Pan American-Grace Airways  Fairchild 71  NC9798     (c/n  619)

                                          

                                                  Prior to 1929 the W.R. Grace Company had long held a monopoly of shipping down the west
                                                  coast of South America.  When Juan Trippe, President of Pan American World Airlines started
                                                  looking askance at that market Grace culled in some political favors and compromised with PanAm
                                                  to form Pan American-Grace Airways Inc.   Grace owned 50% of the stock and the Aviation
                                                  Corporation of the Americas held the other 50%.  This latter company had been responsible for
                                                  developing airlines in Peru and Chile, and was more or less 'under the influence' of' Juan Trippe.
                                                  Pan American-Grace (later officially shortened to Panagra) operated basically from Panama down
                                                  the west coast of South America to Santiago, and then across the Andes to B.A. and Montevideo.
                                                  Pan American itself operated in the Caribbean and down the east coast of South America.  Post
                                                  WW II Panagra itself gained a US gateway (at Miami, and later to new York).  Early equipment
                                                  used was comprised of Fairchild FC-2s, the Fairchild 71 shown above, a Loening Air Yacht and
                                                  a Curtiss Kingbird.  Sikorsky S-38s were acquired in 1929.   In the shot above acquired from
                                                  Panagra in 1952,  the photographer is capturing another of his kind.