Home » Technology » Airlines » National Airlines: Not Quite Lived Up to its Name

National Airlines: Not Quite Lived Up to its Name

© John L. Hoh, Jr.

In the last installment we saw that Pan Am merged with or bought National Airlines. This feature will focus on the other principle in that marriage, National Airlines. This airline once billed itself as the "Airline of the Buccaneers" and "The Airline of the Stars." And in case you might not think National was an airborne entity, it even used a sunburst logo (which was co-opted by Pan Am in the 1980 merger).

It was in St. Petersburg, Florida, that National Airlines was chartered under the laws of Florida on 8 July 1937. National began service on 15 October 1934. This was twenty years after the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line operated. However, I find no mention that National used any flying boats. This may be that by 1934 land-based airfields were becoming common (although Pan Am and others still used flying boats through the Second World War).

The initial National route was a 142-mile mail route between St. Petersburg and Daytona Beach with stops in Tampa, Lakeland, and Orlando. I believe that is the "I-4" corridor today. National used two second-hand Ryan aircraft to fly its routes. There were five employees in the beginning. George T. Baker was the president and founder.

Later in the year, with business seemingly good or mail contracts secured, National extended its routes to Jacksonville and Miami. In 1938 National made its first foray as a national airline with the inauguration of a Jacksonville to New Orleans route. The first relocation of National's headquarters occurred in 1939, from St. Petersburg to Jacksonville.

World War II soon came and National wasn't immune to serving Uncle Sam. A portion of the National fleet was used for the Air Transport Command. National also operated Air Corps contract schools for pilots, mechanics, radio operators, and navigators. War not only helped technological growth in aircraft, but in the aerospace infrastructure as well.

National took its first step to becoming national in 1944 when the government awarded National the New York to Florida route. Remember that this was in the days of regulation when the government gave airlines permission to fly certain routes. (Of course, once an airline served a route, it was also difficult to cease service on that route.) On 14 February 1946 (in a sweetheart deal) National used DC-4's to begin the first non-stop flights between Miami and New York. This was also the first time an airline used four-engined planes in service between the two cites. In 1947 National applied for and received permission to inaugurate the so-called "Great Circle" route over water between Miami and New York. The "Great Circle" is the concept that allows for the earth's curved surface. Basically, take a piece of string between any two cities on a round globe. You will soon see that the "most direct" route is not a straight line but an "arc" of a circle, hence the "Great Circle." This reduced the flying time by one hour.

The copyright of the article National Airlines: Not Quite Lived Up to its Name in Airlines is owned by John L. Hoh, Jr.. Permission to republish National Airlines: Not Quite Lived Up to its Name in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.