web-catalog        CAM Contract Air Mail First Flights CAM-9

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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-9: CAM-9 was awarded to Charles Dickinson. CAM-9 air service was inaugurated with both east and west flights on June 7, 1926 between Chicago Illinois and Minneapolis Minnesota with interim stops in Milwaukee and LaCrosse. Minneapolis and Saint Paul shared the same airport. The inaugural flights were marred with tragedy. Pilot, Elmer Partridge crashed and died shortly after take-off from Minneapolis. Pilot, Daniel Kiser made a forced landing after take-off from Milwaukee. Relief Pilot, HC Keller also made a forced landing on his way to LaCrosse. Postal mail covers carried on the inaugural flight between each point of landing and take-off are collectible and are known as CAM-9 covers.         Dickinson used a Laird LC-B bi-plane for this initial June 7, 1926 air service. The Laird bi-plane was built by EM Laird Aviation Company formed by Emil Matthew “Matty” Laird with partners William Burke and Jacob M “Jake” Moellendick.
        Pilots flying different legs of this June 7th CAM-9 inaugural air service included, Nimmo Black, William S Brock, Daniel Kiser, HC Keller, Emil M Laird and Elmer Partridge.

9W1	260607	Chicago IL	CD	Black, Kiser, Laird & Keller	$7.50
9W1F	260607	Chicago IL	CD	Black, Kiser, Laird & Keller	$41.25
9W2	260607	Milwaukee WI	CD	Kiser, Laird & Keller	$15.00
9W3	260607	LaCrosse WI	CD	Black	$18.00
9E5	260607	Minneapolis MN	CD	Brock & Partridge	$22.50
9E4	260607	St Paul MN	CD	Brock	$6.75
9E3	260607	LaCrosse WI	CD	Brock	$9.00
9E2	260607	Milwaukee WI	CD	Brock	$15.00

CAM-9:Dickinson's service was short-lived. After a series of crashes it went out of business and on October 1, 1926 Northwest Airways took over their routes. NWA was incorporated on August 1, 1926 as a Michigan corporation formed by a group of Detroit and Twin-Cities businessmen using borrowed aircraft.         NWA immediately purchased three Stinson Detroiter aircraft capable of carrying the mail and three passengers at 85 mph. On April 16, 1934 Northwest Airlines was incorporated replacing the former Northwest Airways.

R9W7	271123	to Madison WI	NWA		$9.00
9W6	271123	Madison WI	NWA	Walter R Bullock	$9.00
R9E7	271123	to Madison WI	NWA		$9.00
9E6	271123	Madison WI	NWA	Charles W Holman & RW Radoll	$7.50

Hamilton Metalplane H-47

9W8	281215	Milwaukee WI	NWA	LS DeLong	$4.50
9W9	281215	Fond du Lac WI	NWA	LS DeLong	$12.00
9W10	281215	Oshkosh WI	NWA	CW Holman	$12.00
9W11	281215	Appleton WI	NWA	CW Holman & Chad B Smith	$18.00
9E12	281215	Green Bay WI	NWA	CW Holman	$4.50
9E11	281215	Appleton WI	NWA	CW Holman & Chad B Smith	$4.50
9E10	281215	Oshkosh WI	NWA	Chad B Smith	$4.50
9E9	281215	Fond du Lac WI	NWA	Chad B Smith	$4.50

Ford Tri-Motor

9NW13	300308	Chicago IL	NWA	Russell J McNown	$15.00
9NW13F	300308	Chicago IL	NWA	Russell J McNown	$18.75
9NW14	300308	Elgin IL	NWA	Russell J McNown	$9.00
9NW15	300308	Rockford IL	NWA	Russell J McNown	$22.50
9NW16	300308	Janesville WI	NWA	Russell J McNown	$21.00
9SE17	300308	Madison WI	NWA	Lester Smith	$4.50
9SE16	300308	Janesville WI	NWA	Lester Smith	$4.50
9SE15	300308	Rockford IL	NWA	Walter R Bullock	$4.50
9SE14	300308	Elgin IL	NWA	Lester Smith	$4.50

9W18	300308	Chicago IL	NWA	John F Malone	$18.75
9W18F	300308	Chicago IL	NWA	John F Malone	$21.00
9W19	300308	Rochester MN	NWA	John F Malone	$6.00
9E20	300308	St Paul MN	NWA	John F Malone	$21.00
9E19	300308	Rochester MN	NWA	John F Malone	$4.50

R9E22	300701	to St Paul	NWA		$60.00
9E21	300701	St Paul via Minneapolis MN	NWA		$60.00

R9W24	300901	to Beloit MN	NWA		$6.00
R9E24	300901	to Beloit MN	NWA		$6.00
9W23	300901	Beloit MN to Madison WI	NWA	Russell J McNown	$18.75
9E23	300901	Beloit MN	NWA	LS DeLong & Lester Smith	$4.50

9N25	310202	Minneapolis MN	NWA	JE Ohrbeck	$15.00
9N26	310202	Fargo ND	NWA	F Whittemore	$18.75
9N27	310202	Grand Forks ND	NWA	F Whittemore	$6.00
9N28	310202	Pembina ND	NWA	AE Jarvis	$9.00
9S28	310202	Pembina ND	NWA	Anthony R Mensing Jr & Chad B Smith	$4.50
9S27	310202	Grand Forks ND	NWA	Anthony R Mensing Jr & Chad B Smith	$4.50
9S26	310202	Fargo ND	NWA	Anthony R Mensing Jr & Chad B Smith	$7.50

Sikorsky S-38

9N29	310530	Minneapolis to Duluth MN	NWA	JH Starboe	$18.75
9S30	310530	Duluth MN	NWA	JH Starboe	$4.50

9W31	310602	Fargo ND	NWA	Carl F Luethi	$4.50
9W32	310602	Valley City ND	NWA	Carl F Luethi	$9.00
9W33	310602	Jamestown ND	NWA	Carl F Luethi	$12.00
9W34	310602	Bismarck ND	NWA	Carl F Luethi	$18.00
9E35	310602	Mandan ND	NWA	Les Smith	$4.50
9E34	310602	Bismarck ND	NWA	Les Smith	$4.50
9E33	310602	Jamestown ND	NWA	Les Smith	$4.50
9E32	310602	Valley City ND	NWA	Les Smith	$4.50

9W36	330302	Bismarck ND	NWA	PE Kelch	$120.00
9W37	330302	Glendive MT	NWA	PE Kelch	$150.00
9W38	330302	Miles City MT	NWA	PE Kelch	$135.00
9E39	330302	Billings MT	NWA	William A Straith	$60.00
9E38	330302	Miles City MT	NWA	William A Straith	$135.00
9E37	330302	Glendive MT	NWA	William A Straith	$150.00

9W40	330302	Detroit MI	NWA	Roy E Pickering	$41.25
9W41	330302	Grand Rapids MI	NWA	Roy E Pickering	$135.00
9E42	330302	Milwaukee WI	NWA	Joseph Doerflinger	$60.00
9E41	330302	Grand Rapids MI	NWA	Joseph Doerflinger	$135.00

R9W44	330910	to Lansing MI	NWA		$15.00
9E43	330910	Lansing MI	NWA	Sam Carson	$22.50
R9E44	330910	to Lansing MI	NWA		$15.00
9W43	330910	Lansing MI	NWA	Sam Carson	$18.00
R9W46	330910	to Muskegon MI	NWA		$15.00
9E45	330910	Muskegon MI	NWA	Sam Carson	$15.00
R9E46	330910	to Muskegon MI	NWA		$21.00
9W45	330910	Muskegon MI	NWA	Sam Carson	$6.00

9W47

330911

Muskegon MI

NWA

Roy E Pickering

$750.00

R9W49	331021	to Dickinson ND	NWA		$6.00
9E48	331021	Dickinson ND	NWA	William A Straith	$4.50
R9E49	331021	to Dickinson ND	NWA		$6.00
9W48	331021	Dickinson ND	NWA	Walter R Bullock	$7.50
9W49	331021	Mandan ND	NWA	Walter R Bullock	$45.00

CAM-9: 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.
        On April 16, 1934 Northwest was reincorporated under Minnesota law as Northwest Airlines. Colonel Lewis I. Brittin, founder and general manager of Northwest Airways resigned and Shreve M. Archer was elected president. 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. After the February 1934 cancellation and reinstatement of new commercial air mail carrying contracts, the major portion of CAM-9 area coverage was re-awarded to the newly reincorporated Northwest Airlines.

Ford Tri-Motor

9W50	340526	Billings MT	NWA	Earl W Hale	$27.00
9W51	340526	Butte MT	NWA	Earl W Hale	$30.00
9W52	340526	Spokane WA	NWA	Earl W Hale	$27.00
9E53	340526	Seattle WA	NWA	Anthony R Mensing Jr	$26.25
9E52	340526	Spokane WA	NWA	Anthony R Mensing Jr	$24.00
9E51	340526	Butte MT	NWA	Anthony R Mensing Jr	$24.00

R9W55	340528	to Missoula MT	NWA		$18.75
9E54	340528	Missoula MT	NWA	Carl F Luethi	$15.00
R9E55	340528	to Missoula MT	NWA		$18.75
9W54	340528	Missoula MT	NWA	RJ Hohag	$15.00
R9W57	340528	to Wenatchee WA	NWA		$18.75
9E56	340528	Wenatchee WA	NWA	AR Mensing	$12.00
R9E57	340528	to Wenatchee WA	NWA		$15.00
9W56	340528	Wenatchee WA	NWA	AR Mensing	$21.00

Lockheed Electra

R9E59	340701	to Pontiac MI	NWA		$21.00
9W58	340701	Pontiac MI	NWA	Roy E Pickering	$22.50

R9W61	350401	to Pontiac MI	NWA		$22.50
9E60	350401	Pontiac MI	NWA	Charles W Weiblen	$18.75

9NW62	350915	Billings MT - Helena MT	NWA	Earl W Hale	$18.75
9NW62f	350915	Billings MT - Helena MT	NWA	Earl W Hale	$37.50
9NW63	350915	Helena MT	NWA	Earl W Hale	$22.50
9SE63	350915	Helena MT	NWA	B Rueschenberg	$15.00
9NE64	350915	Missoula MT	NWA	B Rueschenberg	$18.00

9W65f	370115	Detroit - Flint MI	NWA		$135.00
9E66	370115	Flint MI	NWA		$135.00

9W66

370501

Flint MI

NWA

$135.00

9E67	370810	Yakima WA	NWA	Frank Judd	$2.25
9E68	370810	Seattle - Yakima WA	NWA	Frank Judd	$7.50
9E68f	370810	Seattle - Yakima WA	NWA	Frank Judd	$33.75

9W67	371010	Yakima WA	NWA	Karl Richard Martin	$18.00
9W69	371010	Spokane - Yakima WA	NWA	Karl Richard Martin	$6.00

9NE67

380101

Yakima WA

NWA

Frank Judd

$112.50

9W70	380515	Yakima WA	NWA	Gordon J Moore	$2.25
9E71	380515	Portland OR	NWA	Gordon J Moore	$2.25

9SW72	380615	Grand Rapids MI	NWA	JV McClaflin	$2.25
9NE73	380615	Chicago IL	NWA	John H Neale	$2.25
9NE73f	380615	Chicago IL	NWA	John H Neale	$3.00

Douglas DC-3

9SW74

390826

Wenatchee WA

NWA

Dudley S Cox

$30.00

9W74A	411001	Muskegon MI - Chicago IL	NWA		$37.50
9E75	411001	Chicago IL - Muskegon MI	NWA		$52.50
9E75f	411001	Chicago IL - Muskegon MI	NWA		$48.75

9W76	420716	Great Falls MT - Spokane WA	NWA		$41.25
9S76	420716	Great Falls MT - Helena MT	NWA		$225.00
9E76	420716	Great Falls MT - Billings MT	NWA		$225.00
9W77f	420716	Billings MT	NWA		$225.00
9N78	420716	Helena MT - Great Falls MT	NWA		$225.00

9S79	430806	Great Falls MT - Missoula MT	NWA	RK Sorkness	$22.50
9N80	430806	Missoula MT - Great Falls MT	NWA	BS Cooper	$19.50

9W81	450210	Detroit MI - Chicago IL	NWA	Stanley G Adams	$90.00
9W81f	450210	Detroit MI - Chicago IL	NWA	Stanley G Adams	$60.00
9E82	450210	Chicago IL - Detroit MI	NWA	Stanley G Adams	$45.00
9E82f	450210	Chicago IL - Detroit MI	NWA	Stanley G Adams	$52.50

Martin 202

9E83	470427	Aberdeen SD	NWA	TM Hillis	$4.50
9W83	470427	Aberdeen SD	NWA	Carl E Lamping	$19.50

9E84	470622	Bozeman MT	NWA	Ira Bartles	$2.25
9W84	470622	Bozeman MT	NWA	Bert J Paque	$4.50

9E85	470704	Eau Claire WI	NWA	CK Kaiser	$2.25
9W85	470704	Eau Claire WI	NWA	Benjamin B Ueltschi	$3.00

9W86	471201	Milwaukee WI	NWA	Norman McNeil	$13.50
9E87	471201	Saint Paul WI	NWA	SC Pierman	$4.50
9E88	471201	Minneapolis MN	NWA	SC Pierman	$6.00
9E88f	471201	Minneapolis MN	NWA	SC Pierman	$3.00

9SE89	480315	Detroit MI	NWA	Edmund L Zonne	$13.50
9SE89f	480315	Detroit MI	NWA	Edmund L Zonne	$16.50
9SE90	480315	Cleveland OH	NWA	Edmund L Zonne	$6.00
9SE90f	480315	Cleveland OH	NWA	Edmund L Zonne	$7.50
9SE91	480315	Pittsburgh PA	NWA	Edmund L Zonne	$3.75
9SE91f	480315	Pittsburgh PA	NWA	Edmund L Zonne	$6.00
9NW92	480315	Washington DC	NWA	Melvin Swansen	$2.25
9NW92f	480315	Washington DC	NWA	Melvin Swansen	$2.25
9NW91	480315	Pittsburgh PA	NWA	Casimir Falenczykowski	$3.00
9NW91f	480315	Pittsburgh PA	NWA	Casimir Falenczykowski	$13.50
9NW90	480315	Cleveland OH	NWA	Melvin Swansen	$2.25
9NW90f	480315	Cleveland OH	NWA	Melvin Swansen	$7.50

9W93	490603	Kalispell MT	NWA	Bert J Paque	$3.75
9E93	490603	Kalispell MT	NWA	SA Tombs	$2.25

Douglas DC-6

9S94	581206	Chicago IL	NWA	Charles L Wright	$3.75
9S94f	581206	Chicago IL	NWA	Charles L Wright	$3.75
9S95	581206	Saint Petersburg FL	NWA	Edward E Laparle	$3.75
9S96	581206	Clearwater FL	NWA	Edward E Laparle	$3.75
9N97	581206	Miami FL	NWA	WH Arnold	$3.75
9N97f	581206	Miami FL	NWA	WH Arnold	$3.75
9N96	581206	Clearwater FL	NWA	Charles L Wright	$22.50
9N95	581206	Saint Petersburg FL	NWA	Charles L Wright	$24.00

9N98	581215	Tampa FL	NWA	Elwood J Herman	$4.50
9S98	581215	Tampa FL	NWA	Elwood J Herman	$7.50

9N99	590927	Atlanta GA	NWA	Gordon S Ruona	$4.50
9N99f	590927	Atlanta GA	NWA	Gordon S Ruona	$4.50
9S99	590927	Atlanta GA	NWA	Clark K Rice	$6.00
9S99f	590927	Atlanta GA	NWA	Clark K Rice	$6.00

        In 1963 after the retirement of its last propeller aircraft, Northwest became the first US airline with an all-turbofan jet fleet, hence the slogan "Northwest Orient: The Fan-Jet Airline."

Boeing 720

9SE100	650401	Detroit MI	NWA	WF Roth	$13.50
9SE100f	650401	Detroit MI	NWA	WF Roth	$7.50
9E102	650401	Cleveland OH	NWA	Eugene Schwartz	$97.50
9E102f	650401	Cleveland OH	NWA	Eugene Schwartz	$4.50
9NW101	650401	Philadelphia PA to Detroit MI / Minneapolis MN	NWA	Jerome H Kilian	$10.50
9NW101f	650401	Philadelphia PA to Detroit MI / Minneapolis MN	NWA	Jerome H Kilian	$3.75
9W101	650401	Philadelphia PA to Cleveland OH	NWA	WF Roth	$10.50
9W101f	650401	Philadelphia PA to Cleveland OH	NWA	WF Roth	$3.75

Boeing 707

9SW103	691004	Minneapolis MN	NWA	LL Stafford	$10.50
9SW103A	691004	Minneapolis MN (Twin City Airport)	NWA	LL Stafford	$10.50
9E104	691004	Los Angeles CA	NWA	LL Stafford	$6.00
9E104f	691004	Los Angeles CA	NWA	LL Stafford	$6.00

9W103	691004	Minneapolis MN	NWA	Homer F Sutter	$16.50
9W103A	691004	Minneapolis MN (Twin City Airport)	NWA	Homer F Sutter	$16.50
9E105	691004	San Francisco CA	NWA	Donald R Nordlund	$10.50
9E105f	691004	San Francisco CA	NWA	Donald R Nordlund	$10.50

9E106	710901	Milwaukee WI	NWA	William G Carrothers	$6.00
9W107	710901	Boston MA	NWA	David B Jagt	$3.75
9W107f	710901	Boston MA	NWA	David B Jagt	$3.00

Boeing 727

9S108f	770608	Chicago IL	NWOA	David Bauman	$150.00
9S109	770608	New Orleans LA	NWOA	Stanley J Baumwald	$3.00
9S109f	770608	New Orleans LA	NWOA	Stanley J Baumwald	$83.00

INDEX: First Flights by CAM Route #

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

15

16

17

18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34

INDEX: First Flights by AM Route #

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

INDEX: First Flights by Experimental Route #

1001

1002

INDEX: First Flights by AM Route #

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

84

86

87

88

90

91

93

94

96

97

98

99

100

101

103

105

106

107

111

119

120

121

139

140

141

143

144

148

172

INDEX: First Flights by Air Taxi Services Route #

288

289

290

291

292

293

295

296

297

298

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