Evening star., 1939-05-28
By Joseph S. Edaerfon.

'''-S WV W "A" e'tSS W NtSS Wv
especially on the vital route to Europe.
The actual opening of scheduled
trans Atlantic air transport service on
May 20, the twelfth anniversary of Col
Charles A. Lindbergh's takeoff from
New York for Paris and in the tWen-
tieth anniversary month OF the first
Atlantic crossing by air, climaxes a
chapter in American aviation history,
which chronicles the progress of the
United States in little more than 10
years from a position as one of the
least important commercial air po 7ers
to an undisputed leadership on the
aerial trade routes of the world.
When Col. Lindbergh took off on May
20, 1927 he pointed the nose of his
little silver monoplane toward Europe
In which air transportation already had
become we'll established. Mail, passen-
gers and express were being carried by
air between all of the major European
capitals and most of the leading cities
England, France, Germany and Hol-
land already had grasped the fact that
the airplane was soon to become factor
of primary importance in international
trade and foreign diplomacy and rela-
tionships. Even at that time the air.
lines of those countries were being
pushed into Africa and across Asia Minor
toward India. The groundwork for
future air transportation was being
carried on by European airline interests
in Asia, South Africa and in South and
Central America
In the United States, by comparison,
air transportation had scarcely made a
start. The backbone of the future
trans-continental airline system, be-
tween Chicago and New York, was still
being operated by the Post Office De-
partment and those private lines which
were in operation restricted their serv-
ices almost exclusively to airmail We
had no international service of any de-
scription in being or even in process of
development.
Two Years of Quick Growth.
The two years which followed Lind
bergh's flight were rankly luxuriant
years OF growth for American air trans
portation, and progress was limited only
by the ability of airplane designers and
engineers to produce adequate trans
port aircraft
In the fall Of 1927 Col. Lindbergh
made his goodwill fight around the
Caribbean and focused attention on
the need for an international air trans
port service. 1t was realized that, al
though Europe was hopelessly out of
the question for any aircraft of the day,
Central and South America might be
reached with the existing means. France
and Germany already were making rapid
strides in the development of airlines
in South America. France was about
to connect its air route in West Africa
with its lines in South America by fast
dispatch boats crossing the narrowest
portion of the South Atlantic. Europe
was in fair way to cut it's travel time
to South America to half that between
the United States and its southern sis
ter republics.
Our answer to the European threat
in South America was being framed.
however. On October 10, 1927, small
group of pioneers which later was to
become the Pan-American Airways sys-
tenn opened an airmail line between
Key West, Fla, and Havana, Cuba On
this tiny 90-mile route they were fighting
the basic battle of all international air
transport. They were solving the prob
lens of operating privileges and per-
mission to establish bases in foreign
territory. They were facing a complete
lack Of weather information service, air.
ports, beacons, radio and other aids
furnished within the United States by
Federal, State and city governments.
Progress by Middle of 1928.
BY the middle of 1928 real progress
was being made in the international field.
Col. Lindbergh had joined Pan-Amer-
lean as technical adviser and its pioneer
leaders, Juan Trippe and c. " Whitney,
had been able to enlist the support of
the aeronautical industry and of indus
trialists and financiers who could appre-
ciate the scope and importance of the
problem.
Pan-American agents had gone into
Latin America negotiating for operating
and base agreements, surveying airlines
through unmapped country, cutting air
| ports out of the jungle. Bidding in COM
| petition against domestic and foreign
rivals, Pan-American won the basic air.
mail contracts vital to any American air.
line development abroad.
In January, 1929, mail service was
| opened between Miami and San Juan,