Florida & Cape Cod by Air in 1946
Non-sked. Newark round-trip. Modern airliners. “Snowbirds” to Miami. Summer vacationers to Cape Cod. (NYT classifieds. Newark NJ display ad.)
The Early 1946 Era
Stettner logbook verifies 1946 non-sked history.
Research project of 1945 history gets huge boost with face-to-face visit in August 2015 with 92-year old Jack Stettner. His logbook contains the “missing” third DC-3.
Florida ideal secondary maintenance location
Growing business. 2nd ops base. WWII Hendricks Field to be deactivated. Archives tell the story.
“Experimental” DC-4 expedited for UNRRA war relief flights
An “experimental” DC-4. A high-energy group of hardworking ex-servicemen. A Veterans Air Express UNRRA contract for cargo flights behind the iron curtain. And Newark/Miami winter passenger flights. By mid-1946, the all-veterans organization was becoming recognized and starting to thrive.
1946 Manifests of UNRRA Crews
One bewildering, unfamiliar U. S. Immigrations Crew Manifest surfaced in Ancestry. There were others.
M. Frome. 1946 Navigator. Washington Post writer.
What an exquisite honor to introduce our newest Veterans family member. Our Veterans Air Express navigator Michael Frome presents his own story, in his own words. I’m beyond excited to share two of Michael’s articles written on location for The Washington Post from April 1946 in Prague with Veterans Air. How’s that for impressive!!!
1st Prague crew returns. 23 April 1946. UNRRA
1946 press clipping with prized photo. 2015 face-to-face details from Martz and Cowart! Come see.
1946 film of UNRRA Prague crew arrival
A pride hard to verbalize shudders through me every time I see this film footage of my Dad’s crew members disembarking from the Veterans Air Line DC-4 in Prague. Saunie Gravely was 22 when he got the idea of an all-Veterans air service. And this amazing footage is proof of his dream-become-reality. Come watch. Sorry, no popcorn today.
2nd Prague Crew departs for home. 2 May 1946 UNRRA
UNRRA war-relief. DC-4 flights to Prague three times and Warsaw twice with poultry hatching eggs.
Russia demands 1946 Warsaw overflight permit
First DC-4 in the fleet makes first over-flight of Russian occupied territory enroute to Warsaw, Poland, with Captain William Jakeman in the left seat.