William B. Robertson

Who was William B. Robertson?

Major William Bryan Robertson was an American aviator and aviation executive who was the co-founder of Lambert-St. Louis Flying Field as well as the owner and President of Robertson Aircraft Corporation located there, a company which he had co-founded with his brother, Frank, in 1918.

RAC provided a wide range of aviation services as well as having operated Contract Air Mail service from St. Louis to Chicago beginning in 1926. Along with the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, in 1927 Robertson backed his chief Air Mail pilot, Charles Lindbergh, to compete in the Orteig Prize and funded the design and construction of his aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis, for the New York-Paris flight.

In 1924, Major Robertson became the first commanding officer of the Missouri National Guard Air Unit 35th Division, Aviation Section operating out of Lambert field with eight Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" aircraft. The unit which Robertson commanded is the ancestor of the Missouri Air National Guard's 110th Bomb Squadron, which is part of the 131st Bomb Wing.

In 1927, Robertson left Robertson Aircraft Corporation and formed an interest with the Curtiss-Wright corporation.