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May 15, 1918
On May 15, 1918, the United States officially established airmail service between New York and Washington, D.C., using Army aircraft and pilots. In earlier years, when the Post Office Department began to use new
transportation systems such as railroads or steamboats, it contracted with the owners of the lines to carry the mail. But there were no commercial airlines to contract with. The first airmail routes—between
New York, Philadelphia, and Washington—were also the first airline routes created between those cities.
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The August and September Flights
In August, the Post Office Department took over airmail operations with airplanes and civilian pilots of its own. Captain Benjamin Lipsner was named the first superintendent of the U.S. Airmail Service.
The next month, Lipsner sent two of his best pilots on a path-finding flight from New York City to Chicago, Illinois.
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