 2:45 p. m. Ar ...... Managua, NI ...... Lv 7:00 a. m. 1:00 p. m. Ar ...... Tapachula MX ...... Ar 8:00 a. m. 2:15 p. m. Ar ...... Guatemala City GU ... Lv 7:00 a. m. Thur, Sat, Mon. Tue, Thur, Sat. 7:00 a. m. Lv ...... Managua, NI ...... Ar 3:15 p. m. Wed, Fri, Sun Wed, Fri, Sun 9:00 a. m. Ar ...... Puntarenas, CR ...... Ar 12:30 p. m. 7:00 a. m. Lv ...... Guatemala City, GU .. Ar 2:45 p. m. 10:15 a. m. Ar ...... San José, CR ...... Ar 1:45 p. m. 12:00 m. Ar ...... David, PA ...... Lv 10:45 a. m. still no postal agreement with the Honduran government, some com - 2:30 p. m. Lv ...... Ciudad, PA ...... Lv 8:00 a. m. memorative covers of this flight were received at Tela. 3:00 p. m. Ar ...... Cristóbal, CZ ...... Lv 7:00 a. m. The return flight left from Cristobal on February 10. The newspa - per published the following notice in its February 11 issue: El Cronista Tuesdays Thursdays 8:00 a. m. Lv ...... Cristóbal, CZ ...... Ar 6:15 a. m. LINDBERGH FLEW TODAY OVER TEGUCIPALPA – This morning at a 1:45 p. m. Lv ...... Cartagena, CO ...... Ar 2:00 p. m. quarter before 8, Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh flew over Tegucigalpa 2:30 p. m. Ar ...... Barranquilla, CO coming back from Panama after inaugurating the air mail route from Miami to the Canal Zone on behalf of Pan American Airways. Probably early today Lindbergh arrived at Tela. Wednesdays On March 9, 1929, Mexicana de Aviación, the Mexican sub - ma in order to connect with other routes in South America. sidiary of PAA, inaugurated its international service Mexico City – On February 4, 1929 (Lindbergh’s birthday), he, with Raymond J. Tampico – Brownsville, known as FAM 8. Two airplanes were Merrit as copilot, inaugurated the Foreign Air Mail (FAM) 5 Route used for this first flight. The first one, a Ford Tri-motor 5-AT-B-12 between Miami and Cristobal in the Canal Zone, delivering 9,810 mail named carried Lindbergh and all dispatches between Mex - Mexico, pieces in a Sikorski S-38 hydroplane, register NC8000. Some of the pas - ico City and Brownsville and vice versa. This route was expanded sengers on this flight were Juan and Betty Trippe and Anne Morrow, to the south so that by September 1, 1929, FAM 8 covered the fol - Lindbergh’s future wife. During the flight there were some intermediate lowing cities: Brownsville, Tampico, Veracruz, San Jerónimo, stops for technical reasons, one of these being in Tela, Honduras, at 8:30 Tapachula and Guatemala City. Two days later, a stop at Tuxpan a.m. on February 5. The party was back in the air an hour later. This was was added. the second time The Lone Eagle (Lindbergh’s nickname) visited Hon - On May 21, 1929, S. J. Williamson flew the FAM 5 route for

PAGE 28 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 29 the first time, covering Miami, Havana, Cozumel, Belize, Tela, Managua and Cristobal. Part of the return flight was completed by pilot Ray E. Keeler. Costa Rica was included in this route on March 11, 1930. As both routes grew, the city and port of San Lorenzo, on the Pacific coast of Honduras, was chosen as the intersection point for the exchange of passengers and mail. As a consequence, FAM 8 was extend - ed from Guatemala to connect with San Salvador and San Lorenzo. During those years there was some friction between Mexico and Guatemala for historical reasons, mostly due to Mexico’s desire to exert political and economic influence over Central America, especially neigh - boring Guatemala. Although it was PAA’s intention for Compañía Mexi - cana de Aviación (CMA) to fly all FAM 8 routes, Mexican planes were not welcomed in Guatemala. Juan Trippe became aware of this issue in September 1929, so he decided that CMA would operate up to Guatemala City with the remaining southern route covered by PAA. On Saturday, September 14, 1929, Municipal Trustee Lázaro Molina representing the Municipality of San Lorenzo, and Professor Car - los Izaguirre V., representing PAA, signed a leasing contract for the pur - pose of creating a landing strip and air terminal. As a result, PAA built the strip and a complex of three buildings: terminal, offices and ware - house. The air strip is still there but the buildings have disappeared. The Commemorative FAM 8 on the south-north route. newspaper covered this event in its Friday, December 13 issue. El Sol Considering the philatelic and historic importance of this event, a part of At 8:15 a.m. on January 15, 1930, pilot H. E. Gray took off from this article has been transcribed: Brownsville in the direction of Tampico. There he connected with the plane piloted by Powers, who flew the Tampico – Tuxpan – Veracruz route. The following day, pilot F. J. Nolan continued the route through Next Sunday will be inaugurated the Central American air service of San Jeronimo – Tapachula – Guatemala City. On January 17, pilot C. R. Pan American Airways Inc. Parmelee completed the route via San Salvador. He landed at 11:30 a.m. The formal inauguration of the service, mail and light parcels, will hap - in San Lorenzo in a 12-passenger Ford Tri-motor NC9670, known in the pen on next Sunday. The San Lorenzo aerodrome is a sort of terminal port where industry as “The Tin Goose.” The same day, he connected with FAM 5, airplanes will land, from the 15th of this month on, three times per week on Sun - the latter departing at 1:30 p.m. on its southern route. Parmelee returned days, Wednesdays, and Fridays. One of these planes will come from Florida with to Guatemala City. stops at Havana, Belize and Tela and will continue to Managua, Costa Rica, the Canal Zone and other South American countries. FAM 8 Schedule Inaugurated January 15, 1930 The third plane will connect in Guatemala City with the one doing the (Times are Central Standard) It’s important to clarify that FAM 8 was not covered by a single route of Veracruz and Mexico in order to do the transportation to San Lorenzo plane or by several pilots taking turns in a single plane. Each pilot and with a stop in San Salvador. This is a local flight between Guatemala and Hon - his plane covered a specific part of the route back and forth as described duras, but the passengers going South will be able to board to the plane doing in the previous paragraph. The same can be inferred from the article the route Miami – South America. published by the newspaper . The following letter will help clarify El Sol FAM 5 Schedule Inaugurated May 21, 1929 any remaining doubts about this matter: (Times are Central Standard) PAGE 30 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 31 According to the 1928-1929 Budget Project for the Postal Service, the funds assigned to the 2nd Class Postal Administration in San Loren - zo, Department of Valle, were: Monthly Yearly Administrator $70.00* $840.00 Mailman $15.00 $180.00 Expenses $5.00 $60.00 * The monetary symbol ($) refers to Honduran pesos of the time.

Durón cover sent to Alex Choen

Veracruz, March 23 Dear Sir, On January 16th, I transported the mail from Veracruz to Guatemala. It was the only occasion in which air mail did not arrive on time since we start - ed. Storms in the mountains forced me to return. After refueling, I tried again, this time successfully, and arrived at Tapachula. The following day (Jan 17th), I took off at dawn to connect with the plane from Guatemala to San Lorenzo. Mail from Guatemala departed on time. The only new route that I am aware of is from Merida (Yucatan) to Cozumel Island in the Mexican coast. This will join the Miami – San Lorenzo route and the Panama Canal with the Mexican route from Brownsville to Meri - da more or less in two months or even before. I hope I have autographed these in the correct place. Respectfully, Cover commemorating the FAM 8 First Flight Managua - Guatemala. F. J. The lack of logistics and preparation of the local post office in From the above material, it is clear that from mid-December 1929 San Lorenzo induced PAA to move the connection point to San Salvador, there were passengers and mail carried on what soon would be officially effective June 3, 1930, thus becoming the southern end stop of FAM 8. known as FAM 8. On the other hand, FAM 5 continued its southern route passing Due to the lack of provisions from postal authorities, the small through San Lorenzo until April 28, 1934, when the stop in the town was mail agency in San Lorenzo, solely comprised of a clerk and a mailman, canceled and Tegucigalpa was incorporated into the route. was not capable of handling the unusual amount of mail generated by So, which are really the first PAA covers dated in San Lorenzo? both flights. This has resulted in several philatelic discussions to clarify This question arises because of the existence of covers with the what happened there with regards to the covers specially prepared for legend “Primer Correo Aereo / HONDURAS/ EL SALVADOR” “Sn the FAM 8 first flight. Lorenzo. 15/X11/1929” (First Air Mail – Honduras – El Salvador – San

PAGE 32 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 33 postal issues before they were available to the general public. There is also evidence on the covers that indicate Durón was the creator: the number “2” in the top right area indicating the sequence in the quantity of prepared covers is a characteristic of Durón work that also appears in other commemorative covers made by him. A further ele - ment comes upon examining in detail the typewritten destination Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 12 3 4 567 8910 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Brownsville - San Lorenzo, January 15, 1930 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Lorenzo, December 15, 1929), a month before the official flight. These covers originated in San Lorenzo and were sent to El Salvador, address: the “e’s” and “a’s” have heavily inked “eyes,” a characteristic Guatemala and Mexico. They have been challenged and in general treat - that can also be found in the covers sent by Dr. Durón Membreño, like ed in a secondary manner because there is no official data to support Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat their authenticity beyond that it could have been a private service. How - 1 ever, while analyzing the cover (illustrated on next page), there are sev - 2345678 eral interesting details worth considering in order to have a better opin - ion. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 First, the receiver of the cover is Professor Carlos Izaguirre V., 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 signer of the leasing contract as the PAA representative in Honduras. 23 24 25 26 27 28 Izaguirre was a writer, poet, and a highly respected member of Teguci - galpa society. the one on the top of the next page. Second, the date on the cover is Sunday, December 15, the day Considering all the above, the logical inference would be that after the signing of the leasing contract with the Municipality of San due to his interest and previous knowledge of the flight announced in Lorenzo. the written press, Dr. Durón obtained a couple of envelopes with PAA Third, the contract between PAA and the municipality was letterhead. Covers with letterhead are the most scarce; covers without signed in Tegucigalpa at the offices of the then well-known and respect - letterhead also exist. He prepared them using a seal of movable letters, ed lawyer Serapio Hernández y Hernández. applying the correct postage rate and canceling them in the Tegucigalpa Fourth, it seems evident that the envelopes were made by an post office. experienced philatelist. It could have been Dr. Raul Durón Membreño, He addressed some of them to Izaguirre as a way to guarantee the leading stamp collector in Honduras during those years. Durón, a their devolution by PAA. The prepared covers were probably given to Tegucigalpa native, earned his degree in dentistry from the University of the municipality representative at the offices of Lawyer Hernandez with Pennsylvania and was an avid philatelist and stamp dealer. For many instructions to send them by the postal agency of San Lorenzo on the years he was also a correspondent and stamp supplier for John N. Luff of next day’s flight. A further detail to reinforce this theory is that the the Scott Stamp and Coin Co. as well as other European philatelic firms. envelopes were sent on a Sunday when the postal offices were usually Durón was very active in the years between 1925 and 1935, favored by closed, so they had to be favor-canceled before. his close government contacts that allowed him to have “a first look” at It is clear that these envelopes commemorate the first FAM 8 flight going north to Mexico City. Although the stop in San Lorenzo was

PAGE 34 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 35 a technical one (without any direct mail delivery), these covers were It is evident the flight was well planned and that it was legally circulated as a valid contract for the transportation of mail signed announced with anticipation, at least in Honduras and Nicaragua. At the with the Honduran Government in March 1929 for FAM 5. FAM 5 only same time, enough evidence has been presented to clarify any doubts brought mail from abroad until September 21, 1929, when the first inter - about the legality of the covers and give them the validity they need to national dispatch was sent from Tela. occupy their correct place in airmail postal history. Due to the rarity of The covers were received days later by the postal agencies in the these envelopes, the philatelic market is not free of counterfeits, so collec - transit countries. It is obvious that the airport was not set up in a day; as tors should be careful of apparent “good deals” being offered. mentioned before, there were several trial flights, with the airstrip a mere What happened to the covers of the first FAM 8 flight that flattened earth patch approximately one kilometer long. As the weeks departed from Brownsville? passed, several necessary improvements were made to this strip and the Exactly one month after the first northbound flight, the first terminal; in fact, the contract for the terminal’s concession was signed a departure of the FAM 8 flight going south was made official. Philatelists day before the arrival of the first flight. From this we can deduce that the and stamp dealers prepared several covers addressed to San Lorenzo terminal was built previously, but the signing of the contract was done at and other intermediate stops. Most of these covers were sent from and the 11th hour due to bureaucratic reasons. properly canceled in Brownsville on January 15, 1930. Other covers were The preparation of these envelopes was not an isolated event. In dispatched from different cities in the U.S. to San Lorenzo via this first Managua, other envelopes were prepared to commemorate this first flight. The ones addressed to San Lorenzo for the most part received an flight, as the cover shown below. These covers have a cancel on the unusual treatment as there are several with the correct arrival date (Fri - reverse, day, January 17) but there are others with different dates like January 18, Primer correo aéreo de Nicaragua a Guatemala Vía San Salvador (First Airmail from from Nicaragua to Diciembre 15 de 1929 PAA Guatemala Via San Salvador December 15 of 1929 PAA), and the signa - ture of the General Director of Communications.)

Canceled in San Jeronimo on January 16 and flown by Nolan to Guatemala, arriving in San Lorenzo February 7.

22, 24 or even February 6 or 7. Due to this muddle, San Lorenzo has become an enigmatic crossroad for collectors studying this subject. Canceled in Tampico January 15 instead of 16. Received in Clause 8 of the contract signed in March 1929 stated that: “The Veracruz as scheduled, but doesn’t arrive in San Lorenzo until Febru - Government will deliver mail and parcels with the necessary anticipa - ary 7. tion to avoid any delays, and Customs, Health, and other personnel

PAGE 36 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 37 deemed necessary by the Government will be ready at the field and at the moment of landing. The absence of these employees will not be an impediment for the unloading of mail, parcels and passengers. The Com - pany will announce to the General Director of , with adequate time, transit cancel, meaningO this mbaili wtaus takaen rto y the postal office and then the approximate arrival time of the planes, so Government employees can arrive at the respective airfield.” The first airplane arrived at 11:30 a.m. In those days, especially I am sorry to inform you that my father, John C. W. Field (Francis in the hot coastal cities, there was the long-held tradition of taking a sies - J. Field Ltd.), passed away in his sleep on November 30, 2013. ta from noon to 2 p.m. Stores, government offices and even houses Charles Field closed. The postal agent probably walked to the terminal after his siesta, sent back to the terminal. Nolan probably arrived at Guatemala City taking at least one hour to cover the three-km round trip. We are assum - around 2:15 pm on January 16, so postal authorities had to process the ing he walked, as a budget of five pesos per month would not allow him transit mail during the rest of the afternoon. Here is where everything is to hire a mule or even an oxcart. So, having a limited time until 5 p.m., it disrupted, as this flight should have arrived early on the 16th to connect is highly probable that this agent did not have enough time to open all with Parmelee’s airplane, scheduled to take off on the 17th at 7 a.m. in mail bags and cancel the covers, leaving the rest of the work for the fol - order to land at San Lorenzo at 11:30 a.m. to connect with the FAM 5 lowing day without any idea of the importance that dates imply on first flight. day covers. This could explain the existence of covers with the January 18 date. Without any doubt the same situation applied to Mexico, AAMS Chapters Guatemala and El Salvador, where mail had also to be transported to be The following local, regional and national organizations are processed. Chapters of the American Air Mail Society. To enjoy the hobby For the other dates we have to again revise the itinerary and the of aerophilately, the AAMS recommends collectors contact these following calendar: groups about programs and meetings, bulletins, services and dues.

January 1930 Canadian Aerophilatelic Society Leonard (Len) Lukens Steve Johnson 4601 South Pacific Highway, #2 787 Wharncliffe Road S Phoenix OR 97535 February 1930 London, ON N6J 2N8 CANADA Here it is timely to quote an interesting comment that appeared in [email protected] an article in the magazine , comparing the CMA Mexican itin - Rocky Mountain Aerophilatelic Club PAA Notes Metropolitan Air Post Society William E. Crabbs, secretary eraries with the PAA ones: “Compare the timetables in these charts for Ernest Wheeler P.O. Box 620695 Tampico - Tejería and Tejería – Tapachula with the corresponding sched - 7 Evelyn Terrace Littleton CO 80162-0695 ules on the itinerary of the USPOD FAM 8 for Tampico – Veracruz and Wayne NJ 07470-3446 [email protected] Veracruz – Tapachula (Tejería was the airport in Veracruz). Everything [email protected] Northwest Chapter - AAMS seems to indicate, that as long as it was possible, CMA flew both Ameri - can and Mexican mails in the same flights and same planes. What a won - Southern California Air Mail Society c/o President Bill Keesling derful arrangement to kill two birds with one stone.” 14723 Burbank Blvd. The studied covers originating from Mexico bear a Guatemalan Van Nuys CA 91411-3336

YOU are the American Air Mail Society’s most important asset. Changes or corrections? Take an active role in the AAMS. Please send all corrections, additions or changes to:

PAGE 38 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 39 News of the Shows AAMS MSane Lmorenbzo -e 07r Fsebhruairpy Report The second cover went from San Jeronimo to San Lorenzo: I have seen envelopes destined for El Salvador correctly dated in San Jeronimo - 6 January San Jeronimo and Tapachula on the 16th and Guatemala on the 17th, but Guatemala - 17 January with receipt date in San Salvador on January 20. These stayed in Puerto Cortés - illegible Guatemala on the 17th, but were dispatched in the following flight that Tegucigalpa - 25 January departed Brownsville on Friday, January 17, arriving at El Salvador on San Lorenzo - 07 February Sunday. As the postal office was closed, they were not canceled until Both covers were left in Guatemala on January 17 due to Nolan’s Monday, January 20. I have in my collection another cover sent from delay. How did these covers finally arrived in San Lorenzo? At least for Brownsville on January 15, a single San Salvador arrival cancellation on these two, it seems that they had the worst share, as everything indicates the back, dated January 17. Another interesting cover is the one the next that they were sent by to Puerto Cortes, then to Tegucigalpa, page which, despite being sent from Washington, does not have any U.S. received in San Lorenzo on January 28. Upon being claimed by PAA, transit mark. These are the only covers I am aware of showing a San they were canceled with the date stamp corresponding to the return Lorenzo cancel in front and the only ones carried by PAA. Did these cov - flight of Friday February 7, 1930. ers receive special treatment? Although these covers and similar ones are not considered first It seems only part of the American mail sent from Brownsville to flight covers in the strictest sense of the word, their involuntary itinerary San Lorenzo was transferred on time from one plane to the other, these transformed them into philatelic mysteries and excellent items of postal apparently being the certified covers and the ones carried by PAA. history. These covers were correctly canceled in San Lorenzo on January 17 and With the research for this work, the author hopes to have clari - do not have any other transit marks besides the ones applied in the Unit - fied the main doubts generated by San Lorenzo, although the possibility ed States en route to Brownsville. It also seems that part of the mail to of new enigmas is not discarded as new discordant items become San Salvador arrived at its destination the same day. known. Let’s hope it happens like this, as the most exciting part of philat - The remaining part of the mail was left behind in Guatemala or elic research is precisely to discover the answers to this type of question. at other intermediate stops, continuing the trip as follows: In this field and thanks to the mistakes made in the past, Honduras has • Monday, January 20 flight, arriving at San Lorenzo on January 22; the privilege of having a philatelic history full of challenges waiting for • Wednesday, January 22 flight, arriving on Friday, January 24th; • Monday, February 3 flight, arriving on Wednesday, February 5 (not canceled until the 6th); • Wednesday, February 5 flight, arriving Friday, February 7. All of the above is reinforced by examining two covers. The first Address Changes Requested one was sent from Tampico to San Lorenzo with the following cancels on When relocating, please provide as much notice as the reverse: possible in order to keep your Airpost Journal Tampico - 15 January coming in a timely manner. Veracruz - 16 January Send all address changes or corrections to Guatemala - 18 January Membership secretary Rudy Roy, Box 5367, Virginia Puerto Cortés - 22 January Beach VA 23471-0367 or email Tegucigalpa - 25 January San Lorenzo - 28 January [email protected]

PAGE 40 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 41 postal historians to discover. Lorenzo flight was considered a good luck symbol before being adopted As a final thought, the by the Nazi regime. swastika that appears in the FAM American American Air Mail Society 8 cancel of the Brownsville – San Bibliography Membership and Subscriptions Air Mail Society Annual m1.e Amlebgerísah iRpe dicuhems afonrn ,n Eewdg maredmo.b Persiv, awteh iccohl liencctliuond eosf aa esruobpshcriliap t-- tion to the is $30 domestic, $40 Canada, $50 Mexico and Dedicated to the research, study, documentation and ely. HondurAasir. post Journal 2. $60 worldwide. (1930). Teguci - preservation of aerophilately. Decretos del Año 1929 del Congreso de Honduras. galpa: TipAogllr faofírae iNganc diouneasl .i nclude first-class airmail shipment. Organized in 1923, Incorporated in 1944 as a non-profit corporation of 3. Diario El Cronista. (Febrero 11, 1929). the state of Ohio Lindbergh pasó hoy por . Tegucigalpa. Publication IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization APS affiliate #77 Tegucigalpa Monthly Official Publication: 4. Diario El Sol. (Diciembre 13,1A92ir9p)o. st Journal Vickie Canfield Peters, 11E9l1 1d oEm. iCnognon porró Rxiomaod ,. . . Jim Graue, 11911 East Connor Road, Valleyford WA 99036 TeEgduitcoirg alnpda .Advertising: PRESIDENT: Valleyford WA 99036 ([email protected]) ([email protected]) 5. Diario Oficial La Gaceta. (17 enero 1930). Tegucigalpa: Tipografía Nacional. David E. Crotty, Ph.D., PO Box 16115, Ludlow KY 6. VICE PRESIDENT: International PAuirbmliacialst i1o9n2s1 C-1o9m46m (iUttSee Postal Guides and Supple - 41016-0115 ([email protected] ) . USA. Jim Graue, 11911 East Connor Road, Valleyford WA 99036 mCenhtasi) rman: ([email protected] ir-pipe.com) Dr. Robert Dille, 335 Merkle Drive, Norman OK 73069- Memoria de Fomento, Obras Públicas, Agricultura, y Trabajo, Año SECRETARY: (1930). Tegucigalpa: Tipografía Nacional. 6429 ([email protected]) de 1928-1929. 8. PAA Study Unit Mofe tmheb eArm Serviciacens Air Mail Society. Stephen Reinhard, P.O. Box 110, Mineola NY 11501 PAA Notes TREASURER: April-June. (2002). USA. ([email protected]) Don Lussky, 1332 N. Webster St., Naperville IL 60563 Auction9 M. Raonsaag Mer:ejía, Carlos. (2004). Archivo fotográfico personal. 10. . Vol. 4, 5a. edición. USA. Mark Banchik, P.O. Box 2125, Great The American Air Mail Catalogue IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT: 11. Greg Schmidt, 1978 Fox Burro(w20 C0o0)u. rVt, ol.15, Neck NY 11022 ([email protected]) PublicationTsh eS aBluelsl eMtina noaf gtheer : Metropolitan Air Post Society. No N2.e UenSaAh. WI 54956 ([email protected]) DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Kent Kobersteen Steve Tucker John CJ.L.. J oWhnso.n , JFr., i2e48l Sdhore Ave., Eastern Merchandise Sales Manager: David Ball Pat Walters PointJ,o Ghrno Cto.n W C.T F 0ie6l3d4 0w (afasm an1 4i@cotvncicc ofingnuercet .anse ta) n aerophilatelist, dealer and publisher in Great Britain who served aerophilately world-wide. ADVISORY EXECUTIVE BOARD (Past Presidents): “AllL aener Loupkheilnast.e 4li6s0t1s Saopuptrhe cPiaactief icth He igcohnwtariyb, u#t2io, Pnhs oJeonhinx OmR ade to Cheryl Ganz Jonathan L. Johnson, Jr. Stephen Reinhard Historian: t9h7e5 3h5 obby over the years with and his many other publica - A.D. Jones Kendall C. Sanford Allen Klein Aero Field tions. Additionally, John was an active participant in APC, BAMS, FISA, Derrick Pillage Greg Schmidt Mark Banchik etc., and at exhibitions incRludiyn Rg ojuy,d Pg.iOng. B uopx t5o3 6in7t, eVrniragtiinoina aBl elaecvhe lV.” A Andrew McFarlane Membership Secretary: 23471-0367 ([email protected]) Brian Asquith LEGAL COUNSEL: Robert J. Horn, Jackson Lewis LLP, 10701 Parkridge Blvd., Suite David Crotty (wSeEbSmCasAteLr@ 2A0m1e3 ricanAirMailSociety.org) Webmaster: 300, Reston VA 20191 Los Angeles, California - October 4-6, 2013 Ken Sanford, 613 Championship Drive, Oxford Convention Coordinator: Vermeil JamCeTs 0W64. 7G8r-3a1u2e 8 ([email protected]) Application for Membership Germany 1934 Airmail Issue Applicant to provide two references, philatelic preferred. Also: AAMS Medal, APS Excellence 1900-1940 Applicants under the age of 18 must be guaranteed by parent or guardian. Advance Bulletin Service

PAGE 42 AIRPOST JOURNAL JANUARY 2014 PAGE 43 AAMS EXCHANGE DEPARTMENT APJ ADS BUY — SELL — WANT LIST All members, including Life Mem - 719233010 4/14 bers, are entitled to two free 25-word “Wanted and Exchange” notices per WANTED and EXCHANGE year in the APJ Ads section of the Journal. WANTED: Buy or Trade Gov 117, RATES 118, 119, 147, 161, 170. Pioneer 71, 75 and 93. Jamie O'Bannon TWENTY CENTS PER WORD . [email protected] 502-893- Minimum $5 per insertion. 0863 2/14 Remittance must accompany order * * * and copy. The Airpost Journal, 11911 ZEPPELIN plate blocks wanted: E. Connor Road, Valleyford WA C13- right PB of 20079; C14 - left 99036. Ads can also be emailed to PB of 20088; C15 - left, right and [email protected]. bottom PB of 20090. Gerald Ads must be received by first Forsythe, 1111 Willis Avenue, of the month preceding publication Wheeling IL 60090. Telephone 847- date. 520-6215 or fax 847-520-7268 1/14 FOR SALE * * * CHRISTMAS greetings aero - YOU NEED? Flights: US pioneer, grammes used by prisoners and mili - crash, SH, TO, FAM, CAM, tary in World War II wanted. Peter NAMW, Jet, Deds, Canada 1926-42, Fink, Restaurant Lowen, CH-9532 Zeppelin, glider, catapult, balloon, Rickenbach/Wil Switzerland. FAX: rocket. Nonflight: FDC, ads, polar, 011 41 719124315, telephone 011 ships, WWI & II &Civil War, Wells 41 719233010 6/14 Fargo, Christmas. Tell me your * * * interests; I’ll get you my lists. Thanks. Mike Rossman, PO Box LAST FLIGHT covers or scans from 189, Occidental, CA 95465-0189 or Air Mail Route AM-49A (1949), [email protected] 2/14 especially Fairmont WVA. Roger * * * Baldwin, [email protected] 2/14 AEROGRAMMES for sale from all over the world. More than 200 coun - tries represented. Peter Fink, Restau - rant Lowen, CH-9532 Ricken - bach/Wil Switzerland. FAX: 011 41 719124315, telephone 011 41

People DO read the classifieds. You are! PAGE 44 AIRPOST JOURNAL