Yesterday in STAMPS: The Romance of Aerophilately, Pt. 9 By an Unknown Author (From STAMPS Magazine, July, 1942, with images added) F.A.M. Routes Several contract routes operated before the war be- tween the United States and foreign countries. These are the F.A.M., or Foreign Air Mail routes, which were made possible by an act of Congress passed in 1928. The most rapid development of F.A.M. routes took place during the years of 1929 and 1930, during which time air mail lines were extended southward through the West Indies, and Central and South America, culminating in the inauguration of a fast air mail route down the west coast of South America to Santiago, Chile, thence over the lofty Andes to Montevideo, Uruguay. On the east coast, air mail lines operated by American air mail contractors, were extended to Paramaribo in Dutch Guiana. T h e f i r s t F.A.M. route was inaugurated six years before Con- tract Air Mail (or C.A.M.) routes were in operation. The first F.A.M. route was opened on October 15, 1920, between Seattle, Wash- ington and Vic- toria, B.C., and F.A.M. 2 First Flight cover, Seattle to Vancou- was designated ver, October 15, 1920, with A. C. Roessler cachet with manuscript “By First Airplane as F.A.M. #2 by U.S.—Canada the Post Office Department. Strangely enough, F.A.M. #1 was not inau- gurated until eight years later. Issue 49 - January 2, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net 1 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] Collecting air mail covers which were carried on the first flight from the various cities on F.A.M. routes became one of the most popular forms of air mail collecting in the United States. Few of these covers are common, but they are still obtainable. Colonel Lindbergh, who made a pre- liminary survey flight over the proposed routes to South America and who later flew the first air mail plane inau- gurating several of these routes, was the cause of some of this popularity, but they are also collected widely because they represent the most extensive postal development ever undertaken by our Government. By the beginning of the 1930s if you lived in a city which was on a contract air mail route it was possible for you to send a letter by air mail from your home direct to the Bahamas, Cuba, Mexico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Porto Rico, Virgin Islands, St. Lucia, Trinidad, British and Dutch Guiana, Guatemala, British Honduras, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Canal Zone, Curacao, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay or to the Argentine Republic, with the assurance that your letter would go the entire distance in American planes, flown by Ameri- can pilots, and it would get there from two to twelve days sooner than by any other means. The United States is not the only nation which tried to develop air mail lines in South America. French and German lines had been in operation in South America for years before the start of the Second World War, and both were heavily subsidized by their governments. A French transatlantic service was in operation for several years prior to 1930, the planes flying as far as Senegal in West Africa, where the mail was carried by fast steamers to Natal, Brazil. From that point planes carried it to im- portant centers throughout South America. And besides this, a direct air mail service was inaugurated, when pilot Mermoz carried the first regular air mail over the Atlantic (see page 3). South American trade is the prize toward which each nation was striving, even in peace times, and the struggle was every bit as romantic as was the settlement of the Issue 49 - January 2, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net 2 Cover flown by pilot Jean Mermoz from Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 12, 1930 to Guayaquil, Ecuador June 17, 1930, and then on across the Atlantic, with Spain receiver on front and Buenos Aires and Guayaquil date stamps and flight cachet on reverse. farm lands in the far west, in a past generation. Thirty years ago the breath-taking story of air mail development from this country to the tip of South America would have been considered beyond the realm of possibility, but today we take it as a matter of course, although collectors with an inclination for the romantic and the historical are well aware that history is being made daily, and romance is flying in every air mail plane. F.A.M. #1 operated from New York City to Montreal, Canada, and a first flight cover would be dated October 1, 1928. A large number of covers were carried and samples are readily obtainable. F.A.M. 1, New York to Montreal with airmail label, flight cachet, and Oct. 1 c.d.s. on front, and Canada receiver on back (see also page 4) Issue 49 - January 2, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net 3 F.A.M. 1 return flight, Montreal to New York, with First Flight cachet. Cover started in Ho- nolulu August 13 with a date stamp that ties the Honolulu overprint stamps, Sc. 647-648. Addressed to a High School Stamp Club in Bridgeport, Conn., it was carried on the October 1 return flight, bear- ing a Montreal Oct. 1 date stamp and flight cachet. On October 19, 1927, F.A.M. #4 was opened from Key West to Havana, Cuba. Covers carried on the inaugural flight are fairly common, but on September 15, 1928, Miami was made the terminal of the route instead of Key West, and as this was done without advance notice, cov- ers carried from Miami to Havana on the first day are very scarce. Cover carried from Key West, Fla., to Havana, Cuba, on the Oct. 19, 1927 first contract foreign air mail flight and 1977 Cuban stamp commemo- rating the 50th Anniversary of that flight. See also page 5. Issue 49 - January 2, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net 4 Sept. 15, 1928 F.A.M. 4-4 First Flight Cover, Mi- ami to Havana, Cuba with printed cachet F.A.M. #5 was opened on February 4, 1929, when the first plane of the Pan-American Airways took off from Mi- ami for Cristobal, Canal Zone, with Col. Charles Lindbergh at the controls. The Canal Zone issued a special air mail stamp for the return flight which was made on February 10th. Left, Lindbergh just before his departure on the F.A.M. 5 First Flight. Below a cover with the flight cachet, addressed to Postmaster General Harry New, carried on the Miami- Cristobal round trip. The first plane southward, to the Canal Zone, was piloted by Charles A. Lindbergh on February 4/6, 1929. Lindbergh’s return flight from Cristobal, Canal Zone was made on February 10/13, 1929. Issue 49 - January 2, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net 5 A d d i - t i o n s t o F.A.M. #5 were made o n M a y 21st, when B e l i z e , B r i t i s h Honduras, Tela, Hon- duras, and Managua, F.A.M. 5 Extension First Flight, launching weekly service along the north coast of South America to Ma- N i c a r a - racaibo and Puerto Cabello, Miami to Puerto Cabello, gua, were with 65¢ Zeppelin (Sc. C13) that overpays the 30¢ rate, added to Miami May 3, 1930 c.d.s., flight cachets and Cristobal the route, transit backstamp. a n d i n June the line was extended to include Barranquilla, Co- lombia, and Curacao. F.A.M. # 6 a l s o had one terminal in Miami, but from there swung off to Havana and con- tinued to the east of the Carib- Extension of F.A.M. 6 to South America, Santo Domingo bean Sea, to Paramaribo, to St. Johns, properly franked and following marked flight cover, one of only 15 pieces flown, this the West one signed C. A. Lindbergh. Indies to South America. Col. and Mrs. Lindbergh flew the first plane on this route. [When F.A.M. 5 is combined with F.A.M. 6 the combination would come to be known as the “Lindbergh Circle” with flights circumnavigating the Caribbean Sea.] Issue 49 - January 2, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net 6 F.A.M. #7 is a short route operating between Miami-and Nassau, and F.A.M. #8 connects Brownsville, Texas, with Mexico, Honduras and Salvador. Right, F.A.M. 7, Miami to Nassau, Bahamas Janu- ary 2, 1929 First Flight cover with flight cachet; be- low mail from New York to Honduras via Brownsville on F.A.M. 8 First Flight. F.A.M. #9 is pr obably the most pictur - esque air mail route operated by American air mail contractors. Cristobal, Ca- nal Zone, is the northern terminal from whence giant amphibians cruised down the west coast of South America to Santiago, Chile, then crossed over the Andes to Buenos Aires and Montevi- deo, Uruguay, on the east coast, a distance of some 5,000 miles. The first flights over this route were made in May, 1929. Subsequently other territory was added, and mail carried on the first trip from practically every point was given a distinctive marking by the Postal Authorities. F.A.M. 9 First Flight cover, Cristobal, C.Z. to Paraguay with Flight cachet a n d “ R o e s s l e r Stamp News” ca- chet.