Tailing The Red Tail of Northwest Airlines (Part 1)

On 1 August 1929 a consortium of Twin Cities businessmen purchase Northwest. Richard C. Lilly of St. Paul is the lead investor in this group and was named president. Northwest begins the first night air mail flight between the Twin Cities-Chicago. Service also expanded into Rochester, Minnesota. While by no means gigantic, the routes are growing as a network slowly comes into focus.

The United States government adopted Northwest's "U.S. Air Mail" insignia for all air mail carriers in the nation.

In July 1930 Northwest moved its operations base to St. Paul's Holman Field. Today this airport is known as St. Paul Downtown Airport. Service is expanded to Rockford and Elgin, Illinois, Janesville, Wisconsin, Sioux City, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska.

In June 1931 service begins to Bismarck, Valley City, and Jamestown, North Dakota. Northwest also begins service to Duluth, Minnesota using a type of aircraft used in Florida-Sikorsky S-38 seaplanes! Northwest uses an amphibian base in Lake Superior.

Arthur R. Rogers of Minneapolis becomes president of Northwest Airlines. In December 1933 Northwest begins a "northern transcontinental" route to Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. Along the way service is begun to Dickinson, North Dakota, and to Billings, Glendive, Miles City, Helena, Butte, and Missoula, Montana. In February 1934 President Roosevelt cancels all air mail contracts and Northwest loses the Chicago-Fargo route. Northwest would buy this route back in December. In April Northwest is reincorporated under Minnesota law as Northwest Airlines, Inc. The founder and general manager, Col. Lewis I. Brittin, resigns and Shreve M. Archer is elected president.

In 1935 Lewis M. Leffingwell is elected president of Northwest Airlines. Is it just me, or did Northwest experience some instability in its early years?

The next time you fly and the flight attendant explains how the oxygen mask works, remember this. In 1938 Northwest assisted the Mayo Clinic in developing the first practical aviation oxygen mask. This made high-altitude flying over the Rocky Mountains a reality.

In 1939 Northwest begins Douglas DC-3 service. The twin-engine workhorse, affectionately called "the Gooney Bird," carried 21 passengers and cruised at a top speed of 140 mph. Northwest hires its first stewardess to work on the new DC3.

In 1941 NWA common stock is publicly traded for the first time. And for the first time in Northwest's history annual passenger revenue exceeded mail revenue.

War-time Patriotism

Northwest, like many other airlines, played a vital role in national defense during World War II. Northwest carried out 11 major

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