Flying the Night Mail

8 artifacts in this set

This expert set is brought to you by:

The staff at The Henry Ford

In the 1920s, the U.S. Air Mail Service established a 2,629-mile stretch of light beacons and illuminated airfields between New York and San Francisco. Regular overnight service drastically reduced delivery times, and ultimately, the success of transcontinental air mail encouraged the development of the commercial aviation industry.

Detailed Description

Beacon Light and Wind Cone in Place for First Night Air Mail Service between New York and Chicago, 1925

Photographic print

In 1924, with the success of experimental night operations and increasing business interest in next-day mail, the U.S. Air Mail Service announced plans to establish regular overnight flights between New York and Chicago. Preparations included mounting floodlights and searchlights at airfields and constructing a series of routing beacons and emergency landing fields along the route. The first official flights departed from both terminal cities...