Medals relating to Airlines
This page shows medals that relate to medals that have airlines as their subjects or were issued by airlines.
Please let me know if I missed a airline-related medal that is already on this site but not part of this collection.
This medal's obverse bears image of four-engine stratoliner in flight above clouds. Around, TWA STRATOLINER CLUB - MEMBER
The medal's reverse bears same plane in flight from different perspective. Around, 4-ENGINE OVERWEATHER - STRATOLINER
The edge is marked STERLING BALFOUR
The Boeing 307 Stratoliner was the first commercial transport aircraft to enter service with a pressurized cabin. This feature allowed the aircraft to cruise at an altitude of 20,000 ft (6,000 m), well above many weather disturbances. While Howard Hughes had taken early delivery of a 307 in 1938 to attempt an around-the-world record flight the planes officially entered service in 1940 and were primarily used by the U.S. Air Force, Trans World Airlines (TWA), and Pan American Airways (PANAM). The last Stratoliner was retired in 1975.
The medal measures 32mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and sterling silver by the L.G. Balfour Company of Attleboro, Massachusetts.
This medal's obverse bears a three-bladed propeller with sketched plane in center.
The reverse bears inscription: ★ / Commemorating / INAUGURATION / OF THE / FIRST ALL-FREIGHT AIR SERVICE / FOR MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL / September 15, 1955 / FLYING TIGER / LINE
The Flying Tiger Line was founded in 1945 by Robert W. Prescott and other former American Volunteer Group fighter pilots who had flown compat missions against the Japanese in China before the U.S. officially entered World War II. The company eventually hired Wayne Hoffman, a former railroad executive, under whose leadership the airline became the world's largest air cargo carrier. The company sufferd an economic decline in the 1980's and was eventually acquired by Fedex in 1989.
I find this commemorative medal very appealing in its minimalist design but I know nothing about its medallic history, the artist who created it or the mint that produced it. Please contact me if you can help out with information.