38278

The Smithsonian has a print [arago.si.edu/record_194367_img_1.html] of this, captioned "New York City Postmaster Thomas Patten is photographed handing Lt. Torrey Webb equipment to make ready for one of the first regularly scheduled airmail flights in the United States. On May 15, 1918, the United States officially established airmail service between New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, under the direction of the Post Office Department, using army aircraft and pilots. The Army Air Corps pilots chosen to fly that day were Lieutenants Howard Culver, Torrey Webb, Walter Miller and Stephen Bonsal. Lt. Webb carried the first day’s mail in this Curtiss "Jenny" aircraft numbered 38278 from a temporary airmail field at Belmont Park, Long Island, New York to Bustleton Field, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. " and dated May 15, 1918.

This sequence of photos is related to the first scheduled airmail route. See www.aerofiles.com/airmail.html for details.

Torrey Hord Webb (7 December 1892 - 23 November 1975) and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_G._Patten

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2nd from right is Lt. Torrey Webb. Just left of man with boater is New York City Postmaster Thomas Patten.

NYT of May 16, 1918 query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E06EEDE163EE433A... listed dignitaries who had assembled to see Webb start with mail on the first leg, from Belmont to Philadelphia. They included three French aviation officers: Lieutenants Parri, Campizono, and Dobelle. A couple of them are near the left of this picture.

See also at the Smithsonian Institution's Flickr Photostream:

A photo in ivanpwheaton.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html suggests that the short man in a light suit is Henry Woodhouse, who was on the board of the Aero Club of America. If so, he had an interesting life. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Woodhouse_%28forger%29 Who's Who in America for 1920 shows his aviation enthusiasm. books.google.com/books?id=WZJDV5f3DUoC&pg=PA3141&... A group picture in From the First Shot: A Picture History of the Great War books.google.com/books?id=luAMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT58&lp... confirms that Henry Woodhouse is the short guy. The caption is "FRENCH AVIATORS WHO WILL HELP THE AMERICAN EAGLE LEARN TO USE ITS WINGS." Another copy of the page image with the group picture is at babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t7dr3hx6c;v... Judging from that group picture, the man to the left of Woodhouse might be Alan R Hawley, president of the Aero Club of America. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_R._Hawley