Popular Mechanics – ‘A Suicide Club’: How WWI Pilots Pioneered The Age of Airmail
– May 10, 2018Posted in: Technology
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Eric, Great article about the origins of the airmail service and the pilots who ‘got it off the ground’. I wanted to ask you a favor and also add some information to your story. I would like to know how to get copies of the early photo’s you posted in your article. Anything to do with the Standard Aircraft field and the DH4 would be wonderful, here is the reason for my request and the information I can provide you with.
My Uncle, Carl B. Smith, for whom I am named (Robert Carl Smith) was one of those first pioneer Airmail Aviators back in the early 1900’s. He flew mail and freight in and around South and Central America for which he received no accredidation. He was a 1st Lt. Naval Officer who instructed new Aviators how to fly Bi-Planes during WW1, for which he was decorated at wars end. He was solicited to take a position of ‘test pilot’ at the Standard Aircraft Field in Elizabeth, NJ the summer of 1918. The role of test pilot was offered due to his senior abilities and experience, as the aircraft involved were Military Surplus DH4’s and JR-1B’s.
Carl B. Smith’s picture and short story are on display at the Smithsonian Post Office exhibit in Washington DC. He has the dubious distinction of being the “first Airmail Pilot killed” in the line of duty. The jury is still out on why the wing collapsed on his bird causing his untimely death. Some say sabotage of a surplus aircraft, some say he was showing off for a lady on the ground and exceeded the limits of the airframe. I prefer the former as I am a pilot and have a friend who owns several DH4s We know that the limits of that airframe could not have been exceeded while circling at 600’ AGL. His Airmail Service badge and pictures are on display at the Fantasy of Flight Museum, Polk County, Fl.
Please let me know what pictures are available as I believe Carl in in the one at the Standard Aircraft Field you posted.
All the best, Robert C. Smith,
Hi Robert, thanks for taking a moment to read the article.
I imagine you’ve seen most of the online sites like Airmail Pioneers http://www.airmailpioneers.org/index.htm They have a number of photos, mostly of airmail pilots who joined the Service or airlines later than your uncle. There may be Standard Aircraft Field/DH.4 photos as well.
The photo of the lineup of JR-1Bs at Standard Aircraft, NJ comes from the U.S. Postal Service via the National Archives in Maryland. The image is also on the photo-sharing service, Pinterest. I suggest surfing through Pinterest for shots of the field/Carl Smith. You could then reach out to the Nat’l Archives for digital or hard copy if you like. Many of the other photos in the piece are contemporary newspaper shots which are available from Getty Images for a fee. The Archives and Getty are likely your most accessible sources for photos.
The book, Early Air Pioneers, 1862-1935, Ed. Maj. James F. Sunderman, USAF, Franklin Watts Inc., 1961, pp. 168-173, has some good shots though more text. There are a number of pictorial histories of flight that tend to use the same USPS, news service photos that have been widely seen.
DH.4 images can be found widely via image searches on the popular search engines. The Smithsonian has these shots of its DH of course https://postalmuseum.si.edu/collections/object-spotlight/de-havilland-dh-4.html
My father, John Tegler’s, photo collection has a number of DH 4 images as well.
I’m pleased that Carl Smith’s name and legacy live on through you. I tip my hat to both of you and the next time I go flying I’ll think about the DH.4. Glenn Peck is the only guy I know of (not personally) with a flyable DH.4. I think it made a splash at Oshkosh years ago.
Thanks again for getting in touch,
Eric Tegler
Dear Eric,
Thank you for keeping our heroes alive in our memory even if a century went by already.
My grand-father’s uncle was part of this “club” for a short period of time as he enrolled beginning of july 1920 and he died in a crash on 16th of august 1920 while practicing landings in rain on board of a DH-31704, according to the airmailpionneers.org website.
His name was Robert Gautier, french citizen born in Paris in 1897, and i still have in my possession his international pilot licence, his US airmail badge with the number 355, and most important probably the last letter he ever wrote to his parents on july 17th 1920.
He wrote his letter from the Postal Aviation Field, College Park, Maryland, and he explains in it how proud he is now working for the US Airmail and how glad he is having left France ’cause no opportunities were there… To him America was the promised land, the great country of opportunities but as you explain well in your article, in 1920, being a member of this team equalled being a member of a “suicide club”…
My Grand-father passed away 20 years ago, he never talked much about his uncle he barely knew, unless i ask.. I remember how proud he was of his uncle, i could see in his eyes the courage it took to be a pilot at that time.. He lived his life fearless and determined to live it fully.. That is, in my opinion, the legacy left to us by those young heroes.. Live your life fearless and fully.
Thank you again for your article and pardon me for my broken english.
Robert Gautier signed his last letter to his parents writting: American Boy.
I would have been so proud to have american relatives if only he had survived through those first years of aviation.
Sincerely.
Julien FEVE