Built in 1930, Mailwings were rugged aircraft that had special mail baggage compartments and would fly cross-country delivering the US Mail on government contracts.

Noise abatement? Air mail route CAM-11, Cleveland - Youngstown - Pittsburgh, was operated with small planes by Clifford Ball Airline, ancestor of Capital Airlines, which was based at Pittsburgh's first airport. Westinghouse engineer Thomas Spooner is measuring the characteristics of the purr of the aeroplane here. The pilot is Merle Moltrup. Photo from: MIT Museum

There were still few passenger airlines in America in 1928 and here mail on route CAM-1 from New York is delivered to Boston by a new PA-5 mailplane. CAM-1 was contracted to Colonial Air Transport, who apparently hired this aircraft. Pilot Ray Wonsey is known to have flown a Mailwing for Colonial around this time. NC3468 was registered to Phineas Millis, the owner of an airfield in Mendon, Massachusetts in 1928. Note logo of American Railway Express. This was a package delivery service like UPS or DHL, which did not operate aircraft itself. Photo by: Leslie Jones / Boston Public Library

Built in 1931 for Eastern Air Transport, who used it through 1933 on the CAM-19 Air Mail Route. This route was Newark, NJ to Atlanta, GA, and them Miami FL. Interestingly, the actor Steve McQueen acquired this a/c in 1979. After his death in 1980 it was sold by his estate.

Delivered to the USAAF as C-53 42-15552 in 1942. To NC50621 in 1944, later to NC19915 and N19915 after 1948. Preserved at the Proudbird Restaurant from 2008.

The British DH.4 was one of the best light bombers of WWI. A huge number were built in the USA in 1918. This airframe was rebuilt for the US Post Office by Boeing in 1923. It was later owned by movie stunt pilot Paul Mantz.

The DH-4 was a 1917 RAF day bomber. Examples sank German submarines and shot down Zeppelins at up to 16000 ft. 4,587 were US-built, mainly with Liberty engines, for service with the Army Air Service in Europe. Postwar the DH-4 remained in US military service until 1929. No.166 was one of over 100 upgraded DH-4Bs used postwar on transcontinental airmail routes by the USPO. 400 lbs of mail was carried in a compartment replacing the forward cockpit. From Douglas A/c.