Robertson Aircraft Corporation: Difference between revisions
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==As an airline== |
==As an airline== |
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[[File:Lindbergh check.jpg|thumb|left|Charles Lindbergh's last pay check as an RAC Air Mail pilot.]][[image:DH-4 airmail.jpg|right|thumb|A Robertson DH-4 used on the CAM-2 Air Mail route.]]On |
[[File:Lindbergh check.jpg|thumb|left|Charles Lindbergh's last pay check as an RAC Air Mail pilot.]][[image:DH-4 airmail.jpg|right|thumb|A Robertson DH-4 used on the CAM-2 Air Mail route.]]On April 15, 1926, Robertson Aircraft started Contract Air Mail service over route CAM-2 from Lambert Field to Chicago, with stops in [[Springfield, Illinois]] and [[Peoria, Illinois]]; [[Charles Lindbergh]] was employed as chief pilot for the service.<ref>{{cite book|title=The roaring twenties|author=Thomas Streissguth}}</ref> RAC started service with four converted DH-4 aircraft (#s 109-112)<ref>{{cite book|title=The Big Jump: Lindbergh and the Great Atlantic Air Race|author=Richard Bak}}</ref> acquired from the U.S. Postal Service's Air Mail fleet two of which were lost in accidents in September and November, 1926, while being piloted by Lindbergh. RAC added service over CAM-29 between St.Louis and Omaha in May 1929.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Putnam Aeronautical Review|author=John Motum}}</ref> During the [[Great Depression]] Robertson's flight operations were merged into [[Universal Aviation Corporation]] along with Continental Air Lines, Northern Air Lines, and Paul R. Braniff Inc.<ref>{{cite book|title=Going places: transportation redefines the twentieth-century West|author=Carlos A. Schwantes|page=208}}</ref> Universal Aviation became a component of [[Avco|The Aviation Corporation]] in 1930, merging many companies into American Airways in 1934, eventually becoming [[American Airlines]].<ref>{{cite web|title=History of AMR|url=http://www.aa.com/i18n/amrcorp/corporateInformation/facts/history.jsp|accessdate=4 October 2011}}</ref> |
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The 1957 motion picture [[The Spirit of St. Louis (film)|''The Spirit of St. Louis'']] featured an RAC DH-4 mailplane in flying sequences as well as Maj. Robertson (played by James Robertson, Jr.) and company Air Mail pilots Lindbergh ([[James Stewart]]) and Harlan A. "Bud" Gurney ([[Murray Hamilton]]) among its characters. |
The 1957 motion picture [[The Spirit of St. Louis (film)|''The Spirit of St. Louis'']] featured an RAC DH-4 mailplane in flying sequences as well as Maj. Robertson (played by James Robertson, Jr.) and company Air Mail pilots Lindbergh ([[James Stewart]]) and Harlan A. "Bud" Gurney ([[Murray Hamilton]]) among its characters. |
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Revision as of 23:19, 11 December 2012
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| Founded | 1918 (Incorporated Feb. 1921) |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Lambert-St. Louis Flying Field, Anglum, MO |
Key people | Maj. William B. Robertson, Frank Robertson and H. H. Perkins |
| Parent | American Airlines |
Robertson Aircraft Coroporation was a post-World War I American aviation service company based at the Lambert-St. Louis Flying Field near St. Louis, Missouri, that flew passengers and U.S. Air Mail, gave flying lessons, and performed exhibition flights. It also modified, re-manufactured, and resold surplus military aircraft including Standard J, Curtiss Jenny/Canuck, DeHavilland DH-4, Curtiss Oriole, Spad, Waco, and Travel Air types in addition to Curtiss OX-5 engines.[1][2]
RAC also operated facilities in Kansas City, San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans, and Fort Wayne. The company was owned and operated by brothers Maj. William B. Robertson (1893–1943) and Frank H. Robertson (1898–1938) who were both former US Army aviators. William Robertson left the company in 1928 to form the Curtiss-Robertson division of Curtiss-Wright to produce aircraft such as the Curtiss Robin, which RAC sold.
As an airline
On April 15, 1926, Robertson Aircraft started Contract Air Mail service over route CAM-2 from Lambert Field to Chicago, with stops in Springfield, Illinois and Peoria, Illinois; Charles Lindbergh was employed as chief pilot for the service.[3] RAC started service with four converted DH-4 aircraft (#s 109-112)[4] acquired from the U.S. Postal Service's Air Mail fleet two of which were lost in accidents in September and November, 1926, while being piloted by Lindbergh. RAC added service over CAM-29 between St.Louis and Omaha in May 1929.[5] During the Great Depression Robertson's flight operations were merged into Universal Aviation Corporation along with Continental Air Lines, Northern Air Lines, and Paul R. Braniff Inc.[6] Universal Aviation became a component of The Aviation Corporation in 1930, merging many companies into American Airways in 1934, eventually becoming American Airlines.[7]
The 1957 motion picture The Spirit of St. Louis featured an RAC DH-4 mailplane in flying sequences as well as Maj. Robertson (played by James Robertson, Jr.) and company Air Mail pilots Lindbergh (James Stewart) and Harlan A. "Bud" Gurney (Murray Hamilton) among its characters.
Production
On 1 August 1943, during a demonstration flight of an "all St. Louis-built glider", a WACO CG-4A-RO military troop and cargo transport glider, 42-78839, built under license by RAC, crashed at Lambert Field in St. Louis during a demonstration flight when its right wing separated shortly after it had been released at 3,000 feet by its Army C-47 tow plane killing all ten on board including St. Louis Mayor William D. Becker, RAC President Maj. William B. Robertson, and VP/Chief Engineer Harold A. Krueger, Thomas Dysart, president of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, Max Doyne, director of public utilities, Charles Cunningham, department comptroller, Henry Mueller, St. Louis Court presiding judge, Lt. Col. Paul Hazleton, pilot Milton Kiugh, and mechanic J. M. Davis.[8] The failed component had been manufactured by Robertson subcontractor Gardner Metal Products Company, of St. Louis, who, ironically, had been a casket maker.[9]. Maj. Robertson's then-17-year old son, James, had been a passenger on a successful test flight of the glider made immediately before the fatal flight.[10][11][12]
Aircraft
| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waco CG-4 (license built) | Template:Avyear | 170 | Combat Glider |
| B1-RD | Template:Avyear | Ultralight aircraft |
References
- ^ Robertson Aircraft Corporation parts catalog "A". 1928.
- ^ Aerial Age. September 12, 1921.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Thomas Streissguth. The roaring twenties.
- ^ Richard Bak. The Big Jump: Lindbergh and the Great Atlantic Air Race.
- ^ John Motum. The Putnam Aeronautical Review.
- ^ Carlos A. Schwantes. Going places: transportation redefines the twentieth-century West. p. 208.
- ^ "History of AMR". Retrieved 4 October 2011.
- ^ Bowers, Peter M., "Breezing Along With The Breeze", Wings, Granada Hills, California, December 1989, Volume 19, Number 6, p. 19.
- ^ Diehl, Alan E., PhD, "Silent Knights: Blowing the Whistle on Military Accidents and Their Cover-ups", Brassey's, Inc., Dulles, Virginia, 2002, Library of Congress card number 2001052726, ISBN 978-1-57488-412-8, pages 81-82.
- ^ "Mayor of St. Louis, Other Officials Die in Glider's Plunge" The New York Times, August 2, 1943, p. 1
- ^ "St. Louis Mayor William Becker and nine others were killed on Aug. 1, 1943, when a World War II glider they were riding in plunged and slammed nose first into the ground near the Lambert Airport runway." Eleven images from St. Louis Post-Dispatch, stltoday.com
- ^ J. Norman Grim. To Fly the Gentle Giants: The Training of U.S. WW II Glider Pilots.