| Curtiss Carrier Pigeon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Mail aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company |
| First flight | 1925 |
| Primary user | U.S. Airmail |
| Variants | Curtiss Lark |
The Curtiss Carrier Pigeon was an American mail plane of the 1920s. A single-engined biplane designed and built to replace World War I surplus aircraft such as the DH-4, the Carrier Pigeon was one of the first aircraft designed specifically for U.S. Airmail service.
In 1925 the U.S. Postal Service felt they had excellent operational service with converted Airco D.H.4 biplanes. The eight-year-old designs were considered antiquated by this time, however, and a modern purpose-built machine was desired. While most manufacturers started to build new generation passenger aircraft with mail cargo capability, the Curtiss Carrier Pigeon was the first clean-sheet design specifically made for U.S. air-mail service. The aircraft was intended to be sold directly to the Postal Service, but new legislation that opened up outside contracts brought on a slew of competing models.
The Carrier Pigeon was drawn up to meet or exceed the original postal specifications. Strength, serviceability, and ease of maintenance were the three core design criteria. It was intended to provide service on the nighttime runs between Chicago and New York, with only one stop. The plane was built to take advantage of the powerful and plentiful 400 hp Liberty L-12 engine to meet Postal specifications. Up to 40,000 airmail letters could be carried in the 1,000 lb capacity cargo hold.
The fuselage was a welded steel tube frame covered in fabric. The upper and lower wings were interchangeable and used solid, unspliced spruce spars. The rudder, ailerons, and elevators were also interchangeable, which reduced spares counts. [1] The hinges used heavy replaceable bronze pins to reduce wear.
The watertight cargo hold was at the center of gravity so the aircraft could accommodate a range of loads without affecting the balance. The landing gear used rubber doughnut suspension. The fuel tank could be jettisoned in case of an emergency. A seven quart fire extinguisher was plumbed to the engine compartment for suppression of inflight fires. The pilot could choose between wheel or stick control based on his preference. [2]
A prototype Curtiss Carrier Pigeon flown by Charles S. (Casey) Jones placed 7th in the 1925 Edsel B. Ford Reliability Tour. Out of 17 starters, 11 aircraft including the Carrier Pigeon completed with a perfect score, netting a $350 prize. [3] [4] Henry Ford waited at the finish line to greet the winners of the 1,900 mile endurance test. [5]
The Carrier Pigeon was used by National Air Transport Inc. At the time, both Curtiss and NAT were owned and controlled by Clement Keys. Ten Carrier Pigeons were put into service with 35 surplus Liberty engine spares. NAT used the Carrier Pigeon for the Contract Air Mail CAM-3 (Chicago-Dallas) route. The first recorded service was on May 12, 1926 with The route between Chicago, Illinois and Dallas, Texas. Stops were scheduled in Moline, Illinois, Saint Joseph, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, Wichita, Kansas, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Fort Worth, Texas. The maiden flight was piloted by D A Askew, R L Dobie, R H Fatt, Lawrence H Garrison, P E Johnson, H L Kindred and Edmund Matucha. These pilots logged 776,351 miles of flight in the first year without an accident or loss of any mail.
NAT invested $10 million competing for the nighttime Chicago to New York route (CAM 17). NAT started service on September 1, 1927 using Carrier Pigeons from CAM-3. [6] These planes flew the early lighted airway from Cheyenne to Chicago, and recently extended to New York. The path over the Allegheny Mountains was referred to as the "Hell Stretch". [7] Early in 1929, NAT acquired seven 625 hp Curtiss Falcons, these replaced the smaller Carrier Pigeons. D. A. Askew flew the final Carrier Pigeon flight. He had flown this same aircraft on the inaugural CAM No. 3 flight. [8] On February 9, 1934, the Post Office cancelled all airmail contracts on suspicion that the mail carrying contracts had been awarded through collusion during the previous administration. [9]
One fatal airmail crash was recorded in a Carrier Pigeon. Arthur R. Smith was killed in aircraft #602 when he hit trees near Montpelier, Ohio, en route to Chicago. [10]
On November 27, 1929, Evelyn "Bobbi" Trout and Elinor Smith took off from Metropolitan Airport in a Commercial Sunbeam biplane in an attempt to set an official record for a refueled endurance flight by women. A Carrier Pigeon was used as the tanker aircraft, which refueled the Sunbeam 3 1/2 times. [11] The Sunbeam was to be refueled in early morning and before sunset. Refueling went well. With shifts of four hours each, two days passed. By Thanksgiving Day, they had been up for 39 hours. While refueling, the Carrier Pigeon began trailing black smoke. Trout quickly tossed the fueling hose over the side as Smith maneuvered away from the ailing Carrier Pigeon. It landed, and the fliers emerged safely. [12]
Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947 [14]
General characteristics
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
The Douglas Y1B-7 was a 1930s American bomber aircraft. It was the first US monoplane given the B- 'bomber' designation. The monoplane was more practical and less expensive than the biplane, and the United States Army Air Corps chose to experiment with monoplanes for this reason. At the time the XB-7 was ordered, it was being tested by Douglas Aircraft as an observational plane.
The Boeing Model 15 was a United States single-seat open-cockpit biplane fighter aircraft of the 1920s, manufactured by the Boeing company. The Model 15 saw service with the United States Army Air Service and with the United States Navy as a carrier-based fighter.
The Boeing 80 was an American airliner of the 1920s. A three-engined biplane, the Model 80 was built by the Boeing Airplane Company for Boeing's own airline, Boeing Air Transport, successfully carrying both airmail and passengers on scheduled services.
National Air Transport was a large United States airline; in 1930 it was bought by Boeing. The Air Mail Act of 1934 prohibited airlines and manufacturers from being under the same corporate umbrella, so Boeing split into three smaller companies, one of which is United Airlines, which included what had been National Air Transport.
The Douglas C-1 was a cargo/transport aircraft produced by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation for the United States Army Air Service starting in 1925.
The Canadian Vickers Vanessa was a Canadian biplane transport seaplane of the 1920s. It was a single-engine, twin-float biplane of mixed construction, evaluated by the Royal Canadian Air Force and used for experimental air-mail services..
The Boeing Model 95 was a single engine biplane mailplane built by Boeing in the United States in the late 1920s to supplement the Boeing Model 40s being used on Boeing's airmail routes.
The Norman Thompson N.T.4 was a twin-engined British flying boat of the First World War. Although less well known than similar Curtiss and Felixstowe flying boats, 50 were ordered for Britain's Royal Naval Air Service.
The Travel Air 2000/3000/4000 (originally, the Model A, Model B and Model BH were open-cockpit biplane aircraft produced in the United States in the late 1920s by the Travel Air Manufacturing Company. During the period from 1924–1929, Travel Air produced more aircraft than any other American manufacturer, including over 1,000 biplanes. While an exact number is almost impossible to ascertain due to the number of conversions and rebuilds, some estimates for Travel Air as a whole range from 1,200 to nearly 2,000 aircraft.
The Douglas mailplanes were a family of 1920s American single-seat mail planes designed and built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. The aircraft were used to run the main routes of the United States Air Mail service until the introduction of three-engined aircraft in 1928.
The Keystone LB-6 and LB-7 were 1920s American light bombers, built by the Keystone Aircraft company for the United States Army Air Corps, called Panther by the company, but adoption of the name was rejected by the U.S. Army.
United States airmail was a service class of the United States Post Office Department (USPOD) and its successor United States Postal Service (USPS) delivering air mail by aircraft flown within the United States and its possessions and territories. Letters and parcels intended for air mail service were marked as "Via Air Mail", appropriately franked, and assigned to any then existing class or sub-class of the Air Mail service.
The Stearman C3 was an American-built civil biplane aircraft of the 1920s, designed by Stearman Aircraft of Wichita, Kansas. It was also the first Stearman aircraft to receive a type certificate.
The Stout 2-AT Pullman, or "Air Pullman", was a single engine all-metal monoplane that was used for early airline travel and air mail transport in America.
The Pitcairn PA-3 Orowing is an early Pitcairn biplane designed for light commercial use in the early 1920s when aircraft production rates did not meet demand for airmail, training, and passenger aircraft.
The Curtiss Oriole was an American three-seat general-purpose biplane.
The Curtiss Model 41 Lark was a commercial biplane manufactured by Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company that was used by pioneering airmail, airline and bush pilots in the 1920s.
The Commercial C-1 Sunbeam was a long-range biplane used in record-setting flights of the 1920s.
The Aeromarine AM-1 was a biplane built to pursue a US Air Mail Service requirement for a nighttime transport.
The Curtiss-Reid Courier was designed in Canada in 1931 as a specialist, non-passenger carrying, mailplane capable of maintaining services in Canada's hard winters. The 1930s depression led to the end of government subsidised airmail contracts and only one prototype flew. It was lost in 1933 during preparations for a private, long distance flight.
