Experiments with ways of carrying mail by air began in the nineteenth century with the use of balloons as a way of transporting French mail during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The first recorded use of an airplane to carry the mail came in 1911 when French pilot Henri Pequet flew more than 6,000 pieces of mail for five miles from Allahabad to Naini in the United Provinces of India.
The United Kingdom began its experiments with official airmail in 1911. On September 9, a mailbag containing letters for the German Kaiser, the Emperor of Japan, and the British Prime Minister was flown from London to Windsor Castle. Over the next two weeks, the pilots logged in 19 flights on the 20-mile airmail route between London and Windsor. The Guardian reported that this experiment:
“demonstrated nothing except the ardour with which grown-up people will throw themselves into a game of make-believe.”
The United States lagged behind the European countries with Congress rejecting a proposal for an experimental airmail route in 1910. France launched airmail between Casablanca and Fez in North Africa in 1911. In this same year, the Italians started airmail between Bologna and Venice. In 1912, Japan and Germany began experimental airmail programs.
The early airmail proponents stressed the speed of airmail. However, it should be pointed out that these early airplanes, such as the Blériot, had a top speed of less than 60 miles per hour and would probably lose a race with a train.
The airplane came of age during World War I. Following the War, in the period from 1918 until the mid-1920s, the Post Office, entrepreneurs, and airplane designers experimented with ways of carrying the mail. On May 15, 1918 the United States Post Office Department began official airmail service between New York and Washington, D.C. Initially the service relied on army pilots flying Curtiss JN-4H Jennies. The 204-mile trip from New York to Washington was expected to take just three hours.
The initial flight was to take off from a small polo field in Washington. With a large crowd, which included President Wilson, gathered to witness this historic event, a Post Office truck pulled up next to the plane and transferred a 140-pound mailbag into the Jenny’s forward cockpit. When the pilot yelled “Contact!” the mechanic spun the prop…and the engine failed to start. It seems that they had forgotten to fill the gas tank and no one had brought any gas. After siphoning enough gas from some nearby planes, the engine started and the plane was soon airborne. Some in the audience, however, noticed that the plane was flying in the wrong direction. A phone call soon explained the problem: the pilot’s compass was a bit off and he had attempted to land in a plowed field near Waldorf, Maryland, 25 miles away. The plane suffered a broken propeller and a mail truck was dispatched to pick up the mail.
While the official start of American airmail was not particularly auspicious, the Post Office reported that, after two weeks of operation, 53 out of 60 flights had reached their destinations without incident. However, on many days the amount of mail actually carried could have been carried in the pilot’s inside jacket pocket. During the first six months of operation, the New York-Washington route had a deficit of $8,969 with revenues of $60,653.
The joint venture between the Post Office and the Army was terminated in August 1918 when the Post Office acquired six new planes from Standard Aircraft Corporation. The new planes were faster (100 mph) and could fly farther on a tank of fuel (280 miles).
In December 1918, the Post Office began airmail service between New York and Chicago using World War I surplus de Havilland DH-4s. The de Havillands quickly proved to be inadequate for the job and had to be modified. The British-designed de Haviland was intended for short flights at high altitudes, while the Post Office routes called for long flights at low altitudes. The modifications included replacing the fabric cover with a birch plywood skin which would act as reinforcement; modifying the forward cockpit into the pilot’s cockpit; and modifying the rear cockpit into a mail compartment.
In May 1920, airmail reached Omaha and a feeder route began between Chicago and St. Louis. In September 1920, a coast-to-coast service linked New York and San Francisco. In this same year, an international airmail service linked Seattle and Victoria, British Columbia.
The westward expansion of the airmail service also brought with it a search for better airplanes. In 1920, the Post Office tried the German-made Junkers F-13. This was a single-engine, all-metal monoplane. Unlike the de Haviland, it used low-grade fuel and could cruise twice as far. This reduced the operating cost. However, with four deaths in just two weeks, it was evident that there were problems with the plane.
In the last nine months of 1920, only 55% of the scheduled Cleveland to New York flights were actually completed. The mail carried on this route reached its destination an average of 3 hours and 33 minutes behind schedule, which meant that it was barely beating the train-borne letters. Enthusiasm for airmail by the press, the public, and Congress was diminishing.
The demands for mail delivery soon made it obvious that the mail planes would have to fly at night. Engineer Joseph V. Magee came up with the plan to enable night flying: a system of beacons which would sweep the horizon three times a minute. These beacons were to be 36-inch revolving lights mounted on towers that would be 50 feet high. This system soon became one of the marvels of international aviation.
Initially, the government controlled airmail. However, neither Congress nor the Post Office had an interest in continuing this forever. As soon as airmail was profitable, the idea was to turn it over to private corporations. In 1925 Congress passed the Kelly Act which allowed the Post Office to award airmail contracts to private companies. According to a display at The Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington:
“The resulting developments in aviation made it feasible and practical for the newly formed commercial airlines to transition from hauling sacks of mail to carrying cabins full of passengers.”
Shown above is a reproduction of a 1928 Boeing Model 40B. The Model 40 was designed as a mail plane that could also carry passengers. The Model 40A and 40B were the first Boeing airplanes built to carry passengers. About 80 of the Model 40 airplanes were built.
Shown above is a 1931 Ford Model AA mail truck. The signature color of the Post Office at this time was olive green. After World War I, the War Department transferred 1,444 trucks to the Post Office, but with many different makes and models maintaining them was difficult. In 1929, postal vehicles were standardized and the Post Office purchased 400 Ford AA truck bodies and chassis. Postal mechanics then assembled them.
In 1930, Congress passed the McNary-Watres Act that allowed the Postmaster General to award airmail contracts without competitive bidding. When Franklin Roosevelt became President in 1933, all mail contracts were voided. In February 1934, airmail was turned over to the army which reduced the number of routes from 26 to 14. This was soon reduced to 9 after 10 military pilots died in accidents in just three weeks. Congress, under pressure from the public and the press, issued new contracts and the airlines resumed carrying the mail in May 1934.