web-catalog        FAM Foreign Air Mail First Flights F22

Aerodacious (Aviation + Audacious = Aerodacious) eMail: Aerodacious Page FAM022 (Revised 12/16/2007)

Background: The Post Office Department designated any contract air mail route flown by an airline into/from a foreign country into/from the US as a "Foreign Air Mail" route. The Foreign Air Mail routes became known as FAM's.

FAM-22: FAM-22 was awarded to Pan American Airways.
        On June 2, 1927 Juan Trippe formed an airline, “Aviation Corporation of America” with two allies. Sonny Whitney and John Hambleton were directors and Juan Trippe was in charge of operations. In order to procure a route to Cuba, the airline merged with two others to form Pan American Airways.
        Trippe became president and general manager. He had obtained a contract from the federal government to fly mail from Key West to Camp Colombia, Havana Cuba. It was the first contract for the carriage of mail to a foreign country from the US. Trippe had bought two Fokker planes and had a ground crew preparing an airport at Meacham Field in Key West FL. He had a deadline with the government to begin the service. Although two runways had been completed, heavy rain had been falling for two days and the airport became a swamp. To meet his contractual deadline, Trippe decided to charter a seaplane to make the flight. He talked pilot Cy Caldwell into making the flight with “La Nina” a Fairchild FC-2 floatplane that Cy was flying for the West Indian Aerial Express. On October 19, 1927 La Niña, piloted by Cy Caldwell and chartered by Trippe, took off from Key West landing at Camp Colombia, Havana Cuba 1H 20M later.
        Africa had been called the "Dark Continent" which took on significant importance before the entry of the US into WW-II. FAM-22 came into existence because of US military needs with the spread of hostilities into north Africa. FAM-22 was awarded to Pan Am and on December 6, 1941 (the day before Pearl Harbor) flying a Boeing 314 piloted by William Masland, it inaugurated flight service from Miami FL south via San Juan Puerto Rico and the northeast coast of South America to Natal Brazil and thence across the Atlantic Ocean to Bathurst (Banjul) Gambia and onward to Leopoldville Belgian Congo.

F22-1a	411206	Miami FL-Bathurst Gambia	PA	William Masland	$15.00
F22-1b	411206	Miami FL-Lagos Nigeria	PA	William Masland	$15.00
F22-1	411206	Miami FL-Leopoldville Belgian Congo	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-2a	411206	San Juan Puerto Rico-Bathurst Gambia	PA	William Masland	$22.50
F22-2b	411206	San Juan Puerto Rico-Lagos Nigeria	PA	William Masland	$15.00
F22-2	411206	San Juan Puerto Rico-Leopoldville Belgian Congo	PA	William Masland	$22.50
F22-3a	411207	Port of Spain Trinidad-Bathurst Gambia	PA	William Masland	$15.00
F22-3b	411207	Port of Spain Trinidad-Lagos Nigeria	PA	William Masland	$15.00
F22-3	411207	Port of Spain Trinidad-Leopoldville Belgian Congo	PA	William Masland	$15.00
F22-4a	411208	Belem Brazil-Bathurst Gambia	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-4b	411208	Belem Brazil-Lagos Nigeria	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-4	411208	Belem Brazil-Leopoldville Belgian Congo	PA	William Masland	$30.00
F22-5a	411208	Natal Brazil-Bathurst Gambia	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-5b	411208	Natal Brazil-Lagos Nigeria	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-5	411208	Natal Brazil-Leopoldville Belgian Congo	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-6a	411210	Bathurst Gambia-Lagos Nigeria	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-6	411210	Bathurst Gambia-Leopoldville Belgian Congo	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-8	411212	Lagos Nigeria-Leopoldville Belgian Congo	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-10a	411212	Leopoldville Belgian Congo-Lagos Nigeria	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-10b	411212	Leopoldville Belgian Congo-Bathurst Gambia	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-10c	411212	Leopoldville Belgian Congo-Natal Brazil	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-10d	411212	Leopoldville Belgian Congo-Belem Brazil	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-10e	411212	Leopoldville Belgian Congo-Port of Spain Trinidad	PA	William Masland	$15.00
F22-10f	411212	Leopoldville Belgian Congo-San Juan Puerto Rico	PA	William Masland	$22.50
F22-10	411212	Leopoldville Belgian Congo-Miami FL	PA	William Masland	$15.00
F22-9a	411214	Lagos Nigeria-Bathurst Gambia	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-9b	411214	Lagos Nigeria-Natal Brazil	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-9c	411214	Lagos Nigeria-Belem Brazil	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-9d	411214	Lagos Nigeria-Port of Spain Trinidad	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-9e	411214	Lagos Nigeria-San Juan Puerto Rico	PA	William Masland	$22.50
F22-9	411214	Lagos Nigeria-Miami FL	PA	William Masland	$15.00
F22-7a	411230	Bathurst Gambia-Natal Brazil	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-7b	411230	Bathurst Gambia-Belem Brazil	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-7c	411230	Bathurst Gambia-Port of Spain Trinidad	PA	William Masland	$15.00
F22-7d	411230	Bathurst Gambia-San Juan Puerto Rico	PA	William Masland	$11.25
F22-7	411230	Bathurst Gambia-Miami FL	PA	William Masland	$15.00

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