Tag: airmail cover

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International airmail

The first airmail flight between Hong Kong and San Francisco

Airmail - First flight cover Hong Kong to San Francisco with the China Clipper in 1937
Airmail – First flight cover Hong Kong to San Francisco with the China Clipper in 1937

This cover was in the first airmail flight between Hong Kong and San Francisco. A Martin M-130, the Pan Am China Clipper, carried the mail. The aircraft left Hong Kong on April 28th, 1937 and arrived in San Francisco on May 4th, 1937. Many stopovers were part of the route and are indicated on the cover.

The China Clipper was destroyed in 1945 when its double hull ruptured due to a collision with an obstacle in the waters of Port-of-Spain, Trininad. The aircraft sank and 23 people were killed. There was only 7 survivors.

Airmail - First flight cover Hong Kong to San Francisco with the China Clipper in 1937. Back of cover.
Airmail – First flight cover Hong Kong to San Francisco with the China Clipper in 1937. Back of cover.
Categories
International airmail

First instrument landing on a scheduled airline in United States

Airmail cover. First instrument landing in USA with scheduled airline. Washington Pittsburgh 1938. Front side.
Airmail cover. First instrument landing in USA with scheduled airline. Washington Pittsburgh 1938. Front side.

Tests of the ILS system started in 1929 in United States. The first landing of a scheduled U.S. passenger airliner using an ILS was on January 26, 1938. A Pennsylvania Central Airlines Boeing 247D flew from Washington, D.C., to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and landed in a snowstorm using only the Instrument Landing System.

Back of an airmail cover used on the first scheduled flight using an ILS for a landing in USA, 1938
Back of an airmail cover used on the first scheduled flight using an ILS for a landing in USA, 1938