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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.

PA
Boeing 314

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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