Pilots Paul Hariban and Millard Hixon and a Boeing Stearman take a break from dusting on a hot day in southern Louisiana, August 1960.

Working on a Boeing Stearman crop-duster, (clockwise from top) Bill Wilkerson, mechanic; Floyd Sims, porter; Joe Hundley, mechanic; and Charlie Officer, mechanic and pilot, in Monroe, Louisiana, 1949.

Post-War Stearmans Replace Earlier Dusters

When Delta's headquarters moved to Atlanta in 1941, the crop-dusting operations stayed based in Monroe, Louisiana. The Dusting Division contributed to World War II efforts on the Home Front: dusting food and cotton crops, and also mosquito breeding areas to prevent malaria near military bases and war plants.

"During the war years, we dusted more than ever because there was national food problem, and the economy needed food and cotton. The Dusting Division had an 'A' priority on anything including pilots."
Gene Berry, 1965

After the war, Delta acquired surplus military Boeing Stearman PT-17 planes and converted them for crop-dusting work. Boeing Stearmans gradually replacing the older Huff Daland Dusters.

By December 1954, Delta's Agricultural Division (the renamed Dusting Division) operated 31 Boeing Stearmans and 2 Huff Daland Dusters.

Delta stopped dusting in 1966, and sold its dusting operations in 1967. See list of aircraft at time of sale.

Video & Pics

• Airliners.net: Boeing Stearman photos, specifications and history – visit web site »
• YouTube: Dickson Flying Services dusts cotton with a Boeing Stearman, ca. late 1940s-early 1950s – watch video »