Air Mail Marker - Washington, DC
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member DougK
N 38° 52.885 W 077° 02.606
18S E 322752 N 4305601
At West Potomac Park in Washington, DC, is a marker-stone commemorating the first airplane mail to be operated as a continuously scheduled public service. The service between Philadelphia and New York used the nearby field in Washington to land.
Waymark Code: WMBA6C
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 04/25/2011
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member MrsMcFly
Views: 9

At West Potomac Park in Washington, DC, is a marker-stone commemorating the first airplane mail to be operated as a continuously scheduled public service. The service between Philadelphia and New York used the nearby field in Washington to land.

The marker stone is between the road and the paved walkway at the river’s edge. It faces the walkway; all you see from the road is the back of the boulder. The Marker reads:


AIR MAIL

The world's first airplane mail to be operated as a continuously scheduled public service started from this field May 15, 1918

  The route connected Washington, Philadelphia and New York. Curtiss JN 4-H airplanes with a capacity of 150 pounds of mail flew the 230 miles in about three hours.

  The service was inaugurated by the Post Office Department in cooperation with the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps of the U.S. Army. On August 12, 1918 the service was taken over in its entirety by the Post Office Department.

This marker was erected by
The Aero Club of Washington
On the Fortieth Anniversary
May 15, 1958


Group that erected the marker: The Aero Club of Washington

URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]

Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Ohio & West Basin Drives SW
Washington, DC USA
20024


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