NORTHWEST AIRWAYS THE FIRST 15 YEARS 1927-1941
The first fare paying passenger was carried on July 5,1927 on the daunting 12.30 hour flight from Minneapolis to Chicago via La Crosse, Madison and Milwaukee.
The Hamilton H45 and H47 6-passenger planes were used until 1928, to carry both mail and passengers.
Starting 1928, the Ford Tri-motor 5-AT-C , a 14-seat aircraft . began to grace the skies under the colours of Northwest Airways and were able to connect Minneapolis (Wold-Chamberlain field) , Saint Paul (Municipal Airport) and Chicago (Cicero field). The "Tin Goose" as they were affectionately nicknamed introduced levels of comfort seldom seen in that time (except maybe for boat planes) . They were equipped with bathroom, heat, good lighting, call buttons, and live entertainment as they carried head phones that broadcasted Am radio to the passengers
In 1928, the company introduced a short lived international service to Winnipeg via Fargo and Pembina. The route did not yield the expected commercial and financial results and was soon closed after 3 months of service
from the collection of Bjorn Larsson @www.timetableimages com
2 S-38 amphibians were acquired in 1931 ( NC303N and NC199H) for the sole purpose of operating the route MSP-Duluth sea port on Lake Superior. They were retired after 2 years following losses on the route
Interior of S-38
NW bought several second hand Travelaor 600 pending the delivery of its Orions .
Lockheed Orions 9 were acquired until the delivery of the Lockheed-10 and operated the type between 1933 and 1935 and were fitted with 6 seats. The type made of wood necessitated numerous repairs and heavy maintenance. Furthermore, the CAB issued a ruling prohibiting further use of single-engine passenger aircraft from operating on all major networks. It also became mandatory to have and co-pilot therefore a two-seat cockpit arrangement on all such flights. The requirements of the ruling brought an end to the "Orion" as a passenger-carrying airlines airplane. They were then used for cargo or mail,
1931 route map
On December 3.1933 NW won the airmail contract between Seattle and Spokane , the win was epic as United Airlines tried to outmaneuver the company.
On February 23,1934, the first Lockheed 10A "Electra" was delivered and became the backbone of the company
On April 16.1934, Northwest Airways became Northwest Airlines and carried 12097 passengers during the year.
The Airmail scandal of 1934 put the company on the brink of bankruptcy, it laid off 1/3 of its personnel, routes depending on the airmail revenues were canceled. Northwest lost its lucrative mail contract between MSP and ORD to Hanford Tri-State Airlines, , lost also the contract between MSP , Fargo and Pembina, but won a contract between Fargo and Seattle.
Hanford Tri-State Airlines was unable to face the financial burden of operating between Chicago and the twin cities and NW paid $46000 to get back the route
from the collection of Bjorn Larsson @www.timetableimages com
from the collection of Bjorn Larsson @www.timetableimages com
Competition from the railroads forced NW to acquire the Lockheed 14 "Sky Zephyr" on 1937. However the plane has a flaw in its rudder resulting in several well publicized crashes that induced fear of flying in the public. NW was able to dispose quickly its Lockheed by selling them back to the company at its purchase price. With this treasure chest, NW was able to order in 1938 6 21-seat DC3 which were delivered starting April 1939 together with the company's first stewardesses
In 1937, the company carried 37786 passengers
In 1939, pending its delivery of the Douglas DC3, it leased American Airlines DC3 NC21749 from February to April 1939
The first 3 DC3s NC21711 NC21712 and NC21713 were delivered to Northwest followed by NC21714, NC21715 and NC21716 in June 1939 and NC21777 in September 1939
THE SHORT SCENIC ROUTE BETWEEN CHICAGO and SEATTLE
NW network stretched 8580 km from Chicago to Seattle in 1939
In June 1940, the fleet consisted of 13 DC3, 4 Lockheed 10A, 1Hamilton and 1 Stinson reliant and carried 136797 passengers. In January 1940 the company received a batch of 3 DC3 aircraft NC25508, NC25609 and NC25610. another in May 1939 N25621 , NC25662 was delivered in September 1939 and the last one in November 1939 NC25623.
Duluth is added again to the network with 2 daily flights
from the collection of Bjorn Larsson @www.timetableimages com
The entry of the USA in WW2 on 1941 will see the company carrying 149212 passengers. If WW2 hampered the commercial development of the company, NW played an important and instrumental role in developing transport to Alaska and the Orient .
from the collection of Bjorn Larsson @www.timetableimages com
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