Early ail mail across seas and oceans
90 years ago today, on 19 November 1931, Pan American Airways' "American Clipper" entered service. The Sikorsky S-40 was the first four-engine aircraft in commercial service with a US flag carrier and improved access to Latin America.
Charles Lindbergh piloted the first flight from Miami via Cienfuegos (Cuba), Kingston (Jamaica) and Barranquilla (Colombia) to Panama. While the three amphibious aircraft of this type were primarily intended for passenger transport, the even larger Martin M-130s developed from them were also used to transport airmail.
On 29 November 1935, for example, the "China Clipper" carried more than 110,000 letters from Alameda in San Francisco Bay via Honolulu and several Pacific islands to Manila (Philippines), thus inaugurating a regular transpacific service that lasted until 1945. (ah)