American Airways  Stearman 4-CM-1    NC482W                      (c/n  4030)

                                     

                                          This aircraft was generally known as the 'Senior Speedmail'.   A smaller version, the Stearman 4-D
                                          was known as the 'Junior Speedmail' and was also flown by several airlines, notably Western Air
                                          Express.   In 1930 American Airways ordered a fleet of 12 Senior Speedmails to be operated on
                                          their air mail routes out of  St. Louis, Chicago,  Evansville and Atlanta bases.  Although small by
                                          today's standards, this was a large order indeed for those Depression ridden times, and the order
                                          must have been a godsend to Stearman.     These sturdy biplanes were still on strength in June of
                                         1934 when, following the cancellation of the air mail contracts, and the US Army air mail fiasco,
                                         American Airways became American Airlines, as evidenced in the photo below of a Stearman
                                         4-CM-1 in the later titling.
  
                                          Stearman 4-CM-1  NC11722              (c/n  4040)