Excerpt:
This website is dedicated to the men and women of the U.S. Air Mail Service, a little-remembered organization that laid the foundation for commercial aviation worldwide. With the cooperation of the U.S. Air Service, the U.S. Post Office flew the mail from 1918 until 1927.
Air Mail Service pilots are the unsung heroes of early aviation. In their frail Curtiss Jennies and postwar de Havillands, they battled wind, snow, and sleet to pioneer round-the-clock airmail service along the world's longest air route, the U.S. transcontinental. In the process, thirty-four pilots lost their lives.
Annotation:
The Air Mail Pioneers are an organization dedicated to preserving information on the partnership between the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Air Service, which flew mail across the country from 1918-1927. These aviators and crewmen became some of the first commercial air workers and helped to integrate flight into the every-day life of Americans. The site displays a gallery of images, lists and bios of Air Mail Service pilots, and an informative historical essay about the Air Service. Also included on the site are early flight directions, maps, and information on the aircraft used by the Service. The site contains information on former employees in the service, which could be a valuable asset to researchers interested in oral histories. This site would be most helpful to those interested in the history of commercial flight or the U.S. Postal Service.