Oldsmobile Kalahari Mail SWA
I have just spoken to Bob Hill who is very interested in this ongoing thread on the Kalahari Oldsmobile mail, largely because he attempted but failed to acquire Kloof's piece, the one that started this thread. Bob is not on email at present and cannot contribute to the Forum. However, he makes the point about Kloof's cover that the three men listed on it were probably the driver, a mechanic and a navigator. While those roles may have been interchangeable to some extent, it would have made sense having someone who could navigate by the stars and a mechanic who knew more than a thing or two about the engine on the expedition. Bob also makes the point that back then pilots would sign the letters on request in the early dangerous and glamorous days of airmail , thus leaving a bit of themselves for posterity, the future being uncertain. Ditto going off into 1000 miles or more of inhospitable Kalahari. There must have been some concerns before they came out on the other side. That signed cover is a record of their achievement.