Description: Air Mail Route 48 was from Minneapolis and Saint Paul via Rochester, Minnesota and Mason City, Iowa to Des Moines, Iowa, where it split into two sections — one flying via Ottumwa, Iowa and Quincy, Illinois to Saint Louis, Missouri and the other a southwest spur from Des Moines to Kansas City, Missouri. Air Mail Route 48 was inaugurated during a period when the Post Office Department's cachet policy called for the provision of first flight cachets only to those cities that had never had air mail service of any kind. Accordingly, under this policy Ottumwa, Iowa was the only city furnished an official cachet. The airline used Lockheed Lodestars equipment on the inaugural flights.This cover was one of only 102 pieces of mail carried on the inaugural Air Mail Route 48 flight from Des Moines, Iowa to Minneapolis, Minnesota (where it was backstamped) and is listed in the Contract Air Mail Flights (CAM) Section of The American Air Mail Catalogue as 48N4.Richard Singley, a noted air mail historian, prepared the cover.At the time of the merger with Braniff International Airways, August 15, 1952, Mid-Continent was operating a fleet of 23 Douglas DC-3's and four Convair 240's over its 6,241 miles of routes, serving, 35 cities from Minneapolis/Saint Paul to the southern termini of Houston and New Orleans.
Price: 7.25 USD
Location: Cranford, New Jersey
End Time: 2024-10-02T19:06:50.000Z
Shipping Cost: 1.35 USD
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Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Type: Transportation
Place of Origin: United States
Quality: First Flight Cover
Country: United States
Event: First Flight
Grade: Ungraded
Exact Topic: Aviation History
Exact Type: Postal History
Topic: Aviation
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Certification: Uncertified
Modified Item: No
