Historical Society

Did You Know?

International Air Mail Flight of 1922

On 21 June 1922, bearing 800 letters, the first international air mail flight from Canada to the United States took off from Lethbridge. The flight ended abruptly in Minot, North Dakota.

The pilot was Captain J.E. “Jock” Palmer. Early in 1920, Palmer and his flying partner, Harry Fitzsimmons, decided to organize air mail service across Canada. Once permission was given, hundreds of special air mail envelopes were printed and sold for $1 each to help finance the flight.

The partners repainted their airplane and at 3:12 pm, the government licensed GCABX, took off from Lethbridge.

The flight into Saskatchewan and across the American border went off without a hitch. A dust storm then grounded them for a day and they arrived in Minot, North Dakota on June 24.

While landing in North Dakota, the plane hit a wire fence and damaged its wing. A stop-over for repairs was made. When repairs were completed on June 26, Palmer intended to take the plane up for one last test flight. As he was coming in for a landing, he noted a large car with several passengers directly in his path.

Palmer deliberately crashed the plane, wrecking it completely, but missed the car. He escaped with minor injuries, but the hopes of Palmer and Fitzsimmons to deliver air mail to Ottawa ended on that North Dakota air field.

The air mail letters were reposted in Minot and continued their journey by land. The plane was sent back to Lethbridge by train.

Lethbridge Historical Society

facebook.com/LethbridgeHistoricalSociety/ Photograph: compliments of Galt Museum & Archives.