1918 Air Mail Service Begins

 

The US Post Office began the first regulary scheduled air mail serviced on May 15th 1918 between New York and Washington. The first flight was made by Lietenant George Boyle, who started the service inauspiciously by following the wrong tracks heading south instead of north to New York.

On May 15, 1918, the United States Post Office launched the first regularly scheduled air mail service, marking a groundbreaking moment in the history of both aviation and postal delivery. The inaugural route connected New York and Washington, D.C., with an intermediary stop in Philadelphia. This bold initiative aimed to revolutionize mail transportation by significantly reducing delivery times, demonstrating the potential of aviation for practical purposes beyond military and recreational uses.

The honor of piloting the first flight was given to Lieutenant George Boyle, a young and eager Army pilot. However, the start of this historic service was anything but smooth. Boyle, tasked with flying north from Washington, D.C., to New York, made a critical navigation error shortly after takeoff. Instead of heading north toward New York, he followed the wrong set of railroad tracks and inadvertently flew south. His misdirection was compounded by poor weather and limited navigational tools, as aviation in 1918 was still in its infancy and lacked the sophisticated instruments pilots use today.

Boyle’s detour ended in an unintended landing in a field near Waldorf, Maryland, approximately 25 miles southeast of his departure point. The mishap delayed the delivery of the mail and caused some embarrassment for the fledgling air mail service. Despite this rocky start, the incident underscored the challenges of early aviation and highlighted the bravery of the pilots who undertook such risky missions.

While Boyle’s first flight is often remembered for its comedic misdirection, it should not overshadow the significance of the event. The launch of air mail service represented a critical step in integrating aviation into everyday life and demonstrated the government’s commitment to fostering the development of the nascent aviation industry. In fact, the U.S. Post Office played a pivotal role in advancing aviation technology and infrastructure. By creating demand for reliable planes and trained pilots, air mail service acted as a catalyst for the growth of the aviation sector in the United States.

Following the initial mishap, the air mail service quickly improved. Subsequent flights on the New York-Washington route were completed more successfully, with letters arriving in hours rather than days. This rapid delivery time amazed the public and encouraged further investment in aviation. Over time, the service expanded to additional cities, connecting more Americans through faster mail delivery. By the mid-1920s, private airlines began taking over air mail operations, paving the way for the commercial aviation industry we know today.

Lieutenant Boyle’s misadventure on that first flight may have been an inauspicious beginning, but it remains a charming anecdote in the larger story of a revolutionary service. The introduction of regularly scheduled air mail not only transformed the postal system but also marked a significant milestone in the history of aviation, showcasing the limitless potential of flight to bridge distances and bring people closer together. This bold experiment laid the foundation for the rapid development of air travel and communication in the 20th century, forever changing the way we connect and exchange information.