Yesterday in STAMPS: The Romance of , Pt. 8 By an Unknown Author (From STAMPS Magazine, June 27, 1942, with images added)

Contract Air in the United States The story of Contract Air Mail in the United States is virtually the story of the pilots who fly the mail, day and night, in all kinds of weather. All of them are skilled pilots, some have won fame in the air, and many have given their lives in an attempt to get the mail through. Route #10 was opened on April 1, 1926, connecting four cities in Florida, and on Septem- ber 15th, Ma- con and Atlanta, Georgia, were added. The first plane south from April 1, 1926 CAM 10 First Flight from Tampa Atlanta was pi- to Fort Myers, Florida loted by Carl Eielson, whose s u b s e q u e n t achievements in Alaska, and his flight from Alas- ka to Spitzer- b e r g e n w i t h Capt. Wilkins (see page 2), September 15, 1926 CAM 10 First Flight of ad- for which he re- ditional legs, Atlanta to Jacksonville flown by ceived the Dis- Carl Eielson tinguished Flying Cross, have made his name a byword throughout the north. Eielson introduced the aeroplane to Alaska and proved

Issue 48 - December 5, 2014 - StampNewsOnline.net  If you enjoy this article, and are not already a subscriber, for $12 a year you can enjoy 60+ pages a month. To subscribe, email [email protected] Below, Eielson and, righ, Sir Hubert Wil- ins on the of a 5-page descrip- tion of their flights; left, the Latham 27 seaplane flown by the pair

that flying in the far north was just as prac- tical as further south. On November 9, 1929, Eielson took off with Earl Borland to rescue the crew of the "Nanuk," which was frozen in the ice above North Cape, near the coast of Siberia. Eielson failed to return and no trace of him or of his plane was found for over three months. In the meantime, storm after storm over the Bering Strait delayed the search, in which pilots of three nations took part. The squadron of planes of the Soviet Republic, Canada and the United States, which assembled to solve the mystery of Eielson's disap- pearance, was undoubtedly the greatest rescue armada ever assembled in the Arctic. Finally on January 25th, pilots Crosson and Gillam, flying over the snow-bound coast of Siberia, caught the reflection of the sun on a piece of metal. It was Eielson's plane which had crashed with the throttle wide open. While Eielson, Lindbergh, and Byrd are undoubtedly the

Issue 48 - December 5, 2014 - StampNewsOnline.net  most widely known of American air mail pilots of this era, several other pilots who carried inaugural mail which is available to collectors, gained recognition for their achieve- ments in the air. W i l l i a m Brock, who flew the first air mail over Route 9 on June 7, 1926,

Above, June 7, 1926 CAM 9 First Flight from Twin Cities (Minne- apolis-St. Paul) to Chicago; right, cover carried on the round the world flight auto- graphed by Brock’s co-pilot, Edward Schlee between Milwaukee and Minneapolis, later attempted a flight around the world. He succeeded in spanning the Atlantic ocean, Europe and Asia, no small feat in itself, but was persuaded that the time had not arrived to attempt a flight over the Pacific, and wisely abandoned that part of the journey. When Lieut. J. D. Hill flew from Old Or - chard, Maine, in his plane "Old Glory," his objective was Rome, Italy. He was last report- The Fokker VIIA "Old Glory", at the Old Orchard ed 700 miles out Beach airfield, the day before its attempted trans- at sea, but he atlantic flight, in September 1927. never reached

Issue 48 - December 5, 2014 - StampNewsOnline.net  his goal and no trace of the pi- lot or plane was ever found. Hill flew the first c o n t r a c t a i r mail between New York and Philadelphia on September 4, 1926. A very 1926 , CAM 13S4, New York light mail was to Philadelphia, Sept. 4, 1926 carried at that time. Lieut. Hill autographed three or four covers which he carried in the first plane. A cover car- ried on the first flight from Chi- cago to New York over route #17, by pilot Leo McGinn, is a desirable piece. McGinn was a contributor to the Kansas City CAM-17 First Flight Day New York, NY To Chi- Journal-Post, cago, IL '27 and one of his poems appeared in the issue of November 13, 1928, in the column known as "Galley Three," in which he by chance describes his own death, which occurred a year later. The issue of December 28, 1929, contains a reprint of his poem and the following announcement of his death: SALUTE !-AND HOLD IT! The Lone Eagle will never receive his copy of the Galley log . . . never will fly again. As the medium through which he wrote to the Galley, I feel it my duty to let you know that his God of Luck has at last failed him. I think he wanted to go out that way. It was a glorious

Issue 48 - December 5, 2014 - StampNewsOnline.net  way to go . . . fighting to the last, and in the service of a mighty nation. —A. E. M. Leo J. McGinn, air mail pilot, faced a fifty mile head wind on his run from Cleveland to Chicago the night of Thursday, Dec. 20th. Beacon lights were obscured by a blinding snowstorm which forced the flyer down over Huron, O. His plane crashed into a tree and burst into flames. Pilot Mc- A cover from the fatal plane crash, Ginn was killed. He ironically bearing a Christmas greeting, addressed to Hal Roach Studios, with had been a war flyer, “Damaged in Mail…” handstamp. and was known to the readers of "Galley Three" as the "Lone Eagle." AIR MAIL (Reprinted from Galley Three of November 13, 1928.) Mail's due there at half past three; Don't see how we'll buck this blow, But as long as they're putting it up to me I'll keep on making this dam crate go, Engine's missin' . . . oughta land— Bank'er down to that stretch of mud But keep on goin' . . . I aint' got sand— It's just that strain of eagle blood. God! What's that . . . some kinda smash! She won't take hold—she's goin' to crash! Hope they get the mail 'fore she starts to flame! Hope folks won't think I was all to blame. THE LONE EAGLE.

Issue 48 - December 5, 2014 - StampNewsOnline.net  Badly burned crash cover from the December 20, 1928 crash of CAM 17 at Huron, Ohio, in which Leo McGinn was killed.

For additional information on air mail, including CAM flights, go to http://www.americanairmailsociety.org/ http://www.aerodacious.com/ccCAM010.HTM http://beh.k12northstar.org/about/carl-ben-eielson http://eielson.org/

Issue 48 - December 5, 2014 - StampNewsOnline.net  If you enjoyed this article, and are not already a subscriber, for $12 a year you can enjoy 60+ pages a month. To subscribe, email [email protected]