FreightWaves Classics / Infrastructure: SFO is a key gateway (Part 1)

Earlier this month, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) celebrated its 95th anniversary. The largest of the three major airports serving the San Francisco Bay Area, SFO began its life as Mills Field Municipal Airport in 1927. It opened two weeks before Charles Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic.

At that time, the population of the Gulf area (counties of San Francisco, Alameda and Santa Clara) was about 1.25 million people. Today, more than 7 million people live in the same area.

San Francisco Mayor James Rolfe Jr. addressed the airport. Other mayors of the region also spoke at the ceremony. In addition, an anti-aircraft battery in the Presidium saluted with 21 guns in honor of the new airport.

Beginnings

Mills Field was built on a 150-acre cow pasture located 13 miles south of downtown San Francisco. The city and county of San Francisco have leased $ 1,500 a year to Ogden L. Mills, who has served three terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York and will serve as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Herbert Hoover. At one time, Mills’ father was the richest man in California.

Initially, the airport was conceived as a temporary object. When it was dedicated, it consisted of a runway less than 4,600 feet long and an unfinished terminal measuring 88 feet by 34 feet. Officially, the operation of the airport began on June 6, 1927. During the first month, 19 planes with 19 passengers landed at the airport.

In September 1927, Charles Lindbergh visited Mills Field with his famous aircraft “Spirit of St. Louis” as part of his national tour after a historic flight (the first across the Atlantic).

Shortly afterwards, the first aviation hangar was built at Mills Field, and in 1928, three more hangars.

The first tenant of the airport was the new company Boeing Air Transport, which later became United Airlines. The company later landed a Boeing Model 40, the first airliner to use Mills Field.

The 1930s saw growth and change

In 1930, key San Francisco executives determined that air travel would grow, so they purchased an additional 1,112 acres at the Mills estate for $ 1.05 million.

Both Western Air Express and Maddox Air Lines used Mills Field for a while, but then moved across the Gulf to Auckland. At the same time, Century Pacific began service with its only Fokker drone.

On June 9, 1931, Mills Field was renamed San Francisco Municipal Airport. At the end of the same year, the airport administration was transferred to the commission of public utilities. Less than a year later (November 17, 1932), San Francisco voters approved a $ 260,000 bond to further develop the airport.

Pacific Air Transport began flying from San Francisco Municipal Airport in December 1932; United Air Lines (later Airlines) began operating from the airport in May 1934. San Francisco became a major hub for United that lasted for decades.

The development of the airport was facilitated by the reclamation of 350 acres of coastal wetlands that were added to the airport. Work continued on modernizing the airport; in November 1935, the airport’s runway C was expanded from 1,900 feet to 3,000 feet. Until 1936, the airport had three runways that formed a triangle. In addition, construction began on a harbor for seaplanes.

On January 1, 1937, United Airlines began regular flights from San Francisco to Los Angeles and New York. Both routes were served by the Douglas DC-3 aircraft, which became a workhorse for airlines and the military in the 1930s, 1940s and during World War II.

DC-3

“DC” was short for “Douglas Commercial”. DC-3 was the culmination of aircraft development, which began when Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA, and later Trans World Airlines) contacted Donald Douglas. United Airlines was TWA’s main competitor at the time in transcontinental air travel, which was just beginning in the early 1930s. United’s service began with the use of Boeing 247. However, Boeing will not sell 247 to other airlines until 60 aircraft ordered by United are delivered.

TWA has sought the help of Douglas to design and build an aircraft that could compete with United. Douglas developed DC-1 in 1933, followed by DC-2 in 1934. DC-2 was successful, but Douglas sought to improve it.

The DC-3 was larger than the DC-2, and had a 14-seater version of the DC-2. DC-3 was a low-wing metal monoplane with two radial piston engines with a capacity of 1000-1200 horsepower. The DC-3 had a cruising speed of more than 200 miles per hour, a capacity of 21 to 32 passengers (or 6,000 pounds of cargo), a range of 1,500 miles and could operate from the short runways common during that time period.

The DC-3 was a major step forward compared to previous aircraft as well as its contemporaries. It was fast, had exceptional flight range, was more reliable and carried passengers much more comfortably. Before World War II, airlines used it to launch many of their longer air routes. The plane was able to cross the continent from New York to Los Angeles in 18 hours (with three stops). It was also one of the first aircraft that could profitably carry passengers without counting on American mail subsidies that were common at the time.

Perhaps the most striking feature of the revolutionary DC-3 was its longevity. Smaller airlines around the world used the DC-3 back in the 1980s, and many are still in use today.

1930s, 1940s and World War II (continued)

TWA also used San Francisco Municipal Airport as a major hub. He built a significant base at the airport.

Built through the Public Works Administration (PWA), a state-run New Deal facility designed to reduce unemployment and increase the purchasing power of its employees, the new office building replaced the original building, built in 1927.

In addition, Pan American Airways, another major airline of the 1930s, leased Treasure Island, located 18 miles northeast of San Francisco Municipal Airport. Pan Am began working in San Francisco in 1938. The airline’s first scheduled transatlantic flight (known as the “China Clipper”) left San Francisco Airport; After 59 hours and four stops he landed in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

The world-famous fleet of Pan Am trans-Pacific flying boats promoted the Golden Gate International Exhibition in San Francisco in 1939.

To compensate the United States Coast Guard for using Treasure Island, the airport “exchanged” 20 acres for a new USCG facility.

United Airlines doubled at San Francisco Municipal Airport in 1940 when it relocated its Western Division maintenance base from Cheyenne, Wyoming. More than 80 years later, United still has its technical base in San Francisco.

During World War II, the airport was converted into a U.S. Air Force training center and was used primarily by the C-47. The Douglas C-47 Skytrain (also known as the Dakota) is a military transport aircraft that was developed by Douglas as a military version of its DC-3 airliner. The C-47 was widely used by Allied air forces during the war. Like the DC-3, the C-47 was incredibly durable and remained in service with a variety of military personnel over the years.

The treasure island was also converted for military use, becoming a naval station. This forced Pan Am to relocate its Clippers and Pacific-Alaska division to San Francisco.

Postwar growth in the 1940s-1950s

When World War II ended, Pan American resumed international service, which was its hallmark. However, instead of using pre-war flying boats Martin M-130 and Boeing 314, ground-based aircraft such as the Douglas DC-4 and Lockheed Constellations were used.

In 1947, the code “SFO” first appeared in the American Aviation Air Traffic Guide.

In 1947, the SFO exceeded one million passengers a year, and in just five years (1952) it exceeded two million passengers. Then in 1955 the “Municipal” in the name of the airport was replaced by “International”. This was partly due to the addition of British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines and Philippine Airlines to the list of airlines arriving and departing from SFO.

With the rapid increase in the number of post-war flights and passengers the airport building / terminal was obsolete and too small. Construction of a new terminal (called the “Central Terminal”) began in 1951. It was dedicated on August 27, 1954. A three-day enlargement ceremony was held, which featured several new civilian and military aircraft that were put into operation. during the 1950s. The U.S. Air Force has demonstrated its latest jet fighters and bombers (including the huge “B-36 Peacekeeper and B-47 Stratojet”), which predicted jet airliners that would be the next generation of large passenger aircraft. Hundreds of thousands of participants watched the air show and inspected the new terminal, which housed an administrative building with a control tower and four piers or halls.

The first jet bridge in the United States was installed at San Francisco International Airport and entered service on July 29, 1959. The jet bridge has become an important achievement of passenger comfort and safety; Passengers no longer had to walk outside from the terminal to the plane or the plane to the terminal, they were protected from the weather and the security of the terminal was increased.

During this period, San Francisco International Airport became one of the busiest airports in the United States in terms of both passenger traffic and aircraft movement.

Author’s note: background information for this article came from several sources, but special thanks are due to Andy Payne’s article on yesterdaysairlines.com (with many photos used in this article), as well as opensfhistory.org, foundsf.org and information from the International Airport San Francisco.

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