Northrop Gamma 2D TWA Mail Plane 1934 Original Factory Photo 8x10 Texaco 20 For Sale

Northrop Gamma 2D TWA Mail Plane 1934
Original Factory Photo 8x10 Texaco 20
NC13759, Dated 6-21-34, Later in Spain's Civil WarDESCRIPTIONOriginal 8x10 black and white factory photograph of the Northrop Gamma 2D, registration NC13759, shown from the left side in TWA markings on an unpaved ramp. The white ink caption on the image reads NORTHROP 870, 2D, 6-21-34, LEFT SIDE, a factory style record view of the aircraft dated June 21, 1934. he whole airframe is in the frame, from the propeller and engine cowling to the tail wheel, with the number 18 and the Northrop emblem on the fin, NC13759 on the rudder, and TWA in large block letters on the polished aluminum fuselage. The BATTERY and RADIO access panels, the riveted skin, the cockpit canopy, the streamlined wheel pant and a wire antenna running from the fin are all sharp, and oil derricks stand on the horizon.The Gamma 2D was TWA's fast mail plane, and it arrived in the middle of the 1934 airmail crisis. In February 1934 the government cancelled the airmail contracts and the Army Air Corps took over the routes, and after months of troubled flying that included a string of fatal crashes the Army gave up its last route on June 1 and the airlines went back to carrying the mail. TWA bought three Gamma 2Ds that year as single seat, high speed mail and express planes powered by a 710 horsepower Wright Cyclone radial engine. This print is dated June 21, 1934, about three weeks after the airlines took the mail routes back.NC13759 was the third of the three. Its sister ship NC13757 carried TWA's Jack Frye from Los Angeles to Newark in 11 hours 31 minutes in May 1934, and the middle airframe, NC13758, was later converted into TWA's Overweather Experimental Laboratory for high altitude research. NC13759 went on to a second career as Texaco 20, and published Northrop histories record that Texaco loaned it to speed pilot Frank Hawks in December 1935 for the effort to reach explorer Lincoln Ellsworth in Antarctica. It was later registered in Mexico as XA-ABJ and used by the Spanish Republican air force for coastal patrol during the Spanish Civil War.This is an original period print from a Douglas El Segundo and Northrop factory photo album, not a reproduction. Scanned at 600dpi so you can review every detail before you buy.Every effort is made for fact checking and provenance, including background research through news and historical archives. If any listing is incorrect in any way and you're unsatisfied with the item, please connect with me and I'll make it right. Orders placed before Noon CDT will ship same day via Ground Advantage with tracking so you know exactly when it will arrive. Returns accepted on all items exceeding $25. Rigid, professional packaging on all shipments, sealed and protected in acid free protectors. Shipping is free and already built into the price, so the BIN price is exactly what you pay, no surprise shipping costs at checkout.CONDITIONOriginal black and white 8x10 period photographic print with a warm neutral tone. The whole aircraft is sharp, including the fuselage lettering, NC13759, the fin number, the BATTERY and RADIO panel labels and the propeller, and the white ink caption in the lower right corner (NORTHROP 870, 2D, 6-21-34, LEFT SIDE) is crisp. The sky is clean apart from a few tiny dust specks. The cream border has light edge wear, faint curved impressions and a light fingerprint mark in the top margin, light gray smudging along the left edge, a rounded bottom right corner and toned, slightly layered paper along the right edge. The reverse carries amber adhesive staining and patches of gray album paper fiber from the album page it was removed from, plus a short vertical hairline crease near the top edge. The residue and paper fiber are on the reverse only. No tears, creases or cracks are visible across the image area in the scan. Please review all photos closely, as they are part of the description.