A Review by Alan Warren
Peruvian Civil Aviation by Herbert H. Moll, 81/2 x 11, perfect bound, 86 pages, American Air Mail Society, Mineola NY 2000, ISBN 0-939429-23-3. $10 plus $4 postage and handling from American Air Mail Society, 1978 Fox Burrow Court, Neenah WI 54956-1184.
The author has written previously on the revenues and postal stationery of Peru. His in depth knowledge of the country and its philately are revealed in his latest work on civil aviation and its handling of airmail. Moll personally knew many of the key people involved with the development of the country's aviation.
He begins with the pioneers Jorge Chavez and Juan Bielovucic. A national hero of Peru, Chavez was born in Paris of Peruvian parents and studied aviation mechanics in France as well as learning to be a pilot. After obtaining his civil license, Chavez flew for two hours in the Simplon Pass. While returning he ran into bad weather and crash landed at Domodossola in Italy where he died three days later from injuries suffered in the crash. Chavez was buried in France but his remains were later transferred to Peru. A Chavez monument was erected at Lima and the city's airport is named for the pioneer.
Juan Bielovucic was the first pilot to fly a plane in Peru in 1911. He also trained in France but came to Peru to conduct this historic flight. He was born in Lima in 1889 and died in 1949.
Moll then describes the early flights in Peru during the 1920-1930 period. Herbert Tweddle carried out the first transport of airmail in Peru in 1920. However, regular airmail service in the country did not begin until 1927 with the inauguration of service between Lima and Iquitos, and in conjunction with Peru's first airmail stamp a 50 centavos value overprinted "Serviceo Aereo."
By the end of the decade Pan American Grace Airways, Faucett, and Linea Aerea Nacional had all been established. Even the American Jimmy Doolittle made airmail history in Peru by flying the first experimental flight from Lima to La Paz, carrying 800 covers with a special cachet.
Moll tells the story of the development of Faucett and Panagra airlines. By 1963 Faucett had carried 20 million pounds of mail. In the 1930s and 1940s regular service to Peru was introduced by Air France, Lufthansa, and other European based airlines. Peruvian International Airways was founded in 1946. Although the Zeppelins did not fly to Peru, mail that originated there or arrived there was sent on the fighter than air craft.
The final chapter of Moll's book records postal rates of Peru from 1928. The rate tables are incomplete as good postal archives are not readily available. One appendix records important dates in Peruvian aviation history, and another repeats, in English, the 1920 decree that established airmail in the country. An extensive list of references and an index round out the book. A generous number of illustrations include a few historic photos and a number of airmail covers, documenting the history of aviation in Peru. The technical aspects of the publication are quite capably done.
See also Selected Notes on Colombian Airmails, 1920 Onwards
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