ULM (Charles Thomas Philippe, 1898-1934, Australian pioneer Aviator)

First Official Air Mail letter envelope signed, addressed to Mr R. J. Inglis in Sydney via New Guinea, the envelope has stamps from Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea and postmarks both front and back fro all the way along the route, in Auckland, Tasman, Kaitaia and Sydney, 6½" x 3½", various places,

Ulm fought with the Australian Imperial Forces at Gallipoli in 1915 and later qualified as a pilot. In 1921 he met Charles Kingsford SMITH (1897-1935, Aviator who in 1928 made the first trans-Pacific fllight from the US to Australia) and in 1927 joined him in a record-breaking round Australia flight. In 1928 he was co-pilot in Smith's epic trans-Pacific flight. He partnered Kingsford Smith on further pioneering and record breaking flights, in 1929 flying from Australia to England in 13 days. After the failure of Australian National Airways, Ulm bought one of the airline's Avro X aircraft for himself, and named it Faith in Australia. In this aircraft in 1933, Ulm set the speed record from England to Australia at 6 days, 17 hours and 56 minutes, he also made several trans-Tasman flights.
In 1934, flying in Faith in Australia, Ulm carried the first official airmail from New Zealand to Australia, and the first official airmail delivery from Australia to Papua New Guinea.
Ulm disappeared in December 1934, together with co-pilot G.M. Littlejohn and navigator/radio operator J.S. Skilling, on a test flight from Oakland, California to Hawaii in VH-UXY Stella Australis, an Airspeed Envoy.

Item Date:  1934

Stock No:  39397      £175

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