Julius W. Johannpeter, Air Pioneer

My grandfather’s first cousin, Julius W. “Joe” Johannpeter, was one of St. Louis’ airplane pioneers.  Julius, who was known in the family as “Punks”, joined the Air National Guard in the mid-1920s.  He would be commissioned as a Lieutenant.  Julius flew planes for both the military and civilian air corps.

Most of the men in his unit, which included Charles Lindbergh, also worked for the civilian airline company founded by their Captain William Robertson. Robertson formed Robertson Airplane Company around 1927.  The men did double duty for both throughout 1927 and 1928.

Julius was part of his National Guard unit’s demonstration on Saturday, August 27, 1927 at Lambert Field.  The unit put on an air show to commemorate the completion of their annual two-week summer training.  The 35th Division Air Corps performed several stunts and conducted races for 3,500 gathered spectators.

Major C. Ray Wassall led a six plane formation to open the show.  Julius and another Lieutenant, Robert Coulter, flanked Major Wassall in the formation.  Julius was flying a PT-1.  The three then performed a stunt to demonstrate their skill.

Ground crews connected their three planes with some tape.  The three pilots took off and flew in formation without breaking the tape.  However, when they started to land, Julius’ plane travelled far enough away to break his tape.

Apparently motivated by the tape break, Julius next flew in a six plane race next.  Flying close to the ground and amazing the crowd with his tight turns in the PT-1, Julius finished a half-mile ahead of his closest competitor.  The crowd left both impressed and entertained by the skill of the pilots.

During the summer of 1928, Julius joined the Robertson Company’s passenger line.  He had been a flight instructor for some time.  Julius had also been flying the mail with several other pilots, including Charles Lindbergh, for several years.  The St. Louis Post-Dispatch referred to Julius as the “Bronzed National Guard Lieutenant”.

Julius was called on to take Mrs. Arthur W. Strickney to San Antonio for her father’s funeral after he passed from a sudden illness.  The initial trip was uneventful but the trip back on Tuesday, June 12, 1928, from San Antonio was much rougher because of several thunderstorms.  Julius returned Mrs. Strickney to St. Louis.  Julius’ skill as a pilot reassured Mrs. Strickney during the bumpy ride.

Julius would eventually join American Airlines passenger service and move to Cleveland, Ohio.  Early on in his assignment in Cleveland, Julius flew two Chicago businessmen from the “Windy City” to New York in 6 hours and 40 minutes.  Transporting the men to the “Big Apple” in such a short time was a significant enough feat to be mentioned in the newspapers at the time.

From 1930 to 1945, Julius flew out of Memphis, Tennessee.  In 1945, Julius moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma.  On Saturday, December 30, 1950, Julius died of a massive heart attack at 49 years of age in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  His funeral occurred in St. Louis before his body was taken to Eldorado, Arkansas for burial.  Grandpa always said Julius was a great athlete.  Julius dying so young and from a heart attack was a shock to family.

Julius was part of a small and tight knit community, when he began flying in the 1920s.  He and the other men in his unit laid the groundwork for what would become a bustling Lambert International Airport.  When the men started flying, I wonder how many suspected what air travel would become.

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Sources: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 28, 1927 edition, p. 3, June 14, 1928 edition, p. 12,  August 5, 1928 edition, p. 47, May 5, 1929 edition, p. 49 and December 31, 1950 edition, p. 3

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