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Organizations, Honors and Races
All Aviation and Space
Women Pilots
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| The first, and most famous, women's transcontinental air race was held in 1929. It was one of several such races held as a way to garner publicity for the first of the National Air Races, held in Cleveland, Ohio (from 1929 to 1949).
In 1930 and 1931, more women's air derbies were held to help publicize various air shows.
Read about it all below.
The National Air Races, held in Cleveland, Ohio and consisting of an air show as well as pylon racing, were held for the first time from August 24 - September 2, 1929.
| The twenty pilots in the 1929 race
| Florence Barnes |
Marvel Crosson |
| Amelia Earhart |
Ruth Elder |
| Claire Mae Fahy |
Edith Foltz |
| Mary Haizlip |
Jessie Keith-Miller |
| Opal Kunz |
Ruth Nichols |
| Blanche Noyes |
Gladys O'Donnell |
| Phoebe Omlie |
Neva Paris |
| Margaret Perry |
Thea Rasche |
| Louise Thaden |
Evelyn Trout |
| Mary Von Mach |
Vera Dawn WAlker |
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In order to publicize the event, several cross country races were planned. These cross-country races - featuring male pilots - would start from Los Angeles, Miami, and Toronto, Canada, and were scheduled to reach Cleveland on a different day of the Air Show.
An all-woman transcontinental air race was held as well and was billed officially as the Women's National Air Derby. Humorist Will Rogers was present at the start of the race and dubbed it the Powder Puff Derby.
The race started in Santa Monica, California, on Sunday, August 18, 1929. The pilots made several stops on most of the days, with eight overnight stops (as they flew only during daylight hours), and arrived in Cleveland on Monday, August 26, 1929.
Twenty pilots participated, and fourteen finished the race. (One, Marvel Crosson, died due to a defect in her aircraft.) There were two categories, light plane and heavy plane. In the light plane category, Phoebe Omlie won, followed by Edith Foltz and Jessie Keith-Miller. Louise Thaden won in the heavy plane category, followed by Gladys O'Donnell and Amelia Earhart.
| The table on the right lists the stops on the route of the Woman's Air Derby. The Stops in bold indicate overnight stops.
The rules for the race took some time to codify. For example, originally the men in charge of arranging the race didn't want the women to have to fly over mountains, so suggested that they begin from Omaha, Nebraska rather than Santa Monica, California. The women pilots, led by Amelia Earhardt, pointed out that would hardly be a transcontinental race.
(The cities in red are those for which I have covers in my collection. See below.) |
| Santa Monica, CA |
8/18/1929 |
| San Bernardino, CA |
8/18/1929 |
| Calexico, CA |
8/19/1929 |
| Yuma, AZ |
8/19/1929 |
| Phoenix, AZ |
8/19/1929 |
| Douglas, AZ |
8/20/1929 |
| Columbus, NM |
8/21/1929 |
| El Paso, TX |
8/21/1929 |
| Pecos, TX |
8/22/1929 |
| Midland, TX |
8/22/1929 |
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| Abilene, TX |
8/22/1929 |
| Fort Worth, TX |
8/22/1929 |
| Tulsa, OK |
8/23/1929 |
| Wichita, KS |
8/23/1929 |
| Kansas City, KS |
8/24/1929 |
| East Saint Louis, MO |
8/24/1929 |
| Terre Haute, IN |
8/25/1929 |
| Cincinnati, OH |
8/25/1929 |
| Columbus, OH |
8/25/1929 |
| Cleveland, OH |
8/26/1929 |
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The Covers
1929 Women's National Air Derby
| This cover is post-marked August 19, 1929, the day after the start of the race.
(Note that each of the ink stamps, on the three covers shared here, refer to the race in a slightly different way. This one calls it the "National Women's Air Derby". The one below is the "Women's National Air Derby". The third one calls it the "Air Derby for Women".
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Producer of this cover unknown
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Producer of this cover unknown
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This cover was mailed from Agua Prieta, Mexico to Wooster, Ohio.
The "bell" ink stamp was designed to celebrate the grand opening of the Douglas/Agua Prieta International Airport, to be held on the same day that the women pilots arrived there to end the third leg of their race.
Douglas, Arizona and Agua Prieta, Mexico are adjacent to each other.
(Today, this airport no longer seems to exist. Douglas' current "international" airport was built as an Air Force base during World War II and handed over to the city in 1949.)
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| This cover was mailed from El Paso, Texas to Chihuaha, Mexico.
The text in the stamp reads:
WELCOME
Arrival of the fliers
in the
Santa Monica - Cleveland
Air Derby for Women
El Paso, Texas, Aug 21, 1929
I think the 22 written on the front in what appears to be a red grease pen is because there is a stamp on the back from Chihuahua, on Aug 22, 1929.
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Producer of this cover unknown
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Women's Air Derbies - 1930
At least two women's air derbies were held in 1930, both presumably to help publicize the National Air Races in Cleveland.
The Women's Dixie Derby covered at least two states, with the pilots stopping at airports in Columbia, South Carolina and Birmingham, Alabama.)
Women's Dixie Derby
Producer of this cover unknown
| This cover was mailed from Columbia, South Carolina to Cleveland, Ohio.
There is no stamp, but rather a typewritten entry:
NATIONAL AIR RACES
Women's Dixie Derby
Aug. 23, 1930
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| This cover was mailed from Birmingham, Alabama to Newark, New Jersey.
The entry is handwritten:
Women's Dixie Derby
In Birmingham
Aug 24, 1930
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Producer of this cover unknown
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Women's National Air Derby
I assume this race was intended to advertise Cleveland's National Air Races,even though the end point was apparently Chicago, Illinois.
Producer of this cover unknown
| This cover was mailed from Steelton, Pennsylvania from Long Beach, California.
The text in the stamp reads:
Women's National Air Derby
Long Beach (California)
to Chicago, Illinois
August 17, 1930
Time of Start 3:30 PM.
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| This cover was mailed to Detroit, Michigan from Douglas, Arizona.
The text in the stamp reads:
Second Annual Womens Air Derby
Aug 19-20, 1930
The design is of the International Airport which spaned (I think) the border between Agua Prieta, Mexico and Douglas, USA.
Although the race started in Long Beach rather than Santa Monica, the pilots stopped in Douglas, Arizona as they had done the previous year.
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Producer of this cover unknown
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Producer of this cover unknown
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This cover is post-marked August 20, 1930.
As with the above cover, there are only two days on the date. Presumably it refers to the overnight stop at that particular city, rather than the complete race.
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| This cover was mailed to Kansas City, Missouri from the Kansas City Airport on August 23, 1930.
It is signed in the top left hand corner by Ruth W. Stewart, a pilot and member of the 99s.
The text in the stamp reads:
Women's National Air Derby
Overnight Stop at
Fairfax Airport, Kansas City, Kans.
August 23, 1930
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Producer of this cover unknown
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Producer of this cover unknown
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This cover was mailed to Merrill, Wisconsin from Madison, Wisconsin.
The text in the stamp reads:
Womens National Air Derby
Last All-night stop
Royal Airport
Madison, Wis. Aug 24, 1930
Long Beach to Chicago, Aug 17-25, 1930. |
1931 Women's Air Derby
The National Air Races were held in Cleveland from August 29 to September 7, 1931.
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This cover was mailed from Santa Monica to Clifton, Arizona. It commemorates the start of two races.
The text of the stamp reads:
NATIONAL AIR RACES
Santa Monica, Calif to Cleveland, Ohio
Starting Sunday, August 23, 1931
Tom Thumb Women's Air Derby
Starting Sunday, August 16, 1931
Sponsored by
Santa Monica Junior Chamber of Commerce |
Producer of this cover unknown
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Producer of this cover unknown
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This cover was mailed to Los Angeles, California from Santa Monica.
The pilots appear to have signed the envelope first, before the National Air Races stamp was applied. (Why would the pilots have signed over the stamp and the cancellation? I deduce they signed the envelope before any of the stamps were applied.) |
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