AN HISTORIC AIR MAIL FLIGHT FROM GALWAY TO BERLIN

by Tom Kenny

Ninety years ago, on October 22^nd, 1932, a Fox Moth plane piloted by Captain Armstrong took off from Oranmore carrying mails and two passengers, Peggy Kenny and Kitty Curran, thus starting the first Irish–Continental European air mail delivery and the first passenger service. The mails were handed to the pilot by the postmaster Mr. C. Lynch. Bad weather at Athlone meant they had to fly blind a few hundred feet above ground for some time. This ‘feeder’ part of the overall journey was sponsored by Galway Harbour Board to the tune of £80. The flight took 55 minutes, it took the ladies four hours to get home on the train.

At Baldonnel, 14 passengers boarded the 30-seater monoplane (described as a ‘giant plane’) which was piloted by Col. Charles Russell, and 45 minutes after the arrival of the plane from Galway, they took off. They had taken on some extra mail to add to the mails from Galway. They landed in Croydon at 11.55am to refuel. Their next stop was Rotterdam which they reached at 1.05pm, had a quick bite to eat and took off for Berlin at 1.45pm. As they passed Brandenburg, their attention was drawn to lights that flashed every thirty miles guiding aircraft to Berlin. “The aerodrome – the best and most up to date in the world – lights two or three acres with red lights among the grass to guide us down, a runway of white lights standing out for the final landing.”

“We were being welcomed by many, led by one of the directors of Luft Hansa, Germany’s greatest air organization. The mails are handed over and there is great ceremony as the German Post Office receives them.” Col. Russell talks to “the world’s press representatives of a new air achievement and its importance to Ireland, to Germany and to Europe”. That evening they spent time seeing “the most dynamic capital in the world. In its streets we saw Nazis marching in uniform, and at every corner collections were being taken up for parties in the general election”.

They took off at 4.45am local time the following morning and were in Rotterdam by 8.35. They landed in Croydon at 11.30am and were back in Dublin by 4pm. No mail was carried on the return flight, which did not go on to Galway as the runway in Oranmore was too small for the large aircraft.

The entire trip was organized by Col. Russell who was “jubilant at the success of the flight. We have done what we said we would: We have brought the Galway air mail to Berlin in record time. We have shown that we can effect a saving of two and a half days in the delivery of transatlantic mail between Europe and America”.

In all, the mails weighed approximately 71 lbs. Considering that there were only three days’ notice given by the Galway and Dublin post offices of the flight, this was a remarkable amount made up of about 1,900 letters and cards, some 600 of which came from Galway, 50 from the USA, 1,300 from Dublin and 25 philatelic covers with directions and additional postage for onward transmission. Stamps for cards and letters were 6d.

This major event in Irish aviation history was inspired by ‘the first transatlantic airmail delivery’ in 1929, when mail was collected from an American liner The Karlsruhe in Galway Bay and promptly flown in a Vickers-Vixen plane from Oranmore by Col. Russell to Croydon with fuel stops at Baldonnell and at Sealand near Liverpool, which meant a major saving of time on overland transport.

Our images are of the poster that appeared in the GPO in Galway advertising the fact that letters could be sent on this historic flight. The inset illustration is of the oval cachet in dark green that was stamped on the post that was sent from Galway. The photograph is of Colonel Charles Russell, universally known as ‘Charlie’, a pioneer of Irish Aviation who was the inspiration behind this journey.

Our sincere thanks to Bridget Egan-Mitchell whose article in “Flying in Ireland” provided us with much of the above material.

Finally, my apologies to all Salerno past pupils that I might have led astray last week. I got my dates mixed up when giving them the times of a reunion which  in fact will take place this Saturday, the 22^nd of October from 11am to 2pm at the school on Threadneedle Road, and all are welcome. There will be a lot of nostalgia in the exhibition of old photographs and a warm welcome to you all.