James Clark Edgerton (February 2, 1896 – October 26, 1973) was a U.S. Army

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and

Air Mail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

who as a young lieutenant flew the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, leg on the first day of scheduled Air Mail service in the

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on May 15, 1918. Edgerton, who retired as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, was also credited with being the first pilot ever to fly into a

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...

and with devising the first fire-extinguishing system installed for an aircraft engine. He also helped to organize a civilian pilot-training program and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served as executive officer for air operations of the War Department."James Edgerton, Air Mail Pioneer: Colonel Who Flew on First Regular Route Dies at 77". ''New York Times'' Oct 30, 1973, p. 46 During his first Air Mail flight from Philadelphia to Washington Edgerton flew into a thunderstorm at 10,000 feet. "One instant the airplane became a tremendous

elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...

, leaping skyward hundreds of feet," Edgerton noted after landing at the Polo Grounds in Washington, "then the bottom promptly falls out, dizzy fall of hundreds of feet. I was attacked by solid waves of air.""PILOT STORIES: James C. Edgerton"
Smithsonian Institution National Postal Museum Edgerton flew 52 trips over a total of 7,155 miles, spending 107 hours in the air and making only one

forced landing A forced landing is a landing by an aircraft made under factors outside the pilot's control, such as the failure of engines, systems, components, or weather which makes continued flight impossible. For a full description of these, see article on ' ...

as an Army Air Mail pilot. When the Post Office Department took over flying operations of the Air Mail Service later in 1918, Edgerton stayed with the service eventually becoming the Superintendent of Flying Operations. Later he organized and became superintendent of the Radio Service of the Post Office Department establishing its first aeronautical radio stations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgerton, James Clark United States airmail pilots 1896 births 1973 deaths