AMERICAN ESSENCE
Marvelous Adventure Story Recounts Forgotten 1919 Transcontinental Air Race

In 1903, America led the world in aviation. By 1919, its aviation industry was lagging behind other nations. Europe was beginning commercial airlines, but in the much larger United States, aviation seemed limited to aerial entertainment. Americans appeared to be losing interest in aviation.

“The Great Air Race: Glory, Tragedy, and the Dawn of American Aviation,” by John Lancaster, recounts an almost forgotten 1919 transcontinental air race. Hosted by the Army Air Service and limited to military pilots, it was billed as a demonstration of capability rather than a race. It attempted to revive America’s aviation industry.

The “Transcontinental Reliability and Endurance Test,” as it was officially known, was the brainchild of Brig. Gen. William “Billy” Mitchell, then America’s foremost air power advocate. In 1919, he was at the height of his influence as a war hero and director of military aeronautics, and he organized the race as a readiness demonstration. Army pilots starting in New York and San Francisco would cross the continent to the other city and then fly back to their origin. Half would start in each city. It was not intended to be a race—but the competitive instincts of the participants made it one.

Mitchell’s goal was to create a transportation infrastructure, inducing cities along the path to set up airfields to support the race. These, he hoped, would fuel commercial aviation. There were no municipal airports because there was almost no commercial aviation, and there was almost no commercial aviation because there were no municipal airports. The airfields to support the race would provide destinations for commercial air services.

Lancaster recounts what happened. The route was hurriedly developed. Towns eagerly provided support. The pilots, just as eager, saw an opportunity to test their skills. A broad range of Army aircraft was used, including multi-engine bombers. The public was captivated by the spectacle, and aviation supporters in industry and government helped boost it.

Aircraft and infrastructure was primitive. Lancaster shows the adventures and misadventures befalling the participating aircraft and flyers. Pilots, lacking navigation aids, were frequently lost. Forced landings were common. Crashes and fatalities followed. Most participants fell out of the race. A few succeeded, gaining fame.

“The Great Air Race” is a marvelous adventure story. Lancaster recaptures the feeling of the era. He also shows how it revived American interest in the field, creating the foundation for modern American aviation.

“The Great Air Race: Glory, Tragedy, and the Dawn of American Aviation” by John Lancaster (Liveright Publishing, 2022).

This article was originally published in American Essence magazine.

Fascinating history of early aviation! Some reviews seem to suggest that the title should show that it's more about aviation than the race itself, and I disagree: it's well structured to set a base of information and characters, and then progresses through the race showing how it brought together the world of American aviation and was a tipping point for how we approached and viewed the power of flight. As a like long Milwaukee resident who has flown in and out of General Mitchell airport more times than I can count, I was delighted to learn more about it's namesake. I loved the quotes from observers of the air race in particular, especially the awe at how quickly they had traveled. Really puts modern day travel in perspective.

On October 8, 1919 more than 60 pilots took to the air in what was officially called “The First Transcontinental Reliability and Endurance Test”, but everyone involved in it knew it was a race - an air race - across the United States. By the time it was done, the pilots and their planes would suffer 54 accidents and crashes, and nine men would be dead (two died even before the race began).

For a time the race captured the country’s attention, and newspapers of the day were packed with updates on the flyers and their progress, some laid out in grids reminiscent of the box scores that went along with the articles on the World Series, happening at the same time. But over time memories of the event have faded away, and today not many people know about this transcontinental race.

In The Great Air Race John Lancaster has done amazing research to create a fascinating account of the race itself, how it came to be, and what it meant for the future of commercial aviation in the US.

The race was Billy Mitchell’s idea. Mitchell, a highly decorated aviator in the Great War, and considered by many to be the father of the US Air Force was, at the time, the chief of Army Air Service Training. He hoped that the publicity from the event would assist his efforts in lobbying Congress to establish an air force as a separate branch of the armed services.

The race was an “out and back”, with pilots taking off simultaneously from New York and San Francisco, flying to the opposite coast, and then returning to their starting point. The course included twenty “control stops” - landing strips - many of which did not even exist when the race was announced. It was open only to military personnel. Most were returned veterans of air combat in Europe. The planes themselves were a mixed lot, biplanes of mostly wood and cloth, with open air cockpits and finicky engines. Flying at night was forbidden, and Air Service officers at each control stop enforced weather stops when they judged conditions too bad to allow flyers to continue.

All of this set the stage for what would be a thrilling race, and Lancaster’s account of it is as dramatic and thrilling as it gets. It’s full of wonderful details and amazing moments and holds your interest to the very end. He’s done a great job bringing an event that had almost been forgotten back to life. The race created heroes, among them the first to finish the course, the “Flying Parson” Belvin Maynard. It also fueled a hunger for flying in the public that helped spur not only the formation of commercial airlines, but support for the funding of airports for the airlines to fly in and out of.

It’s amazing to think today of the skill of the pilots who took part, and that of their mechanics who accompanied them. They flew in open cockpit planes through the Rocky Mountains at the start of winter weather, encountered rain and sleet that coated the planes with ice, and had to handle all kinds of mishaps like engine fires, stalls, landings in muddy fields that could rip the landing gear from their planes (or worse). They did all of this without the aid of modern equipment - no radios, no radar, no GPS, no lighted runways, no air controllers, and with sometimes spotty ground support and limited supplies.

History buffs, aviation enthusiasts, and those who appreciate a good race will love this book.

RATING: Five Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

NOTE: I received an advanced copy of this book from W.W. Norton & Co. and NetGalley, and am voluntarily providing this review. The book is available starting November 15, 2022.

Hadn't heard of this event before seeing this book. I don't know how I missed such a mesmerizing story, but that's more praise of the author than, say, Wikipedia. If you like history and/or aviation, don't miss this.

What a wonderful book! This is a well researched history of early aviation. The stunning nature of the daredevil pilots jumps off the page. I had read accounts of early aviation before, but this adds a welcome level of detail to the narrative. We worth reading if you've an interest in the interwar period and courageous stories of flight.