On this day in aviation history—June 22, 1946—the first jet-powered airmail flight took place, marking a new chapter in postal and aviation progress. Just 43 years after the Wright brothers’ pioneering flight at Kitty Hawk, the idea of using aircraft for mail delivery had evolved dramatically. Airmail had come a long way since French pilot Henri Pequet made the first official airmail flight in India on February 18, 1911. As aircraft technology advanced in the decades that followed, so too did the speed and efficiency of mail service.
The milestone jet-powered airmail delivery was staged during the 1946 General Electric Airshow at Schenectady County Airport in Glenville, New York. The event was designed to highlight GE’s contributions to the recently concluded Second World War and showcase the company’s role in advancing aviation technology. It also aimed to emphasize GE’s impact on the local economy through job creation and innovation.
Opening on June 21, 1946, the airshow featured speeches from company leaders, including renowned aviator and WWII hero Jimmy Doolittle. To draw crowds and demonstrate the future of aviation, GE partnered with the United States Postal Service to organize the world’s first jet-powered airmail flight. As part of the event, small parcels and commemorative letters were prepared to be carried aboard jet aircraft and delivered to various destinations. The concept was a hit—over 20,000 airmail covers were sold to the public.
On June 22, two Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars took off from Schenectady, each carrying 750 pieces of mail. Pilots Kenneth Chilstrom and Robert Baird were at the controls of the newly developed jet fighters—aircraft that had arrived too late for widespread use in WWII but would later see significant action during the Korean War. One P-80 delivered mail to Washington, D.C., while the other made stops in Dayton, Ohio, and Chicago, Illinois.
Although the flight was a demonstration rather than the start of regular jet mail service, it showcased the incredible potential of jet-powered transport. The success and public interest generated by the event helped pave the way for routine jet airmail service in the years that followed, setting the stage for the high-speed global postal systems we rely on today.
My grandmother mailed a letter to my grandfather on the “first trip” air mail flight in 1918. We still have the letter.