web-catalog        FAM Foreign Air Mail First Flights F25

Aerodacious (Aviation + Audacious = Aerodacious) eMail: Aerodacious Page FAM025 (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-25: FAM-25 was awarded to the Flying Tiger Line.
        Robert Prescott returned to the US in November 1944 and after meeting Los Angeles oil pioneer and magnate, Samuel B. Mosher's associates founded the Flying Tiger Line. The Flying Tiger Line purchased fourteen war surplus Navy Budd Conestoga cargo aircraft and arranged for financial assistance from friends. Almost immediately the Flying Tiger Line landed their first three cargo loads -- a planeload of grapes from Bakersfield to Atlanta, flowers from California to Detroit and furniture from New York to California. The Flying Tiger Line was off the ground. AM-100 was awarded to the Flying Tiger Line and on May 28, 1956 it began transcontinental flight service between the east and west coasts of the US.
        Various cargo aircraft were added to their fleet including the Douglas DC-6A which could carry 32,000 pounds of cargo at 275 miles per hour with a 2,000 mile range. The Flying Tiger Line met the challenge of the jet age adding B-707's to their fleet. The Boeing 707 carried 72,000 pounds of freight at 550 miles per hour over a 3,000 mile range.         FAM-25 was awarded to the Flying Tiger Line and on September 14, 1969 flying a Boeing 707 piloted by Thomas McMitchell, it inaugurated flight service from Los Angeles CA via San Francisco CA and Seattle WA to Tokyo Japan.

F25-1	690914	San Francisco CA-Tokyo Japan	FTL	Thomas McMitchell	$4.50
F25-1f	690914	San Francisco CA-Tokyo Japan	FTL	Thomas McMitchell	$4.50
F25-2	690915	Seattle WA-Tokyo Japan	FTL	Thomas McMitchell	$6.00
F25-2f	690915	Seattle WA-Tokyo Japan	FTL	Thomas McMitchell	$6.00

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

12

14

15

17

18

19

20

21

22

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

38

40

42

45

46

48

59

95

98

eMail: Aerodacious