CAM Contract Air Mail First Flights CAM-4

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web-catalog CAM Contract Air Mail First Flights CAM-4

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Page ccCAM004 (Revised 01/13/2009)

Background: The Air Mail Act of 1925 (Kelly Act) authorized the postmaster general to contract for domestic airmail service with commercial air carriers. It also set airmail rates and the level of cash subsidies to be paid to companies that carried the mail. By transferring airmail operations to private companies, the government effectively would help create the commercial aviation industry. Various routes were designated and contracts for carrying the mail over these routes were then awarded to many different private air service companies. The Contract Air Mail routes became known as CAM's.

CAM-4: CAM-4 was awarded to Western Air Express, Inc. WAE was founded in 1925 by Harris M "Pop" Hanshue, a former race car driver. CAM-4 air service was inaugurated with both east and west flights on April 17, 1926 between Los Angeles California and Salt Lake City Utah with an interim stop in Las Vegas Nevada. Postal mail covers carried on the inaugural flight between each point of landing and take-off are collectible and are known as CAM-4 covers. Western Air Express used Douglas M-2 bi-planes with Liberty engines for this initial April 17, 1926 air service. The Douglas M-2 bi-planes were built by the Douglas Aircraft Company founded by Donald Douglas.
Pilots flying different legs of this April 17th CAM-4 inaugural air service included, Maurice "Maury" Graham and Charles N "Jimmy" James.

4W1	260417	Salt Lake City UT	WAE	James	$7.50
4W1f	260417	Salt Lake City UT	WAE	James	$26.25
4W2a	260417	Las Vegas NV	WAE	James	$22.50
4E3	260417	Los Angeles CA	WAE	Graham	$6.75
4E2b	260417	Las Vegas NV	WAE	Graham	$22.50

4S3	300601	Los Angeles CA	WAE	David E Doty	$6.00
4N4	300601	San Diego CA	WAE	Harold B Russell	$4.50

CAM-4: On February 9, 1934 the Post Office Department canceled all contracts of operators flying mail on routes within the US to become effective on February 19, 1934. The reason given by the Post Office was that there was suspicion that the mail carrying contracts had been awarded through collusion during the previous Administration.
Cancellation of the air mail contracts held by established pioneer airline companies was accompanied by an executive order from President Franklin D Roosevelt stating that the Army Air Corps should now carry the mail. Three territorial zones were established for the Air Corps mail operations, Newark NJ, Chicago IL and Salt Lake City UT. The eastern, central and western zones each had branch routes to other feeder cities. It was a difficult assignment for the Army Air Corps as they did not have enough planes and the ones they had, did not have the latest instruments, landing, navigation, or cockpit lights. One of the aircraft they used was the Keystone B-4 bi-plane.
New commercial air mail carrying contracts were made in May 1934 and the mail was again flown by private contractors over re-designated revised Post Office Department routes in late June 1934.

CAM-4: After the February 1934 cancellation and reinstatement of new commercial air mail carrying contracts over re-designed revised Post Office routes in late June 1934, General Air Lines began flying CAM-4 air mail from Los Angeles CA to Salt Lake City UT. On May 8, 1934 Western Air Express had changed its name to General Air Lines and on December 29, 1934 revereted back to its old WAE name. For its short existance, GAL and later WAE used Douglas DC-3's for its passenger and mail carrying services.

WAE

Douglas DC-3 (Douglas Sleeper Transport - DST)

R4N6	361201	to Long Beach CA	WAE		$4.50
4S5	361201	Long Beach CA	WAE	Charles N James	$2.25
R4S6	361201	to Long Beach CA	WAE		$4.50
4N5	361201	Long Beach CA	WAE	Charles N James	$4.50

On April 17, 1941 Western Air Express severed its interchange ties with United Airlines and changed its name to Western Air Lines.

WAL

WAL

Douglas DC-3

4S7	451116	Los Angeles CA	WAL	Walter Brown	$6.00
4S7f	451116	Los Angeles CA	WAL	Walter Brown	$22.50
4N8	451116	Palm Springs CA	WAL	Walter Brown	$2.25

4S9	460112	Palm Springs CA	WAL	Walter Brown	$3.75
4S10	460112	El Centro CA	WAL	Walter Brown	$2.25
4N10	460112	El Centro CA	WAL	Paul D Fox	$3.75
4N11	460112	San Diego CA	WAL	Paul D Fox	$6.00

4W12

460428

Palm Springs - Long Beach CA

WAL

JG Orwig

$22.50

R4N14	460716	to Cedar City UT	WAL		$4.50
4S13	460716	Cedar City UT	WAL	Clay Covington	$6.00
R4S14	460716	to Cedar City UT	WAL		$4.50
4N13	460716	Cedar City UT	WAL	Max Crall	$2.25

4E15	470502	El Centro - Yuma AZ	WAL	James Conniry	$10.50
4W16	470502	Yuma AZ	WAL	James Conniry	$2.25

INDEX: First Flights by CAM Route #

INDEX: First Flights by AM Route #

INDEX: First Flights by Experimental Route #

INDEX: First Flights by AM Route #

INDEX: First Flights by Air Taxi Services Route #

INDEX: First Flights by Experimental Route #

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