AN AIRLINE AND ITS AIRCRAFT

T RAN S 'W_,="· ··'~II!'i'.~..~..;;;..~.'~'fil~''~'~':!§N635~ 0

75 Years ofPioneering Progress

TWA- --

by R.E.G. Davies • Illustrated by Mike Machat

TWAAN AIRLINE AND ITS AIRCRAFT

OTHER BOOKS BY R.E.G. DAVIES

Standard ReferencesA History of the World's Airlines

Airlines of the United States Since 1914Airlines of Latin America Since 1919

Airlines of Asia Since 1920Commuter Airlines of the United States

(with Imre Quastler)

Airline HistoriesContinental Airlines-The First Fifty Years

Pan Am: An Airline and Its AircraftLufthansa: An Airline and Its Aircraft

Delta: An Airline and Its AircraftAeroflot: An Airline and Its AircraftSaudia: An Airline and Its Aircraft

TransBrasil: An Airline and Its Aircraft

SpecialsBerlin Airlift: The Greatest Humanitarian Airlift

(with John Provan)

Comet: The World's First Jetliner(with Phil Birtles)

Fallacies and Fantasies of Air Transport HistoryLindbergh: An Airman, his Aircraft, and his Great Flights

Rebels and Reformers of the AirwaysSupersonic Nonsense

---

AN AIRLINE AND ITS AIRCRAfT

by R.E. G. DaviesIllustrated by Mike Machat

This book is dedicated to Ed Betts, veteran pilot, historian,and writer, who, over the years, has faithfully documentedthe history of a great airline. In so doing he has set a fineexample of accurate record keeping and research to other

aspirants, including this author.

© 2000 Paladwr Press

All rights reserved. No part of this publication, including photographs, maps, and artwork, may be reproduced or transmitted inany form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information

storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of Paladwr Press.

Published by Paladwr Press, 1906 Wilson Lane, # I0I, McLean, Virginia 22102-1957, USA

Manufactured in Hong Kong

Book Design by R.E.G. Davies

Artwork by Mike Machat

Maps by R.E.G. Davies

Technical editing by John Wegg and Felix Usis III

Typesetting/Layout by Spot Color Incorporated (www.spotcolor.com)

Prepress and press management by The Drawing Board

ISBN 1-888962-16-X

Second Printing, 2001

Into the 1970sLocal Service in the MidwestOzark's DC-3 Replacements

(Martin 404)Regional StatusEarly Air Tax Links

More Connections(Jetstream/Fairchild Metro III)

Troubled TimesInto the 21 st CenturyLest We ForgetTWA MiscellanyThe Family Tree

ContentsForeword by Introduction 6-7Post Office Prelude Western Air Express Begins 8-9The Four Horsemen Douglas M-2 1O-11Veteran Elegance The Way It Was 12-13The Model Airway Fokker F-10 14-15Flying Boats to Avalon Rocky Mountain Route .16-17Standard to Texas (and Beyond) Along the Northwest Coast... 18-19Hanshue Builds a Network Fokker F-32 20-21The Shotgun Marriage Ford 5-AT Tri-Motor 22-23Transcontinental Air-Rail Port Columbus 24-25Maddux Air Lines Ford 4-AT Tri-Motor.. 26-27The Grand Plan of... Transcontinental & Western Air.. 28-29The Competition Curtiss Condor CO 30-31Air Mail Scandal Historic Prototype 32-33Start of a New Era Douglas DC-2 34-35Single-Engined Swan Song Lockheed Vega 5 and Orion 9E 36-37The Ubiquitous Gooney Bird Douglas DC-3 38-39More and More DC-3s The Douglas Twins .40-41Enter Howard Hughes Stinson A (tri-motor) (Marquette) .42-43Above the Weather Boeing 307B Stratoliner .44-45War Effort Post-War Reconstruction .46-47The Cabin Crews Flight Deck Memories .48-49Atlantic Service Douglas DC-4 50-51Secret Weapon Lockheed Constellation 049 52-53TWA's Constellation Fleet Lockheed Super-Constellation 1049G 54-55Fairchild C-82A Packet Lockheed 1649A Starliner 56-57Constellation Scrapbook Constellation Commentary 58-59DC-3 Replacement Martin 202 60-61The Second Line Martin 404 62-63Prelude to the Jet Age Boeing 707-131.. 64-65The Boeing 707-100 Fleet A New Era 66-67The Boeing 707-300 Fleet Boeing 707-33lB 68-69Speed at All Costs Convair 880 70-71Atlantic Number One Howard's End 72-73SST and the Second Line Boeing 727-31.. 74-75

(Caravelle, Concorde, Boeing 2707)TWA's First Short-Haul Jet Fleets Douglas DC-9-14 76-77Stretched to the Limit McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) ..78-79Workhorse Jet Boeing 727-231 80-81Wide-Bodied Era Boeing 747-131 82-83More Range Boeing 747SP 84-85The Big Tri-Jet Lockheed L-lO I J TriStar I 86-87The Long-Haul Twin Boeing 767-200ER 88-89

The New Tycoon 90-91Ozark's DC-3 (Challenger 250) 92-93Ozark's Turboprops 94-95

(Fairchild FH-227)Douglas DC-9-30 96-97TWA Connections 98-99

(SAAB 340)Trans-World Express l00-1 01

(ATR 42)Boeing 757 102-103Boeing 717 (ex-MD-95) 104-10590% on the Ground 106-107Airline of the Stars 108-109Bibliography, Acknowledgements,

and Technical Notes 110-111Index 112

(Mike Machat's precision drawings are listed in red.)

Maps by R.E.G. Davies

The First Contract Air Mail Routes 8Western Air Express, 1926 9The Model Airway 14Pacific Marine Airways 16Western's Far-Flung Network, 1927 17Colorado Airways 17Standard Air Lines 18West Coast Air Transport 19Western Air Express, 1930 20The Shotgun Marriage 22Transcontinental Air-Rail 24The Grand Plan of Transcontinental & Western Air. 28-29Transcontinental Air Routes, 1920 30Marquette Air Lines .43Wartime Routes .46Round-the-World-Service , '" 50TWA. Atlantic Leadership in the 1960s (chart) 72TWA. Network in the Jet Age 72Ozark Airlines, 1956/1970/1986 96Grand Canyon Service, 1935 98Short Cut to New York, 1967 · ·.. · ·.. · 98Downtown Chicago Service 98The Commuter Airlines 99-101The TWA. Family Tree (chart) · · 110

5

Foreword by Mark Abels

This is a reproduction of M,: Ben Redman's ticket issued by W.A.E.It was signed by Charlie "Jimmy" James, seen as the pilot in the

picture above.

no.R 1Tl1isCerHfiesthat 7& t3g.,.,l<~on S·;2.3 192 {, traveled via Western

A41~ tQ~~

~-(Q1'~

w.~1T.mNEXP~SS

Air Express Airline trom

o'IJer Contract Air mall Route no. 4. ;t,.,kTime of Departure9.30 T"ne~from J..Qt :j;UXTime atLas Ue9as 3;! 0 Tjme~from L.v.+,o~~J

Time ofAnival.6.J.Q Total F1yin9 Time~Maximum AHilude12.000 Maximum Speed /.30 '1rtP. H.

Air'7l1aiJ Ca"jo 1.36 Ibs. ~l1J~Total weight carriedilllbs.ilotShip No.£

~

T W.A. was to feature many personalities during its long histOlY.The gentleman on the right of this photograph should also be

remembered. He was Mr. Ben Redman, the first passenger to fly onWestemAir Express'sfirst route.

though TWA's globe-girdling days are behind it, the proudTWA name remains even today the best-known in commer­cial aviation throughout the world, from North America toEurope and through the Middle East to Asia.

As our airline celebrates its 75th biIthday, historian RonDavies and artist Mike Machat, aided and abetted by statisticalgurus John Wegg and Felix Usis (himself a TWA pilot), havebrought into print a new and somewhat different look at our his­tory. As in previous books in this Paladwr Press pictorial series,they focus on the aircraft as a way to tell the airline's story. It'sa good way to tell the tale because, after all, the airplanes are thevisible and publicly recognizable symbols of what we do. Theairplanes help to define the personality of the airline and con­jure up the images of airline life. Show an old airline hand a pic­ture of an airliner, or an old route map, or even an ancient (and,by definition, rare) timetable, and the stories will flow. Thebook will start many of them flowing among TWA'ers, not onlyst0l1es of what was, but also of what will be again.

But the story of an airline - especially this airline - ismuch more than one of routes and planes. It is very muchabout people, just as the airline business is a people business.TWA is populated by walking repositories of our history,employees who have given 20, 30, 40, or even more years toTWA. Many are veterans who carried it through 75 years, andwho are now supported by younger TWA'ers, who arerebuilding it for 75 years more. Their dedication, their pro­fessionalism, and above all, their loyalty - not to mention afew of their good stories - are captured here.

Ron Davies and his Paladwr team have packed anincredible amount of information into the 112 pages of thisbook. They have incorporated marvelously detailed draw­ings, a wonderful selection of photographs (some familiar,some rare), informative maps, and meticulously compiledand detailed fleets lists and data tables. It is a wealth of infor­mation about TWA but it is nevertheless only a taste of the75-year saga of Trans World Airlines. The first chapters arehere. New chapters are being written every day. There are,and will be, many TWA stories to come. We hope that the Pal­adwr folks will visit us again in a decade or two to catch up.

Meanwhile, I invite you to enjoy this book, and thankyou for flying TWA!

d1!1a~k E. dfbE,[j.Vice President-Corporate CommunicationsSt. Louis, Missouri - September 2000

When you stop to think about it, the story line of the subjectof this book would make a pretty good Hollywood block­buster. It has at least a few of each of the ingredients - andoften a generous helping of some of the tastier items - thatmake a box-office hit.

This narrative is an epic. It starts with the birth of one ofthe most exciting, most dynamic, and most important Amer­ican industries - the airline industry. It spans three-quarters ofa century, almost as long as the life span of air transport itself.When critical events occurred, when vital innovations wereneeded, the subject of this tale was invariably at center stage.

Its characters are larger than life. There was the youngair mail pilot whose daring and courage had literally stunnedthe world. There was the swashbuckling tycoon who built itinto an international powerhouse of a company and earned afortune on top of his fortune; but was finally forced out of thebusiness he loved. There were the airmen and women whoperformed umecognized acts of accomplishment, some ofthem heroic, in the service of what they regarded as a truevocation, not just a job. There were movie stars, celebrities,politicians, presidents, even Popes. There were skillful anddaring leaders with a vision of the future and the courage tobuild it, and there were financial manipulators who almostdestroyed it.

It was the first at so many things. It was the first to spanthe continent, coast-to-coast. It claimed many technologicalfirsts, often initiated in cooperation with the great aircraftmanufacturers. As the author has observed, its contribution tolaunching, with Douglas, the legendary series of moderntwin-engined "DC" airliners, was a turning point in air trans­port history. It worked with Boeing to develop a lesser-knownbut perhaps no less significant aircraft, the Strataliner - theworld's first pressurized airliner. Its owner's perfectionistinsistence with Lockheed was the impetus behind the cre­ation of the incomparable Constellation. It was the first air­line to turn its back on propellers and boast of an all-jet fleet.

It, of course, is TWA, the transcontinental airline, thetrans world airline, the airman's airline, the airline of thestars, the airline of the Popes, the airline of legend. HowardHughes, the legendary fonner owner of TWA, also producedsilver-screen epics - but even Hughes's best screenwriterscould not have dreamed up a more exciting saga than the truestory of his own airline. This world-wide corporationachieved such cosmopolitan fame that the name TWAbecame a household word, synonymous with "airline." Even

6

IntroductionAuthorTackling the history of TWA. has been a formidable task,not simply to assemble 75 years of glorious history, but to dojustice to the illustrious chronicle of achievements within thecovers of one of Paladwr Press's series of Great Airlines ofthe World. To write a 300-page or 500-page text would beeasier than to fashion a concentrated narrative that wouldcomplement the 170 photographs, 48 'Machats' (precisiondrawings), tabulations of more than 1,200 individual aircraft,25 maps, and other illustrative features of this book. But Ihave endevoured to encapsulate the essentials: the ancestralanecdotes of Western Air Express and Harris Hanshue's fightfor recognition; the experimental air-rail service of TAT.;Jack Frye's sponsorship of the famous Douglas twins;Howard Hughes's dramatic initiatives-and his fall fromgrace; the era of the Constellations; the attainment of leader­ship across the Atlantic; and the erosion of size and service inmore recent times. Each of these historic episodes, andothers, would justify a small book. But a comprehensive cov­erage, with every detail, would need a bigger and moreexpensive volume, beyond the price range that seems reason­able for most pockets.

Many of TW.A.'s achievements have been remarkablebecause they have been of inestimable benefit not just for theSt. Louis airline, but for the air transport industry as a whole.The pre-war Douglas airliners that came to dominate the air­ways would not have been built if the TWA. specification fora modern airliner had not been outlined by Jack Frye in 1932.Howard Hughes's unique combination of record-breakingflying experience and industrial acumen, together with per­sistence to cross technical thresholds, led to the dramaticdelivery of the Constellation in 1944, a triumph both forHughes and for TW.A. The manufacturers, Douglas andLockheed, were tremendously successful with the DC-2/3and Constellation lines, respectively, and airlines all over theworld have been indebted to TWA. for its initiatives. Inpeacetime, the DC-2s and 3s set the pace in airliner technol­ogy. The C-47 (military version of the DC-3) was a logisticessential to help win the War, but it would never have beendeveloped had not Jack Frye set down the DC-1 specificationin 1933. The Constellation was described by a European his­torian as " America's Secret Weapon;" and in terms of itseffect on the dominance of the commercial airline skies, so itwas-and again tracable to TW.A.

Credit for inspiring the Jet Age (with the Boeing 707)must go to Pan American and its leader, Juan Trippe (the sub­ject of the first book in this Paladwr pictorial series). ButTW.A. was not far behind, and had a large fleet of 707s, withwhich it was, for many years, the most popular airline on thehighly competitive North Atlantic route. TWA. 's Boeing747s, now retired, served so well that some of them accumu­lated an astonishing 100,000 hours of revenue flying service.More recently, TWA. has led the way by introducing theefficient ETOPS (Extended Twin-Engine Operations) prac­tice across the Atlantic, an innovation that is now standard.

Times have changed. Intense competition in the 1970sand 1980s, brought on by airline deregulation in 1978, gaveTWA. no credit for its pioneering that benefitted one and all.With the sale of its routes to London and other depletions,TWA. has had to fight for its life. In corporate strength, aproud airline, once one of the 'Big Four,' is but a shadow ofits former self. But that is a long and distinguished shadow;and with this book, I hope that TWA. readers especially willtake pride in their heritage, and continue to maintain thatesprit de corps and the elan that has enabled them to reachthe 75th anniversary of unparalleled development andachievement. Other readers, less familiar with the drama ofthe past, may enjoy a taste of the adventure and romance thatthe pioneers and leaders of Trans World Airlines have givento the airline industry, not least to their contribution to the for­tunes of United States air transport, in peacetime and in war.

(EditoriaL note: To remind readers that the initiaLs were aLways sep­arately pronounced, the Paladwr Press house ruLe offuLL stops (peri­ods) has been appLied to the airline name: T.WA., which is anabbreviation, not an acronym. This is to ensure that it is never pro­nounced 'Twah. ' The cO/porate Logo omits the stops.)

ArtistOnce again the Paladwr team goes into action to documentthe history of one of the world's greatest airlines. I was filledwith a sense of anticipation approaching excitement whenRon Davies informed me of this book, and I set out with ela­tion to research and produce the 48 profiles of the greatTW.A. aircraft required to do justice to the cavalcade of greatairliners in the airline's history.

Artists usually derive their first inspiration from earlyexposure to artwork, and for me, the TW.A. advertisementsin Life magazine were among my earliest childhood memo-

ries. I would sit transfixed, staring in awe at the almost three­dimensional renderings of the sleek and elegant TW.A.Lockheed Constellations and later the first Boeing jets. Theywere usually depicted as flying over many of the famousromantic and faraway places that the airline served through­out the world. It was hard to believe that these realisticimages were indeed paintings, as they were executed withsuch precision and accuracy. Even the dramatic cityscapesbelow were highly detailed, yet still looked correct from alti­tude. I also remembered seeing the artist's name written inthe background. It read "Ren Wicks."

Years later, as a new member of the Los Angeles Soci­ety of Illustrators: I had the pleasure of meeting Ren, whowas one of the founding members. He was the epitome of theclassic artists who created America's 'Golden Age' of com­mercial illustration, starting as an aviation artist for Lockheedduring the Second World War. His finest work was executedwhile Hughes was running TW.A. and Howard ensured thatRen was given every opportunity to attain perfection, char­tering aircraft to fly him over all the cities that needed to beillustrated. He even arranged for helicopters to be assigned toRen so that he could photograph his aerial scenes: London,Rome, Athens-all to serve as backdrops for countlessimages used in TW.A.'s advertising in the 1950s and 1960s.

While in Paris on assignment in January 1998, I learnedof Ren's passing (in his art studio-where he would havewished) at the age of 86. I was deeply honored when theWicks family graciously allowed me to have his voluminousaviation scrap files. Upon examining the many boxfulls ofphotographs, bluepl;nts, brochures, and drawings, I foundmuch of the reference material that Ren had used for all thosewonderful TW.A. paintings that he had produced over theyears. I now use this very same material as an aid to the cre­ation of the artwork in this book, a history of the great aircraftand the people who built Trans World Airlines, and who con­tinue the proud tradition of TW.A. today. It has been a mem­orable experience, and it has also been a poignant way inwhich I can pay tribute with my pen and paintbrush to a fineartist whose work transcends the so-called generation gap.

(Artist's note: in my comparison drawings (which have been a popu­lar feature of the Paladwr pictorial books) 1 have, for the piston­engined aircraft, used the Constellation as the basic outline; and forthe jet airliners, the Boeing 747. Otherwise, the extremes in sizewould be visually less reLevant.)

7

Post Office PreludeTHE FIRST DOZEN U.S. POST OFFICE CONTRACT AIR MAIL ROUTES

ADelayed BeginningThe United States airline industry started to take shape onlyin the mid-I920s, several years after Europe, Australia, andsome countries south of the Border. There had been sporadicattempts to establish individual airlines, notably by Aeroma­rine in Florida and the Great Lakes, from 1920 to 1923; butothers survived for only a few months. The U.S. Post Officehad pioneered a transcontinental route from New York to SanFrancisco. But no sustained passenger airline existed.

The Kelly AdThen, on 2 February 1925, the Contract Air Mail Act (knownas the "Kelly" Act, after its main Congressional sponsor) trans­ferred the responsibility for can'ying the air mail from the PostOffice to contracted carriers. On 20 May 1926, PresidentCoolidge signed the Air Commerce Act, which established aregulatory framework within which the airlines could operate.

The Post Office's Air Mail Service had grown to a stagewhich demanded the talents and experience of a transportorganization-attributes that were considered to be outsidethe field of a governmental agency. The air mail routes werecontracted out to private companies or to entrepreneurs whoundertook to provide regular and reliable service and werepaid for the service rendered. Beginning with twelve con­tracts let, after open bidding, in 1926, all the main cities ofthe United States were receiving air mail service by 1933.

T.W.A.'s Pioneering AncestryAll the major airlines of today can trace their history back tothese early beginnings. T.W.A. has a legitimate claim to be oneof the true pioneers. Its ancestry began with Western AirExpress (W.A.E.) which was founded on 13 July 1925, andbegan service on 17 April 1926. United Airlines's ancestor,Varney Air Lines, made a flight on 6 April, but did not fly reg­ularly until 6 June. American's earliest ancestor, RobertsonAircraft Corporation, carried mail from IS April, but did not atfIrst carry passengers. Delta, too, by its acquisition of WesternAir Lines in 1987, has a legitimate claim to w.A.E. ancestry.

The InnovatorOf the developments that followed the passing of the KellyAct, T.w.A. 's were the most impressive, in that it first initi­ated, then sustained, and by subsequent innovations, radicallydirected the course of the United States airline industryduring its vital formative years. And most important, theseinnovations proved to be of inestimable benefit to all the air­lines, including T.W.A.'s competitors.

8

CAM Date ofNo. Route Airline First Service Remarks Ancestor of

I NewYork-Boslon Coloniol Air Transport 1Jul26 Incorporated in 1923. Juan Trippe was on original director, bUlleh to form Pon Americon Airways Amerj((]n2 Chicago-51. louis Robertson Aircrah Corpomlion 15 Apr 26 Robertson Aircraft Corp. lormed in 1921 bul nol os on airline (Moil only) Americon3 Chicago-Dollos Nolionol Air Transporl (NAT) 12 Moy 26 Founded on 21 Moy 1925, specilicolly 10 operole os on airline Ilor express pockoges} Uniled4 Los Angeles·501t Lake City Weslern Air Express IWAE} 17 Apr 26 founded on 13 Ju11925. The firsl of Ihe Conlract Air Moil Carriers 10 corry possengers. TWA ond Delta5 Elko·Posco Varney Air lines 6Apr 26 Though on early slorter, Ihe inougural nighl was nol campleled, ond service did nol resume unlill Jun 26 Uniled6 Delroil·develond } ford Molor Compony 15feb 26 ford hod olreody ,Iorted carporole doily express services on 3 Apr 25, ond simply wnverted Ihese 10 a CAM wntroct Uniled7 Delroil·ChicogoB Seanle·LosAngeles Pocific Air Tronsport 15Sep26 IW.R. Ponerson, fulure Uniled presidenl worked for Pocilic.} Uniled9 Minneapolis-Chicogo Charles Dickinson 7 Jun 26 Aircraft croshed on firsl day; roule oulhority passed 10 Northwesl Airways, founded on I Aug 26, firsl service Northwesl

1Oct 26. Northwest is Ihe oldest airline in Ihe U.s. ,Iill operoling under Ihe some nomelO Miami-Jocksonville Rorida Airways Corporation 1Apr 26 Began passenger service on 1Jun 26. Eddie Rickenbmker, ex-war oce, -

and loter president of Eastern Air lines, was one of the promoters. Operated on~ until 26 Dec 26.UniledII Clevelond·Pin,burgh Clifford Boll 21 Apr 27 Boll's opemlion become Pennsylvonio-(enlrolthen Capitol Airlines, before United loke-over

12 Cheyenne·Pueblo Colorado Airways 31 May 26 Western Air Express took over route on 10 Dec 27 Delta

{]

-Although Boeing Air Transport and National Air Transport were to share the traditional transcontinental 'Columbia'route to San Francisco, Western Air Express provided the important link to Los Angeles, which was fast becoming the

largest metropolis in California. This link was to be the foundation of W.A.E.'s route network that eventually developedinto a transcontinental route.

Western Air Express BeginsWestern EnterpriseAir Mail Contract No.4 (CAM 4) was awarded to Western AirExpress (W.A.E.) of Los Angeles. Promoted by Harris 'Pop'Hanshue, a former racing car driver and car dealer, the airlinewas founded on 13 July 1925, with the backing of Harry Chan­dler, of the Los Angeles Times, and James A. Talbot, of Rich­field Oil. With such sponsorship, it was a company of substanceand enjoyed much local political and corporate influence.

W.A.E. began air mail service on 17 April 1926, fromVail Field, Los Angeles, to Salt Lake City, via Las Vegas. Itconnected with the established transcontinental route fromSan Francisco to New York, still operated by the U.S. PostOffice. Hanshue aspired to winning that contract too; but lostout to Boeing Air Transport, which received the San Fran­cisco-Chicago contract in 1927.

Passen~vice was added on 23 May 1926. During thenext seven months, 209 brave travellers paid $90 each to makethe journey. They sat in an unheated and only partially protectedcockpit, and were regarded as of secondary importance to themail, which sometimes doubled as seating cushions. With norestroomsonboard, rest stops occasionally were made in theMojave Desert. The one-way trip took 6-112 hours.

Harris M. 'Pop' Hanshue, President of Western Air Express Pop Hanshue hands a mail bag to Fred Kelly, one ofthe "Four Horsemen" (see p. 10)

In the distribution ofair mail routes in 1926, W.A. E had the covetedconnection from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, on the transcontinen­

tal New York-San Francisco coast-to-coast route.

UTAH

IIIII,IIJJ

I/

WESTE/RN AI REXFlRESS

~ 192EiVEVADA'C' {l,

.-" Ma1l Service 17 April I~Passenser Service 23 May0" I

~~ "" i--'<"" ' I'"7 ',. - I I

, Leis Vegas I, \ I

'c\ I, I'0 iCO 200 I/) ,'-----"-,__::if ,

I Scofe- Miles ;

~ ( :;:.;, ;'.-':-.': _. _. _. _.J I

Before Western Air Express could start service on this airmail route from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, it had to survey the route, especially tolocate sites for emergency landings in the scrub desert (Photo: courtesy DeGarmo Family collection)

9

The Four HorsemenA total of 518 flights was scheduled for the seven months ofoperation in 1926, This was a remarkable record, consideringthat these were early stages of development of the aircraft andthe standards of maintenance, not to mention the trailblazingand pathfinding talents demanded of the pilots. BerniceDeGarmo, daughter-in-law of the youngest of the pilots,neatly summed up the flying conditions: they had "no brakes,no lights, no radios."

The Four HorsemenIn the beginning, Harris Hanshue had only four pilots tomaintain that almost incredible record of regularity. Picturedon this page, they became legendary in the aviation world ofCalifornia and the West at that time. The exact source of theaffectionate title bestowed upon them is not recorded. Onereason passed down is that it referred to the then impressivepower of the Liberty engines in the Douglas mailplanes. Thepilots are said to have given themselves the name, and legendhas it that on occasion they backed it up by arriving for workon horseback This was a typical scene at Los Angeles when scheduled

air mail service began. The "Four Horsemen" were (I. to I:) Fred W Kelly, c.N. (Jimmy)James, Alva R. DeGarmo, Maurie Graham, together with (extremeright) Major c.c. Moseley, VP Operations ofWA.E. The aircraft is

a Douglas M-2. (Bernice DeGarmo collection)

The first contracted air mail arrives at Los Angeles on 17 April J926. Actress Claire Windsor was on hand to accepta package consigned to The May Company.

10

Al DeGarmo, Maurie Graham, "Jill1l11y"Jall1es, and Fred Kelly pose infrontof the blackboard showing their scheduling rosters. (DeGarmo collection)

Douglas M·22 seats • 118 mph

Loading the mail onto a Boeing 95 of WA.E.(see page 22). The pilot was Jimmy James, whose

name was inscribed on his airplane.

EngineMGTOWMax, RangeLengthSpan

Liberty (400 hp)4,7551b,650 miles

29 feet40 feet

The Western FleetThe U.S. Post Office had relied upon the de Havilland DH-4B, a British light bomber design,converted to carry a load of mail; but towards the end of its operating period, the Post Officehad tried other types, including the German Junkers-F 13, and it operated the Douglasmailplane. No doubt, Donald Douglas's proximity-at Santa Monica, only just down the high­way from Vail Field-had some influence on Harris Hanshue's choice of steed for his FourHorsemen. Of the 57 Douglas Mail Planes built, W.A.E. had nine, seven of which were M-2s,and two were M-4s.

WESTERN AIR EXPRESS - THE FIRST FLEETFleel No. Type MSN Regn. PUIlhose Dole Remarks

Dougl05 MoUplones

I M·l 244 C150 8Mar 26 Converled fa M·2; sold 10 Chorles F. Dycer, 7Apr 322 M·2 245 C151 22 Mar 26 Sold 10 lincoln Air Svce, 29 Sep 313 M·2 22 Mor 26 Crashed, Salt lake City area, 8 Dec 26'4 M·2 246 C1489 29 Mor 26 Sold to T.T. Brown, 20 Aug 315 M-2 247 C1490 29 Mor 26 Sold to Lincoln Air Svce., 29 Sep 316 M·2 248 C1491 15 Apr 26 Sold to l.A. Weedle, 5 Ocl 317 M·2 252 C1512 10 Sep 26 Sold 10 Elmer A. Riley, 1Dd 318 M-4 33B C1475 16 Jun 27 Crashed, 23 Jon 309 M·4 C1476 16 Jun 27 Crashed, Denver, 10 Dec 27

The first six aircraft were purchased from Douglas; the other three from the Post Office Deportment

De Havilland DH-48 loll from Post Office Deportmenl)

A

I I

A-99

ICl488 I 30 Nov 26

I } 50ld 10 Poramounl Fomouslosky Corp., 14 Nov 278 A-98 (1487 7 Nov 26C 100 C640 30 Nov 26

'This was the occident in which Maurie Graham, one of Ihe Four Horsemen, was killed.

The Douglas M·2 MailplaneThe Douglas machine was probably the best in its day for its designated task. Its mail com­partment, in front of the pilot's cockpit, was sealed off from the engine by a fireproof wall (apractice that quickly became standard) and was lined with reinforced duralumin. The compart­ment was six feet long, had a capacity of 58 cubic feet, and could accommodate 1,000 lb of mail.Two removable seats could be installed for hardy passengers, or occasionally for reserve pilots.

The M-2 was developed from the M-l prototype, an action that was famously repeated byDouglas and T.W.A. eight years later. The M-2 was later improved, with the M-3, and later theM-4, with five extra feet of wingspan. Six M-2s were built, and ten M-3s. The reminder (exceptWestern's two) all went to the United States Post Office Department.

Preserved for PosterityAs described on page 12, one of W.A.E.'s M-4s was carefully restored and donated to Wash­ington's National Air and Space Museum. It was flown from Long Beach to Washington inMay 1977, 46 years after it had crashed in 1930, a striking demonstration of the ruggednessand longevity of the Douglas design.

11

Veteran Elegance

This picture was taken by Douglas historian and ace photographer Harry Gann after Western Air Express's Douglas M-4 (Fleet No.8) had been restored in 1976. 1n WA.E. 's service, ithad flown 914 hours before crashing in 1930. 1t was subsequently repaired and used by an aerial mapping company, and then changed hands several times before Western Air Linesbought it back (for $400) in 1940. After several attempts at restoration, it was eventually made flyable andfinally donated to the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian

1nstitution on 2 May 1977. 1t was restored as an M-2, and flown by Boeing 727 pilot Don Lykins across the U.S.A, making 17 stops, some of them unscheduled, including a change ofengine at Amarillo. The passenger in this picture (in the front seat) was Maude Campbell who was WA.E. 'sfirst woman passenger in 1926.

12

The Way It Was

Rare picture ofa Western Air Express Douglas M-2 as it negotiates the Cajon Pass through the Sierra Nevada in 1926.

Scene at Vail Field in 1926, with four Douglas M-2s and a U.S. mail truck

Herbert Hoover, Jr. is flanked by Jimmy James (left) and Fred Kelly (right), two ofthe Four Horseman. Hoover was the communications specialist for The ModelAirway and Fred seems to be suggesting that a bottle opener might be useful.

---:- -~

~~ EXPRESS ~---------- ~,

- LDSANliELES hi ;-:.~SALT LAKE ' ~ - - • - -

_ ROUTE r-. - ~ I I

- ,A-

Vail Field photographed in the initial period of WA.E. 's operation,probably as it was being prepared for the operation.

13

1.-" lies

D

oL.

~...-o Telephone lines n

. (for exchange of dotor~,.: ..~,.e-e... Teleprinter lines "'.

:'~":. ~Sacramento", THE

~'/ O"J::::rd MOD'E~ AIRWAYCri<Sy'~ A'~LAN 0 REPORTINli' SYSTEM

Milts Fieid Tr'fl...cy "Palo Atto ' uModesto ".

San·Jos.e'of\- ~qMerced 'Mt HCith!~I\,0 . Lo anos. >c.:. 6"roy Fresno

Salinp's Mendota.:\ Visalia

King City Coalinga.:.

Lost Hills

~l

Western Air Express established its own weather stationsalong the Los Angeles-San Francisco Model Ai/way

WESTERN'S FOKKER JRI·MOJORS(In order of delivery, Fleet Numbers 100-125)

WESTERN'S FOKKER F·14s (Single Engined)

Nole: NC999E was Ihe aircraft Ihol crashed, wilh Knule Rockne on boord, 31 March 1931

DeliveryMSN Regn. Dole Fleel No. Remarks

1404 NCl29M Sep 29 400

1T.TW'1408 NC327N1409 NC32BN Nov 29 4011411 NC331 N Feb 30 402

DeliveryMSN Regn. Dole Remorks

Fokker F-VIl 0/3m

602 I N390B I 2Mar 2B I From Atlantic Aircraft; sold to Continental Air Express11 May 29

Fokker F-10

1000 NC445B 24 Apr 2B To IW.A. Retired from service, 30 Apr 311001 NC5170 9May 2B To TWA. Written off, Alhambra, 26 Jon 311002 NC35B 11 May 2B Crashed, Oakland, 26 Dec 291005 NCB04B 14 Nov 28

} Sold to TWA., 24 Mar 311006 NCB047 10Doc2B

All from Atlantic AiruaN Corp. (FokkerJ.

Fokker F-10A

1009 NC9716 24 Dec 2B from Atlantic Aircraft Carp.; sold to SAFE, 9Ocl 301011 NC279E Heb 29 From Fokker; crashed, lake Arrowhead, 23 Feb 301013 NC393E Mar 29 From Fokker; destroyed (tornado) Wichita, 2Jun 291007 NC392E 3Mar 29

} From Fokker; sold to TWA, 24 Mar 311017 NC455E 27 Mar 291019 NC456E 8Apr 291020 NC489E 21 Apr 29 from fokker; sold to SAfE, 9 Oct 301021 NC59lE 6May 29 from Fokker; croshed, Alhambra, 22 Dec 301042 NC5B2K 7Aug 29 Fokker; sold to Chos. H. Bobb, 12 Feb 351043 NC5B3K 12 Aug 29

} From Fokker; sold to IW.A. 24 Mor 311063 NC999E 31 Oct 29102B NC39N 1May 30 Ex-Standard; crashed lynndyl, Utah, 9 Dec 321054 NC580K 301055 NC5B1 K

} 8May 30 from Standard Airlines; sold to SAfE, 9Ocl 30103B NC9169105B NC52BM 10 Jun 30 Ex-Standard Airlines; sold to TWA. 24 Mar 311045 NC5B4K 20 Jul31 From Pacific Air Transport, Sold feb 351044 NC215M 7Aug 31 From Pacific Air Transport } Sold to1057 NC5B6K 22 Nov 32 Ex-Standard Airlines Chos. H. Bobb1015 NC394E 6Jon 33 from Richfield Oil Co. 2 Dec 35

WA.E'sradio roomin the daysof the ModelAinllay

The Model AirwayPassenger ServiceThe idea of regular passenger air service was still consideredto be a novelty in 1926. Sitting on mail sacks was not exactlytempting to prospective air travellers. Then, in 1927, CharlesLindbergh made his spectacular and epoch-making Atlanticflight, and attracted the sympathetic attention of DanielGuggenheim. The industrialist-philanthropist gave Charles amonth of peace at his home. The now-famous aviation herothen made his Goodwill Tour of the 48 States in July-October1927. He promoted aviation vigorously to the Americanpublic, and Guggenheim backed him up by funding worthyaviation projects.

The Guggenheim FundHe had, on 18 January 1926, formed the Daniel GuggenheimFund for the Promotion of Aeronautics. It selected WesternAir Express to conduct a full-scale experimental air service, asa "Model Airway," concentrating on passenger service, withthe accent on service. Box-lunch meals were served on board,supplied by the Pig 'n 'Whistle cafeteria in Los Angeles. Lim­ousine service was available to reach the airfield, and passen­gers were provided with log-books to record their flights.

Navigation ImprovementsWestern's Herbert Hoover, Jr., working with Thorp Hiscock,from Boeing Air Transport, developed a two-way radio com­munications system, replacing the Morse-code radio-tele­graph. Geoffrey Kreusi, a Swiss, and Gerhardt Fischer, aGerman, were hired to develop the first radio-compass. Sub­sequently sold to Bendix, this was improved to become theautomatic direction-finder (ADF) that was standard equip­ment until the advent of the inertial navigation system (INS),well after the Second World War.

14

Fokker F-l012 seats • 11 0 mph

Engines

MGTOWMax. RangeLengthSpan

Pratt &WhitneyWasp (420 hp) x 3

12,500 lb.300 miles

50 feet79 feet

The Fokker F·1 0This was one of the Fokker transport airplanes that were built only in the United States. They can be distinguishedfrom Dutch-built Fokkers in that arabic, not roman, numerals were used for the type designations. Other U.S.Fokker types were the Universal and Super Universal (page 18), the F-32 (page 21) and the F-14 (page 22).

Chosen InstrumentWestern spent its entire $180,000 from the Guggenheim Fund to purchase three Fokker F-10 tri-motors. The Fokkerhad three Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines; it could maintain altitude with only one, and could climb to 7,000 feetwith two. The F-lO had wheel brakes, a lavatory, a lighted instrument panel, and "full cabin-length windows" thatcould be opened in flight to let in the fresh air. Fokker built 65 of these early 'airliners' of which 58 were F-lOAs.Until the highly publicized T.A.T. disaster of March 1931-the notorious Knute Rockne crash-the Fokker wasconsidered to be as good as the Ford Tri-Motor.

View of the Fokker F-/O, showillg the characteristic thick-chord Fokker woodell wing. On-board catering was a novelty in the late /920s.

15

Flying Boats to AvalonOn 29 June 1,928, Western Air Express purchased PacificMarine Airways, which since 1922 had been operatingbetween Wilmington, in the Los Angeles Harbor area, andAvalon, the casino resort on Catalina Island. The companyhad been incorporated on 7 August 1924 by Foster Curry,who had promoted Yosemite National Park as a vacationresort. Western took over Curry's three Curtiss HS-2Ls,together with the contract to provide air service to the island.The terminus was transferred to Hanshue's base at Alhambra.

As shown in the list, and illustrated on this page, Han­shue added a few more airplanes to this small fleet, before thecontract expired in May 1931, and was taken over by PhilipK. Wrigley, of the chewing gum empire, to maintain the serv­ice as the Wilmington-Catalina Airline. Hanshue's horizons,meanwhile, had expanded far beyond the locality of the Cal­ifornia coast, and he was looking towards the East.

Two views of WA.E. S Sikorsky S-38A flying boat,with passengers in holiday mood.

16

One of Western Air Expresss Loening C2H Air Yachts seen (top)coming in to Avalon, on Catalina Island; (center) about to alight;

and (bottom) at anchor.

Western Air Express's Boeing 204 taxying in at Avalon,

on Catalina Island

AIRCRAFT ON THE ROUTE TO AVALON

MSN I Regn. I Remarks

Curtiss HS-2L

A·1373 I NC652 I } Operoted by PocificA·1981 NC2420 wfu Jul 29 Morine 1922-28

111 NC5419 wfu Moy 29 Fleel N~mbers 225-227

Loening C-2H

220

INC9773 I } Ordered by Pacific Morine, delivered 10 W.A.E., Mor/Jun 29;

230 NCI35H Fleel Numbers 301-302; sold Moy 31

Sikorsky S-38A

14·5

INC8031 I Flying Fish, Reel Number 300; delivered to W.A.E., Ocl 28;

writlen off, Avolon, 5Jun 29

Boeing 204

1076I

NC874E IDelivered May 1929, Fleel Number 228; sold to Gorst Air Tpf.,7Jon 31

.;':.' ;:'~""".......--""-'-;:....;..;..;.;:;~~~..-:"r: " '.":':::'.;

..:::~}):.: ..West~~fh}A:" '...

EXQress ·;:·D.~June 1928-1932"

·\~~~;::::":k•.fi; ~:~~9IonSanta .CatQlina::':':~''''>;'(i 5 to 15 20

Island Scale- Miles

RECD

•

Rocky Mountain Route

REGD• Pueblo

Scale - Miles

COLORADO

I

Cheyenne - - - --o 25 50 75 100

!

Colorado Airway~

opened service 31 May192

Western Air EXp'restook over route 10 Dec192

Colorado Springs

WYOMING

Colorado Airways provided the vital linkbetween the existing transcontinental airroute and the important city of DenveJ:

THE W.A.E. STEARMAN C3B FLEET

Fleet Numbers 200-206; N(3B63 was (3B Special, N(4011 a (3MB, and NC774H a 4DM.

Staking a ClaimOn 10 December 1927, Western Air Express took over theColorado CAM 12 connecting route, replacing the smallRyan aircraft with the somewhat sturdier Stearman biplanes,better able to cope with the high altitude flying necessaryeven at the foot of the Rockies. At the time, the common own­ership of two mail carriers a thousand miles apart may haveseemed odd. But as Western's ambitions developed, therecould have been some method in the apparent eccentricity.

MSN Regn. Delivery Date Remarks

105 NC3709 Crashed, Denver, 7 May 29106 NC3863 IS Dec 28 Crashed, Denver, 3Aug 3D108 NC4Dll 17 May 29 Sold Nov 31193 NC6495 15 Dec 28 Said Sep 29235 NC8820 17 May 29 Crashed, Denver, 6Jan 30

4011 NC774H 22 Mar 30 Said Feb 37229 NC8815

OrttO"'o.

Colorado Springs

Pueblo

f.

o 100 200 30a 400 SOOt I I I \ I

Scole - Miles

.. ~ .

Interestingly, Harris Hanshue'sfirst expansionist move was to purchase an airline that,at the time, had no direct link with Western Air Express's earlier routes. But it was the

harbinger of greater things to come.

R£GI>

Afier Western Air Express acquired Colorado Airways, it introducedStearman biplanes complete with "Indiall Head" illsignia.

IFleet No. 10, Sold Jul 28

Fleet No. 12, Sold Sep 27

THE COLORADO AIRWAYS FLEET

Colorado Airways used Ryan monoplanes all its mail routefi'orn Cheyenne to Pueblo.

Stearma,n J'~~l1S8 INC1159NCll60

One other, No. 20, sold to Wilson Aero Service, 23 lul2B. All token over by WA.f. December 1927.

Ro(ky Mountain LineAlthough W.A.E. was to put its route-expansion toe in thewaters of the Pacific in 1928 (see page 16), HalTis Hanshueand his colleagues had their eyes set on wider horizons.These aspirations did not at first become evident, but therewere some straws-at least one small straw-in the wind.

On 31 May 1926, Colorado Airways had been foundedby Anthony F. Joseph who had obtained the last of the twelveCAM contacts let in 1926. His purpose was to link the largercities of Colorado: Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo,with Cheyenne, which was a station on the traditionaltranscontinental route between San Francisco and New York,via Chicago. The problem was that, with the flying equipmentof the late 1920s, to attempt to cross the high Rockies in thevicinity of Denver was extremely hazardous to the health. Thiswas the reason why the original Post Office transcontinentalroute, sustained by Boeing Air Transport, was by a kinder itin­erary for the aircraft and the pilots of the period.

MSN Regn. Delivery Date RemarksRyans

22 NC4281 Type M·1 } Sold to Western College of Aeronautics,24 NC4282 Type M-2 18 Dec 28

17

Standard to Texas (and Beyond)

This sil/gle-engined Fokker F- Vila is seen flying over the grid-patterned streets of Los Angeles in 1929.

Another Passenger AirlineWhile Western Air Express had introduced passenger servicealong the California corridor, another enterprising companywas doing the same (also without a mail contract) in thesouth. The Aero Corporation of California, an aircraft deal­ership and flying school, had formed a subsidiary, StandardAirlines, on 3 February 1926, incorporating it (as a NevadaCorporation) on 1 May 1928.

Creature ComfortsThe Fokker Universals and a F-VIla which at first comprisedStandard's fleet were adequate to fly from Los Angeles toTucson; but the journey was quite long when service startedon 28 November 1927. Recognizing a need, it provided on­board "comfort facilities limited to men." But a brief stop wasmade for women at Desert Center, where "a solitary fillingstation boasted two crude outhouses."

Transcontinental AmbitionsStandard's officers included Lieut. Jack Frye, president; PaulRichter, Jr., treasurer; and Walter Hamilton, 2nd vice-president.As early as 4 February 1929, Frye announced the inaugurationof "America's First Transcontinental Air-Rail Travel Route."This claim was made by extending its route beyond Tucson toEl Paso, where it connected with the Texas and Pacific Rail­road. The claim became more legitimate, albeit still stretchingthe definition a little, when the coast-to-coast linkage was com­pleted on 4 August of that year by an alliance with SouthwestAir Fast Express and the New York Central Railroad.

Harris Hanslwe expanded Western Air Express:, network considerably during 1929 and 1930, as shown inthe map on page 20. The purchase ofStandard Air Lines COl/solidoted WA.E. \' grip on the airways west ofthe Rockies, but the T.A. T. merger reduced Hanslwe:S' influence and he sold this southern transcontinental

link to American Airways in October 1930, to complete the latter:\' coast-to-coast link-up.

18

Jack Frye was President ofStandard Airlines, moved toWA.E., and then became Presi­dent of TWA. after the mergerwith TA.T He initiated thedesign competition which led tothe famous line of Douglastwin-engined airliners.

This cheelful pilot is seen withone of Standard's iirst aircraftin Alexander Eaglerock. Thiswas used by the Aero Corpora­tionior flying tuition andforprivate hire, much in the samemanner as with atixed-baseoperator (FBO) today.

Standmc! Airlines started life as the Aero Corporation of California.The display counter in theioreground of this 1926 picture would

not be out otplace at any private flying field today.

One of Standard's Fokker Universals.

Along the Northwest CoastWEST COAST AIR TRANSPORT

CORPORATION

This map was printed in West Coast Air Transport:~

timetables. The route had spectacular views of manyfamous mountains, including Shasta, Jefferson,

Hood, St. Helens, and Rainia

Los Angeles. Without a mail contract, West Coast lost moneyheavily, and after the crisis of 1930 (see page 24) Hanshuehad to retrench, terminating service in December 1930 andselling to Boeing, for $250,000, on 16 March 1931.

West Coast Air Transport operated severalliltle-remembered aircraft·The picture is ofa Bach tri-motor Air Yacht and the airline was appar­

ently an early air express operatOl: (photo courtesy Hany Gaml)

West Coost EnterpriseOne of several independent airlines in California that wastrying to launch passenger air service without a mail con­tract was Union Air Lines, of Sacramento, concentratingon the more populous cities of the Golden State. On 5March 1928, it started a daily service between San Fran­cisco and the northwest cities of Portland and Seattle. Thisalso offered express package service, and operated as WestCoast Air Transport, which was incorporated in Delawareon 27 June 1929. Its fleet consisted mainly of tri-motoredBach Air Yachts, which, however, must have met withproblems when flying across the mountainous areas ofnorthern California.

Back in the late 1920s, the west coast of the United States did not have swift SUijace transport, either by land or sea.The area was a good prospect for air transport, and the cities were quick to respond to the need. A West Coast Air Transport

Fokker F-l0-A tri-Illotor is seen here at Portland's handsome air terminal.

Western Air Express Tokes OverHarris Hanshue believed in the benefits of expansion andaimed to build an airline empire in the West. As part of thisambition, he acquired West Coast late in 1929, and thus com­pleted a route from Seattle to San Diego, effectively fromCanada to Mexico. But unfortunately, the only mail contractalong that route was Pacific Air Transport's CAM 8, whichoperated, as part of the Boeing organization, from Seattle to

19

Hanshue Builds a NetworkSteady ExpansionDuring the first two or three years of its existence, Western AirExpress spread its wings mainly by providing connecting servicesto the traditional transcontinental air mail route from San Franciscoto New York (see map, page 17). No doubt Harris Hanshue felt thathe should play more than just a subsidiary role in the nationalscheme of things, and consequently turned his eyes towards the East.

His most important step in that direction was to open, on 15May 1929, a direct service from Los Angeles to Albuquerque, andextending this on I June to Kansas City. In May 1930, branch lineswere opened to Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and to Fort Worth andDallas. He had also provided, on 21 September 1929, a north-southlink from Cheyenne to EI Paso, by founding Mid-Continent AirExpress. Even without a mail contract, Hanshue must have felt thathe was establishing a revenue-earning base from passengers alone.

The Largest AirlineBy the early summer of 1930, Harris Hanshue's Western Air Expresswas operating the largest airline network in the United States; andpossibly, after Germany's Deutsche Luft Hansa, the second largestin the world. But with the relatively inefficient aircraft of thoseyears, and the lack of popular support for air travel (partly becauseof the expense and the apprehension of danger) the possession ofmail contracts was essential to achieve financial viability. Of all theroutes on W.A.E.'s impressive map, only Los Angeles-Salt Lake Cityand Cheyenne-Pueblo earned money by carrying mail. Hanshue wasforced into a corner, and in building the network, augmented even bythe acquisition of Standard Airlines on I May 1930, his pride was tocome before a fall.

By the summer of 1930-just before the Shotgun Marriage-Western Air Express had built up a substantial network,reaching as far east as Kansas City. The airline had also opened an office in Chicago,

,'-~-~­

A line-up of Western Air Express aircraft at the Alhambra ai/port serving the Los Angeles area. The aircraft are (left to right) a Fokker F-10, Fokker F-14, Boeing 40, Boeing 95, Douglas M-4, and a Stearman 4D, Theyare paraded infront of the octagonal hangw; which was an impressive structure at the time.

20 1

Fokker F·3230 seats • 123 mph

Posing in front of the Fokker F-32 prototype are (left toright) Jack Frye, former president of Standard Airlines;T.E.e. Gregory; Harris Hanshue, chairman ofWA.E.;

and James A. Talbot, WA.E. director.

Engines

MGTOW

Pratt &WhitneyHornet B(575 hp) x 4

24,250 lb.

RangeLengthSpan

400 miles70 feet99 feet

The large crowd was no doubt in awe as they watched the giant Fokker F-32 on display.The occasion was for a "Fox Flying House Party, New York to Hollywood"

-according to the painted inscription on the fuselage.

AGiant Before its TimeThe Fokker F-32 was the largest aircraft to enter airline service-briefly-until the introduc­tion of the Douglas DC-3 in 1936. It had four engines, mounted in tandem, suspended from thetypical Fokker thick-aerofoil wooden wing. Western introduced it on 17 April 1930, and it pro­vided hitherto unprecedented service between Alhambra and Oakland. It had four plush com­partments, with well-upholstered reclining seats. There were call-buttons for a steward-aWestern innovation-lavatories, folding tables, galleys, and reading lights.

Hour of GloryThere were some technical features of note. The instrument panels were better than those inany previous aircraft. The fuel tanks were kept well away from the passengers, in the wings,which was another innovation. Each engine had its own fire-extinguishing system; but unfor­tunately this had to be used too often. Western operated two aircraft for several months in thesummer of 1930. But after the much-publicized Fokker F-lO crash in March 1931, its woodenconstruction came into disrepute, and the type was grounded. Nevertheless, Western AirExpress had had the honor of operating their first four-engined transport airplane in the UnitedStates; and although Universal Air Line System ordered the F-32, Western was the only one tooperate it.

WESTERN'S FOKKER F·32 (Model 12) FLEETMSN Regn. Remarks

1201 NCI24M Protolype; WAE morkings for demonslrotion tour, Nov 291202 NCI30M (Nol W.A.E. Croshed before delivery)1203 NC333N } Operated 1Apr 30 to 10,130, fleet Numbers 500-501; sold 10 TWA 24 Mor 31; wlu, 15 Jun 31, broken up,1204 NC334N 19 Jul33

21

The Boeing B40B-4.four-seat biplane was deployed on Western'sContinental Air Express routes centered on Denver in 1930.

WESTERN'S EARLY BOEING FLEET

The Boeing 95 was usedfor about a year on the mail route to SaltLake City in 7929-30.

This was the prototype Fokker F-74 but this particular aircraft wasnever operated by Western Air Express (see fleet List on page 14).

Harris Hanslwe, WA.E. Chairman (lefi) cooperateswith Postmaster General Walter Brown to swing the

propeLLer ofa tri-nwtoJ: But the enforced merger wasnot exactly to Hanslwe's Liking.

Curious PrecedentAs it enters the 21 st century, air transport throughout theworld is improving inter-modal connections between airlineservice and high-speed rail. Methods of passenger transfertoday could learn lessons from the amenities offered by TA.Tin 1930. Cooperation, rather than competition between thedifferent modes, could have advantages today-as it did then,

The Shotgun Marriage

Conflicting ClaimsBrown did not approve of the idea of two operators on thesame route, both claiming air mail payments. The United,American, and Northwest transcontinental routes emergedwithout much trouble; but for the south central route, servingmany important cities, Western Air Express and the newly­formed Transcontinental Air Transport (T.A.T.) bothwanted the coveted CAM 34 contract.

Both had good claims. Western was operating from Cali­fomia to several mid-western cities (see page 20). TA.Tspanned the continent with a well-promoted air-rail service. ButBrown was not going to break his own rules, and open thefloodgates for other disputes and claimants. What becameknown as the Shotgun MmTiage was solemnized by Brown on16 July 1930. The two names were merged on 24 July 1930, tobecome Transcontinental & Western Air (T.W.A.), with Han­shue as its first president.

The Master PlanPresident Hoover's Postmaster-General, Walter Folger Brown,was the architect of the system of air transpOlt routes thatbecame the foundation of the United States airline industly aswe know it today. Having studied the multiplicity of railroads,numbeling close to 300, none of which spanned the continent,he devised a plan that was based on three or four coast-to-coasttl'unk routes, connected by several north-south routes to form aconsolidated grid pattern. This required the amalgamation ofsome of the initial contracts granted from 1926 to 1929, andmost of the airlines, realizing the potential, complied withBrown's wishes. One outcome was the emergence of transconti­nental giants such as United Air Lines and American Airlines.

~[g]~ ~!Xl©IJ@(!J)!M ~~~jgD£@rg ~~ j~~Ma~~~@ ~~~.f-WESTERN AIR EXPRESS PLUS TRANSCONTINEN"WL AfB0TRANS~P:0RT,.\ ' "...~-~. .'.:

C', Salt LakeCity • '170: \., • •••. '" -Y- lo." 10170 Pennsy; 1· Q,., cj~/h';. • San FranCISco Sf L 'PO/is C ~~ /"'6': 0f:/e/;" 'v Kansas City. Ollis.. 0i-?> ~O~)/;-/'>.9 'Phio

0<; -9qWichita v 20" 41",05' 600 800 1000

onta Fe) " ,~~ ~oY-(J EQUALS Scale - Mile.s

'/I0iTulsa TRANSCONTIENTAL

'=,;;:~~=::~~~;: Ok~'... '>7Qril/o ahOma City .Wichita Falls AND WESTE,RN AI R.

(T.W~A.)REGD ~

MSN Regn. Delivery Date Remarks

Boeing 95

1063 NC419E 30 Mar 29 Crashed, 51. George, Utah, 24 feb 301064 NC420E 10 Apr 29 Crashed, Cedar City, Utah, 10 Jan 301065 NC42lE 30 Mar 29 Sold to Mildred f. Obbink, 3Jul 341066 NC422E 15 Apr 29 Sold to Elenore Riley, 25 Jul 34

Fleet Numbers 50-53

Boeing 40B-4

1149 I NC742K I 5Mar 30 I Crashed, 9 feb 321169 NC843M 6Mar 30 Sold Jul34

Fleet Numbers 54-55; All aircraft purchased new from Boeing

WA.E. also orquired a Lockheed Model 3 Air Express (5/NC4B97, Fleet Number 250) but thiswas damaged when landing at Las Vegas on its inaugurol flight, 6June /92B, and returned to themanufacturer.

22

Artwork size does not allow accuratescale representation of the Tri-Motor'scorrugated aluminum skin.

T.A.T. FORD 5·AT TRI·MOTOR Fleet

Note: 4 Model 4-ATs were also transferred 10 TAT. when it boughl Maddux on 16 Nov 29, but IItle transfer 'lOS offIClOlly rerorded as 21 Apr 31_ (See page 20)For its 20th Anniversory relebration in July 1949, T.W.A.leosed a 4-AT-55, NC9612, City 01 Las Angeles_

T.W.A. T.AJ.No. No. Regn. MSN Delivery Dole Name Disposal and Remarks

614 A9 NC9606 5-AT-4 24 Nov 28 City 01 Columbus loler Used by Charles lindbergh as a flying office when surveying TAT.'s tronsconti nentolCityolNew York route_ T.W.A. 6Apr 31. Sold 14 Feb 35, subsequenlly several owners, inc TACA

Niceroguo. Crashed on lokeaff 01 Choteau, Montano, 6May 53607 A-2 NC9607 5-AT-5 22 Nov 28 The Kamas City T.W.A. 6Apr 31_ Croshed, Quay, New Mexico, 29 Aug 33612 A-6 NC9643 5-AT6 28 Nov 28 City 01 Alhuquerque T.W.A. 6Apr 31. SACO, Colombia. 5Apr 35_ Oestroyed in collision with another Ford 01

Medollin, 24Jun 35_603 A-7 NC9644 s-m 18Jon29 City 01 Washington TWA 6Apr 31_ Grond Canyon Airlines 27 Mor 36. TACA II Dec 37608 A-3 NC9645 S-AT-8 18Jon29 City 01 Wirhita T.W.A. 6Apr 31. Grand Canyon Airlines, 16 Ju135_lo TACA Honduras II Dec37. To

Mexico, Jon 46. Repaired in 1951 aslhe "smooth-skin Ford." To U.S.A. 1955, eventu-ally to Evergreen Aviation, Oregon in 1990.

604 A-8 NC9646 5-AT-9 18Jon29 City 01 los Angeles TWA 6Apr 31. Guld Oil Corp. 22 Sep 37, then to Venezuela615 A-IO NC9638 5-AT-l6 16 Jon 29 (Maddux) TWA. 21 Apr 31_ SACO, Colombia,S Apr 35. TACA Honduras, Mor 39_611 A-6 NC9639 5-AT-1l 9 Feb 29 (Maddux) City 01 Waynoka TWA 21 Apr. 31. PANAGRA, 5Jul 34. Remodelled for heavy corgo work, with lorge

hojch in top fuselage, for special haulage to mines in Peru and Boliv jo.

613 A-8 NC9640 5AT-I 8 26 Feb 29 IModduxl TWA. 21 Apr 31. Grond Canyon Airlines, 27 Mor 26. TACA Honduras, II Der 37. ToMexico,6Jun46.

602 NC9641 5AT-I 9 3Mar 29 (Maddux) TWA_ 21 Apr 31. leslie G. Mulzer, Columbus, Ohio, 17 Feb 36. Aerovias Norionoles,(oslo Ri((],Mor39

A-9 NC9649 5-mO 14Jun29 City of San Francisco Croshed on Mt. Taylor, near Albuquerque, 3 Sep 29609 A-4 NC9647 5-AT-21 26 Apr 29 City 01 Indianapolis Used by U.S. Army for enduronce tesls_ Arrident on 22 Dec 29. TWA. 6Apr 31.

Crashed Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 27 Jon 31605 A-ID NC9651 5-AT-34 16May29 City 01 Philadelphia T.W.A. 6Apr 31. RH., Camden, NJ, 19 Mor 36, for extensive tesls with serret rodio

and television projects. Star Air Lines, Anchomge, 10 Apr 41. After occident, Aug 43,stored until 18 Apr 52, sold 10 Clyde Sampson, California_ Vorious owners.

610 A-5 NC9650 5-AT-37 22 May 29 City 01 St. Louis Crashed 14 Der 32600 NC9686 5-AT-41 20 Apr 29 IModdux) T.W.A. 21 Apr 31. Sold to Fred Kane 3 Feb 36, Charles H. Bobb, 8 Nov 38, Guinea Air-616 IIC8411 5-AT-49 18 Apr 30 ways, 28 Nov 38. Originally purchased by SrenicAirwoys, Phoenix, 18 Jun 29, then to

United Aviation Corp. Chirago Mar 30. TWA. 30 Jan 31. Sold to St. Louis Flying Servire,St. Louis, 27 Sep 37. Crashed in Colombia, 15 Apr 39

601 A-II NC8413 5-AT-51 24Jun 29 (Maddux) City 01 Columbus T.W_A. 24 Apr 31. Sold 2Sep 37. Destrayed by fire, Mankato, Minnesota, II Aug 38606 A-I 11(9648 5-AT-57 3Jul29 T.W_A. 6Apr 31. Republic Oil, Pittsburgh, 19 Ju137. Modified to hold 1,800 gallons of

gasoline, 450 gallons of oil, to refuel Jimmy Mottern's lorkheed 12-A The Texan. Insearch for Russian polar flyers in 1937, wrillen off at Anchorage, 21 Aug 37

620 NC410H 5-AT-69 26 Apr 33 Originally delivered to New England and Western Air Transportation Company, 7May30; then to Easlern Air Transport, 8rooklyn, 16 Ort 3D;.then to TWA_ This was usedbriefly at New York's Downtown Skyport on the East River of lower Manhattan, from29 Aug 35. Sold 10 SCADTA, Colombia, 11 Feb 36.

618 NC9665 5-AT-24 2Mor31 Ex-SAFE IdeL I Nov 29}. Crashed, Pillsburgh, 19 Aug 31.

617 NC9666 5-AT-25 2Mor31 Ex-SAFE IdeL 5Mar 29)_ Destroyed, 80kersfield, 10 Feb 33.

619 NC430H 5-AT-90 6Mor31 Delivered to Conlinentol Co_, 21 Jun 30_ Sold to CN_A., Guatamolo, 29 Jul 35.

Pratt &WhitneyWasp (450 hp) x 3

13,500 lb.500 miles

50 feet78 feet12 feet

Engines

MGTOWRangeLengthSpanHeight

13 seats· 105 mph

Ford Takes an InterestThe great Ford Motor Company-Edsel Ford himself-took an interest in Stout's work. On15 October 1924, Ford opened an airport and a manufacturing plant at Dearborn, nearDetroit. The airfield would soon be equipped with two paved runways, 3,400 ft and 3,700ft, possibly the first of their kind in the world. Ford established its own private airline, toconnect its plants at Chicago and Detroit, and opened service on 13 April 1925, with theStout 2-AT Maiden Dearborn. On 31 July of that year, Ford purchased the Stout Metal Air­plane Company.

The Ford Tri-MotorWhen the Wright Whirlwind radial engine became available in 1925, the Stout 2-AT wasmodified to a tri-motor design, the 3-AT. It was not an attractive airplane, made a few testflights, and was destroyed at Dearborn on 17 January 1926. However, the idea of threeengines stuck, and the outcome was the famous Ford Tri-Motor. It was built under the direc­tion of William B. Mayo, Ford's Chief Engineer, and made its first flight on 11 June 1926.The design team was led by Thomas Towle, and included John Lee, Otto Koppen, andH.A.Hicks. The test pilot, Major Shroeder, insisted on an open cockpit, but this was soonabandoned. A total of 199 Tri-Motors, in a variety of versions, was built, and because of thesturdy all-metal construction, they lasted a long time, with one or two still in flying conditioneven today.

An All-Metal AirplaneThe aircraft that was to become almost standard equipment, until the advent of the Boeing247 in 1933 and the DC-2 in 1934, derived its design from a smaller aircraft built in 1923.William B. Stout had apparently watched the success of the German Junkers all-metal air­craft built in 1919 immediately after the end of the Great War; and had perhaps noticed theconsistency of success of the Fokker thick-wing aerofoil. Stout's I-AS Air Sedan combinedelements of both and first flew on 17 February 1923. Although under-powered with a 90-hpOX-5 engine, it was developed into the Stout 2-AT Air Pullman, with a 400-hp Libertyengine.

23

Transcontinental Air-Rail(oasf-fo-(oasf LuxuryOn 16 May 1928, the Pennsylvania and Santa Fe Railroads,possibly with the idea of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em,"created Transcontinental Air Transport (T.A.T.), in coop­eration with the North American aviation group, directed bya visionary, Clement Keys, the man who coined the phrase(as true today as it was in 1929): "90% of aviation is on theground." One practical demonstration of this axiom then wasthe novel idea of combining rail and air transport modes,mainly to avoid the hazards of flying across mountain rangeswith inadequate flying equipment or navigational aids. Theresult was TA.T, substantially backed by the PennsylvaniaRailroad. The investment totalled $3,000,000.

The Lindbergh LineIn company with Pan American Airways, TAT engaged theaviation hero, Charles Lindbergh, as its technical adviser. Itwas a master-stroke. Simultaneously, it acquired the unparal­leled experience of the world's finest airman; and at the sametime gained priceless publicity and promotional exposurewithout the cost of advertising. Where Lindbergh went, thepublic was sure to follow.

After the button-pressing ceremony in Los Angeles,Charles piloted one of the six aircraft used for the inauguralservice, on 7 July 1929. He flew the eastbound Ford Tri­Motor, the City ofLos Angeles, from Glendale to Clovis, NewMexico, where the passengers transferred, by aero-car, to theSanta Fe at nearby Portair depot.

A grandstand crowd was in the bleachers at Los Angeles as TA. T dis­played its Ford Tri-Motor and its Aero-carfor the rail-air connections.

To mark the opening of the Port Columbus rail-air station, some ofthefail70us celebrities on hand were (fifth/rom left) Hel1l)' FOld,

with Harvey Firestone and a young Edsel Ford on his left.

Another group of celebrities for the TA.T inauguration wereCharles Lindbergh and his wife Anne, with Mary Pickford (with

flowers). On the extreme left is Douglas Fairbanks, JI:, and on theright TA. T president Jack Frye.

A TA.T FOld 5-AT-B Tri-MotOl: (The City of St. Louis)

connections

TRANSCONTI . :NTALAIR TRANSFdRT

(T.A.p;)'

1929

This lonely-looking depot, just inside the New Mexico bOlderfromTexas, had about a year ofhistOl)'-making activity in 1929, whenpassengers trCIll.lferred to andfrom the TA. T Fords at the nearby

Clovis ailjield.

.-; - -.¥ --

24

--

This was all part of the TA. T service for the rail-air transfer atClovis, New Mexico. Passengers on TA.T were provided with acomfortable Aero-Car to lessen the inconvenience of having tomake the transfer between the railroad station and the airport.

boarding the Ford Tri-Motor to continue their journey (seemap opposite).

The building is still there. As one of the very few-andundoubtedly one of the most historically significant­70-year-old architectural survivals of the formative years ofair transport in the United States, it should be listed as anHistoric Monument.

This was the scene at Port Columbus all what was obvioLlsly a very wet day in the summer of 1929 (the bystanders shelter themselves underthe willg of the Ford Tri-Motor in the foregroulld). The rail tracks can be seen behilld the terminal building (which is still there) and the

covered walkway is on the left of the pictLlre.

This was the covered walkway for the TA. T passengers as theytransferred between the train and the Ford Tri-Motors.

An Historic SiteThe city of Columbus no longer possesses a railroad station.Yet it was once the key transfer point in T.A.T.'s transconti­nental air-rail service. The west-bound passengers travelledovernight in the comfort of a Pennsylvania Railroad sleepercoach, to wake up at the new station, Port Columbus, wherethey enjoyed breakfast in the new terminal building before

Even the original hangar at Port Columbus is still there.(photo courtesy Jim Thompson)

This picture shows the partly-constructed Pennsylvania Railroadstatioll at Port Columbus, Ohio, while 011 the left the ground is

beillg prepared for the new termillal buildillg.

Remarkably, the historic building, complete with the control tower,looks very little different today from when it was first opened in

1929. (photo courtesy Jim Thompson)

Port Columbus

25

Maddux Air LinesJack MadduxHarris Hanshue's Western Air Express and Jack Frye's Stan­dard Airlines were not the only airlines of substance amongthe many which recognized the possible potential for airlineoperations in the booming California of the late 1920s. JackL. Maddux, a Los Angeles Lincoln car dealer, took deliveryof a Ford 4-AT Tri-Motor and incorporated Maddux AirLines on 9 September 1927. His activities were overshad­owed by other events, not least by Charles Lindbergh's his­toric trans-Atlantic flight in May of that year and theGoodwill Tour of the 48 States that followed. Maddux's con­tribution to the development of the airline business in theWest has long been under-recognized, except by historianssuch as Ed Betts and Bill Larkins, whose research has pre­served the memory of the Maddux operation.

Service BeginsMaddux began airline service on I November 1929 fromRogers Field, Los Angeles, to San Diego. He did it in style.For the occasion, Lindbergh was the honorary chief pilot. Butlike most of the aspirant airlines in California, he had no mailcontract to supplement the passenger revenues. Nevertheless,he was very successful and popular. On IS November, headded service to Agua Caliente, just across the Mexican

Jack Maddux (nearest the camera) is seen here displaying some ofhis fleet of cars-including the 1903 Model A that, even then, was

already a vintage model-and one of his Ford Tri-Motors.(photo courtesy Bill Larkins)

MADDUX AIR LINES FORD TRI·MOTORSFleel DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Dole Disposal and Remarks

Mode14-AT

1 11(1101 4-AI-7 16 Jul 17 110 Jack Meddux) 10 Meddux Air Unes, 16 Nov 17, 10 IAlNov 19; 10 lW.A. 11 Apr 31

1 Nm81 4-AI-ll 19 Del 17 ITo Jock Meddux} 10 Moddux Air Unes, 1Moy 18, 10 G.E. Ae-herty 6June 30 ("Golden Iiole AirY/oys")10 Mexico 16 Jan 31

3 N(4131 4-AI-16 31 Mar 18 10 (ansolidoled Air lines, 13 lep 30, Weslern Pocific Aviolien(arp., 18 Jan 31, Pany Express (e., 14 Apr 31. Icrepped 1931

4 N(5577 4-AI-13 13Jun18 10 (urliss Flying 5ervi", 12JuI29.Creshed,McCook,Nebresko, 14 lep 19, bul rebuilt 31 Oec 19. leverol subse-quenl owners, inc U.S. Gov!. lor Pon Americon Highwoy Pro-jecl, 30 Nov 41, deployed in (oslo Rico unlil1943

I NClII7 4-AI-31 18 Aug 18 10 IAl Nov 19; fo IWA 11 Apr 316 NClII8 4·AI-31 11 Aug 18 10 Curtisl Aying lervi", II Ju119_ Oesfroyed by heavy wind

of Grend (enlrel Air lerminel, 11 Nov 307 !lCl1l9 4-A1-33 7lep 18 10 IAl Nov 19; 10 IW.A. 11 Apr 318 N(7581 4·AT-36 11 lep 18 The Glendo/e.lo IAI Nov 19; 10 TWA 11 Apr 31

Mode15-AT

9 NC9636 I-AI-lO 4Jon19 Oeslreyed in mid-eir collision el Ion Oiege, 11 Apr 1910 N(9638 I-AI-l6 16Jon19

}11 N(9639 5-AI-l7 9Feb19To IWA. 11 Apr 3111 N(9640 I-AI-l8 16 Feb 19

13 N(9641 I-AI-19 3Mor 1914 N(9686 I-AI-41 10Apr 19 The Ge/den Gote, 10 IAI Nov 19.II N(9689 I-AI-46 18 Mey 19 (reshed, Oceanside, CA, 19 Jan 3016 N(8413 I·AI·II 14Jun19 10 IWA11 Apr 31

One ofMaddux Air-Lines Ford 4-ATs flying near the Tejon Pass, north of Los Angeles.

26

Maddux was one of the earliest airlines to cooperate with UnitedParcel Service (UPS) in canying goods by ail:

10 seats· lOS mph

Artwork size does not allow accuratescale representation of the Tri-Motor'scorrugated aluminum skin.

SO feet74 feet12 feet

LengthSpanHeight

Wright R-97S Whirlwind (220 hpJ x 310,130 IbSOO miles

EnginesMGTOWRange

Jack Maddux is seenhere with CharlesLindbergh, who flewthe inaugural flight.(photo courtesyBill Larkins)

border, for thirsty Prohibition sufferers and for clients of the race-track and casinos there. On14 April 1928, he started a twice-daily service from Los Angeles to San Francisco (Oakland),with optional stops at Bakersfield, Visalia, and Fresno. By the end of the year, his fleet com­prised eight Fords, two Lockheed Vegas, and two Travel Airs.

Ford PromotionMaddux began 1929 in style, adding a daily service to Phoenix (paralleling Standard), togetherwith some local routes in California. Early in the year, the San Francisco terminus was trans­ferred to Alameda, and the Los Angeles terminus to Glendale. Jack Maddux had assembled thelargest fleet of Ford Tri-Motors, eight 4-ATs and eight 5-ATs plus two Lockheed Vegas. Theonly loss was when an Army pilot, doing some stunt flying, hit a 5-AT in mid-air. Maddux hadnot apparently sought an air mail contract, but his 16 pilots can'ied 40,000 passengers in 1929.

Historic MergerIn the summer, he started to negotiate with the new well-capitalized TA.T, which began itshighly-publicized coast-to-coast air-rail service on 7 July. Charles Lindbergh flew the inaugu­ral flights for both airlines. Another important Maddux employee was Vice-president of Oper­ations Lt. D.W. 'Tommy' Tomlinson, an ex-Navy pilot, and who was to playa key role insubsequent developments, when on 16 November 1929, Jack Maddux merged with TA.T andbecame president of the combined airline. T.A.T.-Maddux. Through this merger, TAT wasable to serve the two big Californian cities. Los Angeles and San Francisco, both growingquickly in population, wealth, and consequent travel potential.

The Ford Tri·Motors Compared

Dimensions Engine Cruise Poss. No. Originol

Model Length (It) Spon (It) Heighl (II) Type hp Speed Seols Built Price

4-AT 50 74 12 Wright JR 220 100 10 78 542,000(Ioter) Wright R975 300 107

5-AT 50 78 14 P&WWosp 450 115 13 117 555,000

(Dimensions rounded off to neorest fool.)

27

End of the Air-RailWith the completion of the Lighted Airway, and the improve­ment of aircraft reliability, the pioneering air-rail service cameto an end. On 25 October 1930, the train connections weredropped and the Fords flew the whole route, coast-to-coast, in36 hours, with an overnight stop at Kansas City. On 5 Novem­ber 1932, even the overnight stop was dropped and the Fordsflew by day and by night. Nevertheless the journey must havebeen arduous. The Ford's engines were noisy, and passengerswere issued ear plugs and chewing gum. Another developmenthad been the shipment of livestock on 6 August 1931, one ofthe first examples of air freighting in the United States.

Superb PlanningAll this was achieved only by some masterly planning. This iswell illustrated by the map on this double-page spread, basedon an original blueprint, signed by Jack Frye, but undoubtedlythe work of TW.A.'s technical consultant, Charles Lind­bergh, who carried out the detailed surveys. He had a per­sonal aircraft for the arduous travelling involved, and was paid$10,000 per year (a tidy sum in those days) plus 25,000 sharesofTW.A. stock, sold at well below market value.

The Grand Plan ofConsolidation of a Great AirlinePostmaster General Brown's analytical planning had pro­duced a fine transcontinental route. The Maddux merger hadgiven TA.T. direct service to all three of the large urban con­centrations in California. But the formation of TW.A. hadbeen a complicated affair, because Pittsburgh AviationIndustries Corporation (P.A.I.C.) had started service fromPittsburgh to New York, via Philadelphia, with two TravelAirs, in December 1929, and had staked its claim. The threatto Brown's master plan was neatly solved by dividing thestock of the merged company in the ratio 47.5% TAT.,47.5% w.A.E., and 5% P.A.I.C. After a legal delicacy, withthe formation of the Eton Corporation on 19 July 1930,Transcontinental & Western Air (T.W.A.) was formed fivedays later. The coveted mail contract was awarded on 25August. Although Harris Hanshue was made president of thenew company, he quickly became disillusioned. R.W. Rob­bins, of P.A.I.C., took over the presidency in September1931. Another contender, a group called United Avigation,was disposed of by the offer of a lucrative mail contract on aroute sub-leased from American Airways.

• • •

PASSENGER REPRESENTAnves

America', fint 36-HoUf

Tr.rucontinentlll P,nengrer Sct'lic:e

Effcdin Odobcr n, 1930

.Ii

Schedules and Fares

THE NATIONAL SKYWAY

TRANSCONTiNENTAL&

WESTERN AIR, INC.

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28

•••Transcontinental &Western Air

Jack Frye had joined Hanshuewhen Standard Airlines merged

with WAE. He became presidentof TWA., succeeding Robbins.

Paul Richter had been with JackFrye since Standard'sfoundation.He continued to serve as Jack's

right-hand man for several years.

Richard Robbins, acting asumpire between WA.E. and TA.T,

was president of P.Af. c., thecatalyst to the merger.

Charles Lindbergh was TA. T 'stechnical consultant and unoffi­cial chiefpilot. He continued to

advise TWA. for the next decade.

TWA set new standards offlying comfort and amenities onits much-publicized transcontinental air route. However, themeal service was unlikely to have been as sumptuous as this

all every segment of the journey.

C"""' C.. ,·" ...\.I.,~••_ ..c TH~.."'C" ~,..

k<l~~~:~:#::;1;::~:.fl~~1li~=.r;1J.r.3;:::;

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~blc-,·~t~r:IJU of Ille ::.ir wilh thou·",ndsoflll';ngll(,ursonthtiTtttord<.

Fleets 01 mulli·moton:d Fokkuand f.'onl p1~nQ whieh uuke nnrma!·1)' It 115 ,mk$an hour m,ke up theA)'io;;: "'l";pm~nt 01 Tn"5ronlinenul& \\'es:em Air, Inc. All pL10U:trt'"'luiPJlC'd ,,'ith m"o-w'r ...dio pro­"Jing cnnSI"", con"mm'c:llion bo-­t\lo'cen pilnIJ:l.l"fl:l.nd" n:l.tion·,,·i<!c'leIW"'!.; nfradiogroulIdsl:l.lions..-\cunl;nuollS Row of ;Il(orm,t;tm re­;prrlio6 wca,her c""dil:':'nJ;' nnil_ahle 10 Ihe pilot:l.l nU limN through.hit r:ld", 1)1Um.

Cll'.Sf to c~:;.;cw Y"rI,; 10 LmAngdc, or 5.,,, f rancil<:o-1nd citylneil)". the National Skyway p,'c< thetime of Ihe n,lion', lr:wders and,,,,,cds th. 1r:"Uil nf the oltion',

communi.;:I\Kms. Con".n;~nl ~ir And ~i1 ('Qnn~trionl

~x~nd the Joervil;:~ br from the dir~l flrin:; route, ton­Joemng lT2.nsil rime to ~Im,," ~ny sc~rion <If the Un;I~t1

Stales.

TWO TRANSCONTINENTAL AIR SERVICES DAILY

GENERAL INFORMATION

T~:~~~~:::ic~s\~::';6~hour tr.tlucontinenul JUSSCns:~r ~nd

m~;l (:lfri~r. is lin optr~l;ns $ubsilli.'l)'flf Tn.n5ro1lljnenl~1 ..\ir Tr.t"Sfl'>rlnnd Weslern Air Exprto~. tWll <If Ih~

n2rion'! p;ollrer 2ir lin"" ;lnd l"lu­bur;h:\ri2tionIndultritllCllrpor.>rior..

The 6rst 2D 1ir 'ltrvice for oolhm~i1 ,ltIrl p.'$$Cn;:~n, redllcin;: lhof;t:;IO'$I pr~\";ou$ pn$SCngor SCf\~tO bc:­I"'un P~cilit ,.m! Adnlllil: c<>IIm b)'twehellnlll'J, isprrscnmlm rospnnl<"tll rrpe:uC'd do,"lIn<l$ for ~ mOre I"Ipidmunsn!lfn,·eNin;lherorllinent. I:;,. prescntt"<! ~ho. :>s" pub& f.u:,1,1\·!lIr rapid inl..-..cil\" eommun;ntM.n.

Two complete trllnsconti""nl~l

~nicn-unc in 36 hours hi' the ~n

"ir lin~. the 'lttol1!l ;n ~8 houll bycombinnhon of n.il :>nd ~;r khcdul.-ro l""oY,dcd daily.

The service is surmund~d by the nt<»t "d.-anced de­~ to _ure ~li:l.~1ily ~nd rqrrbrity of ~n.tion.

Pilots of th~ lin" 1II~ tile mOSI uperi<=ncl:d men :IY~i1.

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O'~:£.~~::<;.~:.:;:J~~·~~.~tl\~:~=.t:'oJ.i

29

The Competition

Postmaster-General Walter Brown\- grand plan came to fruition in 1930. Three transcontinental airlines, together withEastern, came to be known as 'The Big FoUl:' Northwest Airlines did not complete its coast-to-coast service until 1944.

American AirwaysIf the T W.A. Shotgun Marriage was difficult to negotiate, theindustrial sparring that resulted in the creation of AmericanAirways was, even without coercion from the PostmasterGeneral, labyrinthine. The airline itself cannot trace everyindividual component that comprised the eventual amalga­mation of three groups, themselves the result of mergers andtake-overs. Universal Aviation Corporation (the real core ofthe route system), Southern Air Transport, and ColonialAirways Corporation completed their multi-merger to formAmerican Airways on 25 January 1930.

United Air LinesThe Boeing airplane company had always taken a keeninterest in air transport, and had been one of the very firstPost Office contractors, with a foreign air mail route fromSeattle to Victoria, B.C., in 1919. It had won the best air mailcontract in 1926, with the coveted "Columbia" San Fran­cisco-Chicago trunk route and with its own Boeing AirTransport, to which it supplied the aircraft. With the Pratt &Whitney engine company, it formed the United Aircraftand Transport Corporation on 1 February 1929, at thesame time absorbing various aircraft and aviation-relatedmanufacturing companies. Acquiring Pacific Air Trans­port, Varney Air Lines, and National Air Transport(winning the latter after a bitter boardroom battle on 7 May1930), the lines started to operate as United Air Lines, aname that was was formally incorporated on 1 July 1931.

Giants of Their TimeIn the developing U.S. airline world during its heady forma­tive years, some men, who had started at the bottom rung,climbed the corporate ladder to become leaders, and were toinfluence substantially the course of airline development.C. R. Smith, who was American's president for twenty ormore years and who was head of military air transport duringthe Second World War, had started as an accountant with oneof Southern Air Transport's ancestors. W.R. "Pat" Patter­son, who led United, had started in similar fashion withPacific Air Transport. Jack Frye, who was to direct TW.A.'sfortunes from its beginnings until after the War, had startedStandard Air Lines, but stayed with Western Air Expresswhen American Airways bought Standard on 15 July 1930.TW.A. was now one of the most important airlines in theUnited States, and became known, even in official circles atthe C.A.B., as one of the 'Big Four.'

30

During the early 1930.1', before the advent of the modem airlinet; thecompetition was still using biplanes, such as this Boeing

B-80A with United Air Lines.

Introduced in the early 1930.1', the Pilgrim 100A was quicklysuperseded in American Airlines service by the introduction of

modem airliners such as the DC-2.

Curtiss Condor CO18 seats • 120 mph

EnginesMGTOWRangeLengthSpanHeight

Curtiss GV-1570 Conqueror (625 hp) x 217,900 lb.500 miles

58 feet92 feet16 feet

185H

The Model 53 CO was an early attempt to create a passenger air­craft from a military bomber. More modem examples include theBoeing Stratocruiser (from the B-291B-50), and the Russian TupolevTu-114 (from the Tu-20 "Bear").

TA. T:~ COlldors operated briefly betlVeell Columbus and Waynoka,but Ilever Ivellt illto regular service. Tommy Tomlillsoll called it all

"aerodynamic monstrosity. .,

The COlldor was ostensibly more comfortable-but only on thegroulld. 111 the ail; it j1ewwith a weavillg motion-the 'Dutch Roll'­

cal/sing much intestinal discomfort.

The CondorThe Curtiss Condor was the last large biplane built in theUnited States. TAT. put it into service early in 1929, anduntil the Douglas DC-2 came along, it supplemented theFords on routes where the traffic demand was high. It wasmuch bigger, weighing nine tons against the Ford's six, andcould carry more people with a more attractive cabin. But itwas not much faster, and its life span with the United Statesairlines was only about three years. TAT's Condor COs (alsodesignated the Condor 18, the B-18 or the B-20) wereN185H, N725K, and N726K (manufacturer's serial numbersG-I, G-2, and G-4, respectively).

A later version, the T-32, went into service with Ameri­can Airlines and Eastern Air Lines in 1934 as a much-publi­cized sleeper transport; but by all accounts, the passengersdid not get much sleep. The low-altitude flying tended to bea little rocky, and the segments were too short. In any case,the modern airliners would soon be outlasting theobsolescent Condor design. Biplanes were becoming a thing

of the past.

31

This was the historic Douglas Commercial Modell, or the DC-I, which made ilsftrst flight all 1 July 1933. Sponsored by TWA.as specified by Jack FI)'e; designed by Arthur Raymond's team at Santa MOllica; and approved by TWA. 's technical advise I;

Charles Lindbergh; it was the prototype for the famous DC-2/DC-3 series which lI'as to domillate the airways for a decade.

Air Mail Scandal

Douglas 0-38 observation plane, used by the Army Air Corps inMarch 1934 to carry the mail.

This Douglas B-7 bomber was not built to carry the air mail. Butthe Army Air Corps' record during the few weeks when it was

drafted (during the worst weather recorded in the Rockiesfor 50years) was not nearly as bad as was popularly reported.

Postmaster-General Walter FolgerBrown was the czar of theu.s. air transport industry in theearly 1930s. By awarding air mailcontracts for specific routes (with­out which no airline could operateprofitably), he laid the foundationfor a nationwide airline network.

ANew LifeOn 30 March 1934, the Post Office Department invited theairlines to submit new bids, and these were duly accepted bythe new Postmaster General, James A. Farley, on 20 April.During the two months during which the Army carried themail, the airlines struggled on the best they could. Drasticmeasures had to be taken, as the revenues from passengersand express were insignificant compared with the mail pay­ments--effectively a life-sustaining subsidy. In the case ofT.W.A., President Richard W. Robbins sent a letter to all thestaff, which began: "Effective February 28th, 1934, the entirepersonnel of T.& w.A. is furloughed."

The McNary·Watres AdThe spur to the spectacular growth of air transport in theUnited States in the early 1930s was the result of imaginativelegislation, enacted after substantial persuasion by the Post­master General, Walter F. Brown. The Third Amendmentto the Air Mail Act, named after its Congressional sponsors,was approved on 29 April 1930. Its far-reaching provisionsgave permanence to the contracted operators, paid themaccording to space offered, not by the weight of mail carried,and gave Brown powers to extend or consolidate routes toimprove the system. This encouraged the airlines to invest inlarger aircraft, which were more economical to operate; andgave Brown almost unlimited authority to draw the airlinemap as he pleased.

The "Spoils Conferences"Things went mainly according to Brown's plan, which was tofashion a rational system of air routes that would not suffer fromthe excessive fragmentation he had observed in the railroadsystem. No single railroad, for example, ran from coast to coast.Brown's pressure and advice to the incumbent air mail carriersresulted in three transcontinental airlines that followed differentroutes, but offered opportunities for competition between themain traffic-generating areas: California and the Northeast.

But to do this, he sometimes overstepped the mark inwhat was perceived to be selective manipulation of the exactintentions of the Air Mail Act, and even, it was alleged, a cer­tain degree of favoritism. This led to an investigation of thecircumstances of a series of meetings that he had held withthe airlines between 15 May and 9 June 1930, and whichbecame known as the Spoils Conferences.

The Air Mail ScandalMany of the small airlines felt that they had been by-passeddeliberately; and although their case was not well docu­mented and of doubtful legality, it was intensively publi­cized-so effectively, in fact, that, responding to politicalpressure, the Senate set up a Special Committee. Its adversereport resulted in President Roosevelt taking the unprece­dented step, on 9 February 1934, of cancelling all the air mailcontracts and asking the Army Air Corps to carry the mail.This it did, with remarkable success, bearing in mind theextreme difficulties of weather and inexperience with whichit was faced. But some pilots were killed, mostly in training,and this led to a national outrage that forced Roosevelt toretract his decision.

32

Historic Prototype TRANSCON11NENT AL &- WESTERN AIR INC

'&'lJ.blut 204.1932

TIUJlSCOlffIMENTll.t WLSTE1l.N Alit. IHe.

~Der.l h,.(or=-»<::I s,...Q~rto.tlo'OJl

TrlnMpon: Plano

185 !I..y."'.1408 lIl.p."'. pb.

65 =.p.h.1200 ·rt. p.=.

ZlOOO ft.OOסס1 ft.

flit. plan•• rul1y lo.ded. Nit CIt.i:...t1ft.ctor,. tllc:.-o{r.lI.l1~r lood. ooo.trol It .~. "fA.• 1rport 00 a1J¥ comlH!lAtloD -;.f

two 'U&~I.

Top '1"'.4 I" 1 1 (c1nl...&l.a)Crll.hlnc 'pud 1._1 - 7il " top .peld1AM1Al; lpe.d 1:10"; D:)f. tha.nNat. or 011= .... l'Tll (lIU.ntal.ll)a.no1o. o.u~ (-.1Al_)a.,.rln 0.111.D.,. uy two 'n&1.n..

~ tll_. tor r.410 .n4 w1.~ _11 blnl 350 lbl.

~ ..11~o. &lIt .}.o be ...d. tor oOllfll .. t. l.:l.Itr~nt••nI,nt tlyl'C!l .ql.ll~lrt. fUll o.~o1tl ror or\"h1.a& nQ&.of 1080 &11••• t ISO •• p.lI •. or... of t"'e'o, .t ha.t 12 pa.­"o.&.r, with oo.rort.bl.....t. _d !Lapl. 1'00_. IltIC: the 1.l'II.lai,o.11a.nloll.' Iqll.lp_l:ll oarrl.d 00 • "... •••~or ph.D' 'If thlJtype. "ylOl.d .1I01l1d be.t l... t .2.~OO lb•. _ttn t\Jil equip­_at .ad ~.l for lIax1.J:urll "~I.

p,;,...r. Thr•• IG(ln•• or 500 to 650 h.p. (If.spl w1th 1:)..11'ii'p;70har,,1'"I 6 .. 1 c:oapre .. loQ O,K.).

lana•• cn.y, lit.1a.'1c.rl.~&u.t 2Q4. 1932

1. !.If!' .111 ... t.-l trlll'Otor,d OCIllopl~. pr.r.rrld. b.... tO~l."C,at.10I1 rtnaoturl or b1ph.lM would be <::0 ..11:18r.4.l'tD,1lI Lat.,mal ,tNct=. lmUt. be CDe..l.

2.

,.4.

..

. ..

---~;f Ad~

-'r--- - -.".

'.ry tr\Ily your••

1:::rryo~(J~no. P,...ld.Q't1D Char&. of OpentloWi

J.!. '1_.. oOll.ltd,r thl. 1..o..!o~tloo oont'ld'l:\tal aDd!'"ftlll"D Ipeol(10..UOWl II yvu .r. 0.01: tater.ftl".

It '0. "pprou..tely hO'W 10'" would 1t t&.k.to tW""ll out tM nrlt pl~ for ..mel tlatl'

Tr&D.oonU.n'Dt.al •••• tertl. 11r h 1.nt.ar.ltld~ puTOM.1Jl., tiD or ~r. trt..ltor.d trUUlport. plao••.1 ....tt&ohto, O\U" "o.r.l perr':u.....tl.c. 'peolrle.t10DI.oO'nrU1.& tJ\1f eo<j\ap-o.t ~ W'O\lld 'pp.r.oht. )'OW" .d"O"\.11'O(;..t-.tMr )'OW" Co~ 11 l.zlt.ruted 1.n th1l 1IIl.CN!.oturla&Job.

Po... ,l.' llrorart ':orpor,t1OIl.Cia..." l""\.eI4.&&.DtI Wool" .. , Calp"orol ••

----........~"""'-­:"~;~l'!t!.."-

This is a copy of the two-page "Jack Frye Letter" that laid down the specification for the aircraft thatemerged as the first of the Douglas twin-engined series, DC-I, DC-2, and DC-3. It changed the course

ofairline history.

Jack Frye's role in specifyingthe basic design of the Douglas

DC-1 (by his famous letter to themanufacturers in 1933) was a

landmark of inspired leadership.On 30 April 1935, he broke thetranscontinental speed record

by delivering the mail fromLos Angeles to New York in

II hI: 30 11l.

The World's First Modern AirlinerIn 1933, the Boeing Aircraft Company had produced a twin­engined aircraft that most authorities, notably Britain's PeterW. Brooks, considered to be the world's first modern airliner,in that its monocoque fuselage and stressed skin wing, par­tially retractable landing gear, engines faired into the wing,together with other improvements, marked a big technicaladvance over the steel framework and heavy wing spar designof aircraft like the Ford Tri-Motor. The resultant superioraerodynamics gave the Boeing 247 a 60% speed improve­ment over the Ford, reducing the transcontinental flying timeto about 18 hours, or less than a day.

The Jack Frye LetterAt the time (before the Black-McKellar Air Mail Act of 1934)aircraft manufacturers were allowed to own airlines, andBoeing Air Transport had been the foundation of United AirLines. When Jack Frye wanted to place an order for thesuperior 247, he was politely told that United had booked thefirst 60 aircraft off the line, and that he would have to wait.

Frye's exact reaction is not recorded; but it did result ina letter which he circulated to five other manufacturers, inwhich he set out a specification for a tri-motor that, in effect,was ten percent better than the 247 in every respect: size,speed, aiIfield performance, and comfort.

His wish was granted. The Douglas Aircraft Company,of Santa Monica, California, not only met all the require­ments, but did so with a twin-engined design that eliminatedthe shortcomings of the fuselage-mounted center engine:noise, vibration, and pilot visibility.

The Boeing 247 was the first passenger transport ai/plane that could be described as a 11l0dernairlinet; flying some 60% faster than the Ford Tri-Motors that it replaced.

This photograph, of the Douglas DC-I at the Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale, epitomizes the maturing airtransport industry in the United States. T. WA. 's line of twin-engined Douglases eclipsed all others for a decade.

33

Start of a New Era

\!bIIo """""'.....

In addition to its superior pelformance, the Douglas DC-1 offereda comfortable cabin, upholstered seats, and an aisle that was

uncluttered by the wing spar crossing it, as in the Boeing 247. This is a rare colored photograph of a Douglas DC-2 during the mid-1930s. (Charles Baptie)

This beautiful picture was taken in the I 970s, when TWA. contrived to relive a glorious past. Although the Douglas DC-3 was to gain everlasting fame as the pre-eminent airliner of the latter 1930s, its progenitOl;the DC-2, IVas the one that established the superiority of the basic design. It was (as TWA. president, Jack Flye, had specijied)fastel; biggel; more comfortable, and more economical to operate, than the Boeing 247.

34

o;;:a

Fleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Dote Remorks and Disposal

Series 112

301 NCI3711 1237 14 May 34 Named City 01 Chicago. Sold to Cox & Stephens, 26 Feb 41, lorRoyal Air Force.

302 NCI3712 1238 31 May 34 Sold to British Purchasing Commission, 5Ju141, lorR.A.F.303 NCI3713 1239 10 Jun 34 Sold to Braniff, 10 Nov 38.304 NCI3714 1240 19 Jun 34 Sold to Cox & Stephens, 26 Nov 41, for Royal Air Force.305 IIC137 I5 1241 26 Jun 34 Sold to Braniff, II Ju137.306 NC13716 1242 3Jul34 Sold to Braniff, IOJu137.307 NC13717 1243 BJul34 Sold to Northeast Airlines, 16 Apr 41.30B NCI371B 1244 14 Jul34 Sold to Cox & Stephens, 19 Ju141, for RAE309 NC13719 1245 20 Jul34 SoldtoBraniff,29Jun37.310 NC13720 1246 22 Jul34 Sold to Northeast Airlines, 22 Apr 42.311 NC13721 1247 16Jul34 Crashed 01 Unionlown, PA, 7Apr 36.312 NCI3722 124B 29 Jul34 Sold to Pan American Airways, 22Jun 37.313 NCI3723 1249 3Aug 34 Sold to Pan American Airwoys/CM.A., Jun 37.314 NCI3724 1250 7Aug 34 Sold to Braniff, 10 Nov 3B.315 NCI3725 1251 II Aug 34 Sold to Cox &Stephens, II Feb 41.316 NC13726 1151 15 Aug 34 Sold to Delense Supply Corp., 6Jun 41. Assigned to U5AAF as

C·32A 142-57154}.317 NCI3727 1253 IB Aug 34 Sold to Braniff,24Jun 37.318 IICI3728 1254 21 Aug 34 Sold to Braniff, 23 Aug 37.319 NCI3729 1255 25 Aug 34 Sold to Pan American Airways/PANAGRA, 19 Jun 37.31D NC13730 1256 2B Aug 34 Crashed C1ilton, PA, near Pillsburgh, PA, 15 Mor 37.32\ NC13783 1293 2Feb 35 Sold to Northeast Airlines, 22 Apr 42.322 NC13784 1294 7 Feb 35 Sold 10 Northeast Airlines, 16 Apr 42.313 NC13785 1295 II Feb 35 Crashed near Macon, MO, 6May 35.324 NC13786 1296 16Feb35 Crashed landing at Pillsburgh, PA, 3Apr 40.315 NCI37B7 1197 22 Feb 35 Sold to Northeast Airlines, 11 Apr 42.

The Douglas DC-2The DC-l had 12 seats, two more than the 247's 10; butTW.A. and Douglas quickly realized that by adding two morefeet to the fuselage, this could be improved to 14. The result­ing Douglas DC-2 first flew on 11 May 1934, went into serv­ice one week later, and the world of airlines was never thesame again. It chased the 247s off the main-line U.S. airways,and when, on 1 August 1934, TW.A. introduced it on thetranscontinental "Sky Chief' service, Jack Frye was more thanvindicated in his vigorous initiative. A new era of airline serv­ice began, and as early as September, the Ford Tri-Motorswere retired, to be used as freighters, or, in one unusual case,to be used as a floatplane ferry service in New York (page 44).

The Douglas DC-1Only nine months after the $125,000 contract was signed, theDouglas DC-l made its first flight on 1 July 1933, and wasdelivered to TW.A. On 13 September. Jack Frye and PaulRichter flew it to Kansas City, 1,450 miles, averaging 205 mph.The airline operated the unique DC-l for a few years, even ona few scheduled services, then it was sold to Howard Hughesin January 1936. It eventually passed to Lord Forbes in Eng­land, and finished up as a military transport during the SpanishCivil War in 1938. It crashed at Malaga in December, 1940.

Fleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Date Remarks ond Disposal

Series 112

326 NCI37BB 129B II Mar35 Sold to Defense Supply Corp., 6Jun 42. Assigned to USAAF asC·32A 142·571551.

327 NCI37B9 1299 4 Apr 35 Crashed during a storm, near Wawona, CA,l Mar 38.32B NCI379D 130D 9Apr 35 Sold 10 Delense Supply Corp., 6Jun 42. Assigned to USAF as

C·32A 142·57156)

Series 172

329 I NCI4978 1 1408 121 Mor 3615ald to Pan American Airways, May 37.33D NCI4979 14D9 7Apr 36 Crashed an landing at Chicago, Il, 31 May 36.331 NCI6049 1599 23 May 36 Sold to Pan American Airways, 25 May 37. lasl (ivil DC·2 built.

One of the early DC-2s poses for the camera.

THE UNIQUE DOUGLAS DC·l

See also Mike Machat's pictorial comparisons of the Douglastwin-engined airliners on page 41.

Fleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Dote Remarks ond Disposal

300 NR223Y 1137 Sep 33 (see text)

T.W.A. DOUGLAS DC·2 FLEET

Wright SGR-1820 Cyclone (710 hp) x 218,200 lb.800 miles

62 feet8S feet

EnginesMGTOWRangeLengthSpan

14 seats • 190 mph

Douglas DC·2

35

Single-Engined Swan SongThe Northrop AlphaJack Northrop left Lockheed, and started his own com­pany, at EI Segundo, California, to build his first high-speedaircraft, which incorporated all-metal construction, stressedskin for the wings, and a monocoque fuselage, togetherwith other aerodynamic improvements, such as enginecowling and wing fillets. The main objective was to saveweight; but it also improved the strength; and Northrop'sinnovations became standard practice. T.W.A. introducedthe Northrop Alpha in April 1931. It was a beautiful air­craft, and used only for mail. As indicated in the tablebelow, it must have been difficult for the pilots to handle.

The Lockheed OrionThe wooden Vega (see page 36) was quickly superseded bythe metal Lockheed Orion, the first airliner in the world toexceed 200 mph. It was welcomed especially by airlinesthat competed with the Ford operators, and captured thepublic imagination with the publicity value of speed.

NORTHROP FLEETFleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Dote Remarks and Disposal

Alpha

I NC947Y 7 17 Apr 31 Crashed near Roaring Springs, Penn., 11 Dec 33, severe icing2 NC961V 8 Apr 31 lold 10 Chino, Jul353 NC942V 6 13Apr 31 Deslroyed hy fire 01 Mobeelie, Texes, 14 Jon 324 NC933Y 5 13 Apr 31 lold 10 Chino, Jul355 NC999Y 4 Apr 31 Wrillen off ofter emergency londing, Newholl, Col., 15 Nov 346 NC966V 9 2DJun 31 C,eshed neor Ileubenville, Ohio, 21Mor 327 NC985V 10 2DJun 31 Croshed neor Cross Forks, Penn., 26 Feb 338 NC986V 11 24 Jun 31 Croshed 22lep 349 NC992Y 12 21 Jun 31 Croshed Pill,burgh, engine foilure on lokeoff, 10 Jon 33ID NC993Y 16 25Jun31 Engine fell off, pilol boiled oul, oimoft londed by ilsel! neo,

Alton, Missou,i, 3Ju132. lubsequenlly w,illen off11 NC994Y 17 21 Jun 31 W,illen off ofter nosh londing neo' Glendole, Col., oller engine

problem, 31 Jon 3512 NCilY 3 27 Nov 31 On~ surviving Alpho. Donoted 10 Ihe Nolionol Air ond Ipo<e

IN.A.ll Museum, Woshinglon, 197614 NC127W 2 9Mor 32 Creshed neor Polloge, Penn., 11 Dec 33, oller encounlering

severe icing

Delta

II INC12292 I 3 I4Aug 33 ICro,hed neor Albuquerque, 12 Nov 33, ofter engine fire

Gamma

16 NR13757 8 Ap,34 Croshed21 Jon 3518 NCI3719 10 Jul3417 NCI3758 9 Jun 34 Mode firsll"nsronlinenlal moil flighl on 12-14 May 34 after

the concellation of moil conlro<ls. Set transcontinenlal speedrecord, II h, 31 m., for moil planes. lubsequenlly used forhigh-altitude research by "Tomm( Tomlinson. Airuoh retiredin 1940

36

The Orion was the first aircraft to employ flaps, toreduce speed on descent and landing. Nevertheless, its sur­vival rate was not as good as the new generations of multi­engined all-metal Douglas and Boeing modern airliners.

The Consolidated FleetsterAlso appearing in the early 1930s was the neat Consoli­dated Fleetster, a high-winged monoplane, with cleanlines and a speed of 150 mph. But it carried only six pas­sengers, and was used sparingly by T.W.A. Like theCondor, it was recognizably, in the light of the Boeing 247and Douglas DC-2 that came on the scene in 1933-34, thelast of the generation of airplanes that had been outpacedby the explosive growth of air transport in the early 1930s.

Swan SongThe use of single-engined transport airplanes ended quiteabruptly. Their record was not encouraging; and the con­ditions of the McNary-Watres Act ensured their speedyretirement from the commercial airways.

This Northrop Alpha, NC1 IY was a derelict on a Missourifarm,until it was faithfully restored by a group of volunteers in

Kansas City, and flown to Washington in time for the opening ofthe National Air and Space Museum in 1976. It had a cabin, the

passengers had little room to move.

CONSOLIDATED FLEETSTER 20A FLEETFleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Dote Remarks and Disposal

50 NCI3208 I Aug 32 10ldl93651 NCI3209 2 Aug 32 To Condor 193612 NCI3210 3 Aug 32 To Condor 193613 NCI3211 4 0[132 10ldl93614 I1CI3212 I Od 32 Crashed 26 Jon 3115 IICI3213 6 Od 32 10ldl93616 NCI3214 7 Od 32 laid 1936

This Northrop Alpha incorporated Jack Northrop's innovative engineeringideas, including all-metalmonocoque fuselage and stressed-skin metal wing.

"Tommy" Tomlinson, one of the great experimental test pilots of the 1930s,is seen here with the Northrop Gamma which he used to demonstrate"over-the-weather" flying. This led to the introduction ofpressurized

airliners, the first 307s (see page 44).

In contrast with Northrop's low wing and Lockheed's high wing design,Rubell Fleet's was unusual. At least the pilot had a good view.

J

lockheed Vega 5 and Orion 9E6 seats • 150 mph 6 seats • 180 mph

EngineMGTOWRange

VEGA SPratt &Whitney Wasp (420 hp)

4,217 lb.600 miles

LengthSpan

27 feet41 feet

EngineMGTOWRange

ORION 9EPratt &Whitney Wasp (450 hp)

5,200 lb.750 miles

LengthSpan

27 feet43 feet

LOCKHEED SINGLE·ENGINED FLEETFleet DeliveryNo. I Regn. I MSN I Dale IRemarks and Disposal

Vega1·1 NC6525 9 Jul28 Type I, "nverted to 5C Used by Moddux Air lines for chorter work,

especially for motion piclure companies. Sold after occident at SanDiegomid.1929

1·2 NCl044 II Aug 28 Type I, "nverted to use R·685 engine. Also with Maddux unlilmerger with TAl Sold 1930 and used by several owners. Flown asa"rum runner" from Oklahoma to neighboring I'dryll stotes.Scrapped 1952.

251 NC624E 53 II Dec31 Type 5. Sold to Hanford's Tri·Stote Airlines.(into service)

253 NC497H 135 1931 Type 01·1 B. Built by Detrait Aircraft Corp. Written off, 31 Jan 34,after forced landing, St.James, Missouri

254 NC288W 137 1932 Type 01·1 B. Sold to Hanford's 1934255 NC483M 136 Mor32 Type 01·1 B. Sold to Vorney Speed lines, 24 Jul 34

Altair DL-2A252 NC12222 180 Sepl931 Leased fram manufacturer. Crashed at Columbus, Ohio, 10 0" 31.

Subsequently mony owners, including Poul Montz. Unservicoble ofter1965

Orion 9E256 NC12277 192 II Moy33 Crashed into Missouri River, Kansas City, 28 Jul33

(inloservice)257 NC12278 193 II May 33 Crashed neor Albuqueque, 15 Jan 34258 NC12283 195 II May 33 Withdrawn from service, Feb 35

Faster MailToW.A. had a few Vegas from the end of 1931, but used themmainly for mail, as the DC-2s soon made them redundant.Even so, Lockheed was establishing a reputation for buildingfast aircraft, and in 1933, Air Express, Inc., was operating aspeedy transcontinental mail and express service, at first withVegas, but even more successfully with Orions (see page 37).

The Lockheed Vega was the first of several single-engined, mainlywooden, Lockheed types that, for a short time (until the introduc­tion of the Douglas DC-2) carried the transcontinental air mail

faster than the Ford Tri-Motors.

The Urge for SpeedDuring the late 1920s, the contrast between the speed ofracing airplanes and the slow, 100 mph (on a good day) Fordswas becoming more evident, as the former types improvedevery year. Designed by John K. Northrop, the LockheedVega offered a practical compromise. Built of wood, and effi­ciently streamlined, it could fly much faster than the Ford,and could-unlike the racers-carry six passengers. Also, itcost only $17,500. The airline authority, Edward P. Warner,estimated that the better speed compensated for the smallersize, so that the operating costs per seat-mile were about thesame as the Ford's.

The Lockheed Orion was the metal-built development of theoriginal Vega. It is seen here during the winter of 1933/34 with,

in the rear, a Northrop Alpha.

37

The Ubiquitous Goone, BirdDOUGLAS DC·3 FLEET LIST

~..This historic picture sholVs TWA. 's first DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport) ready for take-off on the inaugural transcontinental flight

frol/l Burbank on 18 September 1936.

AWorld-BeaterThe Douglas DC-2 had been an instant success, surpassingall other transport aircraft in performance and offering anunprecedented standard of airliner comfort. It had achievedeverlasting fame when the Dutch airline, K.L.M., entered itfor the England-Australia Air Race in October 1934, and tothe astonishment of the world, came in second, among a fieldof specially-designed racing and sporting aircraft. Moreover,it carried four passengers and a load of mail, and stopped atall the K.L.M. stations along the route. This led to exportorders for Douglas, to Europe, Australia, and to China.

The OSTWhile TW.A.'s Tommy Tomlinson was conducting his exper­iments with the Northrop Gamma (see page 37) in search offaster and smoother high-altitude flight "above the weather,"one of the rival transcontinental airlines was concentrating onother directions of competitive rivalry and excellence. BillLittlewood, of American Airlines, recommended the develop­ment of the Douglas DC-2 by widening the fuselage, not onlyto make room for 14 bunk beds, but also to accommodatethree abreast seating instead of two (21 v. 14). The first Dou­glas DST went into service between New York and Chicagoon 25 June 1936; and a dramatic new era had begun.

Interestingly, this first service was as a daypJane, but theaircraft fulfilled its original design purpose when Americanreceived its first Douglas DC-3 and the transcontinentalskysleeper service began on 18 September 1936.

The Great 0(·3With its fleet of 31 DC-2s, TW.A. had less need for the largerDouglas DC-3 than did the other U.S. airlines. United AirLines, for example, in spite of its close Boeing heritage, had tobuy the Douglas flagship, and introduced it between Los Ange­les and San Francisco on 1 January 1937. It followed with aluxury 14-seat daytime service on New York-Chicago in Feb­ruary, and then put the DST on its transcontinental route in July.

The DST, as Donald Douglas had warned, did not meetwith the outstanding success that had been predicted; but theDC-3 exceeded all expectations. American's president,C. R. Smith, claimed that it was the first airliner to be able tomake a profit without the benefit of air mail payments. Thiswas with the equivalent of today's first-class fare levels andno doubt with every seat filled; but it was nevertheless ameasure of its overwhelming superiority. It became, in vari­ous versions, the standard transport aircraft for the U.S. and

38

Fleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Date Type Disposal and Remarks

Built as DSTs

361 NC14988 1494 14Feb42 OC-3-114 OIl firsl OC-3 buill, ex-American Airlin". Impr"sed byprolotype UlAAf as C-49E-OO (42-42619), 14 Mar 42

310 NC17312 1922 16Apr 37 oC-3B-202 OIl Impr"sed by UlAAf os C-84-00 (42·571571,9Ju142-3 Dec 42. Reregistered 11I7312. lold 10Wisconsin Cenlrol, 27 0,1 50

351 NC17313 1923 I May 37 oC-3B-202 OIl Sold 10 Pon Ameri'on Airwoys-Africo, Oct 41352 NC17314 1924 23 May 37 oC·3B·202 OIl Impressed by UlAAf os C-84-00 (42-5751 I}, 14

Jun 42-17 Oc144. Reregislered N17314. Sold 10Union lleel &Wre,king Co., 16 Jon 53

356 IKI/318 1933 1/ Jun 3/ DC-38-202 DIl Impressed by Defense lupply Corp. Jun 42 forUlAAf os C-49E-00 (42-566251, 8Jun 42-19 Jul43. Reregislered N17318. lold 10 Kirk KerkorionlIAAI), 181ep 52

357 NC17319 1934 191un37 oC-3B-202 DIl Impressed by UlAAf as C·84·00 (42-57512), 14Jun 42-1 Apr 45. Alloched 10 louth Allonlic WingArc. Reregislered N17319. lold 10 Kirk Kerkorion(WI), 6Oct 52

Allied forces in the Second World War; and was built underlicense in the Soviet Union and Japan. Of all types, 10,926were built in the United States, 487 in Japan, and 6,157 (asLisunov Li-2s) in the Soviet Union.

T.W.A.'s 0(·3sJack Frye had to supplement his DC-2 fleet with the more effi­cient DC-3s. The first one, a DST, entered service from NewYork to Los Angeles on 1 June 1937. Dayplanes were also

,"

Fleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Date Type Disposal and Remarks

Built as DSTs

370 NC17320 1966 9Aug 37 OC-3-209 OIl Reregislered N17320. laid 10 Wisconsin Cenlrol Air-lin", 310<150

371 NC17321 1967 13Aug 37 OC-3-209 OS! Reregolered 11I7321. Sold 10 Beldex Corp., II. Louis,MO, 3D Jnn 53

372 NC17322 1968 13Aug 3/ DC-3-209 DIl (rashed during instrumenl opproo,h Von Nuys, CA,I Oec 44

360 NC21769 2149 29 Jon 45 OC-3-2l7A OIl Ex-American Airlines. Ex-UlAAf C·49·00 (42-43621).(Recanslru<led & Rnon" Co.). lold to loulh AmericanEnlerprrses

362 N(21752 2165 D(-3-21/A DIl Ex·American Airlin".lmpressed by UlAAf os (·49E-DO (42-43620), 30 Jon 42

363 NC28325 2263 18Mor42 oC-3-217A OIl Ex·American Airlin". Impressed by UlAAf os C-49E-DO (42·436221, 31 Mor 42

364 NC28310 2264 120cl41 oC-3-217A OIl Ex·American Airlin". Impressed by UlAAf C-49f-OO(42·56637). Sold 10 Kirk Kerkorion (WS), 110<152

342 N(28393 3211 12 Apr 44 oC-3-318A DIl Ex·American Airlines. Ex-USAAf (-49f-00 (42-16637). Sold 10 Kirk Kerkorion (WS), II Oct 12

added on all routes during that summer, and the addition of theextra capacity could not have come at a better time. TW.A.gained more direct access to San Francisco from Winslow, viaLas Vegas; and restored its link with Chicago from Dayton, viaFOlt Wayne. The old "Gooney Bird" served TW.A. wellbefore, during, and after the War. The fleet list, spread over thisand the next two pages, totalled 104 aircraft, of which 14 wereDSTs, 34 DC-3s, 12 military C-49s (conversions of DC-3s),and 43 military C-47s and C-53s (postwar converted DC-3s).

Douglas DC·3

There were countless vanatlOns oj the DC-3markings and configurations. This is an earlyexample ajTWA's DC-3.

TRANS IfYORLD AIRLINES

1=~~s;~·~;·~·iiii·~·=·==·=r:*TWA~~~~S=L-~~~--A~

.Jl~-----U-:=:::~

21 seats • 170 mph

Before the United States entered the Second World War, the Douglas DC-3dominated the domestic air routes. In 1940, more than 80% of the airlines'aircraft were DC-3s, and most of the 20% were DC-2s.

Engines

MGTOW

Wright SGR-1820 Cyclone (850 hp) x 2or Pratt &Whitney

Twin Wasp (1,200 hp) x 225,200 lb.

RangeLengthSpan

1,000 miles64 feet95 feet

In airliner development, the fuselages are invariably lengthened.The transition from DC-2 to DC-3 was an exception-and an

aerodynamic improvement.

DOUGLAS DC·3 FLEET LIST (continued)

Fleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Dote Type Disposal and Remarks

Buill as DSTs

341 NCI6095 1916 I Jan 40 OC-3-201 Ex-Easlern Air lines. Impressed by UIMF as C-490(42·436241,9 Apr 42-19 Ju143. Reregistered N-

353 NCI731516095. laid 10 Beldex Corp., II. Louis, 26 Mor 53

1930 29 May 37 OC-3B-202 Crashed during circling inslrumentopprooch alS,-louis, MO, 23Jon 41

354 NCl7316 1931 7Jun37 OC-3B-202 Impressed by Oelense lupply Corp. 27 May 42 for

351UIMF as C-49F-OO (42-566201. delivered 8Jun 42

NCI7317 1932 II Jun37 OC-38-202 Impressed by Oelense lupply Corp. 27 May 42 lorUIMF as C-49F-OO (42-16621), 8Jun 42. Collidedwilh C-48B (42-56611 lover Camp Williams, IL, 24Jun42

373 NCI7323 1969 16 Aug 37 OC·3-209 Reregislered N17323. laid 10 Union lleel &Wreck-ingCo.,16Jon53

374 NCI7324 1970 22 Aug 37 OC·3-209 Reregislered N17324. laid 10 Beldex Corp., II.Louis, MO, I Feb 52

375 NCI8949 2013 17 Oec 37 OC-3-209A Reregistered N18949_ 10idioWiswnsin CenlrolAir-lines, 5Mor52

376 NCI8950 2014 22 Oec 37 OC-3-209A Reregistered N18950. laid to Unionlleel &Wreck-ing Co., 15 Oec 52

377 N08951 2015 27 Oec 37 OC-3-209A Croshed after mid-air wllision with a UIMF C-53141-20116) near Kansas Cily, MO, 4 Nov 42

378 N08952 2016 30 Oec 37 OC-3-209A Used for Ihe lirst football chorler, Universily of Pills-burgh (pIT-lEAl, 26 lep 39. Reregislered N18912.laid 10 Union lleel& Wrecking Co., Oec52

Fleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MS Date Type Disposal and Remarks

Built as DC-3s397 NC28310 2251 28 May 42 OC-3-277 Ex-American Airlines. Crashed due to thunderstorm

neor Honlord, CA, 4 Nov 44398 NC28321 2252 27 May 42 OC-3-277 Ex-Ameriwn Airlines. Sold 10 Union lleel &Wreck-

ing, 13 Aug 52340 NC28361 2272 IlFeb42 OC-3·270 Ex-Canadian Colonial Airways. Impressed by UIAAF

as C-49H-OO (42-382201, 17 Mor 42382 NC1941 3266 22 Oec 40 OC-3-362 Reregislered N1941. laid 10 Beldex Corp_, SI. Louis

MO, 13 Aug 52383 NCI942 3267 19 Oec 40 OC-3-362 Reregislered N1942. Sold 10 Beldex Corp., II. Louis

MO, 29 Jon 12384 NCI943 3268 3Jon41 OC-3-362 Reregislered N1943. Sold 10 Union lleel &Wreckin

Co., May 13.381 NCI944 3269 21 Jon 41 OC-3-384 Reregislered N1944. laid to W. G. Spillman, 3 Nov

50391 NCI950 3286 23 Apr 42 OC-3A-367 Ex-Norlheasl Airlines_ Troded 10 TWA lor OC-2, 23

Apr 42. Impressed 10 USMF as C-48C-00 144-529901,31 Jon 44

392 NCI951 3287 25 Apr 42 OC-3A-367 Ex-Norlheast Airlines. Troded 10 TWA lor OC-2, 25Apr 42. Impressed 10 UIMF as C-48C-00 144-529911,31 Jon 44

393 NC33623 3288 22 Apr 42 OC-3A-367 Ex-Northeasl Airlines. Troded 10 TWA lor OC-2 42laid to Roger G. Mensing, Nov 49 '

386 NC1945 3294 28 Feb 41 OC-3-362 RelegisleredN1945.LeasedloWiswnsinCenlrolAirlines, 15 Apr 52. laid to Norlh Centrol Airline30 Apr 54 '

DC·2 DO·3

39

More and More DC·3sDOUGLAS DC·3 FLEET LIST (continued)

Fleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Dote Type Disposol and Remarks

Built as D(-3s (continued)

387 N0946 3295 9Mar41 OC-3-362 Crashed into mountoin near LOI Vegns, 16 Jon 42.Corole Lombard oboard

358 N08953 2027 1210n38 OC-3B-202A Impressed by UlAAF 01 (-84-00 142·57513). 14Jun 42-23 Oc144. leased to Northeast Airlines.Reregistered N1B953 lold 10 Union Iteel &Wreck-ing Co., 5 May 53. laid to Ozark, 19 May 53 laid10 Logsdon and Oovon, 14 Oec 65

359 N08954 2028 17 Jun 38 OC·3B·202A Impressed by UlAAF us C-49F·00 (42-566231, 8Jun 42-6 Jun 44. Reregislered N·18954. lold 10Union Iteel &Wrecking Co., 27 Dec 52

379 N04931 2118 12 Apr 39 OC-3·209B Reregistered Nl4931.leased 10 W""nsin Central(later North (entroIAirline). 6 Feb 52, Ihen bought30 Apr 54

380 N04932 2119 16 Apr 39 OC-3-209B Reregistered N14932. laid 10 Remmert WeNer (orp.,2B Jul50

381 N04933 2120 lB Apr 39 OC·3·209B Reregistered NI4933 laid 10 Union Iteel &Wreck-ing Co., 24 Aug 53. laid to Ozark, Mar 54. Reregis·tered N1400. Traded to Foirchild Hiller for F-277A,24 Aug 66

394 NCI55B9 2243 28 May 42 OC-3-2m Ex-Ameriton Airlines. laid 10 Kirk Kerkorion (LAAI).8 Oct 52

395 NCl5591 2245 28 May 42 OC-3-2m Ex-American. lold to Union lleel &Wrecking (0., 70" 53 loldlo Ozark Airlines, 57. ReregisteredN1380. Troded, Fairchild Hiller lor F·277A, 15 Dec 66

396 NC19974 2250 27 May 42 OC·3·2m Ex-American Airlines. Reregislered N19974. laid 10Beld" (orp., II. Louis, MO, 6Jan 53

388 NCI947 3296 5 Mar 41 OC·3-362 Reregistered N1947. laid 10 Beld" Carp., It. louis,MO, Feb 53.

389 NCl948 3298 7Mor41 0(·3·362 Reregistered N1948. lold to Union lleel &Wrecking(0., 27 feb 53

390 NC1949 3299 II Mar 41 OC-3-362 Reregislered N1949. laid 10 Union lleel &Wrecking(0., 24 Mar 53

343 NC2B383 4091 15 Apr 44 OC-3-201f Ex-EOIlern Air Unes. Ex-U5AAf C·490·00 (41-65583). Reregistered N28383. Croshed oher doubleengine loilure, luel slorvolion, Chi"go, I~ 2Jul46

Ordered as D(-3s-Built as (-49s

342 NC28393 3251 12 Apr 44 Retired Oct 52399 NC38943 3280 31 Jon 44 OC-3-357 Ordered by Oelto Air Carp. Impressed by UlAAE Ex·

UlAAF, C·490-00 142-65584). ReregisleredN38943. laid 10 Wisconsin (entrol Airlines (North(entroIAirlinesl, 9Jon 51

335 NC12942 4141 4May 45 OC-3-3B9 Ordered by EOIlern Air Unes, impressed inlo UlAAfas (-490-00 141-77161, 30 Oct 41. Leased from UIGovernment (War Assets Administration). Reregis-lered Nl2942.leosed Oct 49. Relurned I Oct 49

338 NC44B97 4986 27 Jun 45 0(·3·45\ Ordered by TWA, impressed by UlAAf as (·49K·00143-19991. Reregistered 114489/. Leased Apr 12.laid to Beldex Corp., II. Louis, MO, 30 Apr 12

347 NC30081 4987 21Jun44 OC-3-454 Ordered by Ameri"n Airlines, impressed by UIAAFas C-49J-00 143-1962). Ex-Islond Airlines. Reregis-lered N30081. laid 10 Union Iteel &Wrecking Co.,31 Mar 53

40

Fleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Date Type Disposal and Remarks

Ordered as D(-3s-Buill as (-49s

333 N(26214 4991 8Apr 45 0(-3-454 Ordered by Amerimn Airlines impressed by UlAAfas C-49J-00 (42-1966). Reregistered N26214.Leased feb 51. laid 10 Wisconsin (entrol Airlines,10 feb 51

34B NC19939 4992 18 Oct 44 OC·3·454 Ordered by Ameriton Airlines, impressed by UIAAf01 C-49J-00 142·19671. Ex-Braniff. ReregisteredN19939. laid to Union Iteel &Wrecking Co.,16 feb 53

365 NC19940 4994 200cl44 0(-3-454 Ordered by 8roniff, impressed by UlAAf as C-49J-DO 142-19701. Reregistered N19940. laid to BeldexCarp., II. Louis, MO, / Aug 52

334 NO 8040 4997 19 Apr 45 0(-3-4\4 Ex-UlAAf C·49J-00 (43-1968). Leased Oct 49.Returned 10 War Assets Administrolion, 1 Oct 49

346 N(300/9 6264 18 Jun 44 0(·3·4\4 Ordered by (hicogo &loulhern, impressed byUlAAF as (·49)·00 (43-19811. ReregisteredN30079. laid 10 Beldex Carp., It. Louis, 22 Oct 12

344 NC38940 6331 1/ Moy 44 OC-3-45\ Ordered by Eostern Air lines, impressed by UIAAf osC-49K-00 143-2006). Reregislered N38940. laid toAssocioted Air Tronsport, 10 feb 53

345 NC38941 6332 1/ May 44 OC-3·45\ Ordered by Eoslern Air Unes, impressed by UlAAF asC-49K-OP (43·20071. Reregislered N38941. laid 10Wisconsin Cenlrol Airlines, 27 Feb 51

349 NCI9941 6333 19 Oct 44 OC·3·45\ Ordered by Eastern Air Unes, impressed by UlAAF as(-49K-00 (43·2008). Reregi~ered N19941. lold 10Kirk Kerkorion (LAAI). 2Oct 52

Built as (-47s

322 NC51831 4544 19 Oct 46 0(-3-360 Ex-UlAAF (-4/-0L 141-38616). lold 10 Union Iteel&Wrecking Co., 18 Dec 53

321 NC5l194 4790 19 feb 46 OC-3-360 Ex-UlAAf C-4l-0L 141-18629) laid 10 Union Iteel&Wrecking Co., 29 Dec 53

200 NC86567 6044 24 Oct 45 OC·3·360 Ex-UlAAf (·47·0L 141-38661), leased ond relurned10 War Assets Administrotion, 22Jon48

323 NC5l167 7384 16Feb46 OC-3·360 Ex-UlAAF C-4/-0l 142-56901. ReregisleredN51167. laid 10 Leeword Aero loles, Apr 57

324 NX5l165 7386 16 feb 46 0(-3-360 Ex-UlAAf C-4/-0L (42-5692). ReregisleredN5l165. laid to leeward Aero loles

204 NC54548 9274 2110n46 OC·3·4\6 Ex-UlAAf C·47A·15-0l (42-23412). ReregisteredN54548. laid to Air France, I Aug 49

EPAAM 9321 25 Apr 47 OC-3 Ex-UlAAF C-4/A-20-0L 142-23459), ex-RAf IMiddleEast), ex-Ironian Airways. Sold 10 Saudi Arabian Air-lines, May 48

205 NC3519 9381 24Apr46 0(·3·4\6 Ex-UlAAf C·47A·20·0l (4223519). Ex·federol Uq-uidotion Company. ET-T-17. laid 10 loudi ArabionAirlines, Moy 48

EPAAL 9469 18 Apr 47 OC-3 Ex-UlAAf C-4/A-30-0L (42-426071. Ex-lronion Air-ways. laid 10 loudi Arobion Airlines, May 48

207 NC34985 12025 6 Nov 46 OC·3 Ex-TACA327 N(88823 13073 26 Nov 45 0(·3456 lold to Union lleel &Wrecking Co., 29 Dec 53

EPAAl 13556 5Moy47 OC-3 Ex-lronian Airways. Sold 10 Saudi Arabian Airlines,May 48

328 NC88824 13678 26 Nov 45 OC·3·456 Sold 10 AllonlicAviation Services326 N(88822 13757 27 Nov 45 OC·3·456 Ex-UlAAF (·4/A·25-0K. lold to American Monoge-

menIAssoc.lnc.1lC88725 19680 10 Dec 45 OC-3 Leased from UI Government. Relurned Mar 47

Fle'el Delivery

No. Regn. MSN Dale Type Disposal and Remarks

Built as (-47s

203 NC51179 20874 14Jon46 DC-3-467 Ex-UlAAF (-4/8·1-0lI43-164091. Purchosed ossurplusin(oiro,9Jon46.Regislered,lhenreregis-teredwilh on Ethiopionregislry numberIET-T-I2).Flown Ihroughoul furope osa emergency repairIronsporf (orrying enginesond mechonics. Sold 10TAl for Air Modoswr, Paris, france, 27 Mar 57

329 IIC88825 25234 27 Ilov 45 OC-3·4\6 laid 10 Union lleel & Wrecking Co., 29 Dec 53206 NC34602 25452 6 Ilov 46 OC-3·4\6 Ex-TACA202 N(51159 26503 /Jon46 OC-3·467 Ex-UI Governmenl lin (oiro). ET-T-6. laid 10 loudi

Arobion Airlines, May 48

Built as (-53s

368 NCI8619 4819 29Jon45 OC-3-405 Ex-UlAAF (-538-00 (41-200491. leased fromDefense Plont Carp. from 29 Jon 45 -I Ocl49

331 NC41/51 4856 4feb42 OC-3-405 Ex-UlAAf (.53-00 (41-20086). Relurned 8May 42.Assigned to lOthA.F.lndio

330 N(41/50 4857 4feb42 OC-3-405 Ex-UlAAf (-53·00 (41-200871. Returned 10 May42. Assigned 10 10th A.f.lndio

332 N(41752 4870 1feb 42 OC-3-401 Ex-UlAAf C-13·00 (41-20100). Returned 8Mar 42.Assigned 10 10lh A.f.lndio

337 NC44783 4903 30 May 45 OC·3-405 Ex-U5AAF (.53-00 (41-20133). Wilhdrown fromuse 14 Nov 49. leased Nov 49. laid 10 MonsantoChemiwl Co., 28 feb 50

369 NCI8165 4911 9 Feb 45 OC-3-401 Ex- UIAAF C·53-00 142-6459). Withdrown from use21 Dec 48. laid 10 lockheed Aircroft Carp., 53

361 NC44996 4936 211ep45 0(-3-405 Ex- UlAAF (.53·00 142-64841. ReregisleredN44996. Leased Mar 50. lold 10 Noveo, II. louis, 2Mar 50

305 NC86589 4939 2 Nov 45 0(·3-405 Ex- U5AAF (.53-00 (42-6487). ReregisteredN86589. lold 10 Beldex Carp., II. Louis, 28 Oct 52

366 NC49551 4940 12Jon45 0(-3·405 Ex- UlAAF C-53-00 (42-6488). laid to BeldexCorp., It. Louis, 29 Oct 52

367 NC49542 4947 12Jon45 OC-3-405 Ex- U5AAf C·53·00 (42-6495). leased from UIDefense Plonl Corp. Returned 10 War Assets Adminis-trolion, 14 Jon 49

332 N(18573 7318 9feb 45 OC-3A-4D5 Ex-UIAAF (.53·00 142·473761. Ex·UI DefensePlonl.leosed feb 50. laid to loulhern Airwoys InL,Feb 50

336 N(34417 7337 16Moy45 OC-3-405 Ex-UlAAf (.53-00 (42-47376). leased Jon 52. laid10 Northeast Airlines, Jon 52

364 NC4539/ 11625 120cl45 OC-3·457 Ex·UlAAf (·53·00 (42-686981. ReregisleredN45397 as OC·3A. Leased Oct 42. laid to Key Cool(0.,53

303 NC86558 11665 26 Oct 45 OC-3-457 Ex-UlAAF C-53·00 (42-68738). ReregisleredN86558.leosed 49. laid to fairways Corp. 53

340 NC45365 11670 30 Nov 45 0(-3·457 Ex-UlAAf C-53O-00 (42-68743). ReregisteredN45365. Leased Mar 50. laid 10 Hemisphere Export

362 N(44997 11685 211ep45 OC-3-457 Ex-UIAAf (·130·00 142-687581. Ex-Uniled AirLines. Reregistered N44997. lold to HorseshoeDevelopment Corp., Apr 57

302 NC86544 11689 17 Ocl45 0(-3-457 Ex-UlAAf C-530-00 (42-68762). ReregisleredN86544.leosed 5/. laid 10 (ruzerio do lui Cof A.,2/ Jun 58

339 NC45364 11699 l1ep45 OC-3-457 Ex-UlAAf (-530-00 142-687721. ReregisteredN45364. leased Mar 50. lold 10 Hemisphere Export

360 IlC453/6 11730 11 Oep 45 OC-3·457 Ex-UlAAf (-530·00142·68803). ReregisleredN45376. Leased Jon 50. laid 10 (ruzeiro do luI, Cof A., 20 May 50

301 NC86543 11737 17 Oct 45 0(-3·457 Leased Oct 52300 NC86585 11741 31Jon46 0(-3·457 leased Oct 52363 NC44998 11752 IJul45 0(-3-457

IIC53622 52871 11 Apr 42 OC-3 Ex-Ilortheosl Airlines. laid 10 UI Gov!. Dec 43208 ET-T-19 9321 26 Aug 46 C-47-A Ex-EI.C. laid 10 loudi Arobion Airlines, May 48

The Douglas Twins

o

~~.~•• 0 D

DC·l (length 60 feet)The DC-l (and the DC-2) were distinguishedfrom the later aircraft by the narrow, flat-sidedfuselage, and small vertical stabilizer. The DC-lhad six cabin windows per side. Powered by two650-hp Wright Cyclone engines, it was a giantairplane for its day (see pages 33-35).

DC-2 (length 62 feet)The DC-2 added one more cabin window toeach side. Engine horsepower was improvedto 800 hp, and larger landing lights wereadded to the nosecone. All other structuraldetails were quite similar to those of theDC-l (see pages 34-35).

DSTJDC-3 (length 64.5 feet)The DST had a longer and wider cabin, with onemore window added to the DC-3 version, and aneighth cabin window on the left side of the aircraftfor the DST. Most noticeable feature of the 'sleeper'DSTwas the small horizontal "bunk" windowsabove the main window line (see pages 38-40).

C·47 (length 64 feet)The most abundantly produced version of the DC-3family, this military aircraft was considered by GeneralEisenhower to be one of the most essential pieces ofmachinery of the Second World War. Note the addition ofcowl flaps, highly modified engine nacelles and tailcone,and a glass 'astrodome,' through which navigators tookcelestial and solar sightings.

• • • • • • •

41

Enter Howard HughesEnter Howard HughesAfter Charles Lindbergh, and sharing fame with AmeliaEarhart, Howard Hughes was America's most famous avia­tor personality in the 1930s. He was admired by the public,respected by politicians who were aware of the power of hiswealth, and recognized by the aviation community for hisachievements. His wealth had been inherited from his parentswho had died in the early 1920s, and at the age of 18 he beganto expand the family business, the Hughes Tool Company,which held close to a monopoly of oil drilling bits.

The PhenomenonTaking to the business world like a duck to water-one com­mentator said that he ran his entire operation "out of his hippocket for nearly 40 years"-he worked hard and playedhard. He made films, including such epics as Scarface, Hell'sAngels, and The Outlaw. He romanced movie stars and flewairplanes. Everything he did was at the highest level of attain­ment, and this included his flying activities. Having won theSportsman's Trophy in 1934, he founded the Hughes Air­craft Company and built-and flew-a racing airplane, theH-l, and beat the world's landplane speed record in 1935.The following year, in a Northrop Gamma, he broke thetranscontinental speed record, and in 1937 broke it again, inhis H-1. In this latter case, he flew at an altitude of 14,000feet, using oxygen, and received the Harmon Trophy. InJuly 1938, in a Lockheed 14, he flew around the world in lessthan four days, averaging 202 mph. He had made meticulouspreparations, and demonstrated systems ofradio communica­tion, weather reporting, and navigation that were in advanceof their time. The aircraft was known as 'The Flying Labora­tory,' and for this flight, he received the Collier Trophy fromPresident Roosevelt himself.

Into the Airline FrayHoward came into the airline industry, the(efore, withimpressive credentials. By 1937, TW.A. had passed out ofthe control by the Pennsylvania Railroad and North AmericanAviation (by the conditions of the 1934 Air Mail legislation)and was owned by Yellow Cabs' John Hertz and LehmanBrothers, the investment bankers. TW.A. President, JackFrye, did not apparently like the control and approachedHughes with a view to starting another airline, which Hugheswould finance and Frye would manage. Howard had anotheridea. In April 1939 he bought 25% of TW.A. stock and by1940 had increased this to a dominating 78%. He took over agreat airline and set about the task of making it even better.

42

Howard Hughes, heir to an oil indus­try fortune, record-breaking aviator,movie director, airplane builder, tookover TWA. in 1937. Unlike previouscorporate owners, he was passion­

ately interested in developing both theairline and the airliners that it oper­

ated. He was only 32.

Jack Frye was already president ofTWA. when Hughes took control. Jackhad taken the office in 1934, and hadearned everlasting fame in the airline

world by sponsoring the DouglasDC-2. Partnering with Hughes, he

was to help in creating another biggerand faster generation ofairliners.

This picture epitomizes the tremendous impetus given to the UnitedStates airline industry during the latter 1930s. The busy scene canbe contrasted with that of what was then a modern airport in the

late 1920s (page 19), only a decade earlier. The DC-3 was truly thefirst transport airplane that could be called a modern airliner; and

but for T.W.A. it might never have happened.

Marquette's Stinson A wore the original AmericanAirlines blue and orange color scheme with the additionof the Marquette winged logo on the aftfuselage.

Stinson A (tri-motor) (Marquette)

Lycoming R·680 (260 hpj x 310,200 lb.SOO miles

37 feet60 feet

EnginesMGTOWRangeLengthSpan

8 seats • 160 mph

Stinson ATrimotorIn January 1938, Midwest Airlines was formed in St. Louis. The name was changed almostimmediately to Marquette Air Lines (named after a French missionary-explorer of UpperMichigan) and it promptly leased four Stinson Model A tri-motors from American Airlines. Itbegan service on 20 April of that year under Mail Contract AM 58 on a route St Louis­Cincinnati-Dayton-Toledo-Detroit.

Important Route ExtensionWithin a few months, the directors approved the purchase of the stock by T.w.A. which leased theroute from 14 August 1940. The Civil Aeronautics Board delayed giving the takeover its blessingfor two years, but the purchase was completed on 5 December 1941. The 564-mile route, whichgave T.WA. an important link from Detroit to its transcontinental trunk line, cost $350,000.

MARQUETTE'S STINSON A flEET

Regn MSN Delivery Date Remarks and Disposal

NC15153 9113

),,,,,,,,,"..,1Purchosed from Ameri(On

NC1514 9114 Airlines. Sold 10 WinstonNC15157 9117 W. Krotz, 31 Aug 40, and

evenluolly exporled to TotoNC15162 9127 Airlines, Indio, 20 Aug 41

Marquette boughl ils smal/fleet of Slinsons from American Airlines,and kept Ihe same paint scheme.

_.~

I.i

,.J"/ ILLINOIS

I

I"

""I

REGD

43

Above the Weather

This photograph illustrates vel)' well the much-promoted claim that the Stratoliner could fly "above the weathe!:"

D. W Tomlinson was always known as Tommy. For TWA., he pio­neered the techniques and analyzed the operational requirements

for high altitude flying. This led directly to the introduction ofpres­surization, first in the Boeing 307, and later in the Constellation.He was encouraged by Howard Hughes, who-in more ways than

one-did quite a bit of high flying himself.

While Tommy Tomlinson was exploring the realms of higher altitude and higher speed, thelast veteran ofa bygone age saw brief service with TWA. In 1935, a Ford Tri-MotOI;

fitted with floats, was delivered from New England and Western Transportation (and ex­Eastern Air Transport) on 26 April 1933. NC-410H (l17sn 5-AT-69) operated a shuttleservice in the New York Harbor area, carrying passengers from outlying points. The

aircraft was sold to Colombia's SCADTA on II February 1936.

clouds that could not be avoided. The term "air pocket" wasused to describe sudden, sometimes violent, changes of alti­tude, in which the aircraft would drop suddenly, and so wouldthe passengers, except for their stomachs. Air sickness, raretoday, was a common occurrence in the 1930s.

T.W.A. Does It AgainThe introduction of the Boeing 307 Stratoliner, describedon the opposite page, was the first commercial aircraft toincorporate cabin pressurization to eliminate the discomfortof low altitude flying. Even though the differential againstsea level pressure was only 2-1/2 lb/square inch, this wasenough to enable the 307 to cruise at 20,000 feet "above theweather." Although on the transcontinental route, two stopsstill had to be made, and sometimes three, when T.W.A. inau­gurated the service on 8 July 1940, it cut the coast-to-coasttime to less than 14 hours, some four hours quicker than theDC-3's. One of the economies for the airline was a markeddecline in the budget allocated for the purchase of sick-bags,and, in those days, sick-cups.

Up, Up, and AwayT.W.A. had been experimenting with high-altitude flying formost of the 1930s, ever since ex-Naval Lieutenant D.W."Tommy" Tomlinson started serious work in 1934 with theNorthrop Gamma (see page 27). During the two years 1935­1936, he was estimated to have done more flying (withoxygen equipment) at altitudes above 30,000 feet than allother pilots, military and civil, combined. His experience­in practical terms exclusive to T.W.A.-led to the conclusionthat 95% of all weather problems occurred below 16,000feet, so that an aircraft that flew at 20,000 feet would bemuch smoother in flight, and faster.

Improved Comfort LevelThe full benefit that such an innovation brought to the airlineclientele is sometimes forgotten. Unpressurized DC-3s,which were flying 85% of the airline mileage in the UnitedStates by 1940, were a great improvement over the old Fords;but they still had to fly at low altitudes and through weatherthat was too often very turbulent, mainly because of low

(

44

74 feet107feet

21 feet

LengthSpanHeight

Wright GR-1820 Cyclone (900 hp) x 442,000 lb.

1,250 miles

Delivery AircraftFleet No. Registration MSN Date Name Remarks

400 NC19901 1996 6M,y40 Comanche 1,ld I, UIMF, 16 Mar 41 " C·71; rel,rned 6Jan 44

401*1,ld I,AlgleAzur, French ,irline, 17 Jun II

NCI9906 1998 10 M,y 40 Cherokee 10Idl,UIMF, 1Mar 41 " C·71; relurned 1 Oec 441,ld !,AlgleAzur, Jun II

401 tlC19907 1999 IOM,y40 Zuni 1,ld 10 USMF, 10 Jan 41" C·71; relurned 10 Oec 44S,ld I' Algie Azur, 14 M,y II

403 NC19908 1000 14 M,y 40 Apache Said 10 USMF, 13 Mar 41" C·71; relurned 19 Oec 44Sold I,Aigle Azur, 9Julll

404 NCI9909 1001 4Jun 40 Navoio 1,ld 10 UIMF, 17 Dec 41" C·71; relurned 19 Nov 44Sold 10 Aigle Azur, 1Jun II

*No. 401 was flown" '#X/940' far publicily onJ promo/ion purposes.

T.W.A. BOEING 307B STRATOLINER FLEET

45

EnginesMGTOWRange

sturdy airplane and eventually did valuable work in Vietnam. One survives and has beenrestored by the Boeing Company for a future exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution's NationalAir and Space Museum.

B~c)TRA~rO'~LIN:"":"=E~R

EIN

G

33 seats • 220 mph

The 307 was T. WA. s first aircraft to incorporatethe use ofwhite in its bare metal color scheme.

Boeing 307B Stratoliner

Boeing Fights BackT W.A.'s introduction of the Douglas DC-2 in 1934 had been a severe blow to the Boeing Com­pany. But it was still a driving force in the military field, and its B-17 Flying Fortress bomber-named because of its impressive array of defensive armament-ensured its survival. Boeingengineers and designers adapted the B-17 as an airliner by substituting a commercially accept­able fuselage but keeping the same wing, tail, and four engines. The result was the innovativeBoeing 307 Stratoliner.

The First Pressurized AirlinerThe fuselage was the most notable advance in design and construction since Jack Northrop'smonocoque replacement of the steel framework. The fuselage of the Boeing 307 Stratolinerwas hermetically sealed so that, by maintaining the same pressure inside the cabin as at lowaltitudes-at the equivalent of 8,000-10,000 feet-the 307 could climb to higher altitudeswithout discomfort to the passengers or crew. It was advertised as "flying above the weather"and the term pressurization soon came into use. The name Stratoliner neatly conveyed the ideaof reaching for the stratosphere, which in 1940 was perceived by the flying public as almostlike flying into space.

An Eventful LifeAlthough T w.A. and Pan American both put it into service in 1940, the Stratoliner's airline lifewas commercially short. The aircraft's fuel capacity was limited, to the extent that it did nothave trans-ocean range, at least with an acceptable payload. But Boeing was a little unlucky, inthat before improvements could be made, as is normal with all great airliners, the outbreak ofthe Second World War disrupted both demand and production. Only ten were built, of whichTW.A. had five. It entered service on the transcontinental route on 8 July 1940. As explainedin the following pages, it suffered the ignominy of having its pressurization system removedso that the weight saving permitted a payload to be carried across the Atlantic. The 307 was a

War EffortWartime Servi(eWhen the Douglas DC-4 went into service, it was popularlythought to be a commercial version of the military C-S4. Butthe C-54 was the production version of the original DC-4 thatwas the result of a joint specification by the "Big Four" air­lines and Pan American for a four-engined airliner. The com­bined order, placed on 26 January 1940, was 61 aircraft. Thefirst one flew on 14 February 1942, only two months after theUnited States entered the Second World War.

The Stratoliner at WarOn I April 1941, with war in Europe, and the United Statessupporting the Allies with Lend-Lease, TWA. established theEagle Nest Flight Center at Albuquerque for training andengineering work. The Boeing 307s were withdrawn fromservice on 24 December, and contracted to the War Depart­ment. During February 1942, they were flown to Albuquerquefor conversion (see page 47) and designated C-75s. TW.A. cre­ated the Intercontinental Division (ICD), headed by OtisBryan, and which operated separately from the domestic air­line network.

By the beginning of April 1942, T.WA.'s ICD 307swere in Africa. On 26 February one had made its first 10ng­distance flight across the South Atlantic (see map), with acargo of 25,000 rounds of armor-piercing shells for theBritish Army in North Africa. On 20 April the first flightacross the North Atlantic landed at Prestwick, Scotland, andfrom 22 April the South Atlantic crossings were made regu­larly. One flight, returning from Cairo, picked up JimmyDoolittle, returning from his famous raid on Tokyo. On 10July, the airfield was completed at Ascension Island, and byOctober the crossing was essentially a shuttle service. Athousand crossings were made in eighteen months-theequivalent of a round trip every day.

T.W.A. Tests the (-54Pan American Airways was the airline with the flying boatsand its aircraft were transferred to the U.S. Navy for wartimelogistics work. Meanwhile, C-54s were delivered to the U.S.Army, which, however, was inexperienced in overseas andover-ocean flying and navigation. With its Boeing 307salready requisitioned for military service, TW.A. wasentrusted with the task of making special proving flights. Twoaircraft were leased to TW.A. in 1942 (see tabulation) and theairline had the honor of operating the first C-54 to be built.

46

Paa8 13 of l' PagesAprll, 1942

S;,J?~·~qy C? 'i:T!A C:?~'I'lONS

ovm ROl;'I'EiS OFFA:\-A?R!DA. LTD.

}:r..: 4!U/42 1248 N-l?~7AC?, 4/14/42 1447l.A..."{ 4/17/42 1150f.?'l 4/18/42 0615c.... !. 4/15/42 1440

USAAF records show that TWA. was soon contributing tothe war effort, with its Stratoliners flying across Africa.

(National Archives, courtesy Tom Culbert)

DOUGLAS (·54 FLEET

DeliveryRegistration MSN Date Remarks

41-20137 3050 I Dec 42 Ex-UIAAf C·54-00 (41·20137). leased to T.W.A. Dec 42-9 Jon 43_This was the first (·54 built.

41·32939 3114 8lep 42 Ex-UIAAF C-14-DO (41-32939). Croshed, Poromoriho, 15 Jon 43

Otis F. Bryan was President Roosevelt's personal pilot duringthe wartime years, and he managed TWA. 's International

Division in 1947.

BOEING 299 (B·17G) FLEET42-31294 6408 3Jul44 UlAAf B-17G·1 O·BO (42·312941_ TWA_ controtted to do research

inlostolic precipitation {see lexllhis pagel on 16 Nov 43. Acquiredfrom UlAAf 3Jul 44, returned 30 Apr 46

NX-4600 8637 26 Jon 46 Ex-UlAAF B-17G-l01-VE (44-8\72B). Converted by Baeing foralso Nl-IB executive use. Flown by TW.A.. uew to corry delegation to lATA Con-

ference in Cairo, Egypt, 29 Oct 46. lold to Ihe Ihoh of Persia (Iron)as his personal aircraft in Apr 47 (regn. EP-HIM)

The T.W.A. Flying FortressesOn 16 November 1943, a TWA. Boeing B-17G FlyingFortress (Boeing 299) was contracted by the USAAF toengage in a weather research program. Based at Kansas City,it flew to all corners of the world: Alaska, South America,South Africa, and across the Pacific. The title passed toTW.A. on 3 July 1944, and Three Kind Words-as the aircraftwas called---completed 32,000 miles of research flying beforeit was returned to the Air Force on 30 April 1946.

Another B-17G was also flown by TW.A. after the endof hostilities. It was converted for executive use and used tofly a delegation to an lATA (International Air Transport Asso­ciation) Conference in Cairo on 29 October.

One ofT WA. 's Strato!iners, ill wartime uniform.

Post-War ReconstructionReturn of the StratolinersOn 28 April 1944, the last Boeing 307 Stratoliner was returnedto TW.A. when Air Transport Command had received suffi­cient Douglas C-54s, which could carry more load and for alonger distance. During their military use, the 307s had beenflown intensively and were badly in need of renovation. Thiswas done at Albuquerque; and between 14 March and 24 April1945, the fleet was re-certified for commercial use, and desig­nated SA-307B-Is, after thorough modification and inspection.Scheduled services were resumed on I April and, until 15 Feb­ruary 1946, they were the only four-engined landplanes inservice by U.S. airlines.

Early Coach ClassThe fate of all airliners is to be relegated from the front linewhen a new generation makes its appearance. In the case ofTW.A.'s Boeing 307s, they stayed in service and added onemore claim for recognition in their eventful history. On 31 May1949, the Stratoliner Coach Service began between New Yorkand Chicago, via Pittsburgh. The fare was $29.40, a reductionof 30% from the regular fare of $44.10. No meals were servedand reservations had to be paid for in advance. But it was oneof the best of the such promotional fares, first launched by Cap­ital Airlines in 1948, in response to the growing popularity ofbargain offers by the non-scheduled charter airlines.

A T.WA. Stratoliner injlight. Note that, even with this 1940s airlinel; the first with cabin pressurization,the landing gear was not fully retractable.

Old 307s Never DieAs the Constellations took over all the overseas routes from theDC-4s; and the DC-4s supplemented the DC-3s on the domes­tic network, even the veteran 'Gooney Birds' were retired.Their departure was speeded by the pending arrival of theMartin 202 (see page 61), one of the airliners sometimesdescribed as the "DC-3 Replacement," about the same size asthe Stratoliner, but more powetful, faster, and, with two fewerengines, more economical. The Boeing veterans were retiredfrom May 1950, the last one on 1 July 1950. They were soldto the French airline, Aigle Azur, which operated them in var'­ious roles in Europe, and when the French met with the grow­ing nationalism in their Indo-China colony, they flew troops toand from Saigon. They performed a var'iety of missions there,and during the Vietnam War', were used for United Nations liai­son work, flying between Saigon and Hanoi, under the title (ifnot the colors) of CIC (see caption to photograph.) All theTW.A. 307s came to ignominious ends, but one of the PanAmerican planes is preserved (see page 45).

Some of the Stratolinershad an interesting fate.

After service with theFrench airline Aigle

AzUl; they weredispersed after the

French colonial regimein lndo-China came toan end. Early in 1964,tIVO of them passed to

the Compagnie lntema­tionale de TransportsCivils Aeriens (C1C).

They provided a servicebetIVeen Saigon and

Hanoi, on behalfof theInternational Control

Commission, (photocourtesy Roger Bentley)

"f.BElU

CIC

47

This was the dapper uniformof the Jet Age in 1967.

This uniform was in vogue withthe first Super-G in 1955.

By 1941, the semi-military style ofuniform had given way,for training purposes, toa more practical dress style: two-tone green blouse and skirt, with a dashing tam­

0'-shanter hat. (Photo courtesy John Wegg collection)

Thefirst graduating class of TWA. hostesses, Kansas City, 6 December 1935.

F'oz,,,,,,aze

KathrynRhodes,TWA.sfirst chiefhostess,1936.

These flight attendants participated in a big eventon 7. July 1955 for Walt Disney (fourth from left) atthe opening day of Disneyland. The Constellationwas named Star of Disneyland for the occasion.

The Cabin Crews

T.W.A. HostessesTW.A.'s stewardesses were called hostesses, to reflect thenature of the job more graciously, and implying that they didmore than just bring round the drinks. The first group gradu­ated at Kansas City on 6 December 1935, and were assignedto the Douglas DC-2 flights.

TW.A. provided the trainees with uniforms and was theonly major airline to do so. The jackets carried a patch thatread "TWA Student Hostess," a practice that implied that theyshould comport themselves in training as would be expectedwhen they started to work on the line.

Airborne MemoriesA camaraderie emerged that survived into the retirementyears. This has taken the form of former flight attendantgroups, such as Clipped Wings and Silver Wings. Theymeet regularly and keep in touch through newsletters, chap­ter meetings, and annual conventions. Clipped Wings pro­duced a handsome volume, Wings ofPride, honoring a greatprofession. The Clipped Wings maintain a 'fashion archive'of TW.A. uniforms worn throughout the years and enjoypresenting fashion shows, in which members model theirown uniforms from bygone days.

United Air Lines was the first airline to introduce femalecabin attendants, in 1929, but other airlines were not in ahurry to follow suit. The main qualification was to be a qual­ified nurse, because the fear of flying was not uncommon,and passengers often needed attention to calm the nerves aswell as to calm the stomachs, resulting from the uneven, andsometimes roller-coaster-like rides in the lOG-mph Ford Tri­Motors, which could not always avoid turbulent weather.

Reluctance to Hire WOl11enOne reason why the airlines were reluctant to hire women asstewards was that the idea was thought to be somewhat undig­nified (in an age when women were still thought to be home­builders rather than wage-earners). The work was strenuous.Pan American did not hire women cabin attendants until theend of the Second World War, because of the long journeys.Just as the airlines followed railroad practice in many aspectsof their operations, so it was with cabin attendants, with stew­ards emulating the Pullman Car service on the express trains­with the exception that airlines still employed white staffalmost exclusively, from the top executives and flying crew toall who came into contact with the public.

48

Flight Deck MemoriesThe Importance of NavigationDuring the earliest years of conunercial flying, the importance offmding the way accurately was soon made clear. Too many pilotswere killed simply because they were too busy trying to keeptheir machines in the air, especially in conditions of zero visibil­ity. A compass and air-speed indicator were simply not enough.

As time went on, improvements were made, at first onthe ground, with the legendary "Lighted Airway," a series ofhigh-intensity beacons, acting like street lamps for the earlyairline pilots. Then came better radio and radio ranges by theearly 1930s, and then ADF (Automatic Direction Finder) inthe latter 1930s. With the improvement of airliners from theFord to the DC-3, the need for accuracy was becoming criti­cal, as there was little time to find alternate places to land.Even the DC-3 needed something better than a small fieldsurrounded by trees.

The NavigatorsUntil the outbreak of the Second World War, the only airlinethat needed skilled navigators was Pan American Airways, asit was the only operator privileged to operate long-distancetrans-ocean flights. The exigencies of war, however, demanded"all hands to the plough" and TW.A., possessing the only four­engined landplanes in domestic service, was called upon totransfer its Boeing 307 Stratoliners to the United States ArmyAir Forces (USAAF) for important overseas logistics work.

TW.A. hired the experience where it could find it: fromthe merchant navy, even from Pan American. The new mem­bers of the flight deck quickly assumed the vital role, in whichtheir level of importance was such that, although only 'two­ringers,' no wise captain would take off without the naviga­tor's approval. Also, with a landplane such as the 307, it wasnot enough to get close. Pan Am's flying boats could, at apinch, alight in a stretch of smooth water if it missed the exactdestination flying boat base. When the 307 entered service, amere handful of airports in the world had hard-surfaced run­ways, and few alternate airfields. TW.A.'s navigators, there­fore, had to be right on target. As described on pages 50 and51, they won their spurs on the two Atlantic routes. FindingAscension Island was a work of extreme precision. But fewdiversions ever had to be made.

Pressurization ProblemFor efficient observations with a sextant or octant, the long-rangeairliners were fitted with an astrodome, a circular glass protu­berance on top of the fuselage which allowed the navigator to

prop himself into the circular aperture, and take the necessarysightings, either by day or by night. But the situation was differ­ent with pressLlIized types.

The Boeing 307 gave no trouble, as the pressurization dif­ferential was small. With the post-war Lockheed Constella­tions, however, the pressure differential was higher, and thisresulted in tragedy. George Hart was on a trans-Atlantic flightin 1948, taking sextant readings in the astrodome, when he wassucked out when the glass canopy failed. Thereafter the navi­gators were supplied with a well-secured hamess which theywore when using the astrodome. This was later eliminatedwith the introduction of a periscope sextant (see illustration).

End of a ProfessionDuring and immediately after the Second World War, tremen­dous advances were made in navigational technology, aided byimprovements in radio and especially radar. The introductionof doppler, a quadrantal echo-measuring device, was the har­binger offurther developments. Then the arrival of INS (Iner­tial Navigation System), which combined the precision ofgyroscopes with accurate accelerometers, sounded the death­knell for navigators. The accurate readings on the pilots'instmments made them redundant. TW.A. retired its last nav­igator in the fall of 1964. With today's GPS (Global Position­ing System), thanks to the almost incredible accuracy ofsatellite monitoring, even a two-man crew can easily handleboth the flying and the navigating.

The EngineersAnother profession which has been usurped by the march oftechnology is that of the flight engineer. When the four­engined landplanes were introduced, they carried an engineer,like Pan American's Clipper crews, to monitor fuel consump­tion and balance, electric power and distribution, hydraulics,pressurization, and engine pelformance. The big airlinerswere sensitive to the balance of fuel in the tanks, an imbal­anced weight of which would affect the flying characteristicsof the aircraft. But except for the bewildering complexity ofvery advanced aircraft such as the supersonic Concorde, allthe engineers' functions have been taken over by the comput­erized "glass cockpits' which-especially with the trend awayfrom four-engined types to twins-are self-monitoring andself-compensating. TW.A.'s last flight engineers were retiredin 2000, along with the last Boeing 727s. Today's airlinepilots need only their precision instruments and the ability tostay awake, or at least alert.

Ralph Alderman prepares aflight plan at the dispatch

office. (Photo courtesy JohnMalandro)

Ralph Alderman takes a sightingwith the periscope sextant in aConstellation (Photo courtesy

John Malandro)

K. W Woolsey demonstratesT. WA. s new ADF (Automatic

Direction Finder) "homingloop" antenna in J937. (Photo

courtesy John Malandro)

Francis Harland ata ConstellationNavigators Table(Photo courtesy

/' John Malandro)

The flight engineer was firstrequired on T. W.A. 's four-

engined Stratoliners, wherethe fuel consumption andweight had to be carefullymonitored to maintain the

balance of the aircraft.

49

Atlantic ServiceHughes Plays His CardsThe Boeing 307 Stratoliners had acquitted themselves wellacross the Atlantic during the War (page 46). But when theyreturned from the USAAF early in 1945, they were not suitablefor long-range operations when fully equipped for commercialpassenger use; and they were deployed on selected domesticroutes until the Martin 202s replaced them in 1950. Before this,on 10 June 1944, TWA.-stilJ at that time Transcontinental& Western Air-applied to the Civil Aeronautics Board for anambitious, round-the-world network. Such ambition was typi­cal of Howard Hughes. In 1938, he had already flown aroundthe world (page 42) and he had flown the Constellation intoWashington in 1944 (page 52). How much the authorities wereinfluenced by this coincidence is unrecorded. Coincidence ornot, on 5 July 1945, TW.A was awarded a handsome packageof trans-Atlantic routes, and the Pan American overseasmonopoly was broken.

CompetitionIn addition to the predictable 'no-holds-barred' opposition hecould expect from Pan American's Juan Trippe, another airlinehad entered the North Atlantic fray. American Airlines hadbought American Export Airlines, formed during the Warand operating flying boats under contract to the U.S. Navy.American Export became American Overseas Airlines(A.O.A.) which began the first post-war commercial scheduledtrans-Atlantic flight by landplane, from New York toBournemouth, England (London's Heathrow Airport was notyet ready) on 24 October 1945.

Under a plan directed by the C.AB., AO.A. was author­ized to serve northem Europe. Pan Am and TW.A weregranted rights to several points in Europe, and onwards toIndia. Of the major destinations, Pan Am had the route toLondon, TW.A. to Paris, and both could fly to Frankfurt.

In spite of Hughes's and TWA.'s vigorous promotion ofthe Constellation, and with whose names it will always be mostprominently associated, Juan Trippe and Pan American actu­ally beat them into service. A TW.A. Constellation made aproving flight to Paris on 25 November 1945, and took a partyof specially-invited guests to the French capital on 3 Decemberof that year. But when TW.A opened scheduled Constellation(Model 049) service on 5 February 1946, Pan American Air­ways had already stolen the thunder three weeks earlier, on 14January, with its inaugural service to London.

50

DOUGLAS DC·4 FLEETFleel Dole inloNo. Regn. MSN Service Nome Disposal and Remarks

600 N(45341 27318 23 Mor 46 The To; Mahal Ex·U5MF (·54[·5·00 (44·9092). Rrsl air·liner 10 fly overseas (wearing '1ronsWorldAirline"morking. Sold to Wadi Brothers Inc.,15 Aug 57.

601 N(4S342 27279 14 Feb 46 The Shamrork [x·USMF (·54E·5·00 (44·90531. Firsl 0(-4in full T.W.A. IOlors. Leased 10 NMhwesl Air·lines, 1951. (rolhed when overshootingSondpit,B.C.,19Jon52

602 N(45343 27264 10 Feb 46 The Sphinx Ex·USAAF (·54E·}·00 144·903BI. Sold to(horlolle Aircro" (orp. 20 Nov 61

603 N(45344 27263 26 Feb 46 TheCo/osseum Ex·USAAF (·54E·I·00 (44·9037). Leased toFlying Tiger line, 1958·59. Sold To (alifor·niaAirmolive, 24Jun 59

604 N(45345 27346 28 Feb 46 The Arc de Triomphe [x·USAAF (·54[·15·00 (44·9120).Destroyed by fire olloGuordio, New York,28 Sep 48

605 N(45346 27350 7Mor46 TheA"opo/' Ex·USMF (·54[·15·00 (44·91241. Sold toEn,lern Aimo" S.les, Mor 58

606 N(34538 10517 24 Jun 47 The Sha/imor Ex·USMF (·548·I·D( (42·72412). Sold 10(olifornioAirmotive, 24Jun 59

607 N(34537 10454 1I1un47 The Wadel Ex·USAAF (·54B·I·D( 142·72349). leasedto Norlhwesl Airllens, 1948-52. Sold toEOltern Aimoll Soles, Mor 58

The subsequent rivalry ebbed to and fro, with Hughes andTW.A maintaining close cooperation with Lockheed to pro­duce a succession of improved versions of the Constellation.TWA battled with Pan Am's Douglases and Boeing Stra­tocruisers for supremacy for many years, as is narrated in thefollowing pages of this book. Hughes was against a formidableairline establishment, both at home and abroad.

The Second LineTWA. still had a back-up fleet, which, fortunately, it did notneed, at least not much. When the War was over, it took up itsallocation of Douglas DC-4s which had been delivered to theUSAAF as C-54 cargo planes. The fleet of 18 aircraft came toTWA from February 1946 onwards (see fleet list on this page)and acted as a back-up for the Constellations. Three of themwere the first, second, and fourth C-54s to be converted by Dou­glas back to civilian use.

Trans WorldThe Taj Mahal (named, perhaps, to symbolize TWA.'sextended route network in India) was the first to wear the mark­ing "Trans World Airline." The term soon came into general use,but was not officially registered as the name of the airline until1950. A TWA DC-4 was also the first to operate an all-cargotrans-Atlantic service, on 15 January 1947. Unpressurized, andoutclassed by the Constellation, the four-engined Douglas DC­4s continued as a second line to the Connies until 1964.

Fleel Dole inloNo. Regn. MSN Service Nome Disposal and Remarks

608 N(34577 10541 26 Moy47 The Mou/mein Pagoda Ex·USAAF (·54B·I·0( 142·723461. Sold toEOItern Aimoft Soles, Mor 58

609 UC79068 18368 Mid 47 [x·USAAF (·54B·I·D( (43·17168). Sold 10Pacific Overseas Airlines, Feb 48

611 U90405 }0489 Lole 49 The liffe/ Tower [X·USMF (·54B·I·D( (42·72384). Pur·chased from Transocean Air Unes. 17 Nov49. Sold to Amhonol (ompony, 2Moy 57

612 N90427 10445 [orly49 The Shannon Ex·USAAF (·548·I·D( (41·72340). Pur·chosed from Americon Airlines. Sold to SlickAirwoyl, 15 Jun 56

650 N(44994 18352 27 Apr46 The A/hambro Ex·USMF (·54B·1 0·00 143·17152)Freighter. 50ld 10 EOIlernAi",o" Soles, MOl58

651 N(86571 10530 14Mor46 The Gates ofSuez Ex·USMF (·54B·1·0( 142·72425) Freighter.Sold to EOIlern Airero" S.les, Mor 58.

652 NC79067 35949 19 Jon 47 The Shanghai Mer· Ex·USMF (·546·1·00 145·04961. Loosedchant from USAAF ond returned to USAF 1949.

653 N(14747 35959 11 Feb 47 The Bombay Merchant Ex·USAAF (·546·1·00 145·05061. Loosedfrom USAF and returned Jun 54

696 NC79065 36031 20 Sep 46 The Singapore Troder [X·USAAF (·546·10·00 (45·0578). loosedlrom USAF, returned Oec 47

697 NC79066 36052 4Oct 46 [X·USAAF (·546·IO·DO {45·05991. Leosedfrom USAF. Returned to USAAF 14 Ju148.

Nole: F1eel Nos. 604, 605, and 600 Vlere Ihe filii, second, ond fourlh (·541, relpectively, to be converlerl to commer·ciol 0(·41 (by OouglOl 01 [I Segundo), following the end of the Second World Wor. 650·653 were initiolly freighters.696 ond697 used lor pilot troining and Ipeciol service only.

LOCKHEED 18·08 LODESTARFleel Dole inloNo. Regn. MSN Service Nome Disposal and Remarks

241 N(33604 2170 17 Jon 45 leosedoso 9-seat exewlive aircraft.

"lIOns World" wal more thon limply 0promotionoillogon. It Iymbolized T.W.A.'I ambition 10 circumnovigole Ihe globe.The oirline hod opplied to Ihe (.A.B. for 0round·lhe·world lervice 01 eorly 01 June 1944; bUI hod to wail untillhe Poeific

Route (ose decilion of eorly 19691,ee poge 82) belore completing the globe·cirding route on 31 Oclober 1971. Ukeother airlines, IW.A.lhen found thol mony segments generated insufficienllroHic, and the trons-Pacific and eost Asian

slolionswere dosed down on 2March 1975.

rI

Douglas DC·444 seats • 215 mph

•

TWA sex-military DC-4s still had the C-54S larger two-piece 'clamshell' cargo doors."Machats Law of Color Scheme Variation" is nicely shown here with a rearward-slantingcheatline leading edge. (Compare to photo).

94 feet118 feet28 feet

LengthSpanHeight

Prall &Whitney Twin Wasp (1,450 hp) x 473,000 lb.

2,500 miles

Ronge from 44 10 64, depending on layout.

EnginesMGTOWMax. Range

THE WARTIME AIRLINERS COMPARED

Dimensions Engines C,uise

Model Length (It) Span (It) No. Type hp Speed (mph) Seats MGTOW (lb.)

Boeing 307 74 107 4 Wrighl Cyelone 1,200 220 33 45,000Dougla\ DC-4 94 11B 4 PraN &Whitney 1,450 215 44 73,000

Twin Wasplockheed049 95 123 4 Wright R-3350 2,200 298 54' 86,250.

Thia DC-4, pictured at Newark, was N45341, Taj Mahal. It was the first T. WA. airliner to fly overseas,in 1946, wearing the marking Trans World Airlines. This name quickly came into use, although the cor­

pOl'ate name was not changed until 1950. (Photo by Art Carter)

T.W.A. had been one of the five pre-war sponsors of the DC-4, had conducted a test programfor the first C-54s off the line for the USAAF, and after the War took up its allocation of pre­war orders (page 46). Often remembered is the DC-4's lack of pressurization and its slowerspeed, compared with the Constellation. But production of commercial Connies was only justbeginning in 1946, and C-54s were being converted into DC-4s at a faster rate. Also, the Lock­heed airliner was not without its problems. Often forgotten is that, with the exception ofT.W.A,B.O.A.C., Pan American, and Air France, seven airlines, mainly from Europe, introduced trans­Atlantic service before 1950 with DC-4s. Also, the C-54/DC-4s were the backbone of theBerlin Airlift in 1948/49, with more than 200 aircraft performing the greatest humanitarian air­lift in history. One sturdy survivor is still making the rounds as a flying exhibition today.

r

51

PossibLy one of the most stunning aerial photographs of an airLiner ever taken, over New York's Battel)', the Constellation's eleganceis almost majestic, epitomizing the status ofT. WA. as a global airline power in the post-war years.

Howard Hughes is seen here just after taking GeneraL"Hap" ArnoLdfor a sight-seeing flight around the

town, together with other dignitaries.

I

·~,n~This 1944 picture ranks with Charles Lindbergh's landing in Paris.Howard Hughes and Jack Frye arrive in Washington, having flown

the Constellation in a transcontinental record time.

Performance GoalsWhen the United States entered the Second World War inDecember 1941, the venerable twin-engined Douglas DC-3was standard equipment. On the domestic front, only T.W.A.had a better airliner, the four-engined Boeing 307. It was fasterthan the DC-3 (220 v. 160 mph) and far more comfortable,flying as it did 'above the weather' (20,000 v. 8,000 feet). Butits range was not outstanding.

Dramatic DebutIn 1927, Charles Lindbergh's solo trans-Atlantic flightchanged the air-mindedness of an entire nation: the press, thepublic, the politicians, and the industrialists. In 1944, the air­line world was unexpectedly confronted with another recordflight, with almost comparable consequences. With one dra­matic gesture, Howard Hughes electrified the political scenein Washington, and changed the course of progress in com­mercial aviation technology.

The Lockheed Constellation had been built at Burbankunder the direction of designer Hal Hibbard to the precisespecifications of Hughes, whose experience as an aviator andindustrialist, with instinctive intuition, combined with hisextensive financial resources, were injected into the designand construction of an historic prototype.

Moment of TriumphOn 17 April 1944, Howard Hughes and Jack Frye flew theprototype Model 49, soon to be called the Constellation, fromBurbank to Washington's National Airport in the transcon­tinental record time of 6 hours, 57 minutes. The effect on askeptical administration and military hierarchy was startling.After flying some congressmen and top military brass on sight­seeing flights, Hughes turned the new airplane over to AirTransport Command. T.W.A.'s owner and Lockheed's designteam had ushered in a new era in air transport.

America's Secret WeaponThe Constellation reinforced the supremacy of United Statesaeronautics. Peter W. Brooks, distinguished British airlinehistorian, described the aircraft as "the secret weapon ofAmerican air transport." He pointed out that in 1939, at theoutbreak of the Second World War, the British aircraft indus­try, whose technical talent was possibly on a par with theAmerican, in quality if not in quantity of production, hadregarded the DC-4 as the competitive standard. But when theWar was over, the Constellation swept all before it.

Secret Weapon

52

Lockheed Constellation 049

95 feet123 feet24 feet

LengthSpanHeight

Wright R-3350 (2,200 hp) x 486,250 lb.

3,000 miles

EnginesMGTOWMax. Range

53

This early Constellation, a Model 049, NC90831, Star of Switzerland, was originaLLy delivered to T.W.A.In October 1948. (Photo courtesy Jon Proctor)

••

The 049 Constellation was similar in appearance to the later749 model, differing only in window configuration and enginecowling detail.

44-64 seats • 298 mph

Initial SnagsTW.A. acquired 88 of the standard Constellations. Six were ex-military C-69s; 41 were Model49s (later amended to 049s); and the remaining 41, with more powerful engines, Model 749s.The inauguration of Atlantic services, on 5 February 1946, is described on page 50. Domesticservices with the Connie began ten days later, and after preliminary trial services on shorterroutes, coast-to-coast service from New York to Los Angeles began on 1 March. But thesatisfaction was short-lived. During the early life of the airplane, several problems had had tobe overcome. The substantially increased performance carried with it increased complexity,and the Constellation was not immune from the technical 'teething troubles.' Then, from 12July to 20 September 1946, the fleet was grounded because of a leaking fuel system. No soonerwas this fixed when the pilots went on strike, from 21 October to 15 November.

Ambition FulfilledBy this time, however, TW.A. was staking its claim to be a fully-fledged international airline.The European routes were extended to Cairo on I April 1946, to Lisbon and Madrid on 1 May,and to Bombay on 5 January 1947. All these were inaugurated with the Constellations. Thisfine airliner, in spite of an initial reputation of unreliability, soon got into its stride. It was 70mph faster than the DC-4, had 60 seats against 44 at the same seat pitch, and could fly acrossthe Atlantic with only one stop instead of two. It sent the Douglas designers and engineers backto their drawing boards in a hurry, to produce pressurized variants of the old Skymaster.

Many airlines purchased the Constellation, and although the DC-4 filled the bill for a post­war year or two, most of the trans-Atlantic airlines had the Lockheed airliner in service by thelate 1940s. The British airline, B.O.A.C., had to have them too, as the home industry's com­mercial airliner projects had been cancelled at the outbreak of the War in 1939.

But until the advent of the Jet Age in 1958, the world of airlines watched TW.A. as it suc­cessively introduced newer and faster versions of the classic Constellation series.

TWA's Constellation Fleet

1

Fleet Dote into

No. Regn. M5N Service Nome Disposal and Remarks

Model (-69 (All Model 49-46-1 0) operated for USAAF- 42·94551 1972 Jul45 Wrinen 011.18 5epl45- 43·10310 1962 Apr 44 Returned 10 U5AAF, Moy 44 *- 43-10312 1964 Feb 45 Returned 10 U5AAF, Aug 45- 43-10313 1965 Jon 45 (Oi,posilion nol known)- 43·10314 1966 Aug 45 Relurned 10 U5AAF, Nov 45- 43·10317 1969 Moy 45 Relurned 10 U5AAF, J" 46. C"verled 10 Model 40

-,eeFleeINo.516

Model 49 (49-51·25, converted to 49-46-25 in 1946)

500 NC86500 2021 II Feb 46 Sior ollhe Mediler· loler F1eel No. 524. NAraneon

501 IIC86501 2022 4Apr46 Siorollhe NA **Persion Gulf

502 NC86502 2023 29 Apr 46 Star ollhe Pyramids leased 10 Eoslern Air Unes. 17 Nov. 57-26 Apr 58.NA.

503 NC86503 2024 31 Jon 46 Novojo Skychiel Slor 01 Colilomio, Slor 01 the Nile, NA504 NC86504 2025 l2Feb46 Star of France NA505 NC86509 2030 21 Feb 46 Star 01 Alrica NA506 NC86S14 2041 I Mar 46 Star 01 Indio leased to Eoslern Air Lines, 25 Nov 57-23 Apr 58.

NA507 NC86515 2042 6Mar46 Slor 01 Arabia NA508 NC86516 2043 10 Mar 46 Slor 01 Ireland Leased to EQstern Air Lines, 15 Dec 56-17 Moy 57.

NA509 NC86517 2044 18Mar46 Slor 01 Tripoli 50ld to Los Vegas Hociendo, 15 Moy 61

IModeI49-46-251

510 NC90817 2079 2Oct 46 S/Qr 01 the Adriolic NA5lI NC90818 2080 70cl46 Slor 01 the Red Sea Leased to Eoslern Air Lines, 30 Nov 57-24 Apr 58.

NA512 NC90823 2085 28 Moy 47 Slor 01 the Yellow Sea NA513 NC9D824 2086 21 Moy 47 Wrillen oll-deslroyed by fire ofter hard londing,

los Angeles, 25 Nov 48514 NC9D825 2087 17Moy47 Star 01 Chino Leased IQ Eostern Air Unes, 25 Dec 56-18 Moy 57.

NA515 NC9D826 2088 19 Moy 47 510r 01 Ihe Chino 5eo NA (1hiswos the lost5eries 49 built)516 NC90830 1969 3 Dec 48 5torollurich 50ld 10 Aero TroOlport (0E·IFAI23 Jun 61517 NC90831 1970 7 Oct 48 Slar alSlVitzeriand 50ld 10 los Vegas Hociendo, 13 Apr 6LThen IQ Pimo

Air Museum, Tucson.

(Model 49-46-25/149)

518[ N86526 120841 22 Mar 50 I Star 01 Greece IEx·KlM (PH·TEOI. Leased 10 Eoslern Air Lines, 15Dec 56-15 May 57. NA

IModeI49-46-261

519 N6000C 2070 l4Apr50 SlorolllelVlound· Ex·KLM (PH·TAWI. Sold to Los Vegos Hociendo, 15land Moy 61

520 119412H 2072 3Jun 50 S/Qr 01 Ihe Azores Ex·Air Fronce (F·8AZAI. 50ld 10 Colilornio AirmoliveCorp., 26 Aug 59. Used as reslaurant, GreenwoodLoke, Nl 1976

521 119409H 2074 31 Moy 50 Stor 01 Egypt Ex·Air Fronce (F·SAIC). Leased 10 Lockheed, 13Apr-I 7 Moy 51. Sold 10 los Vegos Hociendo HOlel,15Moy61

522 N9410H 2073 18 Moy 50 Storol london Ex-Air France (F-BAlB). Leased 10 Eastern Air lines,28 NQV 57-18 Apr 58. IIA

523 119414H 2075 26 May 50 Slor 01 lebanon Ex·Air FrQnce (F·8AlDI. Leased to Easlern Air Lines,25 Dec 56-18 Moy 57. IIA

* This wos the oimoft in which Howard Hughes ond Jock Frye mode Iheir dramolic ond hisloric Righi' (in iusl under7 hours) lcam 8urbonk 10 Washinglon on 19 April 1944.**NA: 50ld IQ Nevodo Airmolive, 31 Mo"h 1962

54

Fleet Dale intoNo. ReQn. M5N Service Name DisPQSQI Qnd Remarks

(Model 49·46·1 0)

525 I N54214 11974118 Oct 52 1 Stor 01 Pi((odilly I Ex·U5AF (42·94553). Leased lar pilot lroining.

IModeI49-46·27)

5261 1190926120641 3 Oct 521 Slor 01 Tunis

IEx-Pon Amerimn Airwasy. tM

527 N90924 2054 7 Dec 52 5torolA/geria Ex·Pon Americon Airways. NA. Before enteringservice, used far pilollraining, 3Jun.-21 Sep. 52

(Model 49·46·19IC-69C))

548 NX54212 1971 10 Jun 46 Ex·U5AAf. Leased lar pilot troining until 30 Ju146.549 NX54214 1974 15Moy46 leased From USAAF as pilOIIrQiner; relurned 27

Jun 46. (42 flight hrs only); Redelivered 10 IW.A.as neeilio. 525 (,ee obovel

(Model 49-51-261

550 NC86505 2026 3 Dec 45 Paris Skychie( loler Cro,hed on i,lend in River fergu" neor 5hon·Navo;o Skychie( non, lrelund, 28 Oec 46

Cairo Skychiel551 NC86506 2027 lFeb46 SlarolDub/in NA552 NC865D7 2028 18Mor46 Slor 01 MQdrid Cro,hed during lraining Ilighl, NewCastle,

Skychiel DelolVQre, 18 Nov 47553 NC86508 2029 Jon 46 Slor 01 Alhens Crashed during !reining flight near (ope May,

NJ,l1 Moy47554 NC86510 2034 Jon 46 Slorol Rome Cro,hed while londing, Washinglon, D.L, 29

Mar 46555 NC86511 2035 5Feb 46 S/Qr 01 PQris, laler Cro,hed near Hinsdole, Qfter IQke·offlrom

Star 01 Dublin Chicugo(MidVloy) 15ep61'556 NC86512 2039 Mor46 Slaroflndia Cro,hed during lroining flighl near New Castle,

Oeluwore, 12 Oct 46557 NC86513 2040 Mor46 Star 01 lisbon Cro,hed during lraining flight, 3 miles norlh of

Reading, PenOlylvonio, 11 Jul4b

All 49·51·26 Modeb. excepl554 and 557, cunverled 10 49·46·26 Model, in 1946

IModeI49·46-26)

558 NC90814 2076 8 Od 46 Star of Coiro Sold 10 Nevoda Airmolive, 31 Mar 62559 NC90815 2077 24 Sep 46 Slor 01 lisbon, laler Leased 10 Eoslern Air Unes, 15 Dec 56-16 May

510r01 Delrail 57. NA560 NC90816 2078 26Sep46 Slar of Geneva NA561 NC86536 1979 3Apr47 Storol Rome Ex·USAAf 42·94558. Used by Lockheed far

lesl, wilh ",peed·pok." Leased 10 Easlern AirLines, 4 Oec 57-20 Apr 58.

Model 749 (749-79-22) (Dales are delivery dotes)

701 N91201 2577 25 Mar 48 Slor 01 NelV Yark Renomed S/Qr 01 Por/ugo/, AT702 1191202 2578 2Apr 48 Slar of Pennsylvania Renomed Slor 01 Madrid, AT703 N91203 2579 21 Apr 48 5torolDhio Renamed Star of the Riviera, AT704 1191204 2580 7 May 48 Slor 01 Indiono Renomed Slor 01 the IAQNerhorn, AT705 1191205 2581 19 May 48 S/Qr 01 Michigon Renamed Slor 01 Ito/y, AT706 1191206 2582 28 May 48 Slaroillfinois Renomed Star 01 Venice, AT707 1191207 2583 10 Jun 48 51arofMisslluri Renamed Star 01 Milon, AT708 1191208 2584 24Jun48 SlarofMassllchusetls RenQmed StarolAthens, AT709 N91209 2585 19 Jul48 Star of New Mexico RenQmed Star 01 Israel, AT710 N91210 2S86 22 Jul48 Slor 01 Delaware Renomed Slor 01 Bombay. 50ld 10 federQI Avio

lion Admini,lrolion (IQr 'pore port,) 1Apr 63711 1191211 2587 29 Jul48 Slar of Arizona Renomed Stor ollhe Suez, AT712 1191212 2588 21 Jun48 Slar 01 Co/ilornio Renamed Star 01 BoghdQd, AT

'Thi, oi"roft mode TWA', inaugurollroOl·Allonlic flight, Ilew Yark·Gonder·Shunnon·Paris (Le 80urgel) on 5 Feb 46, inablock·lo·block lim..119 hr 46m. !lA: 50ld 10 IlevQda Airmotive, 31 Mo"h 1962

Fleet DeliveryNQ. Regn. M5N Dote Name DispQsol Qnd RemQrks

Model 749A (Delivery 749A-79-521

801 116001C 2633 24 Mar 50 Star 01 New Jersey AT802 N6002C 2634 11 Apr 50 Star of Kansas Renamed Stor 01 Cre/e. 50ld 10 CHush Avio·

tion, 10 Dec 65803 N60D3C 2635 24Apr 50 Star of Texas Renamed Star of America, AT804 N6004C 2636 2May 50 Star 01 Morylond Crashed and deslroyed by fire near Wadi Nolrun

(50 miles norlh of Coiro, Egyptl, 31 Aug 50805 N6005C 2637 19Moy50 StorollielV York AT80b N600bC 2b39 29Jun50 Slar 01 Pennsylvania AT807 N6007C 2643 18 Aug 50 Slor 01 Ohio AT808 N6008C 2644 75ep 50 Slor 01 Indiana AT809 N6009C 2645 11 Sep 50 Slor 01 Michigan 50ld 10 AVIANCA. 10 Oct 59810 116010C 2646 20 Sep 50 Storoll/linois Renumed Star 01 Germony, AT811 N6011C 2647 10 Dd 50 SlarolMiwuri AT812 N6012C 2648 13 Oct 50 Slar of Massachusetls Renomed Star 01 Spain, Sold to Federol Admin·

istrolion, 20 Jul62813 N6013C 2649 24 Dd 50 Star of New Mexico Renomed5tar01 Moio"o,AT814 N6014C 2650 3 Nov 50 Star of Delaware 50ld to Cenlral Americun Airway" 5 Oct 67815 N6015C 2651 17 NQV 50 Star 01 Arizona Sold 10 CHush, 23 Mar 66. Repos",sed 19b7.

AT [6 Moy 63]816 N6016C 2654 12 Oec 50 Sior01 Co/ilorniu Sold 10 Federal Aviation Administration817 N6017C 2655 21 DeclO Slor01 Ihe Dislrielol Leased 10 Pocilic Narlhern Airlines, 17 Aug 6L

Co/umbia 50ld 10 Connie Air Lea'ing, 24 Nov 61818 116018C 2656 29 Oec SO S/Qr 01 Nevada AT819 N6019C 2657 17Jon51 Star of Minnesota AT820 N6D20C 2658 25Jon51 Slar 01 Kenlucky AT*821 116021C 2667 17 Apr 51 Slor 01 Wesl Wrginio AT822 N6022C 2668 30 Apr 51 Star of Virginia 50ld 10 Pocific Northern Airlines. 30 Jun 66823 N6023C 2669 8MoySI Star of Iowa AT824 N6024C 2670 29Moy51 StorolNebroska AT825 N6025C 2671 StorolColarado fleelnumberondnomeullocoled,buloircroft

delivered 10 Hughes Tool Compuny. Sold to8.0M, U.K.,23 Sep 54

826 116026C 2672 29Jun51 Slar of (onnectiwl AT827 N86521 2642 I Apr 54 S/Qr 01 Oregon Delivered 12 Aug 50 10 Chicogo &Soulhern Air·

lines as ory 01 Houston, Ihen Ondad Truji/lo. ToDelto Air Unes, I Moy 53, wilh merger. Can·verted from Model 649A 10 749A. Nome 1,lerchonged 10 Slor 01 C%mbo. AT

828 1186535 2673 20 Apr 54 Slor of Wisconsin Delivered 18 Moy 51 10 Chicogo &50Ulhern Air·lines. To Delto Air Lines, I Moy 53, wilh merger.Converled lrom Model 649A to 749A. RenomedStar ,I Carsiro, Ihen Star 01 Basra. AT

829 N86552 2653 IJun54 Stor 01 Woshinglon Delivered 27 Sep 50 10 Chicogo &Soulhern Air·lines. To OeltQ Air Lines, I Muy 53, wilh merger.Converted lrom Model 649A to 749A. RenumedSlar 01 Modeiro, Ihen Stor 01 DhQhran. AT

'1hi' oircraft mode TVIA:' lost scheduled commerciul COOlteliolion flight, Flight 249, on 6Apri1196/.AT: These oircroft sold to Aero·Tech Inc. in Moy, June. ond Augus11968.

This is a listing of all the 87 Constellations in TW.A.'s fleet.From the first famous delivery flight to Washington on 17April 1944 to the last one by TW.A. on 6 April 1967, 23years had elapsed. This was, in the period of the piston­engined airliners, an impressive record. The list does notinclude the Super Constellations and StaJ'liners, reviewed inthe following pages.

.....

Lockheed Super-Constellation 1049653-88 seats • 335 mph

• ....Although the 600-gallon tip tanks gave the 'Super G' a distinctiveappearance, not all of TWA s 1049Gs were so equipped. Tip tankswere used primarily for international routes.

T.W.A. had 47 Super-Constellations. 28 were the Model 1049, the "Super-G," which wasacclaimed as the one of the supreme airliners of the piston-engined dynasty. The Modell049Hseries were convertible freighters.

Fleet Dote intoNo. Regn. MSN Service Nome Disposal and Remarks

120 N7I20C 4601 17Jun.55 51arolHeliopo'is Renamed Sior 01 California. Stropped 1964121 N7121C 4648 21 Jun. 56 5tar 01 Edinburgh Over-pressurized during maintenance 01 Idlewild (later JFK) Wrinen

off. laid Cal. Airmalive, 25 Jun. 59122 N7122C 4649 1Jul.56 5tar 01 Gibrallar Sold 10 Aaron Ferer &Sons, 9 Dec. 61123 N7123C 4650 21 Jul.56 51arol51irling [Ollie Sold to Aaron Ferer &Sons, 20 Jul. 65124 N7124C 4651 I Aug. 56 51arol Amboise Sold to ColilarnioAirmotive, 29 Nov. 66121 N7125C 4652 29 Aug. 56 Star of Chenonceaux Leased to Iberia, 4Mar. 60 ("OIhed, 8arcelono, 8 Nov. 60)126 N7I26C 4654 ISep.16 Star of Inverness Sold to Colifarnio Airmoli,e, 20 Jan. 67127 N7I27C 4656 27 Sep. 56 51ar 01 Aberdeen Sold 10 Colifarnio Airmolive, 14 Dec. 66128 N7I28C 4658 29 Sep. 56 51ar 01 Rhein,'ein [aslle Sold to Aaron Ferer &Sons, 11 Au•. 65

Series 1049H1251 NIOIR 4818 13 Dec. 17 Leased lrom Resort Airlines/Colifarnio Eastern until I May 611252 Nl02R 4824 16 Oec. 57 leased from Resort Airlines/Colifornio Eostern.

Croshed Chicago (Midway) 24 Nov. 591253 116931C 4813 13 Mor. 58 Leased lrom Colilornio Eoslern unlil18 Jon. 611214 N6932C 4823 11 Mor.58 Leased lrom California Eoslern unfillO Jon. 611255 N6933C 4826 6Mor.58 Leased lrom California Eoslern unlil17 Jon. 611261 NI40lV 4839 25 Apr. 58 Sold 10 Trons Inlernolionol Airlines iliA) 2Sep. 611262 N5402V 4842 8May 58 Sold to Trons Internolionol Airlines iliA) 15 Sep. 611263 fl5403V 4844 3Jun.58 Sold 10 Trons Inlernolionol Airlines (TlA) 21 Sep 611264 NI404V 4845 6Jun. 58 Sold 10 Trons InlernolionolAiriines IlIAl 10 Sep 61

Fleet Dote intoNo. Regn. MSN Service Nome Disposal and Remarks

Series 1049 (Modell 049-54-80)901 N6901C 4015 9O,!. 52 51arallhe Thames Sold to Colilornio Hawaiian, 28 O,!. 60902 N6902C 4016 16 Aug. S2 51ar 01 Ihe 5eine CrOlhed in the Grand Canyon, 30 Jun. 56903 N6903C 4017 16 Aug. S2 51ar01 Ihe Ttber Sold 10Soulh Podli, Airlines, 1Jun. 62904 N6904C 4018 27 Aug. 52 51ar 01 the Ganges } Sold 10 Aorido Siole Tours, 7Aug. 64905 N6905C 4019 20d.52 51ar 01 the Rhone906 N6906C 4020 27 Sep. 52 51ar 01 the Rhine Sold 10 Colifarnio Airmolive, 15 Feb. 60907 N6907C 4021 18 Od. 52 51arol5icily Crashed, New Yark City, 16 0". 60908 N6908C 4022 27 Sop. 52 51ar 01 Britain

} Sold 10 Flarido Siole Tours, 7Aug. 64909 N6909C 4023 26 Od. 52 51ar 01 Ttpperary910 Nb910C 4024 3 Nov. 52 51ar 01 fronkfurt

Series 10496 (Modell 0496-82-11 0)101 N7101C 4582 21Sep.55 51ar 01 Balmaral Cro,hed otChi"go (Midway), 29 Feb. 60102 N7I02C 4583 17 Mar. 55 51ar 01 Windsor Temparorily named The Uniled 5101es. Flew inougurol Super

Gservice, 30 Mo"h 1955. Stropped, 4Feb. 64103 N7103C 4584 14Mor.55 5tar 01 Buckingham Sold 10 Aaron Ferer &Sons, 3May 65104 N7104C 4585 17 Mar. 55 51ar 01 Blarney [aslle Sold 10 Aaron Ferer &Sons, 1Sep. 65105 N7105C 4586 14 Mar. 55 51ar 01 Cham6ard Sold 10 California Airmolive, 12 0". 66106 117106C 4587 23 Apr. 55 51ar 01 [eylan Sold 10 California Airmolive, 4Jon. 67107 N7107C 4588 I Apr. 55 Slar of (orcassome Scrapped 7 Nov. 63108 N7I08C 4589 31 Mar. 55 Slar of Segovia Sold 10 Aaron Ferer& Sons, 25 Jun. 65109 N7109C 4590 21 Apr. 55 Slar of Granaaa Sold 10 California Airmolive, 10 Nov. 61110 N7110C 4591 8Moy55 51arolEscariai Scrapped 14 Apr. 64111 N7111C 4592 10 May 55 51arolTo/edo lold 10 Calilornio Airmolive, 4Jon. 67112 N7l12C 4193 11 May II 51ar 01 Versailles Sold 10 Calilornia Airmolive, 5OeL 66113 N7l13C 4594 11 Moy51 5tar 01 fanlainebleou laid 10 California Airmotive, II Feb. 67114 N7l14C 4195 2Jun. 15 5tar 01 Manl 51. Michael Sold 10 Aaron Ferer &lon" 13 Jul. 65115 N7l1IC 4596 29 May 55 5tar al [hillan Cro,hed 01 New York (JFK) 26 Jon. 66116 N7l16C 4197 4Jun; 55 51ar 01 Heidelberg Stropped 8Apr. 64117 N7117C 4598 5Jun. 55 5taroiKenilworth Sold 10 Aaron Ferer &Ions, I Od.65118 N7l18C 4599 9Jun. 55 Star of (apri Scrapped, 11 Jan. 64119 N7l19C 4600 I Jul55 5tar al Rialto Scrapped 10 Jun. 64

The oircrah sold 10 Aaron Ferer &Sons were resold and scropped at Tucson. The oircroh sold to Colifarnio Airmotive were mapped 01 Fox Field, I.on"sler.

EnginesMGTOWMax. Range

Wright 972TC Turbo-compounds (3,250 hp) x 4137,500 lb.3,SOO miles

LengthSpanHeight

114 feet123 feet25 feet

55

Artist's NoteT.WA. S C-82 was substantially modifiedfrom its original post-World War Twoconfiguration. Note the modem avionicsantennae and J-34 jet engine podmounted above the fuselage.

!'WA

•

Payload 12,000 lb. • 170 mph

Fairchild (-82A Packet

After twelve years of faithful service, un-noticed by the mecl.ia as the Jet Age was augmentedby the 747s and other more publicity-worthy wide-bodied giants, the '''Thing'' was retired on 13 Jan­uary 1972, and sold the following year to an Ametican airborne delivery flim, Btiles Rotor &Wings.

77 feet107 feet26 feet

LengthSpanHeight

Pratt & Whitney R2-800-85 (2,100 hp) x 254,000 lb.500 miles

EnginesMGTOWRange

The (-82Larry Trimble, TW.A.'s operational chief in Paris, found the answer in a twin-boomedFairchild C-82 Packet which he discovered in Tel Aviv in 1956. It took eight months of work,with much overtime, totalling 10,000 man-hours, to 'civilianize' the C-82. To increase the load­carrying capability and airfield performance, a Westinghouse 3,250-lb- thrust J-34 jet enginewas installed on top of the fuselage for auxiliary power, and to raise the take-off weight to54,000 lb. A Volkswagen engine APU (auxiliary power unit) was also installed to power anelectric windlass to haul aboard the disabled engines.

The ThingThe C-82's perfOlmance was sluggish and the airplane was not easy to handle. Compared tothe elegant Constellations, it was distinctly unhandsome. The crews named it Ontos, which isthe Greek word for "Thing." Ugly duckling it may have been; but it did its job well, enteringservice with TW.A. In 1957, it was registered, as a matter of local convenience, ET-T-12,which had been the Ethiopian number for the displaced C-47. Ethiopian was one of the airlinesthat TW.A. was closely associated with, either as part-owner or as technical and operationaladviser. Eventually, Ontos was certificated by the FA.A. on I March 1960, and registered asN9701 F It carried engines everywhere throughout the eastern hemisphere, flying regularly toManila, Bombay, and Nairobi, with Constellation rephicement engines. In 1968 alone, nowhauling Boeing 707 engines too, there were 68 unscheduled overseas engine replacements

Engine ProblemsElegant though the Constellation was, and impressive though its performance, this fine airlinerdid have its problems, not least because its designers were always trying to advance the levelsof technology. One of the main problems was the Wright R-3350 turbo-compound engines,which consistently gave trouble, to the extent that Claude Girard, the senior pilot of the relieftruck, described on this page, claimed that the crews "logged more flying time on three enginesthan four." At first, a C-47 was based in Paris to ship the piston engines to distant points, asT.W.A. had spread its wings to the far corners of Europe and southern Asia. But with the JetAge approaching, with much larger engines, the decision was made to base a specializedengine-carrier in Paris.

(Photo courtesy Roger Bentley collection)

S6

Lockheed 1649A Starliner64-88 seats • 340 mph

~

• • • ••

116 feet150 feet25 feet

LengthSpanHeight

Wright 998TC (3,400 hp) x 4156,000-160,000 lb.

4,000 miles

EnginesMGTOWRange

The nomes ollocoled 10 Fleel Nos. 310 onl'lordsl'lere nol disployed on the oircroft.

ultimate piston-engined airline flagship, and, as shown in the following pages, was roomyenough to offer several classes of service, and able to compete with Pan American's first-class­only Stratocruisers.

Fleet Date infoNo. Regn. MSN Service Name Disposal and Remorsk

316 N7316C 1018 28 Jun 58 Star of the Tigris Converted 10 freighler, Nov. 60. Sold 10 Alosko Airlines, 31 Dec 62317 N7317C 1019 1Jul57 Star 01 the Clyde Converted 10 freighter, Dcl 60. Sold 10 Colifornio Airmolive, 11 Aug 67

318 N7318C 1021 30 Jul57 Star of the Arno Sold to Bush Aviolion, 27 Der 65

319 N7319C 1022 26 Jul57 Stor 01 the loire Converled to freighter, Nov 60. Sold 10 Bush Aviolion, 10 Moy 66.320 N7320C 1023 27 Jul 57 Star of the Avon Sold to Tronsotlontico IArgenlino), 11 Aug 61. Recloimed ond sold fo Bush

Aviotion, 15 Dec 65321 N7321 C 1024 2Aug 57 Sfor 01 the Euphrates Sold to Bush Aviolion, 8 Drl 65322 N7322C 1025 30 Jul57 Sfar of the Po Converfed to freighter, Dec 60. Sold 10 Colilornio Airmotive, 29 Aug 67323 N7323C 1029 16 Aug 57 Sfar of the Aegean Converted to freighter, Apr 61. Sold 10 Bush Aviotion, 9 Dec 65324 N7324C 1030 24 Aug 57 Sfar of the Oonube Converted to freighter, Apr 61. Sold 10 Aero-Tech, 24 Moy 68

325 N7325C 1035 17 Sep 57 Star of fhe Meuse Sold 10 Arizono Aircroft &Porls, 30 Sep 66326 N8083H 1038 18 Moy 58 Model-98-16. Built for Sold 10 Alosko Airlines, 31 Dec 62327 N8082H 1037 1Moy 58 Un.. Aeree Itolione Sold 10 Bush Aviotion, 26 Ort 65328 N8084H 1039 4Moy 58 Il.AU but nol deliv· Sold 10 Aero-Tech, 13 Jun 68329 N8081 H 1026 30 Jun 58 ered. Converted to Used os engine corrier Jun 62-Dec 66. Sold fo Colifornio Airmotive,

freighters, Mor 61. 6Sep 67

The final development of the famous Constellation series of airliners was the Model 1649A,introduced by TW.A. on 1 OJune 1952. At first it was called the Super Star Constellation (byLockheed). TW.A. called it the "Jetstream Starliner", possibly to try to persuade passengersthat this aircraft was as good as any of the jets that were about to enter service in 1958, or thelong-range turboprop Bristol Britannia that was outpacing the piston-engined airliners inspeed, comfort, and low noise level. But this name gave way to the Starliner, which fittedneatly with the names of the individual aircraft in TW.A.'s fleet. It was a fine performer, ableto cross the Atlantic from New York to Paris or London nonstop in both directions. It was the

lockheed 16494 Starliner (Model 16494·98·20 except as noted)Fleet Date intoNo. Regn. MSN Service Nome Disposol and Remarks

301 N7301 C 1002 8Sep S7 Star 01 Wyoming Model·98-11. Sold 10 8ush Aviolion, 14 Drl 63302 N7302C 1003 2Jun 57 Star 01 Utah Model-98-09. Sold 10 Bush Aviolion, 21 Orl65303 N7303C 1004 1Jun 57 Star 01 Vermont Model-98-23. Scropped 24 Sep 62304 N7304C 1005 14 Jun 57 Star 01 Rhode Island Model-98-01 Sold 10 Bush Aviotion, 28 Orl 65305 N7305C 1006 1Jun 57 Stor 01 Idaho Model-98-09. Sold 10 Tronsotlontiro (Argentino) 12 Sep 60306 N7306C 1007 1Jun 57 Sfar 01 Maryland Model-98-09. Tempororily nomed Spirit of SI. louis. Scropped 26 Ap. 62

307 N7307C 1008 3Jun 57 Star 01 Montana Model·98-09. Sold to Transotlontico (Argentino) 3Oct 60. Recloimed by TWA. Nov61. Sold to F.A.A.12 Feb 64

308 N7308C 1009 2Jun 57 Star 01 Oklahoma Model-98-22. Sold to Tronsotlontico. 30 Aug 61. Recloimed Nov 61. Sold for scrop10 Arizono Porls & Spores 30 Sep 66

309 N7309C 1010 3Jun 57 Star 01 Maine Model-98-22. Sold to Arizono Ports & Spors, 30 Sep 66310 N7310C 1012 21 Dec 57 Stor 01 Kansas Model-98·22. Sold to Delto Aircroft & Equipment 29 Apr 64311 N7311C 1013 4Jun 57 Sfar 01 the Ebro Converled to freighter, Oct 60. Sold 10 Colifornio Airmotive, 20 Sep 67312 N7312C 1014 17 Jun 57 Sfar 01 the Elbe Sold to Arizono Aircroft & Porls, 30 Sep 66313 N7313C 1015 1Jun 57 Sfar of the Severn Croshed 01 Milon, Itoly, 26 Jun 59314 N7314C 1016 1Jul57 Star of the Shannon Sold 10 Morol Reormomenl Corp. 10 Dec 65315 N7315C 1017 27 Jun 57 Star of the Tagus Converled 10 freighler, Dec 60. Sold 10 Colifornio Airmotive, 22 Aug 67

57

Constellation Scrapbook

This early Model 049 in 1945, carried the words Trans World Airline.

The Model1049'sjuselage was lengthened, to become the Super Constellation.

This Model1049G "Super G" at Kansas City in 1998. It has been restoredby the Save A Connie group oj devotees. (courtesy Pete Barrett)

58

This vastly improved Model 749A Constellation served TWA. jor seventeen years.

Ultimate development was the Model 1649, Starliner called the "letstream Starliner" by TWA.

This Model 749A (N6019C Star of Minnesota) at Taif, Saudi Arabia (where TWA. wasadvising the national airline) on the high desert sand. (courtesy Stephen Geronimo)

Constellation Commentary

(l) Range of Seating indicated. IWA. hod s(Ores of different layouts (2) First international service: S-6 Feb 46 (3) With rodar nose (4) for USAAF

First Flight T.W.A Seats Cruise Speed DimensionsModel Dote First Service (T.W.A}(I) mph Length (It) Span (It) MGTOW (lb.) Wright Engines Remarks

C·69 9Jon 43 Feb 45 (4) 42·60 280 95 123 82,000 R-3350-35 (BA-l) Flown by Orville Wright in 1944

049 12 Jul45 31 Jon 46 (2) 43·51 280 95 123 86,250 745C18 BA-3

649 19 Oct 46 - 44-64 285 95 123 94,000 749C18 BO-l I W.~ (Oncelled 18 orderswhen t e pilots went on strike

749 Mar 47 Apr 4B 44-64 298 95 123 102,000-107,000 749CI BBO-l TWA. reins\ated some649 (Oncel ed orders

1049 130ct50 16 Aug 52 52-77 320 114 123 120,000 975ClB CE-l First with turbo·campound engines

1049G 12 Dec 54 14 Mar 55 53-92 335 114 123 137,500 972TCI BA-3 nonstop trans(OntinentalFirst with wing-tip tanks

1649A 11 Oct 56 1Jun 57 64-88 342 116 (3) 150 156,000-160,000 988TC18 EA-2 nonsto~ trans-Atlantic(New ork-london)

Global AffiliationsThe Lockheed Constellation created an airliner dynasty. Itsoperational life with TW.A. also coincided with a periodduring which the airline, under Hughes's enterprising leader­ship, and Jack Frye's and Ralph Damon's presidencies,aspired to challenge the incumbent international ChosenInstrument, the great Pan American Airways. Pan Am'sleader, Juan Trippe, was almost omnipotent, but HowardHughes was a worthy opponent. In addition to the technicaland operational irritants with which TW.A. Constellationsconstantly provoked Pan Am's Douglases, Hughes andFrye-taking a leaf out of Trippe's own book-expandedtheir operational territory and influence by either buying into,or assisting in operational and managerial support of quite anumber of foreign airlines. Interestingly, the benefits forTW.A. during those exploratory years appear to have been anearly example of shareholding interests, quasi-alliances, andcode-sharing agreements that are with us today.

p .....TWA F. . . orelan Ir Ine ar ICI la IonAirline Dote of Details of Affiliation

Initial Interest

TACA (Panama) 50ct43 TWA. shore in U.S. eraup?c~rticipatian22%. Reduced in Fe 49. adtoWaterman Steamship Company, 1951

Aerovias Brasil 5Oct 43 A~uired with TA~ w~ich controlled.I .A. interest re uce to 9%, 11 Jon 47,w en 8razilian investors bought TACAstock. TWA. interest withdrawn 1950

8ritish Wesllndies 5Oct 43 AC1uired with T~~. IW.A. i~terest reducedAirways (B.W.I.A.) in 947, and so to Trinida Government

in 1952

Philippine Air lines Aug 45 ~reem~nt with Col. Soriano, 194&. TWA.s are~a ding 40%, 10 J~n 46. ~e uced to2% w en ast shores sol, More 1968

Hawaiian Airlines May 44 TWA. purchased 20% stock. Sold in 194B

Technical and Aeronautical 6Apr 46 TWA. sharehaldi~ 35%. Irrest reducedExploitation Co. (IAJ.) to 15%, Ju7c 51. ores so to Aristotle

(Greece) Onassis, 1 on 57

Ethiopian Airlines 26 Dec 45 rrchni(Ol.and managemew assi~~nce. NoInanCial Interest. Gradua ywit rown

Saudi Arabian Airlines 20 5ep 46 ~echnical and management assistance. Noinanrial interest. Arrangement lasted for

almost 40 years

linee Aeree Italione (l.A.I.) 16 Sep 46~~~~i~Rrblit,ed with 40% TWA.g Re uced to 30% in 1952.

when l.A.!. merged with Alitalia

lronian Airways 260cl46 Campanrc forme~ with 10% TWA.shaheha ding on management (Ontract.Wit drown whe~ lronian Governmentrearganized air ine in 1949

Trons Mediterranean 4Aug 64 Organized engine averhaul shop. TechnicalAirwa~ (IM.A.) management (Ontroct, 12 November 1966

(le anon)

Elegant DevelopmentThe curvaceous Connies were always a picture of elegance,even though the engineers preferred the relative simplicity ofthe parallel-fuselage Douglas DC-6Bs. Its performance, inspeed and range, could not be surpassed. Each stage of devel­opment, with increased engine power, increased tankage, andincreased all-up weight: all these permitted higher payloads,longer range, and modest increases in speed. These resulted,for TW.A., the claim to have flown the first non-stoptranscontinental scheduled service, and later, the first non­stop trans-Atlantic service on a regular and sustained basis.

The MemoryAlong with the Douglas DC-7C "Seven Seas," the 1649Abegan to bow out when the Bristol Britannia "WhisperingGiant" came on the scene in 1957. It was bigger, smoother,and faster than any of the Constellations. Howard Hugheswould have bought 20 Britannias, had he known about themsooner, and if Bristol had been able to deliver them at shortnotice. But the death-knell was the an'ival of the jet airliners.The harbinger was the ill-fated Comet J in J952-54, then theComet 4 and the dominating Boeing 707 in October 1958. Allthe piston-engined propeller airliners disappeared from theworld's main air routes in an extraordinarily short time. PanAmerican, especially, covered the globe, and all the U.S. air­lines brought the jets into service very quickly.

But the memory remains. The Save-a-Connie AirlineHistory Museum at Kansas City (formerly known as theSave-a-Connie Foundation) volunteer organization preservesthat memory with a beautifully-restored 1049H, which is keptin flying condition, more than four decades after it was firstbuilt (see picture, page 58)

Constellation Models

Spanning an EraLike its Douglas rivals, the Lockheed Constellation, from itsfirst military Model C-69 to its ultimate development, theModel 1649A, was truly representative of the entire genera­tion of four-piston-engined airliners that dominated theairline scene for a dozen years after the Second World War.They had their troubles and the turbo-compound engines inthe later models were a continual problem. Pan Americanonce flew a Connie from New York to Burbank on threeengines, just to change the fourth. TW.A. kept an engine­carrying airplane in Paris for several years to service thefrequent replacement needs in Europe and beyond (see page56). But, supported energetically by TW.A. throughout itslife-span, Lockheed kept pace with technological progress,and was often the front-runner. The 1649A Starliner, or"Jetstream Starliner", was the ultimate long-range piston­engined airliner. One version, the turboprop Model 1249Anever went into service, but with a speed of 440 mph, couldclaim to be the fastest propeller-driven airliner ever built.

Distinguished CompanyOne claim for the record books, if not fame, was of an inci­dent in 1944, soon after Hughes and Frye had presented theC-69 to the Washington hierarchy. It had been flown to theWright-Patterson Air Force Base at Dayton, the home of theWright brothers. Orville Wright was invited to take a ride.Not only that, he spent half an hour in the pilot's seat, thusgiving the Constellation the honor of being the only com­mercial airliner to have been flown by the pioneer of flight,who first took to the air on 7 December 1903 at Kitty Hawk,North Carolina.

59

DC-3 ReplacementPost-war ProblemsWhen the Second World War ended, the leading airlines rushed to put into service the newlonger-ranged airliners that had been stimulated by technical advances during the war, as wellas by the commercial pre-war design innovations that had been frustrated by wartime needs.TW.A.'s Stratoliners were recalled from the military, and the C-69 Constellations and C-54Skymasters were quickly refurbished with comfortable seating layouts. The emphasis was onthe main inter-city routes; but the networks dated back to the 1930s, and with the "grandfather"route certificates in 1938, the airlines had sought, and the C.A.B. had granted, full service con­tracts to serve almost every city in the U.S.A. that was big enough to have an airport.

The problem was that many of the cities-and there were dozens of these-were too smallto generate enough passengers, mail, or freight to justify service by such mainliners as the Con­stellation. Other cities were able to generate the traffic, but did not have the airfields to cope withthe four-engined types. Also the airlines themselves chose to deploy their best equipment on theprestige routes, which generated the highest revenues. And so the veteran Douglas DC-3, obtain­able as conversions from military C-47s, C-53s, and other DC-3 variants, and which could landor take off almost anywhere, was in great demand to back up their newer brethren in the fleet.

Life in the Old DogThe old Douglas DC-3 "Gooney Bird" was the obvious choice, as there were thousands ofthem. TW.A. alone had 96 altogether-a large fleet during that period. Under the C.A.B. man­date, and like the other trunk airlines, it had to serve the smaller points, or lose its certificatefor the whole route. Exemptions were sometimes granted, but every one had to be argued sep­arately, in an often protracted series of meetings in Washington. Later, during the 1950s, theLocal Service airlines were established, and these provided the answer to the problem for sev­eral decades, relieving the trunk airlines from the obligation of providing "whistle stops" onprestigious point-to-point services.

But this took time, and this is why TW.A. continued to keep the old DC-3s in service. BillHalliday recalls that in 1947 "T.W.A. was flying so many DC-3s that as we approached Amar­illo to turn westward to Albuquerque (at night) we could see the flight ahead of us headed westand after we had completed our turn, we could look back and see the flight behind us."

DC·3 ReplacementWhile Douglas, Lockheed, and Boeing were concerned with providing the front-line fleets, itwas left to other manufacturers to come up with a formula for a modern airliner to replace theDC-3s which, even if they were not too old, were regarded by air travelers as old-fashioned andobsolescent. Postwar airliners needed, at the very least, a pressurized cabin, tricycle landinggear, on-board amenities such as ample luggage and coat space, good lavatories, and above all,faster speed. Two manufacturers came to the fore to meet this requirement: Martin, with itsModel 202, and Convair, with its Model 240.

At the Martin plant in Baltimore, Allan Roshkind and his team started work on the Martin202 (at first called the Mercury) immediately after Japan surrendered. But this 36-seat designwas unpressurized, and its first customer, American Airlines, changed its mind and orderedConvair-Liners instead. Nevertheless, by the end of 1945, Martin had orders for 155 aircraftand the 202 made its first flight on 22 November 1946, four months ahead of the Convair-Liner.United had ordered a pressurized version, the Model 303, but this was cancelled.

60

This Martin 404, Skyliner Louisville, displays its registration number unusually, reading downwards onthe vertical stabilizer.

The Martin 202A went into service on 1 September 1950, to relieve the DC-3s on TWA.'s shorter routes.It carried 36 passengers, had a 3-man crew, and cruised at 220 mph. Its built-in boarding stairs, includ­ing a ventral access at the rem; accelerated boarding and disembarking at the "whistle-stops." This pic-

ture is ofSkyliner San Francisco.

r

Martin 202Problems with the 202The launch customer for the Martin 202 had been Northwest Airlines, which had picked upthe first-in-Iine privilege when Pennsylvania-Central had to withdraw because of financialstringency. The Minneapolis airline opened service by October, but was to regret the choice. Ithad a series of accidents, some of which were caused by a weakness in the wing structure. Afterthe first one, on 29 August 1948, the 202 was grounded by the C.A.A.; and thereafter, in 1950and early 1951, more accidents (not all attributed to the aircraft) resulted in the Northwestpilots refusing to fly them again.

T.W.A.'s ChoiceThe competition between Martin and Convair was intense, as orders for hundreds of aircraftwere in their sights. The performance characteristics between the two types (Martin hadupgraded the first design with pressurization) were very similar. During 1949, HowardHughes himself, together with his new president, Ralph Damon, and Bob Rummel, newly­promoted to chief engineer, conducted exhaustive tests on both the Martin 404 and the Con­vair 240. Hughes liked the Martin better, telephoned Eddie Rickenbacker of Eastern AirLines, and ordered 100 404s. 60 were for Eastern (whose route structure was ideal for the 40­seater) and 40 for TW.A. Hughes took one for himself. TW.A.'s contract was signed on 22February 1950. Pending deliveries, which would take a couple of years, Hughes leased a dozenof the earlier, 202s, modified as Martin 202A. During its service life through the 1950s, onlyone 404 was lost (see fleet list, page 62), and the reason could hardly be blamed on the manu­facturer. The 404s followed into service on 10 November 1951, and served T W.A. well, in theshadow of the Constellations, for a whole decade.

The MGl1in404, with aile more IVIV ofseats than the 202, served T.WA. throughout the 1950s, startingservice on 10 November 1951. This is a picture ofSkylineI' Baltimore, recognizing the city where it was built.

Ralph Damon joined T.W.A. on 1 January 1949. A veteran airlineadministrator, he had been president of Curtiss-Wright in 1932, andbecame vice-president and later general manager and president ofAmerican Airlines for 13 years. He was 'drafted' in 1941 and for twoyears supervised production at Republic Aviation. In 1953, PresidentEisenhower appointed him to the National Advisory Committee forAeronautics, but he did not complete the five-year term. For six yearshe was the ideal partner for Howard Hughes, complementing, with hismanagerial experience, the intuition and enterprise of his mercurialchief. During the festive season after Christmas, 1955, he attended aceremony in Times Square, New York, in bad winter weather. This wasto exhibit a huge T.W.A. Constellation replica, floodlit, and with itsown lights. He caught pneumonia and died on 4 January 1956. Hisdeath was a great loss not only for T.W.A., but for the U.S. airline

industry as a whole.

61

The Second LineMARTIN 202A FLEET MARTIN 404 FLEET

Fleet Date intoNo. Regn. MSN Servi,e Name Disposal and Remarks

211 N93201 14071 II1ep50 Skyliner San Francisco laid 10 Allegheny Airliens, 15 Apr 58.Several subsequenl owners, suapped1977

212 N93202 14072 I Sep 50 Sky/iner Oak/and Sold 10 (olilornia Airmolive, 17 lui 59.l<rupped aher ground occidenl, 8ur·bank, 21 Aug 59

213 N93203 14073 2Sep 50 Sky/iner Fresno Said 10 Allegheny Airliens, 31 0" 58.Severolsubsequenlowners,scropped1977

214 N93204 14074 II Sep 50 Sky/iner Burbank Sold 10 (olifornio Airmolive, 17 Ju159.WithAliegheny,luI61-Jun 66. Sialic"hibil at Avialion Hall of Fame, Teler·boro, NJ

115 N931051 14075 1Sep 50 Ikyliner los Ange/es t.ased 10 Pacific Air Unes, 9Apr 5S-17Jun 59. Sold 10 (alif.Air 17 Ju~ 59.Wilh Allegheny, lui 61-lun 66; alsowilh Provincelawn·8oslan/Naples Air·lines, and loler with CAM8A, Bolivia

116 N93106 14076 1Sep50 Sky/iner Phoenix leosed 10 Pocific Air lines, 14 Jan-1May 59. leosed 10 Allegheny Airlines,13 Jun 59. and sold 10 Allegheny 1Od 59. Several subsequent owners,inc. Soulheasl Airlines

217 N93207 14077 IIep50 Sky/iner los Vegos Sold 10 AII'!Iheny I Sep 61. Severalowners

218 N93108 14078 11ep50 Skyliner Albuquerque leosed 10 Pocific Air lines, 24 0"58-2 May 59.leosed 10 AlleghenyAirlines, 5Jun 59 and sold 10Allegheny, I Od59. Wilh Alleghenyunlil Jan 66. Several owne". l<rapped1972

219 N93209 14079 10 Sep 50 Sky/iner SonIa Fe Sold 10 (alifornia Airmo!ive, 17 Ju159.Wilh ANegheny, Jun-Aug 66. Severalowners

220 N93110 14080 241ep50 Skyliner Amarillo leased 10 Allegheny Airlines, 21 Nov58 ond sold 10 Allegheny, 310" 58.Wilh Allegheny unlil Jon 66. Severalovmm. S<rapped 1977

211 N93211 14081 30 Sep 50 5kyliner lancosler Crashed 01 Greater Cincinnati Airportin mid-aircollisionwith 0(·3, 12Jan55

222 N93212 14082 10 Oct 50 Sky/iner Hannibal, laid 10 ANegheny Airlines, 31 0" 58.laler Sky/iner Denver Wilh Allegheny unli11966. Several

owners.

All airerah leosed lrom Marlin, unlil purchased on (213, 215, 216, 119-111) 10 Apr 51 and (111, 111, 114,117·218) I May 52

MARTIN 202 FLEET

1193049 9131 }N93047 9133 Acquired on 30 Jun 60 from Soulhwesl Airways (Ialer Pocific Air linesl in lrodeN93056 9146 for Marlin 404s. Never operaled by T.W.A. 9131-9149 sold 10 Morlin Air Leos·N93060 9149 ing, Inc., 17 Nov 61; 9161 sold 10 Delia Aireraft & Engine (ompany, BSep 60N93041 9161

62

Flee Date intaNo. Regn. MSN Servi,e Name Disposal and Remarks

401 N40401 14101 10 Feb 51 Skyliner Ba/limore Fi"l TWA. airerah wilh Hughes Ter·roin Warning indicolor. laid 10 Pied·moniAiriines 9Jon 61.Wrillen offalWilminglon, Delaware, 11 Aug 61

401 N404D1 14101 1 Feb 51 Skyliner Indianapo/is, laid 10 Easl (oasl Flying lervice, 18loler Ikyliner Chirog Jun 61. Then 10 Piedmonl, 1Feb 65;

Mark Aero. Stlouis, 1972-74.l<rapped 1Ju176.

403 N40403 14103 10 Nov 51 Sky/iner Pillsburgh (roshed Pillsburgh, 1Apr 56404 N40404 14104 30 Nov 51 Skyliner Philadelphia (rashed las Vegas, 15 Nov 56405 N40405 14105 60" 51 Sky/iner New York laid 10 PiedmonlAiriines, 1 Feb 61.

Wilh Piedmonl unlill969. leverolowners

406 N40406 14106 130" 51 Sky/iner Washinglon 0 laid 10 (alifornia Airmotive 15 Feb 60.leosed 10 Hugbes Tool (0. for rodarlesling. 18 Feb 6D--Feb 61. WilbPiedmonl Airlines, 1 Feb 65-0" 69.Allnnlic Soulheosl Airlines 1971.

407 N40407 14107 140" 51 Skyliner Indianopo/is 10ldtoPiedmonl,31 lui 61. Soulh·ellS', May 72; Provincefown-Basion/Naples Airlines, 6Jon 76

408 N40408 14108 150" 51 Sky/iner (o/umbus laid 10 pacific Air Unes, 16 \ep 60.Then 10 Piedmant 9Apr 66--Mar 71Several owners, inc. Valley Mortin,Inc.,uopdusling

409 N40409 14113 1B Dec 51 Sky/iner Dayton leased 10 Pacilic, 14 Apr 60 and Ihensold 10 pacific 30 Jun 60.Wilh U.S.Alomic (ommission, las Vegns, 1967·76. In 1996,fuselogetruckedloFresno for "hounted house" attraction

410 N4D41D 14114 3Jon 51 Skyliner Oncinnafi SoldloPiedmonl,31 Jul61. WilbPiedmonl until 1968

411 !l4D4l1 14115 15 Jon 52 Iky/iner SI. louis Sold 10 Piedmonl, 31 lui 61. WithPiedmonl unlil1970

412 N40411 14116 17Jan51 Skyliner Wheeling laid 10 (alifornia Airmotive, 11 Mar60. Monlex Drilling Co. 11 Mar 60.leveral owners. (rashed, Atlonla, 30May 70.

413 N40413 14117 11 May 51 Skyliner Louisville laid 10 Piedmonl11 Nov 61.PBA/Naples, 1976

414 N4D414 14118 1Jun51 5ky/iner Boston, loler laid 10 Piedmonl, 31 lui 61. Several5ky/iner Dayton ownersafter 1971. Used far fire drill

01 SLlouis, 19B8415 N40415 14119 1Jun51 Skyliner Albany Sold 10 Piedmont, 31 Ju161. Several

owners after 1973, inc. P8A/Noples1976

416 N40416 14110 1Jun51 Sky/iner Binghamton (rashed on landiaMountoin, Albu·querque, 19 Feb 55

417 1/40417 14113 3Jun51 Skyliner 1f1l1iomspor Sold 10 Piedmont, 31 Ju161. leveralowners after 1968, incAIlanlicloulb·easl

418 1140418 14114 3Jun51 Skyliner Newark SoldloPiedmonl, 31 Jul 61. SeveralownersoNer 1968, inc. Frontier Air-ways, in Californio/lIs cropdusler.

Fleet Date intoNo. Regn. MSN Service Name Disposal and Remarks

419 N40419 14115 13Jun51 Skyliner Wilminglon Used by Martin, 5-10lun 51, far grassweighllesling.loldloPiedmonl, 31 Ju161.Severol owners after 1972, and registered inHaili

410 1140410 14116 7Jun 51 Sky/iner Allenlown Sold 10 Piedmonl, 31 Jul 61. 5everal ownersafter Apr 69

411 N40411 14117 14 Jun 51 Sky/iner Harrisburg, Sold 10 Piedmonl, 31 lui 6I. After lIov 69loler Sky/iner wilh U.S. Aircroft Sales and AIIontic louthea~.

Washinglon In 19B8 reporledly used for smuggling inBahamas

411 N40411 14118 19Jun51 5ky/iner Konsos Cily Sold 10 Pacific Air lines, 16 lep 60. leveralowners after 1968

413 N4D413 14119 10 Jun 51 Sky/iner Reading Sold 10 Piedmont Airlines, 31 Jul61. Severalowners oher 1971, inc P8A/Noples ond Son·liago Freighl'" (HI·5011

414 N40414 14130 20 Jun 51 Sky/iner Ta/edo Sold 10 Piedmont Airliens, 31 Jul61. leverolownel"$oher Jul68, inc. Southeast andP8A/Naples, Nov 75

415 N40415 14131 1BJun51 Sky/iner Zanesville, Sold 10 (,lifarni, Airmolive, 14 Mar 59; Ihenlaler Sky/iner faslon to Houston Lumber, before Piedmont Airlines

May 66--Apr 69. Several owners, inc Soulb·easl and PBA/Naples. 1971-1978, tben 10Beringuen Air leasing.

416 N40416 14131 4lul51 Sky/iner Manslie/d, Sold to Remmert Werner {Beldex (orp.) 11laler Sky/iner Feb 59, Iben 10 Kew,nee Oil Co. From 1971

Belhlehem 10 1976 wilh Danny Davis and Ihe Nasbville8rass b'nd.ln 19B8 with Dade (ounly PublicSchool Sysfem, (]S instrucfionol airframe.

417 N40417 14133 l1Jul51 5ky/iner Farl Wayne leased 10 pacific Air lines, 15 Apr 60 andsold 10 Pacific 3D Jun 60. Several subsequenlowners. (rashed 1\ep 74, Narfolk, VA

418 N40418 14134 16Jul51 Skyliner Soulh Bend laid 10 OUlboard Morine (arp., Milwaukee.Travel dub in 1970. \everal owners. RepOrledwilb CAlABA, Bolivia (CP·1318) 198B

419 N40419 14135 17 Jul51 Skyliner Pearia laid 10 (alifornia Airmotive, 10 Mar 59. Sev·erolowners, inc lun and Wind (0., 19B8U.S. Aircraft Sales Dec 68. Allantic Soulheosl,1971

430 N40430 14136 11 Jul51 Sky/iner Quincy laler laid 10 Piedmonl Airlines, 31 Ju161. US. Air·kyliner Oklahoma City craft lales Dec 68. Allanlic Soulheasl, 1971.

431 N40431 14166 13 Jul51 Skyliner Terre Haute Sold to (alifornia Airmotive, 4Aug 59. WitbPiedmonl Airlines, Nov 64-Sep 6B. Severalowne", inc AIIantic loulbeasl, 1971

431 N40431 14167 15Jul52 Sky/iner Detrail leased 10 Pacific Airlines, 11 Nov 59, 'nd soldto Pacific 30 Jun 60. Severol owners, inc.(AMBA, 80livia, 198B I(P·15701

433 N40433 141bB 14 Aug 52 Sky/iner Cleve/and Sold 1o Piedmanl Airliens, 31 lui 61434 1140434 14169 10 Aug 51 Sky/iner Topeka Sold To Essex ProdudionslFrank Sinalra)

IN710EI 11 Jun 61. Severalsubsequenlowners. Icrapped otSt.louis, Jul76

43S 1140435 14170 11 Aug 51 Sky/iner Wichilo Sold to Pan·Air Trading lar COPA, Panama, 1Feb 61 IHP·302). Then 10 Piedmanl Airlines,Oct 65. (rashed, Ilew Bern, N(, 10 Nov 66

436 N40436 14171 19 Aug 51 5kyliner Wi/kes·Barre leased 10 Pacific Air lines, 1B Jan 60, andater Skyliner Scranton sold to Pacific 30 lun 60. Several subsequenl

owners.

Martin 40440 seats • 280 mph

~•

AIRI.INES

·····TWA

The 404 differed visually from its 202 predecessor bythe addition of one extra cabin window, and theabsence of the cockpit 'eyebrow' window.

Fleet Date intoNo. Regn. MSN Servile Name Disposal and Remarks

437 1140437 14172 - - Oelivered 10 Hughes Tool Co. 4Sep S2. Sold25 Mar 55. 5everol owners in LolinAmerico,inc Bolivio (CP·1704)

43B 1140438 14173 30 Aug S2 Sky/iner Endicott Leased 10 Pocll;, Air Unes, 12 Jon 60, ondsold 10 Pocili,. 30 Jun 60. Severol olVnersfrom 1967, inc lIevodo Airlines, "hen ilcroshed 01 Grond Conyon Airport, 16 Nov 79

439 N40439 14174 13SepS2 Sky/iner Johnson Gly Sold 10 Colifornio Airmotive, 12 Nov 59. Pied·monl Airlines, Mor 65-Sep 68. Severol subse·quenlowners.

440 1140440 14175 19 Sep 52 5ky/iner Schenectody Sold 10 Colifornio Airmolive, 6 tjov S9, Ihen10 Aerojel General. Severolsubsequenlowners.

441 1140441 14176 26Sep52 Sky/iner Troy leased 10 P(I(ific Air lines, 12 Nov 59, andLoler 5kyliner sold 10 Pocific, 30 Jun 60. Then sold Sep 67.

i1kes-Barre

EnginesMGTOWRange

Prall & Whitney R-2800-CB16 (2,400 hp) x 244,900 lb.925 miles

MARTIN 404 FLEET (cont.)

LengthSpanHeight

15 feet93 feet28 feet

T.W.A. AIRLINERS IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD

Engines (ruise

Type No. Type Total Horsepower MGTOW (lb.) Speed Range Seats

0(·3 2 P&W R-1830 2,400 25,200 165 500 21-Marlin 202A 2 P&W R2800 4,800 42,750 220 1,380 36Marlin 404 2 P&W R-2800 4,800 43,650 220 1,080 40049 (ansl,lIalian 4 Wrighl R·3350 8,800 98,000 295 3,000 60

63

Prelude to the Jet AgeTomorrow the World . ..The astonishing success of the Constellation and HowardHughes's association with it was followed by the award ofoverseas routes to Europe (page 50). TW.A. had won itsspurs across the Atlantic Ocean during the Second World War(page 50). When the airline industry adjusted itself to postwarconditions, the airline consolidated its transcontinental net­work, and entered the world's most competitive air route:between northeast U.S.A. and western Europe. After openingits first Atlantic service to Paris on 5 February 1946 (page50), TW.A.'s rapidly-expanding Constellation fleet was soonto be seen in many of the capitals of Europe and as far as theMiddle East. TWA. reached Bombay on 5 January 1947, andColombo by the summer of 1953. The aircraft carried theslogan Trans World Airline, and this was formally regis­tered as the new name for TWA. On 17 May 1950.

On 25 April 1956, the C.A.B. Examiner approved anextension from Colombo onwards to Bangkok and Manila,where the line would connect with Northwest's trans-Pacificterminal. This would complete the round-the-world service­and challenge Pan American for that achievement. Serviceopened on 1 October, but was terminated in April 1959,because of dismal load factors on the eastern segments.

Much Changing of the GuardStill controlling TW.A.'s fortunes, Howard Hughes was, bythis time, facing dissatisfaction within his top management,much of it of his own making. He was increasingly divertedby other interests, mostly of the feminine gender, leavingthe day-to-day management to others. In February 1947, hislong-time flying associate, Jack Frye, resigned, and tookwith him chairman TB. Wilson, and executive vice-presi­dent Paul Richter, who dated back to Frye's Standard AirLines days in 1929. Lamotte Cohu became president, buteffectively Hughes's oil-drilling giant, Toolco, took control.Cohu resigned on 1 June 1948, and Warren Lee Piersontook over.

Things settled down when Ralph Damon was electedpresident on 25 January 1949. Damon came with formidablecredentials (page 61) and for a few years, on Hughes's behalf,he kept the TW.A. ship on an even keel. They made a goodteam, and when Damon died of pneumonia on 4 January1956, TWA. went through an uncertain period. CarterBurgess became president on 23 January 1957, but he did notlast long, resigning on 8 December 1957, and Wan'en Lee

64

Pierson took over once again, only to hand over to Charles S,Thomas on 15 July 1958.

Bracing for the JetsIn spite of the problems of top management, and pilots'strikes in 1946 and 1947, the airline made steady improve­ment, matching the competition both within the States andacross the Atlantic. On 1 July 1947, Constellations began atranscontinental night service, with only only stop; atChicago, in an eastbound journey time of just over ten hours.On 1 October 1948, the "New York Sky Chief' and "ParisSky Chief' all-sleeper luxury service opened on the Atlanticroute. De Luxe service Super Constellations, starting on 10September 1952, reduced the transcontinental journey timefurther, and then, on 19 October 1953, the "Ambassador"service offered eastbound non-stop flights in 8 hours. On IJune 1957, this was consolidated with Lockheed 1649A Star­liner service. In November 1955, the celebrated DenverCase, decided by the Civil Aeronautics Board, gave TWA.the authority to stop at Denver en route from Chicago to SanFrancisco. Overseas, TW.A. opened a direct Polar Servicefrom California to London on 29 September 1957.

While the airlines were still emphasizing luxury andcreature comforts, the balance of air travelling public waschanging. The dominance of business travel was giving wayto a growing tourist and leisure market. On 1 April 1952, allthe members of the quasi-cartel lATA (International AirTransport Association) introduced Tourist-Class fares acrossthe Atlantic; and this was followed by Economy Class onI April 1958. As an lATA member, TWA. kept pace with thechanging fare structures.

Storm CloudsPossibly because TW.A. had lost, by Damon's death, anaccomplished administrator who could steer it through roughwaters, the airline ran into difficulties during the late 1950s.In spite of continued traffic growth and increases in fleetstrength, TW.A. lagged behind in the queue to buy jet air­craft. Pan American Airways had set the world of airlinesinto a spin on 13 October 1955, when it ordered 20 Boeing707s and 25 Douglas DC-8s, to launch the Jet Age in earnest(after the British de Havilland Comet had set the pace in1952, but had paid the price with structural problems).Hughes finally ordered 8 Boeing 707-120s in February 1956,but showed his preference elsewhere. He ordered 30 Convair

880s (at first called the 600 Skylark), in June of that year,ignoring the other established manufacturers of big airliners,Douglas and Lockheed.

There was a brief flirtation with the long-range BristolBritannia turboprop (page 59), but the jets were inevitable,and Hughes ordered 25 more Boeing 707s in May 1957.However, the finances were such that even Toolco, once thealmost limitless source of capital, needed help. It came fromthe insurance giant, Equitable Life, which insisted on a long­term financing plan. This was to have long-term repercus­sions on the fortunes of the multi-millionaire owner.

T.W.A. Takes a GambleBut the show went on. In spite of a company-wide strike inNovember 1958, the first Boeing 707 was received on 17March 1959, and put into service only three days later. Facingtranscontinental competition from American Airlines, whichhad started jet service coast-to-coast on 25 January 1959,TWA. took a gamble. It operated its New York-San Franciscoroute for a whole month with only one aircraft; and the factthat that N732TW held out, without a single cancellation, wasa great tribute to its engineering staff at Kansas City.

They could never have done it with even the best of thepiston-engined airliners. An inspection, at least, would havebeen necessary, possibly an engine change. But the 707's Pratt& Whitneys held out.

This 707 is seen here climbing out over the entrance toSan Francisco Bay.

Boeing 707-131143 seats • 600 mph

Artist's NoteThe legendary Raymond Loewy designed T.WA.'s elegant new 'arrowhead' cheatline. Pilots werequoted as saying "The jet looked like it was going 600 mph on the glVundl"

TWA. had four Boeing nos. This variant of the Boeing 707 lI'IlS Sfeet shoner than the -100 series.with 14 fewer seats.

The Jet Age BeginsThe jet engine, invented by Hans von Ohain in Germany and Sir Frank Whittle in Englandduring the 1930s, was not operational until the closing stages of the Second World War. Mostaviation authorities considered that their use would be only for military types because the fuelconsumption rate was excessive. But in England, the de Havilland Comet, which first flew in1949 and went into service with B.O.A.C. in 1952, proved otherwise. The airliner had struc­tural deficiencies, which led to its withdrawal in 1954, but it did prove the viability of jet air­liners in commercial service. The fuel consumption of engines that were designed for economy,not absolute performance, was lower than expected; and the fuel-kerosene, not gasoline­was cheaper. Most important, and not fully realized until the Comet's service record revealedit, was that the turbine engines did not suffer from the wear and tear of the reciprocating piston­engines; and nor did they have the complication of propellers. The TBO (Time Between Over­haul) of the jets grew in unbelievable leaps and bounds; and the positive effect was alsoobserved in the airframes, where rivets stopped popping as excessive vibration ceased.

The United States Takes OverAmericans have always been superb in developing a good idea, whether or not it was inventedor innovated at home or abroad. This has nowhere been truer than with jet airliners. Only a fewshort months after the pioneering Comet was grounded, the Boeing 367-80 made its [lIst flighton 15 July 1954. Little more than a year later, on 13 October 1955, in the order that shook theaviation world, Pan American Airways ordered 45 'big' jets, 20 Boeing 707s and 25 DC-8s.T.W.A.'s first order was placed on 7 February 1956.

The impact of the Jet Age, when first, the B.O.A.C. de Havilland Comet 4 started Atlanticservice on 4 October 1958, and Pan Am followed on 26 October, was overwhelming. The Boeing707 was twice as fast and twice as big as its piston-engined predecessors, so that the productiv­ity was four times as great. Yet the world air traffic demand kept pace, thanks to the introductionof economy fares. The Jet Age had begun, and transformed the world of air transport.

EnginesMGTOWRange

Pratt &Whitney J13(-6 (13,500 lb. thrust) x 4247,0001bs3,000 miles

LengthSpanHeight

145 feet131 feet42 feet

65

The Boeing 707·1 00 Flee.BOEING 707-131 BOEING 707-131B*

LOCKHEED 1329 JETSTAR 6

This eye-catching painting by artist Ren Wicks, captures theglamour of the early jet age, with a TWA. Boeing 707 flying (alittle off the designated approach path) over the center of Paris.

Remarks

727lrainer7071rainer

505751165118

MSNF1eel No. Re n.NI007

9801 N7961S9802 N7962S

Fleel Regn. MSN Delivery Dale Dale of Sale RemarksNo6746 N746lW 18385 29 Mar 1962 28 Apr 1982 Purchased for USAF's KC·135

re·engining and sparessupport program.

6747 N747lW 18386 10 Apr 1962 13Au~19826748 N748lW 18387 3D Apr 1962 7Ju 1982 Midair collision with

Canslellotion aver New York.landed safely at JFK alter19 minutes of flight.

6749 N749lW 18388 18 May 1962 1Feb 19836750 N750lW 18389 23 May 1962 22 Apr 19826751 N751lW 18390 31 May 1962 8 Feb 19836752 N752lW 18391 16 Jun 1962 28 Apr 19836754 N754lW 18392 28 Jun 1962 22 Apr 19826755 N755lW 18393 23 Jul1962 22 Dec 19826756 N756lW 18394 2Aug 1962 21 Apr 198267S7 N757TW 18395 I Aug 1962 16 Jon 1974 Oeslrayed alter nose wheel

collapsed on landing 01 los

6758 N758TW 18396 21 Aug 1962 21 Apr 1982Angeles cousing a fire.

6759 N759TW 18397 29 Aug 1962 6Jul19826781 N781TW 18400 31 Aug 1962 12Aug19826782 N782lW 18401 21 Sep 1962 13Aug19826783 N783lW 18402 26 Sep 1962 6Apr 19826784 N784lW 18403 28 Sep 1962 23 Apr 19826785 N785lW 18404 120cl1962 23 Dec 19826795 N795lW 18758 29 Ocl 1964 9Feb 19836796 N796TW 18759 13Nov1964 7Jul19826797 N797TW 18760 20 Nov 1964 3D Nov 1980 landed wilh foiled nose

landing gear at SonFrancisco. Placed in storageand danaled for firetraining.

6798 N798lW 18761 31 Dec 1964 13Sep19826799 N799lW 18762 23 Dec 1964 8 Feb 19836720 N6720 18986 25 Mar 1966 21 Dec 19826721 N6721 18987 16Apr1966 21 Dec 1982 Used in movie Flying High,

1980.6722 N6722 18988 28 Apr 1966 19Moy19826723 N6723 18989 6May 1966 12 Aug 19826724 N6724 19215 12 Nov 1966 19Moy19826726 N6726 19216 8Mar 1967 19Moy19826727 N6727 19217 2Apr 1967 13Sep19826728 N6728 19218 29 Mar 1967 13Sep19826729 N6729 19219 14 Apr 1967 13Sep19826763 N6763T 19220 22 Apr 1967 23 Apr 19826764 N6764T 19221 13Mayl967 7Jul19826771 N677lT 19222 27 May 1967 12 Aug 19826789 N6789T 19223 13 Jul 1967 12May19826790 N6790T 19436 1Aug 1967 12Moy19826738 N16738 19568 11 Mar 1968 10 Feb 1983 leased from and relurned 10

8ankers Trusl.6739 N16739 19569 8Mar 1968 10Feb1983 leased from and relurned 10

Bankers Trusl.6740 N86740 20056 8Jan 1969 19Moy19826741 N86741 20057 23 Jan 1969 12May1982

All purchased by Hughes Tool Co. (Toolco) (N73ITW ­N745TW) and leased to T.W.A. at $2,500 per day. Except wherenoted, all aircraft sold to Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI)

BOEING 707-124

*All Boeing 707-l31B aircraft (N746TW - N8674l) sold toBoeing Military Airplane Co., except where noted.

*Two more 707-l3IBs, 6760/N760TW (18398) & 6780N780TW (18399) ordered but cancelled and not built.

All Boeing 707-l24s ex-Continental Airlines, sold to Israel Air­craft Industries.

7747 N70774 17610 22 Dec 1967 12 Nov 19717748 N70785 17612 31 Dec 1967 16 Nov 19717746 N74612 18012 8 Dec 1967 II Nov 1971

Fleel Regn. MSN Delivery Dol Dale of Sale RemarksNo.

7731 N731lW 17658 8Jul1959 3 Dec 19717732 N732lW 17659 17 Mar 1959 1Dec 19717733 N733lW 17660 3D Mar 1959 2 Nov 19717734 N734lW 17661 3Apr 1959 9 Dec 1974 Sold to Carbourne Corp., 20

N16648 Dec 1971. Repossessed andreregistered, 15 Jon 1973.Sold 10 Israel Jon 1975.

7735 N735lW 17662 18Apr1959 8Mar 1971 Sold 10 Air International.7736 N736lW 17663 29 Apr 1959 80ec19717737 N737lW 17664 10Moy1959 15 Dec 1971 Hijacked 10 Shannon, 1Nov

1969.7738 N738lW 17665 13 May 1959 17 Dec 19717739 N739lW 17666 28 May 1959 19 Dec 19717740 N740lW 17667 28 May 1959 11 Dec 19717741 N741TW 17668 13 Jun 1959 9Dec1974 Sold 10 Corbourne Corp., 20

N16649 Dec 1971. Reregislered andre~ossessed, 15 Jan 1973.So dto Israel Jan 1975.

7742 N742TW 17669 1Jul1959 6 Nov 1967 Oeslroyed by fire alterabortea lokeoff fromCincinnali.

7743 N743lW 17670 10 Jul1959 22 Apr 1970 Oestrord by fire on thegroun at Indianapolis.

7744 N744TW 17671 14 Jul1959 25 Nov 19717745 N745TW 17672 I Aug 1959 28 Nov 1971

66

A New Era

This picture epitomizes the beginning of the Jet Age. T.W.A.'s Boeing 707-131 N731TW is pictured on the ramp at San Francisco early in 1959,and parked next to a United Air Lines Douglas DC-7, symbol of a former era. The handsome airport building does not yet have the air bridge

connection, and the crew stands ready with the mobile staircase.

67

The Boeing 707-300 FleetBOEING 707-331

Fleel Regn. MSN Delivery Disposal Remarks and DisposalNo. Dale Dole

7661 N761TW 17673 10 Nov 59 8Mor70 *Leased to NorthwestAirlines, 17 Oec 5910 oorly 60.

7662 /l762TW 17675Oeslroyed by bomb Los Vegos.

10 /lov 59 Mor80 Leosed 10 Northoosl 17 Dec59 - Jon 61. lold 10 Morine Inc

7633 N76311'1 17676 21 Nov 19 7Mor79 lold 10 Lelcolnc IAir8erlin)7664 N764TW 17678 23 De< 19 19 De< 78 Ilored, KonlOs Cfty, Icropped 6/807661 /l761TW 17679 18 Jon 60 3Mor79 Ilored, KonlOsCily, Icropped 6/807666 N766TW 17681 I Apr 60 29 Apr 79 Ilored, Konsos Cily, Icropped 6/807667 N767TW 17682 5Apr 60 17 Apr 79 lold 10 Lelco.IAir Berlin)766B N768TW 176B4 15 Apr 60 10Jun 81 lold 10 AARAlien Aircroft.7669 /l769TW 176BI 9Moy 60 23/1ov 64 Croshedofteroborledloke

olf, Rome, Itoly.7670 N770TW 176B7 26 Moy 60 31 Oct 79 Ilored, Konsos (ily, Icropped 6/BO7671 H771TW 176BB lJul60 29 Apr 79 Ilored, KonlOs (ily, Scropped 6/BO7672 /l772TW 17690 lJul60 JOJun 81 Sold 10 AAR Allen Aircroft.

* Named London Town and inaugurated Idlewild-Heathrow -Fronkfurl service, 23 Nov 1959.

BOEING 707-331 B

8773 /l773TW 18405 11 Mor63 13/1ov838774 H774TW 18406 1 /lov 62 20 Oe< 838775 N771TW 18407 3 De< 62 9Moy 848776 /l776TW 18408 23 Jon 63 16 De< 83 *See below

/l2B7148777 N778TW 18409 21 feb 63 3Apr 83

(All oimolt sold to Boeing Military Airplane Co.)* Cockpit was deslroyed by a bomb in Damascus 29 Aug 69. New nose seclion built by Boeing and trans­ported to Damascus and installed. Reregistered as N2B714 24 Dec 69 alter threats to destroy the someaircraft were mode.

BOEING 707-331 B (A)8779 N779TW 18764 14Jon63 14 De< 83 loosed from 800the Leasing.

PUllhosedl5Jon65.8760 /l760TW 18913 29 Jon 61 20 De< 838780 N780TW 18914 9Apr 65 17 Moy848783 H793TW 18911 25 Moy65 23 Moy 848705 N870IT 18916 10 De< 65 15 De< 838705 N8715T 18917 21 De< 65 13 Sepl70 *Blown up, EI Khono, Jordon.8701 NIB701 18978 25Jon66 22 Oe< 75 Oeslroyed on londing 01

Milon, Itoly.8702 NI8702 18979 3feb66 16 Feb 84 leased 10 Royol Air Moroc

lor 4monlhs, 80.8703 NI8703 18980 \Feb 66 12 Nov838704 HI8704 18981 5Mor66 16 Feb 848706 N18706 18982 4Apr 66 12/1ov 838707 NI8707 18983 15 Apr 66 14Feb848708 NlB708 18984 20 Apr 66 14 Oe< 83 leased 10 RoyolAirMoroc

lor 2monlhs, 80.

(Excepl where noled, all sold 10 Boeing Military Airplane Co.)* Hijacked from Frankfurt, Germany 6 Sep 70.

68

BOEING 707-331 B (A-H)

Regn. MSN Delivery Dale Disposal Dale Remarks and Disposal

/l8721T 18918 12Jon66 21 De< 83/118709 18985 21 Moy66 22 Apr 82 lold 10 EI AI.N18710* 19224 15Mor67 5Apr 84/118711 19225 4Apr 67 5Jun841118712 19226 31 Moy 67 Sold 10 Air Trons. 30 Apr 84/118713 19227 6Aug 67 6Apr 84 lold 10 Globollnl., 82. RepOl

se",d,81/128724 19S70 16Feb 68 26 Moy 83 Relurnedto Cilicorp./128726 19171 27 Mor 68 18 Apr 83 Returned 10 Citicorp.N28727 19572 22 Mor 68 6Jul83 Returned to Citicorp.N2872B 19573 7Moy6B 21 Apr 83 Loosedlrom Bonkers Trusi.

Loosed 10 8ritish (oledonionAirlines, Sep 7610 Del 76.Returned 10 Cilicorp.

N8729 20058 12 Oe< 68 16feb84 Loosed 10 Air 8erlin 4 Nov 80 1020 Nov 81.

N8730 20059 15 Jon 69 4Apr 84N8731 20060 3 Mor 69 28Mor 80 lold 10 Executive Alrcroft Ltd.N8732 20061 7Mor69 15 Oec 83 Leased 10 8WIAfrom 15 Oe<

791028 Feb 80. loosed 10Guinn", Peal 29 Aug 80 102Apr 82.

N8733 20062 2Apr 69 2Apr 84 Nomed Por;s 5ky Chief 11.Loosed from Irving Trust

N8734 20063 7Apr 69 8Sep 74 (roshed in Aegoon-bombexplosion.

N8735 20064 1Moy69 19Jun84 Leased from Irving Trust.N8736 20065 7Moy69 7 Moy 84 leased lrom Irving Trusl.N8737 20066 12Jun69 5Jun 84 Loosed from Irving Trust.N8738 20067 17Jun69 6Jul84 Loosed from Irving Trusl.

* Flew JFK - O'Hare-Kansas Gly as IW.A.'s lasl commercial 707 f1ighl, 31 Oct B3.

BOEING 707-373C (H)

N4789TW 18709 18 Nov 63 27 feb 81 Built lor World Airwoys, nolloken up. loosed from andrelurned 10 See Jel Corp.

N4790TW 18738 23 Oe< 63 30 Nov 70 Ordered ond "ncelled byWorld Airwoy>. Hilloilol onIsroeli Air Force Boeing 37701 Tel Aviv, ond (rushed.

BOEING 707-338C (H)

ex·OonlOl VH·EBP. Sold 10Inlernolionol Air (orgo Egypl.

BOEING 720-051 B

N791TW 18381 23Jul61 310'162 AII720s built lor lIorthweslN792TW 18382 2Aug 61 211ep62 ond leased lrom Boeing forN793TW 18383 27 Aug 61 29Sep62 peak travel season.N795TW 18384 30 Sep 61 26 Oct 62

BOEING 707-331 C(H)

Regn. MSN Delivery Dole Disposal Dale Remarks and Disposal

N786TW 18711 25 Apr 64 18 Feb 82 Leased from See Jel (orp.,purchosed 74. Sold 10 GuinnessPeot Aviation.

/l787TW 18712 20 Moy 64 26Jul69 loosed from See Jel (orp.(rushed,AtIonlic City, Nl

H788TW 18713 12 Jun 64 lJun84 Leased from lee Jel (orp.Purchosed,74.

N791TW 18756 6Aug 64 12Mor79 leased from SeeJef Corporclion,sold 10 Globollnlernolionol.

N792TW 18757 29 Aug 64 9 Nov 84 LeosedlromSee Jel(orp. Used10 lronsporl Pope Poul VI 10Rome on 50'165 ond nomedIhepherd J. Purchosed 22 Oec 78.

N577lT 19212 18Jun67 6 Moy 78 Sold 10 Guinness Peat Av.N5772T 19213 29 Aug 67 26 Aug 77 leased then sold to Guinness

Peal, 12 Aug 78.N5773T 19214 29 lep 67 1Mor78 Leased 10 Golden lun Air (orgo

15 Dec 7110 26 Mor 72. Sold 10TMALebonon.

N5774T 19435 12 Oct 67 15Nov78 Sold 10 fOIl Air (orrier.NI5710 19566 26Jun68 221epB3 leased from ond returned to

Bonkers Trusl, ICilicorp).N15711 19567 27 Jun 68 6 Oct 83 leased from and relurned to

80nkmTrull, ((ilicorpJ.HI5712 20068 2Jul69 14 lep 72 Crashed into Son Francisco

80yofter obortedloke-off.N15713 20069· 16 Jul69 22 Aug 78 Leased Ihen sold 10 Globol

Inlernolionol Airlines 14 Ju178.N1796T 20428 27Jul70 23 Aug 83 leased 10 Alio Jordon lromSep

791080. Sold 10 Isroel 000.N794TW 20429 25 Aug 70 25 Jon 83 Sold 10 Isruel 000.

This Boeing 707-331 B (Advanced) had the new 'outlined'TRANS WORLD marking, and a revised logo style on the tail.

Boeing 707·331 B185 seats • 600 mph

The 707 "Intercontinental" had a longer fuselage, largerimproved wing, taller vertical fin, and a ventral fin below thetail. Note the 'blow-in doors' on the "Dyna-Fan" enginenacelles 'forward section.

The Smaller BoeingsTo meet a requirement for routes of lower traffic density, Boeing produced a'shorter-bodiedversion, the 720, 8 feet shorter than the -100, but with the same wing. TW.A. also had oneSeries -138, which was 10 feet shorter than the basic type, and designed for the Australianairline QANTAS, with extra tankage for maximum trans-Pacific range. TW.A. operated atotal of 133 Boeing 707s, and made good use of them all over the world.

Progressive ImprovementWith the 707 series, Boeing became the world's leader in airliner manufacturing. The classicBoeing 707 came in several forms. Initially, the -100 was a comfortable transcontinental air­liner, but was limited across the Atlantic, having to stop at Gander or Shannon in the westbounddirection. Its Pratt & Whitney JT4A-9 straight jet engines were known, rather unkindly, as the"Ole Smokies." The -300, with JT3Cs and a slightly longer fuselage, was much better, and the-300B with JT3D turbofans and improved wing better still. The -331 B(A-H) (Advanced­Heavy) had a heavy-duty landing gear, allowing a gross take-off weight up to 335,000 lb. Theyhad more range, more capacity, and were more profitable than previous versions. The greaterpower enabled the -300 to be able to cut about half a mile from the take-off distance requiredby the other Boeings.

lW.A.'s DecisionHaving demonstrated considerable ingenuity and initiative, not to mention technical confi­dence, in launching its transcontinental jet service with a single Boeing 707-131 on 20 March1959 (page 67). TW.A. did not rush immediately to match Pan American on the trans-Atlanticroute. It elected to await the availability of the longer-ranged -331, and meanwhile concen­trated on expanding its domestic network so that TW.A. Boeings were competing with Amer­ican's at all the major cities. Ultimately, the -33ls were deployed on the NewYork-London-Frankfurt route on 23 November 1959. TW.A. had lost a whole year to its arch­rival Pan American, and with other problems of a non-technical or operational nature, the air­line had a long fight on its hands.

EnginesMGTOWRange

Pratt &Whitney JT3D-3 (18,000 lb. thrust) x 4335,0001b4,000 miles

LengthSpanHeight

153 feet146 feet42 feet

69

Speed at All CostsUp to the LimitThe progress of air transport, since its establishment as an industry in the I920s, had been char­acterized by an emphasis on speed. In 1950, the jet-powered de Havilland Comet almost dou­bled the speed, at 500 mph, of the best piston-engined airliners, and in 1958 the Boeing 707(and later the Douglas DC-8) took this to 600 mph. By this time, there were thoughts of asupersonic airliner as a longer-term successor to the Big Jets, as they were called; but the air­lines still sought higher speeds from the currently-available technology. Theoretically, thedesigners felt that, even if they could not penetrate the sound barrier, they could come close toit, so that, with an airliner that could approach 650 mph, this would be worth a significantsaving of time on a long-distance route, and give the operating airline a competitive advantage.

No Room for ThreeThe post-war piston-engined rivalry between Douglas and Lockheed had now given way to aJet Age rivalry between Boeing and Douglas. Throughout airline history, a third contestant hadnever been able to make its mark; and economic studies have demonstrated that the full bene­fits of competition on any route are invariably achieved by two competitors, not necessarilythree. And all too often, the third contestant cannot achieve an adequate share of the market.Similarly, a third manufacturer can end up with financial losses because of insufficient sales.No doubt, this consideration was in Lockheed's mind when it decided not to build a rival to the707 or DC-8, but turned to a prop-jet (turboprop) airliner, the Model 188 Electra.

The Convair ChallengeThe Consolidated-Vultee, or Convair, company of San Diego, flush with its huge success inbuilding the Liberator bomber and other military aircraft, had entered the commercial marketafter the War with its short-haul "DC-3 Replacement," the Convair 240/340/440. In the mid­1950s, the company decided to enter the Big Jet market. Its entry, the Convair 880 (see nextpage) was similar in design to the 707 and the DC-8, in that its engines were suspended in podsunder a swept wing. Its speed was marginally faster than those of its rivals. This caught theinterest of American Airlines, which ordered an even faster version, the Convair 990. Thelatter's speed, however, was not significantly greater.

T.W.Ao'S CONVAIR 880 (MODEL 22·1) FLEET

Regn. MSN Delivery Dale Disposal Dale Remarks and Disposal

N871lW I 29 Oct 64 18 Apr 78 Siored Oec 73 Konlas Cily. Sold 10 Americon Jellndustries.8802 2 18Mer61 10 Apr 74 Siored Konsos Cily; Scrapped Oec 79.

N803lW 3 13 Oct 61 18 Apr 78 Sold 10 Americon Jellnduslries. Siored Jon 74.N804lW 4 11 Sep 63 240ct73 leosed 10 Norlheost Airlines, 21 Jon 6110 11 Sop 63. Wfu 0<173 slored Konsos Cily.N80SlW S 10Aug 61 21 Jun 78 SoldloAmeri<onJellnduslries.N806lW 6 12Sep63 18Jul78 leosed 10 Northeosl Airlines, 30 Jon 61 10 12 Sep 63. Sold 10 Amerimn Jet

Indusfries.N808lW 8 18 Moy 60 18 Apr 78 Sold to Americon Jellnduslries.N809lW 12 29 Jul63 IB Apr 7B leosed 10 Norlheosl Airlines, 10 Sep 6310 19 Jon 6B. Sold 10 Ameri<on Jel

Industries.NBIOlW 13 15Feh 61 BAug 78 Sold 10 Ameri<on Jel Industries.N811lW 14 2Feb 61 Nov 72 Siored Konsas Cily; Scropped Moy 22.N812lW 15 9Jun61 18 Apr 78 Sold to Amerimn Jet Industries.NBI4lW 19 2Sop 61 IB Apr 7B Sold 10 Ameri<on Jel Industries.N815lW 20 26 Aug 63 18 Apr 78 leased 10 Northeasl Airlines, 8 Oec 60 10 Aug 63. Sold 10 Amerimn Jellnduslries.N816lW 22 13 Sep 63 18Apr 78 loosed 10 Northoosl Airlines, 5 Oec 60 10 13 Sop 63. Sold 10 Amerimn Jel

Industries.N817lW 23 29 Aug 63 18 Apr 78 leased 10 Northeasl Airlines, 30 Nov 60 10 29 Aug 63. Sold 10 Amerimn Jet

Industries.N81BlW 24 SJon61 18 Apr 78 Sold to Americon Jel Industries.N819lW 25 12Jon61 BJon74 Siored Kansas Cily.N820lW 26 20 Mer 61 13 Sep 65 Crashed during lraining f1ighl 01 Kansas Cily {MCI}.NB21lW 27 8Jon 61 21 Nov 67 Oomoged beyond repair during londing 01 Covinglon.N822lW 28 6 Jon 61 IS Jun 74 Siored KonsosCiIy; scropped Dec 79.N823lW 30 15Mer61 8 Jon 74 Siored Konsos Cily; scropped Dec 79.N824lW 21 IJon61 15 Jun 74 Operoted losl Convoir 880 schedule service on 15 Jun 74. Wilhdrawn from use ond

stored KonsasCi!y; scrapped Sep 79.N825lW 32 21 Jon 61 18 Apr 78 Sold 10 Americon Jet Industries.NB26lW 33 6 Moy 61 16 Jon 74 Siored Kansas Cily.N828lW 35 26 Apr 61 18 Apr 78 Sold loAmerjeonJellndusfries.

880l!NB49SH 39 22Moy67 2feb 68 leased fram Hughes Tool Company from 22 Moy 6710 2 Feb 68.N830lW 40 25 Moy 61 18 Apr 78 Sold to American Jellnduslries.NBOIlW 42 9Jul61 14 Jun 74 Siored Kansas Cily; scrapped Nov 79.

I...70

A fine shot ofN815TW il7flight.

TWA

''''-

--

The four-engined jet was at first called the Convair-600, then the Skylark, or the GoldenArrow, and was originally intended to challenge the 707 and the DC-8 on domestic routes. Itwas sponsored by TW.A., still strongly influenced by Howard Hughes, who, late in 1955,placed an initial order for 30 Convair 880s, as the new airliner was eventually called. Delta AirLines also ordered the 880 and was the first into service, on 15 May 1960.

This was because TW.A.'s owner, Howard Hughes, was running into difficulties. The air­line was in an unusual position in that its aircraft were owned by Hughes's powerful HughesTool Company (Toolco) to which it paid a rental of about one million dollars per year per air­plane. But even Toolco's pockets were not bottomless, and could not finance TW.A.'s purchaseof the Convair 880s. As a consequence of the legal delays, which had far-reaching conse­quences (see page 73) TW.A. did not begin Convair 880 service until 12 January 1961.

Convair 88085 seats • 610 mph

Another example of "Machat's Law" is T.w.A. 's Convair 880 nose radome in either all-black,light gray with black nose dot, or all-light gray. The original delivery scheme is illustrated here.

N804TW on the ramp at Phoenix in 1964, in T.W.A.:S handsome paint scheme, with the slogan Superjetat the rear of the fuselage, together with the twin-hemisphere logo. (photo: Roger Bentley)

EnginesMGTOWRange

General Eledric CJ-80S-3B (11,200 Ib) x 4184,SOOIb

2,600 miles

LengthSpanHeight

129 feet120 feet36 feet

71

Atlantic Number OneConfident StartTW.A. had entered the North Atlantic airways artery in 1946,to face two incumbent airlines from the United States, and, by1948, seven national airlines from Europe. The United Statescontingent, comprising Pan American, American Overseas(A.O.A.), and TWA., was dominant, carrying about 60% ofthe total annual passengers, which, by 1950, had exceeded300,000. In that year, thanks to the popularity of the Constel­lation, TW.A. had almost overtaken Juan Trippe's Pan Am,with 66,000 v. 69.000 passengers. But no sooner had HowardHughes changed the name to Trans World Airlines, he wasconfronted with the merger of Pan American and A.O.A.,which accounted for 40,000 passengers. This enabled PanAm to maintain its lead, although TW.A. was comfortably insecond place until 1958.

Obstacles to ProgressWhen the Jet Age began, however (and as described on page69) TW.A. was not prepared for the North Atlantic onslaught.Financial stringency had obliged it to concentrate on thedomestic network, while awaiting the long-range Boeing707s, and a year's delay cost it dearly. The British B.O.A.C.,which had really started the Jet Age, temporarily, with the

Comet in 1952, got into its stride, and pushed TWA. intothird place for several years. One reason was that both PanAmerican and B.O.A.C. operated the splendid Boeing 377Stratocruisers which had great appeal for the trans-ocean airtraveller, with its luxury amenities that included a downstairscocktail bar. And in addition to the Boeing 707, B.O.A.C. hadalso introduced the Bristol Britannia turboprop 'WhisperingGiant' to provide added capacity.

T.W.A. Takes the LeadBut during the I 960s, with new ownership and managementTWA. began to reassert itself. It built up the Boeing 707fleet energetically, and eventually 133 aircraft-almost asmany as Pan Am. By 1969, it had overtaken the hitherto unas­sailable Pan Am, and continued to maintain at least paritythroughout the 1970s. Indeed, many regular trans-Atlantictravellers habitually expressed a preference for the TW.A.operation and service standards, a reputation that was main­tained until in more recent times British Airways graduallyclaimed ascendancy, and Pan American's demise was accom­panied by TW.A. owner Carl Icahn's sale of the covetedLondon routes in 1991 and 1992.

250..--..,.---,----,...-----.--,---,..--...., 250

1501--+--+--+---+---+~~",,-=-,f50

faa 1---+--+----I---J.ooI'-----+--+----4

50 """"'''''''''"=-'~''l----I----+---+--+----450

o REGO 0Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug

This chart shows the change of leadership on the North Atlanticair route during the 1960s.

" .... ~

.':;,',

INTERNATIONAL ROUTE·S>~:: ,,;."d':'~'!'1968

:: ;... :. :.;. . , ..' ..

REGD

.1 72

II

Howard's EndThe OriginsHoward Hughes was eventually to surrender his ownership ofTWA. in 1961, but the seeds of the denouement wereplanted as early as 1945. These lay dormant for many years,but the $30 million debenture loan that Equitable Life Insur­ance made at that time to TWA. (of which Hughes had a67% stock holding) was to have far-reaching repercussions.In 1946, Equitable had increased the loan to $40 million, asTW.A. entered its major route expansion program in thepost-war recovery years. Early in 1947, when the airline wasfaced with big losses, Howard Hughes, through his ToolCompany, put $10 million cash into TWA., in exchange forconvertible notes and the power to name the majority ofTW.A.'s directors. This was when veteran Jack Frye and PaulRichter resigned (see page 64), as Hughes Tool Companyeffectively took complete control ofTW.A. In 1948, Hughesexercised his convertibility option, raising his stock holdingto 73%, a move that was approved by the Civil AeronauticsBoard in 1950.

Signs of DistressThings went well operationally for TW.A. during the nextfew years, with the Constellations setting a merry pace bothin the United States and across the Atlantic. But when, on 4January 1956, president Ralph Damon died, he was notreplaced for many months. Hughes had lost his reliable andcapable adjutant, and not until 23 January 1957 was CarterBurgess installed as president. He never met Hughes, whoheld him responsible for a decline in the airline's fortunes,and he resigned (or was forced out) on 31 December 1957, tobe replaced, on 15 July 1958, by Charles Thomas.

With the advent of the Jet Age, Hughes's TW.A. washeavily committed. It had ordered eight Boeing 707-120s inFebruary 1956,30 Convair 880s in June 1956, and 25 moreBoeing 707s in May 1957. The total of 63 big jets was a com­mitment of $300 million-a considerable sum in the 1950s.TW.A. then made a one-for-one common stock offering,underwritten by the Hughes Tool Company, raising the equitycapital to $43 million, of which Tooleo had $35 million (rais­ing its equity to 77%).

But this was not enough. TW.A. could not meet its pay­roll for the first quarter of 1958, and in April, Hughes wasobliged to borrow $12 million from Irving Trust and the Bankof America. At this stage, Equitable Life, which had been oneof the original backers in 1945, insisted on a long-termfinancing plan, to cover the $300 million jet procurement

plan, which it had underwritten in 1957. Hughes held thelenders at bay by paying off the $12 million. Then, in July1959, to cover the cost of the jet order, Tooleo accepted theobligation, and leased the aircraft to TW.A. on a day-to-daypayment arrangement. To relieve the financial pressure fur­ther, an aircraft exchange was made with Pan American, trad­ing away six Boeing 707-120s for -320 series; and theConvair order for 30 aircraft was reduced to 20. In Septem­ber, 21 old aircraft were sold, with 27 more on option.

TW.A. had managed to launch a domestic jet service on20 March 1959-with only one aircraft (see page 64)-and,belatedly, started trans-Atlantic jet service on 23 November1959; but the former initiative had been lost, and the airlinewas in serious financial straits.

At the end of the year, the Convair 880s on order wereset aside from the production line-a move that resulted in amulti-million dollar loss for General Dynamics, Convair'sparent corporation.

ConfrontationThe lenders' patience was finally exhausted. In March 1960,Irving Trust shut off all further credit to Hughes, and with theother lenders, worked out a long-term financing plan thatwould cover the emergency. But Tooleo had to agree to guar­antee all the obligations, the most important of which wasthat, if a change of management occurred, Metropolitan Lifeand Equitable could demand a voting trust to vote Hughes'sstock. This was Howard's Achilles Heel, for on 27 July, thepresident, Charles Thomas resigned, amid protests from theHughes lawyers that this was a contrived arrangement. Theaxe fell on 31 October, the due date for Hughes to honor thedebt to Irving Trust. He could not or would not pay.

The Voting TrustOn 31 December 1960, Howard Hughes signed a $319 millionfinancing plan for the jet fleet, under which his stock wasplaced in a voting trust. The banks then agreed to finance thepurchase. On 27 April, Ernest Breech, formerly chairman ofFord, became chairman ofTW.A., replacing Warren Lee Pier­son, and was accompanied by Charles Tillinghast as president.Clearly there was no love lost between the adversaries of whatwas to become a long-drawn-out legal battle, the like of whichwas almost unpredecented in the history of American busi­ness. The first salvo was an anti-trust suit filed againstHoward Hughes and the Tool Company on 30 June 1961. InMay 1963, a Federal District Court judged Tooleo to be indefault, and the damage claim was increased from $115 to

$145 million dollars. On 10 July 1964, the Civil AeronauticsBoard issued an order, permitting Tooleo to resume control bypurchasing Series A notes from Equitable Insurance, providedthat it divested itself from control of Northeast Airlines. TheCourt of Appeals then reversed the C.A.B.'s decision on 7December, stating that a public hearing was legally necessary.This was upheld on 8 March 1965 by the U.S. Supreme Court.This court also refused to hear an appeal by Tooleo, as it heldthat the public hearing was essential to determine if Hughes'sefforts were in the public interest.

Howard Hughes finally capitulated. On 3 May 1966, theHughes Tool Company sold its entire stake in the company,through a secondary offering to the general public, 6,584,937shares of stock (77%) valued at $86 per share. HowardHughes, already rich, had, in about 20 minutes, become muchricher, by $566,304,582.

The JudgementThe controversy over Hughes's enigmatic role in the wholeaffair dragged on for years, and raised several questions,which were expressed neatly by Fortune in May 1965:

I. What is the justification for preventing a man whoowes 77% of a company, however unorthodox he happens tobe, from voting his stock and controlling the business?

2. How far into the control of a large-scale business arebig institutional lenders entitled to go to protect their loans?

3. What is the public interest in these matters, partiClI­larly the unique public interest that arises in a quasi-publicutility such as an airline?

Another commentary was made by the British aviationwriter, Richard Worcester, who paid tribute to Hughes:

This may lay the foundations ofa new TWA. struc­ture that will enable it to survive and justif'.· thedreams that Jack Frye and HOlrard Hughes hadforthe airline before the H"ar when they conceived theConstellation. Whatever Hughes h~ls done or IlOtdone, he will always be a great son of AmericanCOl1lmercial aviation for brilliance in sponsoringan aircraft so prescient in conception that the delm'in its fruition ofseveral years due to the Il'Gr did n;tprevent it from going on to become a great intrinsicsource of u.s. world prestige and wealth.

73

SST and the Second LineFrench InitiativeIn 1952, in England, de Havilland and B.O.A.C., with theComet, had demonstrated that a well-matched airframe andengine could combine to produce an efficient jet airliner. Butjust as until then, the aviation sages had warned that jetpropulsion could not be applied commercially, they thenclaimed that, in spite of the Comet, jet airliners would betotally uneconomic for short-haul work. The world's firstshort-haul jet, the twin-engined Sud-Est 210 (later the SudAviation Caravelle), proved that this was not so. The 210had the proven Rolls-Royce Avon engines, and even theComet nose; and surprised the designers all over the world byputting the engines at the rear of the fuselage. There weremany advantages: the wing was left clear of protuberancessuch as engines-the 'clean' wing; they were easily accessi­ble for maintenance; and their position substantially reducedthe noise level in the cabin. Nevertheless, the idea was lookedupon with skepticism, even scorn, in some aviation circles.

The First Short-Haul JetSud-Est went ahead. The Caravelle made its maiden flight on27 May 1955. Air France ordered twelve, and introduced it onthe Paris-Istanbul route on 6 May 1959. By this time, 50 air­craft had been ordered, and eventually more than 250 weresold. In the United States, United Air Lines was the only cus­tomer and put it on the New York-Chicago route on 14 July1961. T.W.A. ordered 20 Mark lOA "Nouvelle Caravelles"on 7 September, but cancelled the order in May 1962. Theairline had already ordered ten Boeing 727s (see below andfollowing pages.)

What Might Have Been(the three drawings are on the same scale)

Supersonic DreamsTW.A. 's disregard for the 68-69-seat Caravelle-whichwould have given good service on much of the domestic routesystem where the traffic demand did not justify the largerjets-was in contrast with its enthusiasm for supersonic air­liners. To be fair, it was not alone, as most of the world wasqueuing up to put down names on the Concorde and U.S.SST order books. On 14 October 1963, TW.A. advised theU.S. government of its intention to buy six Boeing SSTs, anddeposited $600,000 with the Federal Aviation Agency(EA.A.). The order was even increased to ten on 14 Novem­ber 1963, and to 12 on 18 October 1967.

Hedging its bets, T.W.A. also ordered four Anglo­French Concordes, and increased this to six on 1 April 1964.The supersonic aspirations were always a dream, and werenever supported by economic considerations. The TW.A.management could not now blame Howard Hughes for thisdiversion from the main stream of equipment development,but at least it had taken care of the less exotic side of the busi­ness, with less spectacular operations.

Caravelle lOA

Concorde

Concorde

The Third LevelThe awareness of the need for aircraft to serve smaller citiesand feeding into the trunk routes was prev~nt during the1960s. The high interest in the hub principle had not yetdeveloped. Aircraft such as the Caravelle, Boeing 727, andDC-9 fulfilled these needs, and supplemented the Boeing707s and Convair 880s, often overlapping in their applica­tion and deployment. The Boeing 727 could fly coast-to­coast with only one stop. But below this Second Level wasan even lower level of air service, sometimes referred to asthe Third Level, or Scheduled Air Taxi, or, later, the Com­muter. To protect this end of the travel market, TW.A. madeagreements in the early summer of 1965, with San FranciscoHelicopter Airways (guaranteeing a break-even need) andwith New York Airways (sharing financial support with PanAmerican). The following year, TW.A. was associated withPiper Twinair, a small commuter airline in the New Yorkarea, which fed passengers into TW.A.'s JFK terminal fromneighboring communities.

"

Boeing 2707

74 --

Boeing 727-3194 seals • 580 mph

•

°0

Artist's NoteNote use of T. WA. s new 'Golden Globe' logo.

Short and Medium HaulOnce again, to follow the example of the Caravelle, the initiative had been taken overseas,when de Havilland supplemented its Comet production by launching the world's first tri-jet, theD.H.121 Trident. Like the Caravelle, all three engines were in the rear, two on the sides of thefuselage, and one faired into the base of the vertical stabilizer. It first flew on 9 January 1962.But the British missed their chance by some incredible bungling. Under pressure from BritishEuropean Airways, the 100-seat Trident design was irrevocably compromised by reducing thesize to 86-not much bigger than the Caravelle. The first Trident had been sized just right forboth the European and the U.S. markets. Not only that, de Havilland allowed a Boeing teamto inspect it.

Three weeks later, the Seattle team announced the IOO-seat Boeing 727, remarkably sim­ilar in design to the Trident. The 727 made its first flight on 9 February 1963, and more than1,800 left the Seattle factory. It first went into service with Eastern Air Lines on 1 February1963. TW.A. ordered ten Boeing 727s in March 1962, and it was to become one of the mostversatile airliners ever produced. TW.A. 's entered service on 1 June 1964.

Shortly thereafter, on 20 July, TW.A. ordered 20 twin-jet, rear-engined Douglas DC-9s,once again taking the home-built product in preference to the British Aircraft Corporation'sBACOne·Eleven, This was the first second-generation rear-engined twin-jet to follow the Car­avelle, and it had already made inroads into the American market. But TW.A. chose the DC-9and started service on 17 March 1966 (see page 77).

EnginesMGTOWRange

Pratt &Whitney JT8D (14,000 Ib) x 3152,500-164,500 Ib

1,700 miles

LengthSpanHeight

133 feet108 feet34 feet

This Boeing 727 Series 3JQC was affectionately known to the pilots as Piggy Sue.

75

TWA's First Short-Haul Jet FleetsT.W.Ao's BOEING 727 flEET DOUGLAS DC·9·S1 flEET

Regn. MSN Delivery Name Remarks and DisposalDate

Series 31N810lW 18169 29 Apr 64 Ilored,Konl<lsCiIy,JuI91.

Sold 10 Express One, 26 Nov 91.N811lW 18170 21 Apr 64 Slored, Kansas Cily, Ju191.N812lW 18571 2Moy 64 Oomoged beyond repoir in

wheels-up londing Chicogo27 Aug 88. lold 10 US Jellervice,110c188.

N813lW 18572 21 Moy 64 Sold to Exlex InternofionolInc., 30 Apr 91.

N814lW 18173 6Jun64 [{ood Boorer Sold 10 Air Internotionol.N815lW 18174 10 Jul64 I/owPork Siored Konsas Cily, Oec 93. Sold

10 General Aviation Te(hnologies,24 1un 97.

N816lW 18171 14 Jul64 Porrine Princess Stored Konsas City, Jon 92-N817lW 18176 12 Aug 64 Iwine Flew Stored Konsas Cily, Oec 93.N818lW 18577 311ul64 Sold 10 Chorlotte Aeraspoce

Co. loc., 30 Oct 86. Fuseloge10 FAA for deslructive lesting.

N819lW 18178 8Aug 64 Stored Konsas Cily, Feb 90. loldto Memphis Group, II Moy 90.

N849lW 18710 4lep 64 lold 10 Memphis Group, 29 lep 89_N847lW 18712 23 lep 64 lold 10 Privole Jet Expeditions,

17Feb89.N846lW 18713 27 Oct 64 City of 8erlin (1987) Sold to lAETA, 13 Aug 88.N833lW 18903 17Jun61 Hom Tram lold to Jel East Inc., 21 Mor 88.N840lW 18901 13 Jul61 IhyPig Hool Gibsan Airuoh. lold 10 Jel

Eost Inc., 10 Mor88.N841lW 18906 91ep61 lold to Gulf Air Inc., 28 Nov 88.N842lW 18907 29Jon66 lold to Gull Air Inc., 28 Nov 88.N7890 20112 1Moy69 lold to Gull Air Inc., 3Dec 86.N97891 20113 7Moy69 lold to G8 800ts Smith Corp.,

13 Nov 86.N7892 20114 21 Moy69 Sold to Gulf Air Inc., 10 Oct 86.N7893 20115 7Jul69 Sold 10 Tenneco loc., 12 lep 80.

Series 31 HN848lW 18751 18 lep 64 City of Vienna (/990) Itored Kansas City, Feb 94.

Hog JawN845lW 18754 30 O,t 64 lold to UIJet lervices,

30Mor89.N844lW 18711 7 Nov 64 OIy of Frankfurt (/990) Slored Konsas Cily, Dec 93.

Pork ChopN831lW 18902 20 Moy 65 Swinus Plumitus 510red Konsas Cily, Jon 92.

Supersoniws Sold to General AviationBoeing Oink Technologies, 24Jun 97.

11839lW 18904 21Jun 61 Piggy Sue Slored Konsas Cily, Dec 91.loldlo Generol AviotionTechnologies, 24 Jun 97.

N889lW 19228 29 Dec 66 City of Istanbul (/9901 Sold to Exlex InternationolInc., 22 Nov 91.

Series 31QCN890lW 19229 II Apr 67 10Id,2IMoyI982.N891lW 19230 2Moy 67 Sold, 22 Apr 1982.N892lW 19231 9Moy67 lold, Moy 1982.N893lW 19232 3DJun 67 Sold,23 Mor 1982.N894lW 19233 17Sep67 501d,22 Mor 1982.N895lW 19234 26Sep67 I<Jld, 22 Apr 1982.

Series lSOCN9116T r19873 23Jul68 I Ilold,13JuI1982.N9111T 19874 19Feb68 10Id,13JuI1982.

Notes: All 727-31QC and -180C sold to UPS. The porcinenames were not official. They were the result of the pilots'whimsical sense of humor, and could be identified only in theflight decks.

TWA # Regn, MSN Delivery Remarks and DisposalDate

8918 N418EA 47676 16 Aug 93 ex-Hawaiin Airlines8906 N406EA 47686 21 Jun 94 ex-Allegheny Airlines8901 N40lEA 47688 13 Moy 94 ex-Allegheny Airlines8908 N408EA 47693 21 Apr 94 ex-Allegheny Airlines8909 N409EA 47728 19Jon94 Returned to 8oeingCopitol26 Moy 008910 N410EA 47731 23 Dec 93 Sold 30 Apr 998911 N411EA 47732 l)feb 948912 N412EA 47733 11 Mor94 Sold 20 Aug 998914 N414EA 47746 14 Nov 93 Sold 2Aug 998915 N411EA 47749 270cl938916 N416EA 47751 8 lep 93 Returned to 8oeingCopiloi 26 Moy 008917 N41lEA 47713 30 lep 93

All aircraft acquired from Eastern Air Lines, to supplementthe original short-fuselage DC-9-14s and DC-9-15s.

This DC-9-31, N990Z. was inherited when TW.A. absorbed Ozark Air Lines and its extensive fleet (see page 97).

76

Douglas DC·'·1465 seats • 560 mph

Like the Convair 880s, TWA sfirst DC-9s sported an all-black nose radome.

Fleet No. Regn. MSN Delivery Remarks and DisposalDate

8143 N943U 40131 11 Apr 89 Ex· KIM. L"sed from 12 Apr 8910 II Nov 91.8144 N944U 40133 11 Apr 09 Ex· KIM. L"sed from 11 Apr 8910 11 Nov 91.

Fleet No. Regn. MSN Delivery Remarks and DisposalDate

Douglos DC-9-141051 Nl0m 45714 25 Mor 66 Lemed 10 Texos Inll. Airlines, 10" 74·1 Nov 75. Sold 10 TlA ,3 Moy 77.1052 NI051T 45715 5Feb66 leosed, 30 Apr 74, ond sold 10 TIA, 5Moy 77.1053 NI053T 45716 19Feb66 leosed 10 TlA, 15 Sep 74·10" 75. 50ld 10 TIA, 16 5ep 77.1054 NI054T 45735 11 Apr 66 leased to TlA, 3Sep 74·10 0" 75. Sold 10 TlA, 19 Sep 77.1055 NIOm 45736 15 Apr 66 Sold 10 TlA, 11 Oct 77.1056 H1056T 45737 l1Sep66 Sold to Oougl05 Aircroh, 11 Sop 79.

Douglos DC-9-151057 HlOIn 45738 II Oct 66 Sold,lo 8rilish Midlond Airwoy>, 18 Hov 79.1058 Hl058T 45739 180'166 Sold 10 Orilish Midlund Airwoy>, I Feb 80.1059 NIOS9T 45740 16 Nov 66 Sold 10 50ulhwesl Pelrol"se Inc.1060 NI060T 4S741 29 Nov 66 Sold 10 Midwoy Airlines.1061 NI06lT 4S775 100" 66 Sold 10 Trocindo Inveslmenl (orporulion, 7Aug 79.1061 NI061T 4S776 110" 66 Sold 10 Oougl05 Aircrah, 17 Moy 80.1063 NI063T 45777 19 Jon 67 (rashed Urbono, Ohio oher midoir collision, 9Mor 67.1064 NI064T 45778 1Feb 67 Sold 10 Midwoy Airlines, 11 Oct 00.1065 N1065T 45779 II Mor67 50ld 10 Midwoy Airlines, 15 Oct 80.1066 H1066T 45780 31 Mor67 Sold 10 Douglos Aimoh, 4Oct 79.1067 H1067T 4S781 II Apr 67 Sold 10 Douglos Aimoh, II Ocl79.1060 NI068T 4S781 30 Moy 67 Sold 10 Greol Americon Airwoys, 15 Aug 79.1069 NI069T 4S783 I Jul67 Sold 10 Oouglos Aimoh, 16 Moy 80.1070 NI070T 4S784 19 Aug 67 Sold 10 OouglosAimoh, 10 Jon 80.

T.W.Ao'S EARLY DOUGLAS DC·9 FLEET

104 feet89 feet27 feet

LengthSpanHeight

DOUGLAS DC·9·32 flEET

Prall &Whitney JT8D·1 (14,000 Ib) x 290,700lb700 miles

EnginesMGTOWRange

This early DC-9-J4 is seen awaiting take-off at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

Twin-Jet ChoiceOn 20 July 1964, TW.A. ordered 20 Douglas DC-9-14s, plus 20 more on option) at a cost of$86 million, for its short-haul routes. It had flirted with the idea of the French Caravelle in 1962(see page 74) and no doubt had considered the British BAC One-Eleven, but it elected to staywith the American version of the twin-jet, a design formula that airline planners considered tobe the most economical for short-haul routes.

Development of the DC-9 was rapid. The first flight was on 25 February 1965 and DeltaAir Lines put it into service on 8 December of that year. TW.A. followed soon afterwards,starting New York-Kansas City service with the -14 variant on 17 March 1966-just beforeHoward Hughes terminated his association with the airline that he had done so much to nur­ture (see page 73).

Not to be outdone-this was during a period when airline traffic was expanding vigor­ously-TW.A. placed, on 2 September 1966 and 18 October 1967, two very large orders forBoeing 747s, 727s, and 707s, and augmented its order for the Boeing supersonic 2707. Theairline was full of confidence, and showed it by a catchy slogan: Up, Up, and Away, with TWA.

77

Stretched to the LimitMCDONNELL MD·82

Fleel Regn. MSN Delivery RemarksNo. Dale

90BB N928TW 48012 31 Oec 97 MO-81 converted 10 MO-82, Ju197_ Ex-Iwi,sair.9082 N922TW 48013 24Jun97 MO-81 converled 10 MO-82, Oec 96. Ex-Iwissoif.leased

from McOonnell-Oouglas_90B9 N929TW 48014 5Mar 98 MO-81 converted 10 MO-82, Aug 97. Ex-Iwilloif.9084 N924TW 49100 6Oct 97 MO-81 converted 10 MO-82, Aug 97. Ex-Iwilloif.9081 N921TW 49101 18Mor97 MO-81 converted 10 MO-82, Aug 96_ Ex-Iwilloif.9002 N902TW 49113 27 Apr 839003 N903TW 49114 12 May 839004 N904TW 49116 24 May 839001 N905TW 49157 27 May 839006 N906TW 49160 23 Jun 839007 N907TW 49165 2Sep 839001 N90lTW 49166 18 Apr 839008 N908TW 49169 22 lep 839009 N909TW 49170 130cl839011 N9llTW 49182 9 Oec 839012 N912TW 49183 20 Oec 839013 N913TW 49184 23 Mar 849014 N914TW 49185 15 Apr 849015 N915TW 49186 19 Apr 849016 N916TW 49187 25 Apr 849060 N960TW 49231 2Aug 96 Ex-Alasko Airlines_9086 N926TW 49356 10lep 97 MO-81 converted 10 MO-82, Moy 97. Ex-Iwilloif.9085 N925TW 49357 15 Aug 97 MO-81 converted 10 MO-82, Apr 97. Ex-lwissoif.90B7 N927TW 49318 12 Oe< 97 MO-81 converted to MO-82, Jun 97_ Ex-Iw"sair.9017 N9171W 49366 23 Apr 859018 N918lW 49367 25 Apr 859019 N919lW 49368 2May 859020 N920lW 49369 8Moy 859083 N923TW 49379 9Apr 97 Ex-Adria Airways.9054 N954U 49426 31 Oec 879015 N955U 49427 2Jon889056 N956U 49701 17Jun889057 N957U 49702 17Jun889058 N958U 49703 6Jul889059 N959U 49704 6Jul889061 N940AI 49825 30 Apr 98 Ex-Alaska Airlines_9062 N962TW 49925 Nov 98 Ex N941AI

Fleel Regn. MSN Delivery RemarksNo. Dole

9062 N941AI 49925 12 Nov 98 Ex-Alaska Airlines_9409 N94091 53121 31 Mar 94 Ex·Compass Airlines.9406 N9406W 53126 29 Jul939401 N9401W 53137 19 Jul939402 N9402W 53138 28 Jun 939403 N9403W 53139 28 Jun 939404 N9404V 53140 24 Jul939405 N94051 53141 12Jul939412 N9412W 53187 31 Aug 959413 N94131 53488 29 lep 959414 N9414W 53489 27 Oct 959511 N951TW 53570 28 Jun 96 Ex-Alaska Airlines_9630 N9630A 53561 13Moy 979615 N9615W 53562 29Jul979616 N9616G 53563 26 Aug 979617 N96l7R 53564 161,p979618 N9618A 53565 24 Del 979619 N9619V 53566 2Oec 979620 N96200 53591 18 Nov 979621 N9621A 53592 30 Jun 989611 N9611A 53593 11 Aug 989624 N96241 535949625 N9625W 53595 21 Oct 989626 N96261 53596 30 Nov 989627 N9627R 53597 15 Oec 989618 N9618W 53598 16 Jon 99

Fleel Regn. MSN Delivery RemarksNo. Dale

9629 N9629H 53599 161,b999661 N961TW 53611 12 Moy 999662 N962TW 53611 20 Moy 999663 N963lW 53613 25 Moy 999664 N964lW 53614 8Jun 999665 N965TW 53615 18 Jun 999666 N966lW 53616 29Jun999667 N967lW 53617 7Jul999668 N968TW 53618 19Jul999669 N969TW 53619 27 Jul999670 11970TW 53610 9Aug 999671 N971TW 53621 18Aug 999672 N972TW 53621 27 Aug 999673 N973TW 53613 10 I,p 999674 N974lW 53614 171,p999675 N975TW 53615 175,p999676 N976TW 53626 8 Del 999677 N9677W 53627 29 Del 999678 N978TW 53628 20 Oct 999679 N979TW 53629 10 Nov 999680 N980TW 53630 18 Nov 999681 N96818 53631 30 Nov 999682 N982TW 53631 10 Oec 999683 N983lW 53633 17 Oec 999684 N984lW 53634 18 Oec 99

N984TVI was Ih, 109 Oouglas (McOonnell Oouglas) MO-80 built, ond nom,d, oppropriolely, Spirit of Long 8,oc6_

MCDONNELL DOUGLAS MD·83Fleel Regn. MSN Delivery Remarks and DisposalNo. Dale

9305 N9305N 49395 17Moy96 Ex-linea Aeropostol Venezolono olAV.9407 EI-CKB 49400 19 May 94 Ex-Poromount Alrw0Y'. Ex-BWIA Inlernolionol.

Reregi'lered N9407R_9301 N931TW 49127 10 Jul879302 N93028 49528 16Jul879303 N9303K 49529 31ep879304 N9304C 49530 91ep879306 N93061 49567 6Apr 969408 EI-BWO 49575 9Aug 94 Ex-8WIA Internotionol. Wings of Pride oircroh_ Leased

by employees far oirline.9308R N9308R 49657 16 Nov 99 Ex-Alosko Airlines_ Ex N939AI_9307 N9410R 49663 30 Mar 94 Ex-Paramount Airways. Ex-Avia(o. Ex-Venus Airlines.9410 EI-CIW 49785 13 Moy 94 Leased from Corolene ltd 13 May 8410 23 Moy 97_

9411W N9411W 49787 29 Apr 94 Converted 10 MO-83, Aug 94_ Ex Nil OHM_9420 1194200 49824 23 Oec 96 Ex-8WIA Inlernolionol.

78

,-

MD-83 (N9402Wj in flight_

McDonnell Douglas DC-'-82 (MD-82)142 seats. 575 mph

TRANS WORLD••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

•

Delivery scheme for the first DC-9-80s sported a bare-metal upper vertical fin.This was later painted all white to conform to other TWA aircraft.

This was T.WA. 'sfirst of a largejleet of 101 "stretched" Douglas DC-9-80s,or McDonnell Douglas MD-80 Series as they became known.

Pratt &Whitney JT8D-217C (20,000 Ib) x 2140,0001b1,500 miles

148 feet108 feet30 feet

DC-9-30

DC-9-10

DC-9-80

LengthSpanHeight

,........... ~ ~

(.;;::::::=~~~

............

'-=

EnginesMGTOWRange

An Old TraditionBack in the 1930s, the Douglas company had shown considerable enterprise in developing itsoriginal twin piston-engined world-beater, the legendary DC-3. Later, in the 1940s and 1950s,it did the same with the four-engined DC-4/6/7 series; and continued the tradition of "stretch­ing" the fuselage with the DC-8 jets. It did even better with the short-haul twin-jet, the DC-9,which went into service with Delta in 1965 (see page 77). This started off as an airliner withas few as 65 seats (or up to 109 in all-economy layout); but with progressive improvements,especially in more engine power, its fuselage was stretched as never before. The Series lO's104-foot length was increased by 15 feet for the Series 30, and further extensions, permittingextra rows of seats, were made with the Series 40 and 50.

Last of the LineDeliveries of this fine airliner, with its unmistakable silhouette in the sky, continued until the endof 1999. The last one went to St. Louis on 28 December of that year. It had taken off from thefactory where the airplane was first conceived and developed, at Long Beach, California; andalthough TW.A. had abandoned its practice of naming its aircraft at the end of the piston-enginedpropeller era, th.is was a special case. TW.A. fleet number 9654, manufacturer's serial number(msn) 53634, registration number N984TW, was proudly named the Spirit of Long Beach.

The Dash 80The ultimate challenge to the Douglas engineers came when their project office proposed a fur­ther IS-foot stretch of the Series 50. This became the Series 80, or the Super 80, and follow­ing the inevitable change of nomenclature resulting from the McDonnell Douglas merger in thelate 1960s, this highly successful airliner was known as the MD·80. Remarkably, its additionallength, devoted entirely to the passenger cabin, permitted a seating capacity of 172, twice asmany as in the first DC-9-1O. The first airline to put this version, a DC-9-81, into service wasSwissair, on 5 October 1980. TW.A. took delivery of its first MD-82 in April 1983, and likedit so much that it kept buying more of both the 82 and the 83 variants. It even bought some ofSwissair's 81s and converted them to 82s.

79

Workhorse JetBOEING 727-231

T W.A. 's Boeing 727-231A, N54341 shows oj]' i1s classic lines.

Fleel Regn. MSN Delivery Aircraft Names Remarks and DisposalsNumber Dole (unofficial)

4301 NI1301 19558 8 Mar 68 Porkie' Flagship laid f58U, Aug 83, leased bock,relurned10 lessar, 11 Mor94.

4301 NI1301 19559 1Apr 68 Parkys Pelunia laid fIBU, Aug 83, leased,relurned, 18 Apr 94.

4303 NI1303 19560 1May 68 Hambane lold fIBU, Aug 83, leased,relurned,5Moy94.

4304 NI1304 19561 18 Moy 68 POf( dulour Loosellio Nolionol Airlines from 15 Oe< 681016 Apr 69. lold 10 f18U, Aug 83,leased ond relurned 10 lessor, 31 Jon 95.

4305 N11305 19561 15 Moy 68 Picnic Ham lold Aug 83, leased bock. Relurned31 Aug 91.

4306 NI1306 19563 17Jun68 Hooven Hombone laid F58U, Aug 83, leased,relurned, 16 Moy 94.

4307 NI1307 19564 19Jul68 Pigadilly lold F5BU, Aug 83, leased,relurned, 31 Aug 91.

4308 N11308 19565 11Jul68 Lordstar lold FI8U, Feb 84, leased,relurned,IFeb96.

4309 N51309 19818 19Jul68 Sows Aboutlt Sold FI8U, Feb 84, leased,Duror Delight relurned,INov95.

4310 N51310 19819 171ep68 Squealor Pealor Sold FIBU, feb 84, leased,returned. Ilored Kansas, Apr 97.

4311 N51311 19830 10 lep 68 Spring (hitlin Sold fIBU, feb 84, leased,relurned. Ilored Kansas, Mar 97.

4311 N51311 19831 171ep68 Lord Sakes Sold fIBU, Aug 83, leased,relurned,Mor97.

4313 N51313 19831 II Del 68 Kermit's Desire Leased by Nalionol Airlines, 10Nov 6810 16 Apr 69. laid 10f18U, feb 84, leased bock.SloredKonsos,MO.

4314 N94314 10047 3feb 69 Hampshire Humper laid 10 CIT Leasing Corp., 7Mar 95,leased bock, relurned 17 Mar 99.

4315 N64315 10048 11 Feb 69 Hog lander laid 6Jon 99.4316 N44316 10049 17 Feb 69 TroughAlol1 laid 10 AIC Jun84,leosed bock,

relurned Oe< 94.4317 N74317 10050 7Mar69 Weiner Winger Sold 10 AIC, Jun 1984, leased bock,

relurned 1Nov 94.4318 N74318 10051 16 Apr 69 Pigmolion Sold 10 AIC, Jun 84, leased bock,

relurned 31 Aug 91.4319 N64319 10051 18 Apr 69 Aurora Sooria/is loosed by Nononol Airlines, 11 Oe<

6810 15 Apr 70. laid 10 AIC, Jun84, loosed bock.

4310 N64310 10053 18 Apr 69 lard Above Leased by National Airlines, 11 Oe<68 10 15 Apr 70. laid 10 AlC, Jun84,leosedbock.

4311 N64311 10054 15 May 69 Heavenly Hog laid 10 AIC, Jun 84, leased bock,relurned to leaser, 10 De< 94.

4311 N64311 10055 18 Apr 69 Ham Sweet Ham Sold 10 AIC, Jun 84, loosed bock.4313 N64313 10098 15Jun69 Petulant Petunia lold 10 AI(, Jun 84, leased bock,

relurned 10 leaser, 18 May 91.4314 N64314 10099 1Jul69 Guilty Lady laid 10 AI(, Jun 84, leased bock,

relurned 10 looser, 28 May 92.4325 N54325 10232 3 Feb 70 Soulh Dakota Suey 101d6Jon99.4316 N54326 20133 5Feb70 Sky Snool

Me-a-Farrow4327 1154327 20234 17 Feb 70 Poland (hino Diner4328 N54328 20306 3Mar70 (roshed Mounl Weolher,

Upperville, VA, on opprooch 10Dulles International Airport,I De< 74.

~I,~~L Regn. MSN D~~t~y Ai\~~~!lf~i~Tles Remarks and Disposals

4319 N54319 10307 IOMar70 Piggy SueMakin BaconHampshire Humper

4330 N54330 10308 1Apr 70 Shorilardoge4331 N54331 10309 7Apr 70 Smokin Porkin4331 N54331 10310 4May 70 Porkys Palace Sold 5Jon 99.4333 N54333 10460 31 Mar 71 StySlor loosed 10 (opilol Air Express,

Pig 0' My Hearl Jun 9310 Oc193. 50ld 14 Apr 99.4334 N54334 10461 6Apr 7l Truffle Hunler laid 30Sep 99.4335 N54335 10461 1Moy7l Slrata Swine laid 10 CIT leasing Carp., 7Mar

95, leased bock and relurned4Aug 99.

4336 N54336 20490 11 Moy7l Fog Hog 501dloCIT, 9Mar 95, leased,relurned 8 Nov 99.

4337 N54337 20491 26 May 71 Oklahoma Oinker 50ld 10 CIT, 10 Mar 95, leased,returned 11 Oel99.

Note: FSBU =First Securily Bonk of Utah, ASC =Aviolion Sales Company

BOEING 727-231 (Advanced)Fleel Regn. MSN Delivery AircraFI Names Remarks and DisposalsNumber Dale (unofficial)

4338 N54338 10843 31 Aug 74 Pickled Pigs Fleet4339 N64339 20844 5lep 74 Swine, Slar of Beirut llee foolnole)4340 N54340 20845 10 lep 74 80con Bomber Relired 65ep 004341 NI4341 11628 13Mar79 Gloria VonderGil1 •4341 N54341 11619 20 Mar 79 Hom Track

Oty 01 Smithfield4343 N24343 21630 11 Mar 79 Boeing Soaring4344 N54344 21631 18 Mar 79 DId long Swine4345 N54345 21632 2Apr 79 Pork line (onneded Relurned 10 lessar 8Jun 004346 N64346 21633 5Ar 79 Sue Dui Relired 11 5ea 00

Note: This oireroN was hiiocked on 14 June 1985 but relurned 10 service. Employees called il theSilver Bullet, on experimenlol bore-metal scheme, one of four if hod 01 various limes. It was Ihe lost727 in TWA. service, retired on 30 Seplember 2000.

Fleel Regn. MSN Delivery Aircraft Names Remarks and DisposalsNumber Dole (unofficial)

4347 N64347 21634 11 Apr 79 Rood Hog laid 15 Oc199.4348 N54348 11967 18 Mar 80 My Hammy Vice4349 N54349 21968 26 feb 80 Sty Stream4350 N54350 11969 19 feb 80 SowBelly 5uffered explosion oIID,OOO feet over

Greece on I<heduled f1ighllo Athens·2Apr 86.

4351 N54351 11983 l3feb 80 Ozone Oinker4352 N54352 21984 20 feb 80 Ham Commander4353 N54353 11985 11 feb 80 Shorllardage Relired 31 Jul 00; relurned 10 Pegosus

Poland (hina (/ipper 5Sep 004354 N54354 11986 6 Mar 80 Millenium Wollower Retired 28 Oec 99; sold 10 Pegasus 21 Jun 004355 N84355 11987 11 Mar 80 Porker FoHer laid 14 Dec 99.4356 N84356 11988 30 Mar 80 San Juan Brisiler Sold 10 Red Apple Aviotion Services,

14 Aug 90.4357 N84357 11989 3 Apr 80 Barbados 8ristler laid to (I] leasing (orparotion, 9Mar 95,

leosed bock and relurned 18 Jon 99.

BOEING 727-235Fleel Regn. MSN Delivery Aircraft Names Remarks and DisposalsNumber Dale

1746 N4746 19466 May 68 }1748 N4748 19468 May 69 Leased, Nolionol Airlines unlil Oc169.

1750 N4750 19470 May 69

N54341-N54354 (10846·208591 concelled; nol buill.

BOEING 727·295Fleel Regn. MSN Delivery Aircraft Names Remarks and DisposalsNumber Dole

1639 N1639 19444 29 Jon 68 leosed from Northeos1 Airlines Apr·\ep 68

80

Boeing 727·231123 seats • 605 mph

•TWA

Tri-Jet DevelopmentContinuing its competitive efforts over the more densely travelled domestic air routes, T.W.A.augmented its fleet of Boeing 727 tri-jets, as well as increasing its fleet of DC-9 twins. Its first727s had started service in 1964 (see page 75) and in March 1968 the fleet was augmented bya further consignment of "stretched" versions, the Boeing 727-200 series. The inaugural -200service had been made over the 1,100-mile New York-Miami route by a Northeast Airlines"Yellowbird." While lacking the range of the 707, it was about the same size, and, short of non­stop coast-to-coast routes, could operate between almost any city pair in the United States.

For many years, the Boeing 727 was the most successful commercial jet airliner on themarket. A total of 1,832 Boeing 727s of all types was built, a record that stood until the Boeing737 twin-jet series overhauled it. T.W.A. had 92 of both 727 series, but showed a preference forthe Douglas twins, augmenting its fleet especially when it absorbed Ozark Air Lines (page 91).Another scenic view o.f one of T. WA. :\. workhorse Boeing tri-jels.

EnginesMGTOWRange

Pratt &Whitney JT8D·9 (14,000 Ib) x 3165,000-185,000 Ib

1,700 miles

LengthSpanHeight

153 feet108 feet34 feet

81

Wide-Bodied Era BOEING 747 FLEET

The Big BoeingJust as it had done in 1955, when Pan American ordered 45 jetairliners, to launch the Jet Age in earnest, Juan Trippe did itagain in 1965, by persuading the Seattle manufacturer to buildthe Boeing 747, another airliner that was twice as big as itspredecessor. Paradoxically, Pan Am was to acquire too many747s too quickly, but having been persuaded, Boeing went on tobuild more than a thousand "Jumbo Jets"-and is still buildingthem 35 years later, an amazing tribute to a great design.

On 2 September 1966 T.W.A. placed a large order forBoeing aircraft and this included 12 747s. At the time, likemost large airlines, confidence was high. During thatsummer, service had been resumed to Bangkok, and extendedto Hong Kong. On 6 April 1967 the last Constellation wasretired from domestic service and on 11 May the very last ofthat famous airliner was withdrawn from overseas routes.T.W.A. was the first major U.S. domestic airline to becomeall-jet. In the same year, riding high, it acquired the HiltonHotel chain on 9 May, and placed another multi-milliondollar Boeing order on 18 October, to augment the 747 fleetto 34. T.W.A.'s Jumbo Jets entered service on 25 February1970, on the premier transcontinental route, Los Angeles­New York, and on 18 March on the world's most prestigiousintercontinental route, New York-London.

Pacific InterludeFor several years, the Civil Aeronautics Board had beenwrestling with two important issues, the trans-Pacific and theassociated Hawaii Route Cases. The U.S.trans-Pacific traffichad hitherto been shared between Pan American and North­west to Asia, Pan Am only to Australasia, and Pan Am, North­west, and United to Hawaii. Now, other airlines wanted apiece of this lucrative cake, and T.W.A. was one of them.President Johnson signed the Pacific Route Case on 19December 1968 and the Hawaii Case on 4 January 1969, justbefore he left office. The incoming President Nixon promptlyamended the choice of airlines and routes, but T.W.A. never­theless received its share, and opened service on I August1969. This enabled the airline to complete a round-the-worldservice, with Boeing 707s, on 31 October 1971.

The route was not as successful as expected because ofstrong competition and the consequent excessive capacityoffered. Accordingly, T.W.A. and Pan American entered intoa route standardization agreement on 16 October 1974, andT.W.A. suspended its Pacific route on 2 March 1975.

82

Fleet Reg. MSN Delivery Remarks and DisposalNumber Date

Series 13117101 N93101 19667 18 Aug 70 Sold to 8oeing, 4Mor 75. Converted to 747·13l(Fl for lronian

Air Force.17102 N93102 19668 31 Oec 69 Cily of Poris. Sold to 8oeing, 14 Nov 7S. Converted to

747·13l(F) for lronian Air Force.17103 1193103 19669 8 Od 70 Sold to 8oeing, 2Oec 75. Converted 10 747·13l(Fllor lronion

Air Force.17104 1193104 19670 20 Feb 70 lensed to Tower Air, 10 Oec 90 to 15 Apr 91. Sold 10 Jet·Awoy

Aviation Services, 30Jun 97.171 OS N93105 19671 7Mor70 Stored Kansas Cily, Dec 96.17106 N93106 19672 3Apr 70 Sold to J88lensing Inc., 22 Dec 89, lensed bock and returned,

25Mor92.17107 N93107 19673 29 Apr 70 Sold to Pocilic Aircorp 747 Inc., I Nov 93, lensed bock.17108 1193108 19674 7 May 70 Slor of Madrid. Sold 10 POlilic Aircorp 747 Inc., 1Nov 93,

leased bOlk.17109 N93109 1967S 23 May 70 Sold to CIT lensing Corporation, 7 Mor 95, lensed bock.17115 119311\ 20320 20 May 71 lensed lrom First Chicogo lensing Corp., 20 May 70 10 1Jun

86. Coverted to 747·13l(Fl for Evergreen IntI. Airlines.17116 1153116 20321 21 May 71 leased lrom GATX lensing Corporation, 21 May 71 10 1Jun

86. Leased again lrom I May 87. 80ughtlS Dec 93. Sold toCIT lensing Corporalion,7Mor 95, lensed bock.

17117 1193117 20322 24 May 71 lensed lrom GATX leasing Corporation, 25 May 71 to 1Jun86. lensed lrom Citicorp Norlh Americo Inc., 5 Dec 88,relurned 30 tlov 92.

Series 125/131 (Eastern Air Lines, not taken up)17113 1193113 20080 22 Del 70 Sold to 8oeing, 31 Mor 75. Converled 10 747·131(F) lor

Iranion Air Force.17114 N93114 20081 2 Nov 70 Sold to 8oeing, 3 Nov 75. Converted to 747·1311FJ lor

lronian Air Force.17118 N93118 20082 2Sep71 Sold to 8oeing, 13 Nov 75. Converted to 747·1311Fl for

Iranian Air Force.17119 N93119 20083 27 Od 71 Sold to 8oeing, 15 Dec 75 for conversion 10 747·131(F) for

IronianAir Force. 80ught from 8oeing, 16 Dec 76. CroshedinloAtlontic Ocean all long Island, NY., 17 Ju196.

Series 13117110 N53110 19676 10 Aug 70 WFU Feb 98.17111 N53111 19677 26 Sep 70 Sold 10 8oeing, IS Del 75. Converted 10 747·131(F) for

JranionAir Force.17112 1153112 19678 4Ort 70 Sold to 8oeing, 14 Mor 75. Converted 10 747·131(F) for

lronionAirForce.

Series 1136 I I I17125 NI7125 20271 25 Mor 81 } Ex·80AC/8A. Sold to JB8 leasing Inc., 26 Dec 89,17126 N126TW 20273 30 Mor 81 leased bock and returned, 28 Mar 91.

Series 143

17128 1'117010 119729112 Jul96 IEx·Alitolio, HOViaii Express, Flying TIger line, PeapleExpress/Continental Air lines. Be·registered 11l28TW.

Series 156

17133 1 NI33TW 11995711 May 80 IEx·lberia.17134 t1134TW 19958 17Feb 81 Ex·lberio. Stored, Jon 97.

Series 2388

17307 11l307TW 120009130 May 961 Ex·Oonlas, Air lleVi Zealand, Air lanka. Stored Morano, AZ.,Jan 97. Sold 10 Firsl Securily 8ank, 30 May 97, leased bock.

Fleet Reg. MSN Delivery Remarks and DisposalNumber Dale

Series 257817303

I"".10116 17Moy85 Ex·Swissoir, Notional, Notional Airlines, Egypt Air. Sold 10

United Aviation Services Inc, 15 Jun 90, leased bock.17304 N304TW 20117 1Apr 85 Shepherd I. Ex·Swissoir, Notional, Notional Airlines, Egypt Air.

Used for Pope John Paul II second TWA Tour Sep 87 return toBome. Sold 10 United Avialion Services Inc. 29 Jun 90.

Series 206817306 r11306TW 120398113 Mor 94 1 Ex·KLM, America Wesl, Garudo. Siored Kansas City, jun 94.

Sold 10 Pegasus Capilal Corp 15Ju196, leased bock. StoredMarana AZ. Jan 97.

Series 282817301 iN301TW 120501 1 20 Oec 84 1 } Ex·TAP ·Air Portugal. Sold to Poloris Aircraft leasing17302 N302TW 20502 30 Oel 84 Corp., leased bock from 20 Dec 84 10 3 Dec 92.

Series 284817305 I N30lTW I 20742 I 11 Apr 85 I Ex·Olympic Airways. Siored Morano, AI., Jun 97.

Series SP-3117201 N8101 11961 21 Mar 80 Sold to United Arab Emirates Government as VIP lransporl,

21 Feb 85.17202 N57202 21962 21 Mor80 leased 10 80eing I Feb 81 to 1Jun 81. Sold to Jet Aviation,

24 Ju184. 80ught bock lrom Jet Associates Inlernotionat, 16Ju186. Sold 10 American Airlines, 17 Ju186.

17203 1157203 21963 8May 80 Sold to American Airlines, 16 O[t 86. (unently used os VIPtransport lor Government 01 Ouboi Boyol Flight.

Series 12817129 1 NI74GM 121141 1 22 Jun 96 1 leased lrom Aviation leasing Group from 12 Jun 96.

Be·registered NI29TW Dec 96. Stared Jan 97.

Capacity SharingThe Pacific agreement with Pan Am was symptomatic of aproblem that had resulted from the enormous increase in thecapacity offered world-wide by the influx of the 360-seat747s, augmented by the 270-seat Douglas DC-1O and Lock­heed L-IO I I tri-jets. The problem was also acute in theU.S.A., where, for example, three airlines all offered a 9 a.m.departure from New York to Los Angeles-all at a disastrous35% or so load factor.

On the initiative of Mel Brenner, T.W.A.'s advocate forcommon sense in a strictly regulated environment which wassupposed to encourage competition, the C.A.B. and the JusticeDepartment agreed, on 21 December 1970, to a capacityscheduling agreement, so that the airlines could continue tocompete without cutting each other's throats. This sensibleT.W.A. initiative was appreciated on all sides, and was a har­binO'er of an even more liberal approach to the problem, onetha~was solved by the Airline Deregulation Act, signed byPresident Carter on 24 October 1978. T.W.A. would, in yearsto come, face fresh challenges, fierce competition, and threatsto its very existence.(p. 90)

Boeing 747-131

• • •

342-433 seats • 590 mph

The Boeing 747, called the "Jumbo Jet" from the time it first went into service in 1970, hasalready served the airlines for three decades, and will probably still be in front-line flagshipservice for for many more years yet. This will be as long as all the generations of airlinersbefore 1970, at least from the debut of the first DC-3. Its reign covers half of the proverbialthree-score years and ten-quite a lifetime. When they started service, the 747s cost $21 mil­lion each. Now, a Series - 400 would cost about $140 million.

In mixed class seating layout, it accommodates between 350 and 390 passengers; but inJapan, where a special short-haul version is used to connect the major centers of population,the airlines put in 530 seats, or the capacity of an average-sized London theater. Like all thetrans-Atlantic jets, it makes a round-trip between Europe and the United States within 24hours, and its productivity is thus about five times higher than that of an ocean liner such asthe Queen Mary. At least two of T.W.A.'s 747s were retired only after no less than 100,000hours of flight time, a truly impressive record of aeronautical achievement.

*Initially, later JT9D-7A (46,950Ib)

232 feet196 feet63 feet

LengthSpanHeight

BOEING*Pratt &Whitney JT9D-3 (43,500 Ib) x 4

734,OOOIb4,000 miles

EnginesMGTOWRange

--;.1

-' .'". i'IWvu "

7lU,i'AtJ!/~ ~~." ::.:. ~".'~""''''.. - , .

This Boeing 747, landing at New York's John F Kennedy International Ai/port, carries the airline'srevised "OLitline" TRANS WORLD paint scheme. (photo: Roger Bentley)

83

More Range

The standard Boeing 747-100 can be clearly recognized, by com­parison with the Sp' which was shorter, with fewer windows, and

had a taller vertical stabilizer.

{"

One ofT.WA. 's three Boeing 747SPs.

tralia's population, for example, is less than that of New Yorkor California, so the potential traffic for non-stop routes,although measurable, was not enough to justify an airlinefleet. And the traffic across the Atlantic still concentrated onthe major destinations in northwest Europe, and did not needSpecial Performance.

Today, a quarter of a century after the Boeing 747SPopened service, the urban populations all over the world havegrown considerably, to bring one element of the gravity modelup to acceptance level for fleet forecasting purposes. Southernand eastern Asia, especially, contain many cities, each withmore than ten million inhabitants, and with strong commercialtravelling requirements. But special versions of the world'sleading airliner types are no longer needed. The basic versionscan all fulfill the most demanding ranges required by all theintercontinental airlines.

Were the 747SP to be reintroduced today, the market needwould no doubt generate greater sales than in the 1970s. Buttoday's front-line flagships can all fly ranges sufficient for allthe trans-ocean city pairs. The Airbus A340, the Boeing 767,and the Boeing 777 can theoretically encircle the world at thetemperate zone latitudes with only one stop.

The Need for Non-StopsAirline passengers as a rule wish to take their journeys with­out the inconvenience of having to stop en route. They simplywish to reach their destinations as quickly as possible. Thus,during the best years of the piston-engined era, the airlinermanufacturers were able to develop their products so that theDouglas DC-7s and the Lockheed Constellation series couldoffer first, non-stop transcontinental range in the U.S.A.(about 2,500 miles), then non-stop trans-Atlantic (about 3,500miles). Later improvements brought non-stop U.S. west coastto Europe, and, in the 1970s, California-Japan.

Limited DemandThe main reason, however, why the SP did not shake up theprocurement patterns (and much to the satisfaction of Doug­las, which found difficulty on matching such range with itsDC-lOs) was because the market was inadequate to justifylarge fleets of extremely long-ranged airliners. Transporteconomists and forecasters are acutely aware of the "gravitymodel" or theory which, in general principle, states---quitereasonably- that the greater the population, the greater thedemand. More people, more traffic. But also, the furtherpeople are apart from each other, the less they are likely totravel; and this applies to business and leisure travel alike, theinfluencing factors being mainly time and cost.

The Boeing 747SP was a victim of the gravity theory.Lines drawn on a world map to link big cities that were farapart from each other were found to be optimistic in terms ofpotential traffic demand, because of the gravity model. Aus-

New York - TokyoThe Boeing 747 could accomplish all these missions withease. But Pan American Airways wanted something more: noless than New York to Tokyo non-stop, a distance of 6,754statute miles, with a full payload. The Boeing Companyobliged with a special version of its Jumbo Jet, the SpecialPerformance variant, or the Boeing 747SP. This was achievedby providing extra tankage and more powerful engines, butmainly by shortening the fuselage to lighten the all-up weight.

Pan American opened its New York-Tokyo route on 25April 1976; but quite surprisingly, the airline world did notrush to Seattle to join the long-range club. Even Japan AirLines, which would have been expected to react with match­ing non-stop service, chose not to; and - perhaps wisely­waited for the expected development of the standard 747series.

84

Boeing 7475P290 seats • 594 mph

~ .TRANS WORLD

•••••••••••••

:

In addition to its shortened fuselage, the 747SP hada taller vertical fin and 'clean' wing trailing edges,devoid of 'canoe 'flap trackfarings as seen on the747-100 (see page 83).

The Boeillg 747SP was immediately recogllizabie as its shortened lellgth emphasized the girthof its wide-bodied 'jlllllbo'fuseiage.

EnginesMGTOWRange

Pratt &Whitney JT9D·7A (50,000 lb.) x 4630-700,000 Ib

7,500 miles

LengthSpanHeight

185 feet196 feet65 feet

THE EARLY BOEING 7475 COMPARED

--Dimensions (feet'

--- -- --Type Span Length (obin Typical Fuel (o~ocitr MGTOW Payload

Length Seating (US go Ions

747·100 196 232 187 340 47,330 71 0·735,000 Ib 169,5001b

747SP 196 185 139 300 48,780 630·700,000Ib 80,000Ib--

Trans World Airlines did not join the initial rush to buy the Boeing 747SP. But on 17 October1978, it ordered 3 aircraft for direct routes to the Middle East. They were operated for only afew years. Aside from the limitations imposed by the gravity theory, the new Boeing 767 wason its way, and the performance and potential of the new generation of this wide-bodied twinairliner usurped the merits of the SP.

85

LOCKHEED TRISTAR FLEET

The Big Tri-JetDelayed Debut for the L·1 011The advent of the Boeing 747 wide-bodied airliner stimulateda surge of airline traffic growth throughout the world and acrossthe United States. The potential market encouraged other man­ufacturers to add more wide-bodied types (8-10 abreast seatinginstead of 6). For the short-haul, the twin-engined EuropeanAirbus was to make its mark, and the traditional adversaries ofpiston-engined times entered the field. Douglas and Lockheedboth offered tri-jet candidates that were quite similar in design.The former was quickly off the mark, and its DC-1O went intoservice with American Airlines on 5 August 1971.

Fleet Reg. MSN Delivery Remarks and DispasalNumber Date

Model L-1011-385-1 TriStar 1N309EA 1010 Leased from Enslern Air Unes Apr 72 - Oc173. Apr 74 - Oc174.

11001 N31001 1013 9M,y 72 25 Jun 72, lWl)) inaugurol f1ighISTl-LAX. leased from andrelurned I' ING Avi,tion lease, 20 M,y 95.

11002 NI1002 1014 4Jul72 Deslroyed by fire ,fter ,barled I,ke-,ff JFK, NY., 30 Ju192.11003 1111003 1015 12 Aug 72 Slared Kingman, AI., Jul 97.11004 1111004 1016 30 Aug 72 S,ld I' Air Allanl', Iceland, 25 Feb 98.11005 NII005 1017 27 Sep 7211006 HIIOD6 1018 26 lop 72 Eoslern Air lines leased 22 Hov 72 to 23 May 73.11007 H31007 1026 7Apr 73 Deslroyed by ground fire, Basion, 19 Apr 74.11008 1131008 1028 21 Apr 73 Siored Kingman, AI., Jon 97.11009 N31009 1029 16 May 73 Leased, relurned 10 Fi~1 Security 80nk ,I Uloh, 24 Hov 92.11010 N31010 1030 29M,y73 Leased, relurned I' ING Avi'lian Lease, 19 Nov 92.11011 N3101l 1031 I Jun 73 leased, returned 10 Inlerfore Group Inc., 19 Dec 92.11012 N41012 1034 2DJun73 Shepherd II. leased, relurned I, Inledore Group Inc.,

19 Dec 92.11013 1131013 1035 4Jul73 S,ld I, GP Aer Lease limited, 15 Nov 97.11014 1131014 1036 4Jul73 Sold I, Air Tronsol, 30 May 96.11325 11325EA 1051 Leased lrom Eoslern Air lines Apr 75 - Oel 75.

H326EA 1054 Leased from Eoslern Air lines Apr 74 - Oc174.11015 1131015 1059 23 Jon 74 leosed, relurned I, Fi~15ecurity Bonk ,I Uloh, 7 Dec 93.11016 1141016 1060 I Feb 74 leased, relurned 10 Pegasus Aircraft Partners, 28 Apr 97.11017 1115017 1063 23Feb 74 Big Apple Express. 5,ld I' Elmo Venlures Ltd., 31 Mar 98.11032 1131032 1124 24Feb 76 S,ld I' Saudi Arobion Airlines, 25 Feb 76.11033 1131033 1130 23Feb76 S,ld I' Saudi Arobion Airlines, 24 Feb 76.

Fleet Reg. MSN Delivery Remarks and DispasalNumber Date

Model L-1011-385-1 TriStar 501I01B N31018 1065 23 Mar 74 Conv., Apr B4. Leased, relurned t, Fi~t Security Bonk ,f Uloh,

23Sep93.11019 N31019 1066 18 Apr 74 (onv,. Apr 81. Leased, returned 10 First Security Bonk of Utah,

310el97.11020 1141020 1072 27 Apr 74 Eoslern Air Unes leased from 13 lIov 74 I' 28 Apr 75. Gull Air

leased lrom 15 lIov )) I' 9 Mar 81. Conv., Apr 81. Leased,relurned t, P,I,mor Copil,llnveslmenls Carp., 21 Dec 92.

11021 H31021 1075 29 May 74 Conv., Mar 84. Leased, relurned I' General Eleclric C,pit,1Corp., 9 Dec 92.

11022 1131022 1076 3Jun 74 Conv., Apr 84. Lensed, relurned I' Cilimrp lIorlh Amerim Inc.,4 Jun 90.

11023 N31023 1080 20 Jun 74 Conv., Apr 81. leased, relurned 10 Credillyonnar/PKAidinonce, 24 Dec 97.

11024 N31024 1091 10 Dec 74 Conv.,ArB1. Leosed,relurnedtoPotom{]((opitoJlnvestmentCarp.,2 Dec 92.

11027 1181027 1107 30 May 75 Gulf Air leased from 15 Ocl 77 I' 30 Mar 81. Conv., Apr 81.leased, relurned I, Wilminglon Trusl C,mpony, 1Feb 96.

Model L-1011-385-1 15 TriStar 100

31025 1181025 1098 13 Dec 74 Converled 10 100, Apr 78. Leased from andreturned 10 Polomoc (opilallnveslmenf Corp., 13 Dec 94.

11026 N81026 1104 l7Feb 75 Converled 10 100, May 78. Leased from ond31026 relurned 10 P,I,morCopitollnveslmentCarp., 16 Dec 94.31028 N81028 1108 9Jul75 Converled I' 100, Feb 78. Converled I, L-I 011-

200 series, Apr 78. Leased I' Delta Air lines 9Apr 78 I, 8Apr80. Converled 10 100, Feb 80. Leased from ondreturned to Polomoc Capitol Investment Corp., 6 Dec 94.

31029 1131029 1109 9Aug 75 Converted 10 100, Mar 78. Canverted 10 L-1011·200 series, Apr 78. Leased I' Delta Air Lines 15 Apr 781' 18Apr 80. Canverted I, 100, Moy 80. Leosed from ond relurned10 Pegasus (opil,1 Corp., 23 Feb 94.

11030 1131030 1111 27 Aug 75 Converled I, 100, Mar 78. Leased lrom and31030 relurned I, P,I,mac Copilollnveslmenl Corp., 8 De< 94.11031 N31031 1115 29 Aug 75 Canverled 1,100, Mor 78. Wilhdrawn fram use and slored31031 Kingmon AI., Aug 97.11032 N31032 1215 4Nov81 leased fram and relurned I' General Eleclrk Copilol Corp.,31032 De< 92.31033 1131033 1221 21 Dec 81 leased from and returned 10 GeneHlI Elecfric(opital (orp.,

9110v 92.31034 118034T 1230 8 Mar 82 Leased from and relurned 10 Generol Electri((apilol (orp.,

Dec 92.31035 1170351 1231 29 Apr 82 Leased fram and relurned I' General Electric Capitol Corp.,

10 tlov 92.31036 117036T 1232 26 Moy 82

Conv. = Conversions to TriSlor 50 from TriSlar 1Nole: AliI 00 series hod 0 31000 series f1eel #. They hod 11000 series as -I series.

The L-IOlJ TriStGl; N31001, shows the revised 'olltlined' TRANS WORLD marking.

86

Lockheed L·l 0 11 TriStar 1275 seats • 495 mph

TWA

-----.:;~ _=_..:::::;;;;;"""__'I0

N31001

178 feet155 feet55 feet

LengthSpanHeight

COMPARISON OF L-IOII VARIANTS UP BY TWA

MGTOW lib) Sample TWA Sealing

TriStar 1 430,000 F28/C48/Y199

TriStar 50 450,000 F18/C40/Y214

TriSlar 100 474,000 F18/C40/Y214

Rolls-Royce 211 RB-22B (42,OOO Ib) x 3430,OOOIb2,600 miles

EnginesMGTOWRange

TRANS WORLD..........

Lockheed was handicapped by its engine manufacturer, Rolls-Royce, coming face-to-face withfinancial ruin (its shares dropped briefly to one penny) and was saved from oblivion only byintervention by the British government. Production of the Lockheed L-IOll TriStar was inabeyance for many months. Then, on 29 March 1968, the program was launched in grand style,with a total. order book for 144 aircraft, of which T.W.A.'s share was 44, but the uncertaintieswere such that the eventual firm order date was 7 May 1971. T.W.A. TriStar service started on25 June 1972.

Otherwise the performance and dimensions of the different series were the same.

87

The long-Haul TwinThe Two-Man CrewDuring the 1970s, the number of crew on the flight deckhad become an important issue, not only because of theelimination of radio officers, navigators, and engineers perse, but because reducing the statutory number from three totwo had a significant effect on the operating costs. Four orfive complete crews are required to operate an airliner thatis being worked at a high utilization rate, so that the airlinesencouraged any move towards reducing crew expenses. Inthe USA, Douglas had initiated the practice with its DC-9sand Boeing followed with the 737s.

The 767 is LaunchedProduction of the Boeing 767 began when United Airlinesplaced an order on 14 July 1978. The first flight was on 26September 1981, and United put it into service on 8 Septem­ber 1982. During the development period, the F.A.A. was stillconducting trials for two-crew operations, following the con-

88

elusions of a presidential task force, announced in July 1981.In fact, the first 767s off the line were retrofitted for two­crew, as Boeing had had to go ahead with the then currentregulatory limitations. The first two-crew flight deck made itsinitial flight on 27 May 1982 - just in time for United'sinaugural- and a versatile new airliner generation was born.

Outstanding SuccessThe 767 was outstandingly successful. It proved its worth ­thanks largely to the two-crew factor - operationally and eco­nomically, on all routes, short-haul, medium-haul, and long­haul. Its prowess in this last category, in which the reliability ofthe engines exceeded all expectations, led to serious thoughts asto the possibility of using it for trans-ocean operations.

HOPS (originally EROPS-extended range...)In May 1985, the F.A.A. approved the Boeing 767 forExtended Twin-Engine Operations (ETOPS) of up to 120minutes from an alternate airport. The program was so suc­cessful that in March 1989, the 767 was approved for a

TRANS WORLD•• • • • •• 0 •••••••••

180-minute diversion. This was a far cry from the late 1960s,when airliners could not even fly in a straight line from NewYork to Miami, because of the distance from an alternate air­port for part of that route. ETOPS was one of the most impor­tant developments in the history of air transport, withthoughts of so-called "four-engined safety" long forgotten,overtaken by technology.

BOEING 767 FLEET

Fleet I Reg. MSN Delivery Remarks and DisposalNumber Dote

Series 231 (ER) all converted from -231

16001 N60lTW 22564 22 Nov 8216002 N602TW 22565 8 Oec 8216003 N603TW 22566 13Jan83 Returned 10 Apr 200016004 N604TW 22567 23Feb8316005 N605TW 22568 17 Dec 8216006 N606TW 22569 13 Apr 8316007 N607TW 22570 26Jul83 Returned 14 Mar 200016008 N608TW 22571 28 Sep 83 Returned 23 Nov 200016009 N609TW 22572 7Sep 83 Returned 17 Sep 199916010 N610lW 22573 23 Nov 83 Star of Geneva

Series 205 (ER) all converted from -23116050 11650lVi 23057 17 Oct 87 Ex-8rootbens, ex-TACA Internatianal Airlines, ex-VARIG,

ex-Britannia Airways. leased from lnlernolionollease FinanceCorporation.

16051 N651TW 23058 15 Oec 94 Ex-BrIllllhens, ex-VARIG, ex-Air New Zealand, ex-Air Pacific.Leased from FirstSecurit 8ank of Utah.

Series 3YER16101 EI-CAl 24952 21 Feb 94 leased GPA Group Ltd. Named 5hepherd Iwhile

lIying the Pope, 4-8 Oct 95. Returned 30 Apr 96.16102 EI-CAM 24953 24Feb94 Leased fram General Electric Capital Carp. {EI·CAM}

Returned 30 Oct 96. Leased from A.L. Carp. af Delaware3Jon 97. (N632TW) AI,o used far Pope in 1998.

16110 N640lW 25411 l5febOO Lease<! from GPA. Returned. Re-leased (fram GESAS) 15 May 0016108 11638lW 26205 23 Feb 00 Leased ta Aerallat by GPA Group Ltd. far 6years and

returned. Leased from GPA Group Ltd.16109 N639lW 26208 22 Feb 00 Leased ta Aerallat by GPA Group Ltd. far 6years and

returned. Leosed from General Electric Capital Carp.

Series 308 (ER)

16104 I N634TW 128132110 Mar 98 1Leased from International Finance Carp.16105 N635TW 28207 8Apr 98 Oelivered from 80eing16106 11636TW 30301 24 Aug 99

Series 330 (ER)16103 I N691lF I 25137 I 18 feb 94 I leased from IntI. Lease Finance Carp. lex-Condor)

Series 33A (ER)16107 1 N637lW 125403 I 23 Sep 99 1Leased Poloris Aircraft Leasing Corp. (ex-lAIHhile) and

Air Modogoscor

---

Boeing 767·200ER183 seats • 550 mph

TRANS WORLD•••••••••••••••••

o

For a briefperiod, TWA. reverted to an earliercustom of displaying irs colors on the engine.

Length (feet) Max Seats MGTOW -1-{angeI- ~

290 315,000 Ib - 3,500 -767-200 159395,0001b 6,000 mi'

767-300 180 360 351,000 - 3,500 -412,0001b 4,600 mi'

TW.A. introduced the Boeing 767 on the Los Angeles-Washington route on 2 December 1982.The first of the Douglas DC-9-80s (MD-80s) entered service on 3 May the next year, and on 31October 1983, the last TW.A. Boeing 707 made its final flight from New York to Kansas City.The airline expanded its route system but in February 1984, it once again became a separate cor­poration and, in a deteriorating financial situation, TW.A. tightened its belt (see page 90).

Another T.W.A. FirstNevertheless, and possibly overshadowing these events in a wider airline context, wasanother claim to firstliness that TW.A. could add to its already impressive list of such pio­neering events. On I February 1985, it became the first U.S. airline to fly a twin-enginedairliner, the Boeing 767, across the Atlantic in scheduled passenger service. This was underthe EROPS program certificated by the F.A.A. (See page 88). Today, more Boeing 767s flyacross the Atlantic than all the other aircraft types combined - and many of the latter aretwin-engined too.

EnginesMGTOWRange

Pratt & Whitney JT9D·7R4D (48,000 Ib) x 2315,0001b3,500 miles

TWA/s 767 VARIANTS

'Extended range (ER) versions.

LengthSpanHeight

159 feet156 feet52 feet

89

Ernest Breech was the experienced businessleader,fonnerly chairman of the Ford Motor

Company, who had taken over the frontoffice of T. WA. on 27 April 1961. He and

Tillinghast kept the airline on course.

Warren Lee Pierson had been chairmanand managing director of T. WA. Internat­ional in April 1947, and came into promi­

nence again when he became actingpresident on 9 January 1958, before

Charles Thomas took over (see below).

LaMott T. Cohu After Jack Frye resigned inFebruary 1947, after a disagreement withHoward Hughes, Colm became president.During that period, Hughes and the ToolCompany controlled T.WA. affairs. Cohuresigned on 1 June 1948.

Charles Thomas took over the presidency on15 July 1958, after a hiatus during whichT. WA. had been a ship without a sail. He

resigned on 27 July 1960, providing the reasonfor Hughes's ouster by the voting trust (see

page 73).

Carter Burgess became president ofT.WA.on 23 January 1956, after Ralph Damon diedon4 January 1956 (see page 61). Damon hadbeen a good partner for Hughes, but Burgessnever even met his chief He lasted only untilthe end of the year.

Charles Tillinghast became president ofTrans World Airlines on 17 April 1961, and

was to guide its fortunes for the next twodecades. He was at the helm when the

Trans World Corporation was formed on12 October 1978.

Into the 19705New BroomsThe final exodus of Howard Hughes from TW.A. occurred in 1966 (see pg 73). Thebig lenders, Equitable Life and Metropolitan Life, now held the pursestrings, takingeffect from 1 January 1961, when the voting trust controlled the directions of invest­ment. The crisis was overcome. Ernest Breech, formerly with the Ford Motor Com­pany, took over as chairman on 27 April 1961, Charles Tillinghast having replacedWarren Lee Pierson as president on 17 April. They made a top-level team, respectedin Wall Street as well as in Washington. The Lockheed L-I Oil program got underway, and service began in 1972. The fleet consisted of 19 Boeing 747s, 104 Boeing707s, 72 Boeing 727s, 25 Convair 880s, and 19 Douglas DC-9s. The total of 239 air­liners comprised a formidable armada.

DiversificationBack in 1967, T.W.A. had purchased the Hilton Hotel chain, matching Pan Ameri­can's move in buying Intercontinental Hotels. Now, "having lost sight of their objec­tives, they redoubled their efforts." On 12 October 1978, the shareholders approvedthe organization of the Trans World Corporation, as a holding company for the air­line; the Canteen Company (an on-board catering service, acquired on 10 August1973); and Century 21 (a real estate organization). A week later, thirteen more aircraftwere ordered, including three Boeing 747SPs. On 9 June 1979, this latter aircraft wasable to offer nonstop service from New York to Cairo; but this was after, on 2 March1975, TW.A. had agreed to a route exchange with Pan American, in which TW.A.suspended service on the trans-Pacific route, and abandoned service at Bangkok,Bombay, and Frankfurt. The SPs never earned their keep. (See pages 84-85)

Post-Deregulation OligopolyThe Airline Deregulation Act of 24 October 1978, had been expected to launch newinitiatives, mainly with lower fares, for the benefit of the travelling public. About 150companies applied for certificates from the Department of Transportation; only abouta third of these ever started service; and a mere handful lasted more than a year or two.Meanwhile, the big airlines became more concentrated that ever before. After a decadeof deregulation, a higher percentage of U.S. air traffic was in the hands of fewer air­lines than when when the industry was regulated by the Civil Aeronautics Board.Meanwhile, TWA tightened its belt. The early 1980s witnessed a period of Survival ofthe Fittest, as the competition was frequently almost self-destructive. TW.A. survived,but at a cost. On 1 September 1983, all salaried personnel and management accepteda 10% pay cut, and on 30 November ALPA, the Air Line Pilots Association - nor­mally involved in seeking pay increases - took a similar reduction.

DivorceOn I February 1984, Trans World Airlines once again became a separate corpora­tion, when it was broken clear from the parent company, which had been establishedon 12 October 1978 - just in time for Airline Deregulation (see above). Other unitsof the Trans World Corporation were profitable, unaffected by the changing regula­tory scene. But TW.A., out of whose heritage the conglomerate had sprung, now"suffered from lagging sales, high debt load, and high operating costs." The omensin the mid-1980s were not good.

it

90

The New TycoonNostalgic ComfortThat an airline with such a history of pioneering and achieve­ment as TW.A. to have fallen upon hard times was cause forsadness. Adding up the figures over the course of half a cen­tury, not a single penny of accumulated profits could be iden­tified in the true sense of the term. Yet the airline hadsponsored new generations of aircraft (of which the entireindustry benefitted). Perhaps another fascinating connectionwith technical progress is to trace TW.A.'s record of its con­nection with the motion picture industry.

Hand-CrankedNot long after T.W.A. 's ancestor, Transcontinental AirTransport (T.A.T.) started coast- to-coast service in July1929 (see page 24), an announcement in the showbiz publi­cation Billboard of 19 October stated "Last week the TA.Tship leaving Port Columbus, on its westward hop toWaynoka, can-ied projection equipment, a program of Uni­versal Pictures, and an operator. The show was given duringthe flight to Waynoka and again on the second hop of the tripbetween Clovis and Los Angeles." The projector used 16mmfilm and was set up on a board across the arms of two seatsin the back row of the Ford Tri-Motor. The Duograph projec­tor, the lightest on the market, and housed in aluminum, was"of the hand-crank style, altho future installations will prob­ably be motor driven."

The article speculated that this experiment wouldbecome a regular feature, but more than 30 years were to passbefore the amenity was adopted by the airlines, and TA.Tssuccessor, TW.A., was the prime innovator.

In-Flight MoviesWith the wide-bodied aircraft providing more headroom thanin the piston-engined aircraft, the airlines had, in the early1960s, experimented with showing motion pictures, mainlyto relieve boredom on long transcontinental and trans-oceanflights. Trans-Atlantic passengers were treated to varioustypes of screen and different viewpoints. Once the idea waspromoted, every self-respecting major airline had to havethem. Trans World Airlines introduced the first successfulpermanent system, on 19 July 1961. The movie was By LovePossessed, starring Lana Turner.

CarllcahnLike many a self-made man, Carl leahn did not have wealthyparents. But he had the Midas Touch. He began on Wall Streetin 1961, and founded !cahn & Company in 1968 with his ownsavings and some bon-owed capital. His seat on the New YorkStock Exchange was worth $150,000. By the mid-1980s, thishad increased by 1,000 percent to $150 million. In 1985 hebecame interested in the airline industry and the opportunitiesoffered by the liberal climate of airline deregulation.

First OverturesOn 9 May 1985, Carl !cahn filed a registration statement withthe S.E.C (Security Exchange Commission) to state that hehad accumulated 6,745,000 shares, or 20.5%, of TW.A.common stock, a process that he had begun earlier in March.A week later, this percentage had increased to 23%, drawinga comment from TW.A. that this "transfer of control wasuninvited and undesirable." The next day, on 15 May, TW.A.filed suit in the New York District Court, alleging that !cahnwas in violation of the federal securities laws. The day afterthat, the airline filed a petition with the Department of Trans­portation to investigate the fitness aspects of the take-overbid, questioning !cahn's managerial skills and technical abil­ities, regulation compliances, capital resources, and the lackof an operational plan.

Carl's response, on 20 May, was an unsolicited proposalto TW.A. shareholders of $18.00 per share, and TW.A. coun­tered on 23 May with a request to the D.O.T for emergencyaction, and also sought support in the corridors of politicalpower on Capital Hill. The battle for control heated up. On 28May the TW.A. board recommended the pursuance of abetter offer, possibly an employee buyout; but lost an appealfor restraint in the New York U.S. District Court. The CircuitCourt of the County of St. Louis then issued a restrainingorder, prohibiting !cahn from acquiring additional shares.

Challenge from LorenzoOn 13 June, a new player entered the skirmish for control ofT.W.A., whose employees and management were now merebystanders. Frank Lorenzo, whose Texas Air Corporationcontrolled Continental Airlines and New York Air, announcedthat he had won unanimous approval of a "definite mergeragreement, providing for TW.A. to become a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of Texas Air." The offer was $19.00 in cash, plus14-112% cumulative non-convertible preferred stock. On 25

June, Richard D. Pearson succeeded CE.Meyer as airlinepresident and CE.O. He was to playa small part in persuad­ing the directors to make up their minds.

Carllcahn WinsOn 5 August 1985, kahn renewed his efforts, offering $19.50cash, plus $4.50 of a 14.5% stock issue. On 13 August,Lorenzo raised his offer to $26.00 per share. But on 7September he agreed to withdraw, in exchange for surrender­ing the Texas Air Corporation's option on 6.4 million TW.A.shares for $43 million. This was somewhat reminiscent ofLorenzo's coup in collecting a similar profit when wrestlingwith Pan American to take over National Airlines.

On 14 June a Boeing 727 was hijacked in North Africaand the aircraft was not returned until 16 August. This wasnot a way to greet the new owner, who settled into his newoccupation, and went through the necessary legal processesto pave the way for a merger agreement between !cahn &Company and Trans World Airlines, consummated on 26September 1986. He had already made a good move. On 27February of that year, he purchased Ozark Holdings, Inc., theparent company of St. Louis-based Ozark Air Lines, for $224million. The story of this Local Service airline, and its valu­able reuional route network and fleet, is told in the next sixpages ;f this book

91

92

Reg. I MSN I Remarks

Beech F17D Staggerwing11(20769

[

307 I } Delivered 1Jan 45.11(47571 38911(2801 392

Cessna UC-78 (T-50) Bobcat11(46817

I I } Delivered 1lep 45.11(49984

Ozark'sfirst airplane, a Beech 17D Staggerwing.

Ozark's second intrastate airline/; the Cessna T-50 Bobcat. Twoaircraft were used from September 12 until the end ofservice,

November 28, 1945.

of Parks Air College at East St. Louis in 1927. On 1 Novem­ber 1946, it was selected by the C.A.B., in the MississippiValley Service Case, to operate a network from Tulsa toChicago, via St. Louis and otller small cities. In July 1949,the Board opened the Parks Investigation Case, as Parkshad not opened service. Eventually, on 15 June 1950, ParksAir Lines started to fly from St. Louis to Chicago (see map)on tl1e Inter Urban Grain Belt ROllte, but it was a case of"too little, too late." The C.A.B. cancelled Parks's certificateon 28 July, and simultaneously granted Ozark Air Lines athree-year experimental one.

Ozark Air Lines BeginsThe rejuvenated Ozark began operations with a small fleet ofDouglas DC-3s on 26 September 1950, taking over the Parksroutes and immediately expanding service to almost everysmall community within a 200-mile radius from St. Louis.Concentrating on connections to, from, and between St.Louis and Chicago, the network reached as far west asWichita by 1953, and Sioux City by 1955, and as far east asLouisville and Nashville. By the mid-1950s, Ozark was pro­viding good service not only to the small towns but also toevery major city in six states of the Midwest.

The First Ozark AirlinesOn 1 September 1943, a Missouri bus operator, LaddieHamilton, with support from a colleague, Floyd W. Jones,incorporated Ozark Airlines in Springfield. This followedthe initiative of L.Welch Pogue, Chairman of the CivilAeronautics Board, by order dated 22 March 1943, toinvestigate the possibilities of extending air service "to thenation as a whole, including provision for local service tosmall communities."

On 11 July 1944, the C.A.B. permitted operations on astrictly local basis. After sporadic operations with a fewFairchild and Stinson monoplanes, Ozark began scheduledservice on 10 January 1945 on a triangular route whollywithin the State of Missouri, using at first a couple of BeechF17D "Staggerwings," and then two Cessna UC-78 twin­engined "Bamboo Bombers." The whole affair had beensomewhat cavalier in its approach, and lasted only until 28November of the same year, because of apparent irregulari­ties in the registration process.

Parks Air TransportMeanwhile, another aspirant to operate a local airline wasParks Air Transport, organized by Oliver L. Parks, founder

The classic DC-3, still earning its keep in the 1950s and 1960s, simply because no post-war manufacturercould emulate Emerson's judgement of success by "building a better mousetrap. "

Local Service in the Midwest

64 feet95 feet17 feet

LengthSpanHeight

This particular aircraft was built as a DST (see page 41), and was onlythe sixth DC-3 off the production line in Santa Monica, California. Atone time it held the recordfor being the oldest DC-3 in commercialservice. Note the streamlined "Super DC-3" landing gear doors.

Pratt &Whitney R-1830 x 225,200 lb.

1,000 miles

EngineMGTOWRange

Ozark's DC·3 (Challenger 250)28 seats • 190 mph

The Challenger 250During the post-war period, when the airline industry was developing rapidly on all fronts,there was much talk about the dream of building a replacement for the pre-war twin-enginedDouglas DC-3, or the military C-47, that had proved to be a versatile maid-of-all-work.

Several attempts were made by manufacturers to build a replacement, but they wereunsuccessful, mainly because thousands of the old DC-3s were still perfectly operational, andthreatened to go on for ever. To build a brand-new DC-3, with improvements, was too costly,although a few "Hyper-DC-3s" were tried out. Ozark Air Lines elected to compromise, byextensive modifications to the old Gooney Bird: new wheel-well doors, flush antennas, a newoil-cooler scoop, new wing fillet fairings, aileron gap covers, shorter exhaust stacks, and betterengine cowlings. The Ozark DC-3s were called Challenger 250s and although heavier thanthe standard versions, their aerodynamic improvements gave them an extra 20 mph.

OZARK'S DOUGLAS DC·3S

First Second DeliveryRegn. Reli; MSN Dote Remarks and Disposal

196 67

NI6005 NI330 1499 15ep 50 Ex·Ameri"n Air Lines, ex·OII Impressed UIMF ((-49E·00, 41-560911. laid 10 Airline Aviolion A"demy, I Dec 68.NI6011 NI350 1541 14 Nov 50 Ex-Amerimn Air Lines, ex-Beldex (orp. (FHIN18150 NI410 1945 15 May 55 Buill by Fokker, 31. Ex·lwissair, ex·Fleelwingslne. (FHI 60" 66N18160 NI410 1946 15 May 55 Buill by Fokker, 31. Ex·lwissair, ex·Fleelwingslne. (FHI 13 0" 66.NI8953 NI390 1011 19 May 53 Impressed by UIMF (C·84·00, 41·57513) 14 Jun 4110 13 Oct 44. Leased 10 No~heasl Airlines. Rereg N·18953. laid 10

Union lleel and Wrecking Co., 5May 53. laid to Ozork, 19 May 53. laid 10 Logsdon and Oovon, 14 Dec 65.N1BIIO NI430 1054 I Moy55 Buill by Fokker, Oct 38. Ex·lwissair, ex·Aeelwings Inc. (FH) 3Oct 61.1114933 NI400 1110 Mor54 Reregislered N14933. laid 10 Union lleel and Wre,king Co., 14 Aug 53. (FH) 17 Mor 61.NI1340 N1310 1140 I Dec 63 Ex-Ameri"n Airlines, ex-Beldex Corp. Rereg N·14933. (FH) II Mor 61.NI5591 NI3BO 1145 1954 Ex-Ameri"n Airlines. laid 10 Union lleel and Wrecking (0., I Dec 53. (FHI 15 Dec 66.N15619 N1370 1149 1951 Ex-Ameri"n Airlines. {FH} 40,1 61.N18180 NI440 3183 Ex-Weslern Air Lines, ex·Uniled Airline<, ex·leeword Aero Imi". (FH) 19 Dec 61.NI1989 NI180 4815 Ex·Oello.lmpressed AIMC, 3D lep 41 (C-49C-00, 41·77111. Ex-Amerimn Airline<. (FH) 4Aug 66.NI9915 NI490 4919 10el58 Ex-UIMF (C-53-00, 41-64671. Ex-Uniled Airline<, ex·Los Angeles Air lervi", ex-No~hwest. laid 10 J.H. Vollero", 61u161.NI480 1953 Ordered by Eoslern Air Lines, impressed by UIMF {C·49K-00, 43-101O}. Ex-Recollliruction Finan" Corp., ex- No~hwesl

Airlines. (FH) 15 Dec 66.NI5581 N1310 1318 110n 53 Ex-UIMF (C-53-00, 41-151331. Ex-Oelense Plonl CorD. Re-Read. Mor 14. laid 10 Aviolion A"demv, Griffin, GA_

Note: (FH) = Traded in 10 Fairchild-Hiller for FH-221s

First Second DeliveryRegn. Reln. MSN Date Remarks and Disposal

196 /67

NI460 9131 Ex-UIMF (C-4IA-IO-oi, 41-13369). Ex-UIN (R40-5R, BuNo 11409). Conve~ed by Pan Am. leased 10 Ozork. Relurned 10UIN (1C-4IHI.

NI1911 N1190 11650 Ex·UIMF ((-530-00, 41-6BI131. Regd, os 1190 Mor 54. IDld ID (orolino Aimoh (orp. 10 May 66.N18666 NI340 11731 1953 Ex-UIMF (C-530-00, 41-68804). Regd. N1340. Ex-UI Oefense Plonl Corp. {FHI 19 Dec 67.N9114R N1651 11004 51ul61 Ex-UIMF (41·911171. Ex-RAF RF595. (FHI4 Aug 66.N9184R NI661 11011 I lui 61 Ex-UIMF (41·91188). Ex-RAF (FL616). Irons Canada Regd, 11-166J. laid G.H. 80iley, ine. 18 Aug 65.111450 NI450 11048 Ex-UIMF (41·108810). Ex-UIN (RAO-5, BuNo I7118}. leased and Relurned 10 UIN os 1(-47H.N53Y NI641 11717 14Feb 63 Ex-U5MF (41·91869). Ex-Express Aerea Inleromerirono_ Ex-Piedmont. (FH) 6Oct 66.

111470 111410 11753 110n57 Ex-U5MF (41·919011. Ex-UIN (R40·1, BuNo 17I78). leased and relurned UIN (1C·47HINI3410 NI360 18915 I 10n 53 Ex-UIMF (C-4IA·65-0l, 41-1004611. Ex-Philippine Air Lines. laid 10 Aviolion Arodemy, Griffin, GA. 1971.

1146V NI63J 19401 610n65 Ex-UIMF (41-1009391. Ex-Norlheasl Airlines, ex·Piedmonl Regd. N-163!. Used os Freighler (FHI 6lep 68.N51V 19649 19 May 65 Ex-UIMF ((-4IA·80·0l, 43-151831. Ex-Irons (oribbean Air Cor~o. Ex-Piedmonl, ex·Chorlolle Aimoh (orp. (FHI 5 Nov 68.

NI5111 NI300 19800 1913 Ex-UIMF (43·11334). Ex-Porks Airlines. laid McDonnell OouglD Dec 69.NI9051 NI510 10171 IOel58 Ex-UIMF (43·15105) Ex-Norlhwesl Airlines. laid Ai"roh Cho~ers, Houslon 6Mor 63.NI9056 t1I500 10195 I Oct 58 Ex-UIMF (43-15719). Ex-No~hwesl Airlines. laid Alreroh Chorlers 1965.

Special Note: The first aircraft listed, a DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport, NI6005) was the sixth off the production line, of whichalmost 11,000 were built in the United States, almost 500 in Japan, and more than 6,000 in the Soviet Union.

93

A Martin 404 being refuelled (ph0/0: Roger Ben/ley)

One of Ozark's Convair 240s. (photo: Roger Bentley)

OZARK'S CONVAIR 240S

Martin 404 Convair 240

Engines Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Length 7S feet Engines Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Length 7S feet(2,400 hp) x 2 Span 92 feet (2,400 hp) x 2 Span 93 feet

MGTOW 44,900 lb. Height 28 feet MGTOW 42,000 lb. Height 27 feetRange 1,000 miles Range 7S0 miles

Tom Grace took Ozark fromLocal Service to Regional Status.

(M) = Troded in for Morlin 404s.

Reon.Delivery

Remarks and DisoosolMSN Dole

N94205 10 16 Aug 62 Ex·Americon Airlines. loosed by Ozork, 15 Nov 63.N24001 79 21ul62 Ex-KU~, ex-Oeulsche Flugdiensl, ex-luflhonsa. 1M) 23 Dec 64.N24041 109 19Nov62 Ex-American Airlines, ex-Southeast Airlines. Leased Ozark, 20 Dec 63.1124031 110 20 Nov 62 Ex-Chorlotte Aircrok Corp. (FH) 4 Aug 67.1l240ll 112 2Jul62 Ex-KUi, ex-Deutsche F1ugdienst, ex-Condor Flugdienl\. (M) 11 Mor 65.N94264 137 30 Sep 62 Ex·American Airlines. loosed 10 Ozork, 15 Aug 611124021 145 160,162 Ex·KUi, ex·Deutsche F1ugdiensl, ex-lukhanso. (M) 22 Apr 65.Noles: (FH) = Sold 10 Foirchild-Hiller Corp. All except N456A (ex-Chorlone

Aircro" Corp.) were ex-Mohowk Airlines.

Regn. MSNDelivery

Remarks and DisposalDole

N470M 14109 2Jun65 (FH) 7Jui 67.N471M 14112 10,165 (FH) 29 lui 67.N468M 14139 13Apr 65 (FH) 30 Mor 67.N456A 14147 16Mor65 Ex·ChorloNe Aimok Corp. (FH)4 Aug 67.N469M 14148 29 Dec 64 (FH) 2Apr 68.N464M 14151 19 Dec 65 (FH) 12 Jun 67.tl465M 14152 23 5ep 65 (FH) 17 Aug 67.11462M 14153 11 Mor65 (FH) 29 Dec 67.N463M 14155 24 Aug 64 (FH)7 Ju167.N460M 14162 10 Aug 65 (FH) 14 Sep 67.N466M 14163 20 Moy 65 (FH)31un67.N467M 14164 260,164 (FH) II Mor 67.N473M 14224 23 Aug 65 (FH) 17 Aug 67.N461M 14227 29 Dec 65 (FH) 7Ju167.t1472M 14234 91ul65 (FH) 12 Jon 67.

OZARK'S MARTIN 404S

Ozark's DC·3 Replacements

TIme to Move OnWhen Ozark received some new route awards on 9 December1958, in the decisions in the Seven States Area Case, thetime seemed ripe to supplement the old DC-3s with modernfeeder airliners. A selection committee chose the Dutch 40­seat Fokker F·27, powered by Rolls-Royce Dart turbopropengines, and put them into service on 4 January 1960. Withtraffic growing healthily, more 'DC-3 Replacements' wererequired, and the first Convair 240 piston-engined 40-seaterwent into service on 14 August 1962.

Aircraft ExchangeThe Convairs did not stay long. In an ingenious solution toequipment problems, Ozark and Mohawk Airlines filedjointly with the C.A.B. for approval of an exchange of air­craft: Ozark took eight of Mohawk's Martins for four of itsConvairs, thus standardizing both fleets. The C.A.B. actedswiftly, and the first Martin 404 entered Ozark service on 1December 1964.

During this time, Laddie Hamilton, Ozark's founder,resigned on 6 August 1959, and Joseph Fitzgerald took overas president, He too resigned on 30 July 1963, and ThomasL. Grace was appointed president on 18 February 1964. Hewas to guide Ozark into the Jet Age, was elected chairman ofthe board on 21 August 1970, but died on 21 July 1971, justbefore the death of founder Hamilton three months later.

Martin 404

94

Fairchild F-27 (photo: Roger Bentley)

Fairchild-Hiller FH-227B (photo: Roger Bentley)

FH·227B

Engines Rolls-Royce Dart Length 84 feet(1,990 ehp) x 2 Span 95 feet

MGTOW 45,500 lb. Height 28 feetRange 550 miles

The stretched FH-227 featured three more cabin windows thanthe standard F-27 from which it was derived.

DeliveryRemarks and DisposalRegn. MSN Date

N4218 521 30 Nov 66 Sold 10 Air New England, May 80.114219 526 20 Oec 66 Sold Feb 81.N4220 529 29 Oec 66 Sold to Aerolineo, Cenlroles de Colombia. 12 Jul77.N4221 527 1Jan 67 Sold Aug 80.114222 535 10 Feb 67 SoidJun81.114223 538 10 Mor 67 Sold Dec 80.N4224 543 11 Apr 67 Sold Jan 80.N4225 544 24 Apr 67 Sold Jun 80.114226 546 18 May 67114227 547 2Jun67 Sold Nov 80.N4228 548 12Jun67 Sold Oec 80.N4229 5S0 28Jun67 Sold May 80.114230 551 6Jul67 Sold (0) 15 May 77.114231 553 21 Jul67 Sold (0) 25 Apr 77.114232 555 27 Jul 67 Sold (0) 17 Del 77.114233 559 17 Aug 67 Sold (0) 23 Mor 77.

114234 561 145ep67 Sold Mor 81.114235 564 29Sep67 Sold 10 Maim" (Sweden). Jul 80.

F·27

Engines Rolls-Royce Dart Length 77 feet(1,670 ehp) x 2 Span 95 feet

MGTOW 405,000 lb. Height 28 feetRange 400 miles

FH 2278

Except noted, 011 aircroft sold to TAT (Fronce) or (D) to Delio Air Tronsporl (Belgium) In 1977.

Goodbye to PistonsOn 26 October 1968, the veteran Douglas DC-3 fleet wasretired, and this included one of the earliest off the productionline (as noted on page 93), originally a DST that had logged65,000 hours in flying time. The last revenue service wasfrom St. Louis to Kansas City, and from then onwards, theOzark Air Lines fleet was all turbine-powered.

DeliveryRemarks and DisposalRean. MSN Date

N8687E Ex-Fairchild. IFH) Del 67.N4303F 2 30 Nov 62N4304F 13 1Apr 63 Ex-Avenso. IFH) Sep 67.N4305F 25 17 May 63 Ex-Avenso. (FH) Aug 67.N4300F 58 I Jul59 (FH) tlov 66_t14301F 59 1Aug 59 (FH) Del 67.tl4302F 60 12 Aug 59 (FH) Sep 67.114306F 107 28 Oct 63 (FH) Apr 50.

OZARK'S FOKKER F·27S

(FH) ~ All F-27s Iraded in to Fairchild-Hiller, 1967-1970.

OZARK'S FAIRCHILD FH·227BS

Turbine PowerAs mentioned on page 94, Ozark Air Lines moved with thetimes and began to retire its old DC-3s, trustworthy and reli­able though they were, simply because the Jet Age hadaJTived and the trunk airlines were all rushing to upgrade theirfleets with Boeing 707s and Douglas DC-8s on their premierroutes, and introducing BAC One-Elevens and DouglasDC-9s on their secondary routes. The travelling public wasbeginning to look askance at any airliners that still had pro­pellers. The Local Service airlines, whose networks nowreached beyond the boondocks into the big cities, had to'keep up with the Joneses.' The answer was a compromise:turbine power (which the publicists could refer to as jetpower) with jet engines that drove propellers, and calledturboprops or propjets.

The Fokkers and FairchildsOf all the Rolls-Royce Dart-engined turboprop airliners, theFokker F-27 had a head-start on the competitors, the Avro748, the Handley Page Herald, and the Nihon YS-11. Morethan 600 of all types were sold world-wide. Ozark put theminto service on 4 January 1960 and six years later, with bur­geoning traffic demand on all fronts, ordered the U.S. license­built development, the Fairchild-Hiller FH-227. Ozark hadincreased its capital by $12 million to finance this order, aswell as one for more Douglas DC-9 jets, which went intoservice during the same year (see page 96). The first FH-227schedule was on 19 December 1966.

Ozark's Turbopropsr

95

Regional StatusNo Longer LocalDuring the 1970s, the Local Service airlines went through a metamorphosis. Little by little,they obtained C.A.B. authority to serve not only large cities, but even to operate betweentwo or more large cities, parallel with, or even in competition with the Trunk airlines. TheLocal Service airlines felt that they had been the second-class citizens of the U.S. air trans­port world too long and they were anxious to join the big leagues. Their efforts were givencautious support by the C.A.B., which looked upon such inter-city service as a way toimprove the Locals' finances and thus relieve them of the need for subsidy. The airlines, fortheir part, began to call themselves Regional airlines, even though this was not the officialdesignation in Washington.

Ozark Joins the Jet SetSeveral airlines saw the solution to elevate their status into the Jet Age, so as to match theequipment of the Trunk airlines, by purchasing twin-engined jets. The favorite was theDouglas DC-9 series, although some bought the British BAC One-Eleven. Ozark opened itsfirst DC-9-14 service on 8 July 1966, and on 30 October of that year extended its network toDenver. The first DC-9-30 series was delivered in February 1968 and Ozark made its presencefelt in New York on 27 April of that year. The road to regional status was under way.

Subsequently, with Airline Deregulation imminent, the skies opened and, as can beseen in the maps below, Ozark consigned the Local appellation to history. Indeed, on1 October 1982, by adding San Diego to the network, it was able to join the growing list ofairlines that could offer coast-to-coast service. Ozark even toyed with the idea of havingBoeing 727 tri-jets, but this was abandoned in October 1979. The last turboprop FH-227Bflight was on 25 October 1980, and in April 1984, the DC-9 fleet had been augmented bythe Super 80, or the McDonnell Douglas MD-80. Ozark Air Lines had emphaticallyentered the Jet Age.

One of Ozark's DC-9-34s over the grid-patterned fields of the Midwest.

OklahomaCity

Sa~: jeg.~ Dallas-:~ "._.';-". Ft. Worth

:f 'f:5 \. r',".:: San Antonio., a/,

ECrD .::. ':;'. '-.

A IR LINE5 f!;t"fIf'\'l\.9.!~l(Regional)

.:fc1960I

This series of maps clearly illustratesOzark's transition from local service toregional airline status.

96

Douglas DC·'·30

OZARK• DC.9 ••• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

/

DDUG~

127 seats • 560 mph

OZARK'S DOUGLAS DC·9S

119 feet93 feet28 feet

LengthSpanHeight

Prall & WhitneyJT8D·9 (14,500 Ib) x 2

110,0001b1,000 miles

D(-9-82 (MD-82)N950U 49230 19 Jun 84 loosed 10 American Airlines from 19 Jun 8410 I Dec 84.N95! U 49145 26 Jun 84 loosed 10 American Airlines from 16 Jun 8410 I Dec 84.N952U 49266 27 Nov 85N953U 49267 24 Oec 81

Two more MDB2s 149439, 49441) ordered but nol token up. They were delivered 10 Confinentol.

Ozark also ordered two Boeing 727-2045 (720ZK and 721ZK, 21849 and 21850).They were painted in Ozark colors, 011 79, but the order was nat taken up. They weredelivered to Pan American Airways.

All aircraft merged with T.W.A. fleet an 26 011 86, except where otherwise noted. The first eight Series 31s were ex-Northeast Airlines which merged with Delta Airlines.All Series 325 except the last three aircraft listed were ex-Delta Airlines. All Series 415 ex-Too Domestic Airlines (Japan).

N929L 47174 IOJun80 Ex-Delto.N924l 47324 10 Jul79 Ex-Delto.N925l 47357 24 Jul79 Ex-Delto.

N950PB 47394 24 Feb 69 Originolly built for Ployboy's Hugh Hefner in "block bunny" livery.loosed from ond operoled for Purdue Airlines, II 0[1721031 Mor 76.

N931L 47669 15 Oct 81 Ex-Anlilloon Airlines.N920l 47734 23 Nov 77

Series 33(FN937F i 47409 I 15 Nov 76 I Ex-Oversoos Nolionol Airwovs.

Series 34N936l 147711 1 21 Jon 85 I Ex-Boloir AG.N9271 48123 28 Dec 79 Nomed City of Berlin (TWA).N928l 48124 10Jun 80

Series 41N935l I- 47603125 Nov 83 I Ex-Finnair.N933l 47617 26 Nov 86N934l 47618 31 Jon 83

Regn. MSN Delivery Remarks and DisposalDate

Series 15N970Z 45771 25 Moy 66 First Ozork OC-9.N971Z 45773 IOJul66 Merged wilh TWA, 26 Del 86. Relurned 10 lessor, 20 Apr 00.N968E 45786 7 Oec 72 Ex-Iwissoir, ex-Air Ponomo, ex-Oouglos. lold TIA, 28 Mor 74.

N490lA 45798 3 Nov 66 Ex-Slondllfd Airways, ex·Qzark Air Lines.N4911A 45799 I Del 68 Ex-Standard Airways, ex-Ozark Air Lines.N972Z 45841 24 Aug 66 50ld 10 Oouglos Aircroh, 29 Del 74.N969Z 47001 3Jul72 Ex-lDUdio.loosed 10 ond relurned lAV, 8Aug 7510 15 Del 76. Loosed 10

ond relurned loulhern Airwoys, 10 5ep 7710 I Jun 78.N973Z 47033 31 Jul67 Relurned 10 lessor, 20 Apr 00.N974Z 47034 IIep67 loosed 10 ond returned Air West, 12 Mor 68 10 16 Del 68. Croshed ofter

oborled loke-offlioux Cily, lowo, 27 Oec 68.N975Z 47035 100[167 Relurned 10 lessor, 20 ArOO.

Series 31N993Z 47082 2Moy75 Ex-Northeast.N992Z 47095 3Apr 75 Ex-Northeast.N991Z 47096 6Feb75 Ex-Norlhoost.N994Z 47097 6Jun75 Croshed ofter hilling 0snowplow during loke-off, lioux Foils, 10. 21

Dec 83. 50ld 10 Aviolions loles Compony Inc., Jun 84.N988Z 47134 1Apr 74 Ex-Norlhoost.N989Z 47135 I Moy 74 Ex-Norlhoost.N990Z 47136 3Jun 74 Ex-Norlhoost.N98/Z 47137 1Mor74 Ex-Norlhoost.N976Z 47248 26 Feb 68 Relired 25 Moy 00.N977Z 47249 19 Apr 68N978Z 47250 10 Moy 68N982PI 47251 14Jul69 Ex-PmificSouthwesfAirl Lines.N979Z 47343 25 Feb 69 Ex-Ozark Air Lines.N980Z 47344 27Mor69N981Z 47345 21 Apr 69 loosed 10 Allegheny Airlines, 18 Feb 741014 Feb 76.N983Z 47411 8 Dec 69N984Z 47412 11 Oec 69N985Z 47491 25Jun70N986Z 47589 4 Oec 73

Series 32N995Z 47027 3Feb 77 Ex-Delto.N996Z 47028 13 Jul77 Ex-Delto.N997Z 47029 28Jul77 Ex-Delto.N998R 47030 15 Jun 77 Ex-Delto.N92lL 47107 20 Dec 78 Ex-Delto.N922L 47108 6Mor79 Ex-Delto.N923L 47109 5Jun79 Ex-Delto.11926L 47172 11 Dec 79N931l 47173 19Moy81 Ex-Delto.

97

Early Air Taxi Links

Scheduled Air TaxiDuring the 1960s, when air transpolt was spreading its wingsnear' and far·, the fIrst diminutive airlines that were later to betermed Third Level, and later still Commuter, began to emerge.Not yet dignified by the Civil Aeronautics Board for certifica­tion as bona fide airlines, they were able to operate as air taxiservices, under Part 135 of the F.A.A. regulations. Under popu­lar pressure from the public, which appreciated the convenienceof a non-scheduled air taxi flight that seemed to depart everymorning and/or evening at the same time every day, many suchservices started to operate regularly.

The Grand CanyonA little-remembered feature of TW.A. pioneering was its spe­cial connection to the Grand Canyon in the summer of 1935. Aspecial arrangement was made whereby passengers on Flights2 and 3 (Sky Queen and Sky Master, respectively) could trans­fer at Winslow to the Bach tri-motor planes of Grand CanyonAirlines. The operation was under the supervision of MissEdith McManus, who was an established local trader in Indianartifacts and products. The round trip Winslow-Grand Canyonfare was $19.00. This must surely have been one of the earliest,if not the fU'st, example of a local interline agreement betweena trunk carTier and what today would be termed a commuter air­line. So that the clientele would not be too fatigued to enjoy thescenic view and stopover at the Canyon, T.W.A. also offered ano-charge overnight hotel break, including taxi fare to and fromthe airport, at Kansas City.

For a month or two during the summer of 1935, thisunusual service appear'ed in the TW.A. timetables, but it wasnot repeated in 1936, as TW.A. itself stopped at the Canyonwhen the airstrip was improved; and subsequently, instead ofstopping, the DC-2s overflew the Canyon (as close as theydared). The timetables, uniquely, marked this amenity with"OVER" instead of the conventional "alT." or "dep."

INDIANA

I

IIIIIIII

Springfield ~ s;> '~O: Scale-Miles

St. Louis )f

Ozark EnterpriseAs narrated on pages 82-87, Ozark Airlines, one of the moresuccessful Local Service airlines, had started life as a one-routeand almost one-plane operator. It would be classed as a Com­muter airline today. It grew steadily through DC-3s, twin turbo­props, and short-haul jets. In 1985, it was able to adopt a juniorpartner, when it made an agreement with Air Midwest, whichtook over some of the smaller routes, using SwearingenMetros. Ozark itself had been in to the small airplane fIeldwhen, on 15 March 1972, it used two de Havilland CanadaDHC-6 Twin Otters to operate between the Illinois state capi­tal, SpringfIeld, and Chicago's lakeside airport Meigs Field,next door to the downtown business dishict.

Digllify alld Impudellce: all O:arkJMidll'eSf Mefro II lilies lip wifh a DC-9-30

Short Cut to JFKOne such operation was started by a Piper aircraft distributorin Bridgeport, Connecticut, who provided connections toNew York's LaGuardia and JFK airports, thus avoiding a cir­cuitous and sometimes grid-locked road journey via theWhitestone or Throgs Neck bridges. The Piper Twinair serv­ice was advertised in the later 1960s as connecting withTW.A. trans-Atlantic flights. Although not exactly a code­sharing operation, such an arrangement seems to have been aharbinger of things to come.

REGD

1935NEW MEXICO

WinslowARIZONA

98

TWA Connections

Trans States connects with T. WA. at St. Louis and New York, which have becomeconnecting hubs for T. WA. 's main transcontinental route network.

65 feet70 feet22 feet

LengthSpanHeight

General Eledri( CT7·5A2(1,735 shp) x 2

28,0001b500 miles

MGTOWRange

Engines

SAAB SF-340A37 seats • 325 mph

TRANS WORLD

\

A Trans World Express Jetstream 31 circles over the Mississippi at St. Louis, with Busch Stadium on theleft and the famous arch, the Gateway to the West, on the right.

Trans States AirlinesT.W.A.'s main regional connecting feeder (or commuter) affili­ate has been Trans States Airlines. It was founded in St. Louisas ResOlt Air in May 1982, and started local routes in April1983 to Lake of the Ozarks (a resort area from which its namewas derived), and to Springfield, Missouri, Joplin, and Carbon­dale. Its fleet included Fairchild Metroliners and ATR-42s. On5 August 1985, it became a unit of Trans World Express, and inJune 1989 changed its name to Trans States Airlines.

Unlike some other commuter airlines, it was affiliatedwith several major companies, and strengthened its ties withT.W.A. in January 1991 by buying the St Louis-based TransWorld Express operations of Air Midwest, based in Wichita.Trans States was once the twelfth largest regional airline, witha fleet of more than 70 aircraft, including 60 Jetstream 31s and41s, 5 ATR 42s, 3ATR 72s, and 5 Embraer EMB 145ERs. Itserves 25 cities, with hubs in St Louis and New York withabout 20 Jetstream 41s.

99

N102GS

1 '....,..,/ __ .....

----~ , -----1- - - - - --, (--Knoxville I

CHAYTAUQq~ ~E~-

A Trans World Express Embraer EMB-145

Chautauqua AirlinesJoel Hall founded Chautauqua Airlines as an Allegheny Com­muter on 3 May 1973, based at Jamestown, New York, and serv­ing western New York State and Pennsylvania with Beech 99s,Shorts 330s, and SAAB 340s. It added a southern division atOrlando, Florida, in 1980, and it became a TW.A. Express con­nector on 2 April 2000, centred on St. Louis. It is currentlyadding at least 15 50-seat Embraer EMB 145s to its TWE fleet.

59 feet57 feet17 feet

LengthSpanHeight

Fairchild Metro II19 seats • 320 mph

Garrett TPE 331-IIU-612G(1,000 shp) x 2

16,0001b500 miles

Engines

MGTOWRange

\ '~( I I

"Surlingto - ~ ~\----- ..., ~ :

-- -'.., I 1

( St. ~oUjS)-\A"'-Fd;rt /'

Leonard rl .. ~/Wood .'~'Iarlon, '....---eo eGirardeaU!..__ ----

- _---- I

I ~I Nashville'-I ) ~_

CO~PORA1E--r -- --~EGD

Corporate AirlinesThis airline was founded by Charles Howell IV in 1996 asCorporate Express Airlines. It started TWE partner service on16 December 1999, with routes radiating from St. Louis forTrans World Express. Its fleet consists of nine Jetstream 32s.

47 feet52 feet18 feet

LengthSpanHeight

Garrett TPE 331-12UAR-701H(1,020 shp) x 2

28,0001b800 miles

Engines

MGTOWRange

RAe Jetstream19 seats • 300 mph

More Connections

A Corporate Airlines jetstream 32

Early Trans World Express ConnectionsSeveral early commuter airlines were connected with TW.A.Air Midwest, founded by Gary Adamson in Wichita in 1987,had an extensive network throughout the Midwest, and wasassociated with Ozark Airlines from 1 July 1985. This operationbecame TW.A.'s in 1987, when the fleet consisted of Metro lIs,SAAB 340s, and Embraer Brasilias. It was purchased by TransStates Airlines in November 1990 (see page 99).

Jet Express, founded at Atlantic City in 1968, usingCASA aircraft, became a TW.A. connector in February 1989,feeding traffic into New York. Metro Airlines Northeast, adivision of the nation's largest regional canier at the time, head­quartered in South Burlington, Vermont, became aconnector in July 1989, feeding traffic to Tw.A. from cities ofthe Northeast. Most of its routes passed to Trans States Airlines.

Virgin Islands Seaplane Shuttle became a TWE carrieron 1 June 1988 but ceased operationson 17 September 1989,when its fleet was destroyed by Hunicane Hugo.

Gulfstream International AirlinesA fonner Eastern Airlines captain, Tom Cooper, founded Gulf­stream International in November 1968. He began scheduledservices in December 1990 in southern Florida, with Cessna402s, flying to Haiti and the Bahamas, by which time the fleethad been upgraded to Beech 1900s. Service was expandeddllling the 1990s, also with Shorts 360s, under agreements withvarious airlines. Among other ventures, Gulfstream establisheda hub at San Juan on 1 November 1999, and TW.A. is one ofthe beneficiaries of this important Caribbean focal point of sev­eral main routes from major cities of the U.S.

100

74 feet81 feet25 feet

LengthSpanHeight

N42/TE

P&W Canada PW120(2t OOO shp) x 2

36t 800 Ib800 miles

One of Trans World Express's ATR-42s at New York's JFKInternational Airport in January 1995

(photo: Felix Usis Ill)

Sikorsky S38ET twin-turbine helicopter of New York Heli­copter, seen here in 1984 at the TWA terminal at New York's

JFK International Airport.

ATR-4248 seats. 310 mph

Engines

MGTOWRange

Early Air Mail ExperimentAs early as 1938, TWA. sought to improve air mailservice times. A Kellett autogyro wore its colors duringan air mail experiment in connecting service in Chicago.

Kellett autogyro, 1938

Going To The FairIn 1964/65 TWA offered direct service from JFK Airport tothe New York World's Fair, through an arrangement withNew York Airways, using Sikorsky S-61 helicopters.

Best ConnectionsDuring the 1980s, TW.A. advertised "best connections" withNew York Helicopter. International and transcontinentalfirst class and Ambassador Class passengers could travel freebetween New York airports and downtown heliports and East34th Street or the World Trade Center.

Today, T.W.A. offers many "best connections" to manymore places with larger aircraft through its Express Connec­tions throughout the northeastern States. (see also page 99)

Trans-World ExpressThe New York ConnectionOne of TW.A.'s feeder affiliates came and went, after achequered history. It was founded in 1967 by J. Dawson Ran­some in Philadelphia, and with the Yolpar Turboliner (anupgraded Beech 18) he built up an excellent commuter net­work in the northeast, concentrating on feeds into all the NewYork airports. By 1972, he had become a member of theAllegheny Commuter system, and with a succession of inno­vations, he built Ransome Airlines into the largest commuterairline in the world. This was achieved by the use of ever­larger aircraft: Twin Otters, Nord 262s, de Havilland CanadaDash Sevens, and finally 48-seat ATR-42s.

Ransome parted company with Allegheny in 1982,flirted with Delta for a year or two, and finally sold his airlineto Pan American on 1 June 1986. Pan Am continued to oper­ate services as Pan Am Express to feed into its New Yorkinternational base, and in June 1989 and May 1990 openedbranches in California and Miami, respectively. But "theworld's most experienced airline" was itself in deep trouble,and folded on 4 December 1991.

At midnight on 3 December, Carl Icahn hadpurchased the operation, which then became Trans WorldExpress (T.W.E.). Carl departed from the TWA. scene in1993, and at a time when belts were tightening, all the TW.E.landing slots were sold on 6 November 1995, effectivelywiping out the former Ransome local commuter empire.

Pan Am Express became TW.E., Inc., a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of TWA.

101

Troubled TimesCarl Takes Ove.rOn 14 June 1985, one of TWA.'s Boeing 727s was hijackeden route from Athens to Rome. Three months later, on 26September, many TW.A veterans felt that their entire airlinehad been hijacked by Carl kahn. On that day, he took overcontrol (see page 91), accepted wage concessions alreadyagreed by the unions, and appeared to compensate them in aprofit-sharing plan, with the promise of setting up anEmployee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Though he seemedoptimistic about the airline's prospects under his control,there was a catch: there were few profits to share.

APromising StartCarl seemed to start welL TW.A moved strongly into theCaribbean, expanding service from New York and St Louis toseveral resort destinations; and in the New Year, reaching agree­ment for a Piedmont Airlines feed into New York. On 26 Feb­ruary 1985, he asselted "to combine two losers, we hope tocreate one profitable carrier." On II March 1986, he won a vic­tory in the COUlts, when Judge Howard E Sachs ordered themachinists back to work during a strike by 5,700 flight atten­dants who had walked off the job less than a week earlier.

The Clouds DarkenBut TW.A.'s problems went deeper, and were exacerbated inthe months to come. In April 1986 a terTorist bomb exploded inmid-air on an Athens-bound flight, killing 4 and wounding 9passengers. Remembering the incident less than a year previ­ously, the European-bound travelling public edged away from,rather than up-and-awayed with TWA. With diminishingreturns, kahn extracted further concessions from the pilots. The1987 figures were no better, and the October "Black Monday"stock market mini-crash led kahn (who held 70 percent of thestock) to delay all the previous plans for privatization by a year.

This was eventually spelled out in September 1988. kahnand other shareholders received $20 in cash per share. Carl'samounted to $469 million, which was $25 million more than hisoriginal investment He also received some preferred stock. Thestock had previously been held by ACE Industries, describedas the cornerstone of kahn's empire. One description of thisfinancial juggling was very simple; "a leveraged buyout thatadded $1 billion in debt" kahn himself described TWA as"not one of my most stellar investments," a statement thatstrongly suggested that his interest in becoming an airlineemperor like Howard Hughes was waning. He proceeded to selloff much of the airline's assets of equipment and routes.

102

In 1989, he sold eleven jet aircraft and five gates at KansasCity. Early in 1990 he agreed to sell the Chicago-London routeto American Airlines for $195 million. He threatened to sell thedomestic route system if the pilots did not agree to more con­cessions. He sold and then leased back ten more aircraft By thesummer of 1990, the situation had reached crisis level- $3 bil­lion debt, no less. The unions proposed a restructuring plan, forkahn to swap most of his now 90 percent stake for moneyowed, and thus reduce the debt He responded by proposing thetermination of unprofitable routes (this could have been most ofthe system at that time) and announced a two-tier salaries plan.In October, 450 staff were furloughed, and service terminated atmany points in the system.

Selling The FarmWorse was yet to come. It was a time when other airlines werealso facing disaster. On II November 1990, kahn offered tobuy Pan American - an almost ludicrous proposaL On 12December, American Airlines offered $445 million for allTWA.'s routes to London. On 21 January 1991, kahnannounced the halving of all services to Europe and furloughed2,500 employees. Some palliatives were derived from a long­term contract with Military Airlift Command (MAC) and theD.O.T. award of a route to Moscow and Leningrad. But this wasimmediately offset by the effect of the Gulf War, which seri­ously eroded txrans-Atlantic traffic for all airlines. TWA. hadalways depended upon European and Middle Eastern routes asits best money-earner. Now the political fates were weightedheavily against them.

"Cheer up" they said, "things could be worse. So I cheeredup. And they were worse." And so it went with TW.A On 14March 1991, the blow came. The D.O.T. approved the sale ofroutes to Amelican, but restricted the sale to New York-London,Los Angeles-London, and Boston-London. kahn protestedstrongly: "This order could well become a disaster for TWA."

This inspired financier Kirk Kerkorian to step into thering; but his intervention only led to American agreeing to buythe three routes for the full price for the five that had beenincluded in the original offer.

Goodbye to HeathrowNo single event in TW.A.'s history could have epitomised itsdecline .and fall from the heights of the world airline hierar­chy than its departure from London's Heathrow Airport, thebusiest international airport in the world, the biggest gatewayto Europe, the jewel in every trans-Atlantic airline's crown.

On I July 1991, the last TWA flight, a Boeing 747, took off,accompanied by a multiple fire-truck hose salute. As the air­craft was permitted a sentimental fly-by, the Heathrow towercalled "it was nice knowing you." TW.A. transferred itsLondon terminus to Gatwick. The effect was a reprieve fromimminent bankruptcy, but this was a case of merely puttingoff the evil day.

Chapter ElevenThe acquisition of Pan Am Express on 4 December 1991 (seepage 101) was a momentary diversion from far more seriousconsiderations for TWA On 31 January 1992, the airline filedfor Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Carl kahn called it "pre-planned," aeuphemism that can be compared with second-hand cars beingcalled "pre-owned." TW.A was in a bad way. Its total debt of$1.7 billion was more than its net worth. By the summer it waslosing $2 million a day. Opening a New York-Moscow serviceon 17 March did not exactly reverse the balance sheet

For the employees, the month of August was Make orBreak. On 14 August, the flight attendants agreed to take paycuts; on 24 August (at 5 a.m.) the Machinists' Union followedsuit On 26 August, the pilots agreed, with the condition thatIcahn would lend the airline $200 million and forgive $170 mil­lion owed. In exchange for the collective concessions, amount­ing to about 15% in value, all workers had 45% of the equity ofa reorganized TW.A

On 15 November 1992, Carl kahn agreed to the terms,and in a key decision, on 6 December, the Pension BenefitGuarantee Corporation, the largest creditor, agreed also. Mis­souri Senator Jack Danforth described the events thus: "Idon't believe in my lifetime that I have seen people whobelieve so strongly in their company." The confirmation andjustification for all their sacrifices came on 8 January 1993,when Carl kahn relinquished all control, interest, and direc­tion of TW.A Ten months later, on 3 November, TW.A.emerged from bankruptcy.

This was a triumph for unqualified loyalty and dedica­tion. It was in striking contrast with what happened at East­ern Air Lines in Miami in 1990. When Eastern's unionleaders learned that Frank Lorenzo had finally said "enoughis enough," and closed down the airline, they celebrated withchampagne and shouts of "we've won." And 30,000 employ­ees lost their jobs and their living. In TW.A.'s case, theemployees remained loyal, made a deal, and kept their jobs.They made a major contribution towards the survival of oneof the world's great airlines. They really did win.

Boeing 757178 seats • 570 mph

WORLD••••••••••••••

EnginesMGTOWRange

Pratt & Whitney PW2037 (38,250 Ib) x 2240,0001b2,800 miles

LengthSpanHeight

155 feet125 feet44 feet

BOEING 757 FLEET LISTFleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Dote Remarks and Disposol

7501 N7011W 28160 22Jul96 }7502 N7021W 28162 220'196 ILFC7503 N7031W 27620 22 Nov 967504 N704 28163 30 Jon 977505 N7051W 28479 10 Feb 97 Pegasus7506 N7061W 28165 18Feb97 }7507 N7071W 27625 24Feb97 ILFC

7508 N7081W 28480 7Apr 97 Aerospace Finance Corp.7509 N7091W 28168 14 Moy 97 }7510 N7101W 28169 29 Moy 97 ILFC

7511 N711ZX 28481 3Jun977512 N7121W 27624 18Jun 97 } IIFC7513 N7131W 28173 16Jul977514 N714P 28483 28 Aug 97 Pegasus, named Wimpy7515 N7151W 28482 23 Oct 97 Pegasus7516 N7I61W 28484 15 Oct 997517 N7I71W 28485 15Mar99 Pegasus7518 N7I81W 28486 26 Moy 997519 N7I91W 28487 25Jul99 } Aerospace Finance Corp.7520 N7201W 30319 16 Aug 997521 N7211W 29954 29Jun 99 }7522 N7221W 29385 25 Nov99 IIFC7523 N7231W 29378 18 Jon 007524 N7241W 28488 8Sep99 Pegasus7525 N7251W 30338 120,1997526 N7261W 30339 18Nov997527 N7271W 30340 02 Oec 99 Pegasus

All aircraft listed are Boeing 757-231 s, except the leasedaircraft (lessors indicated), which are 757-2Q8s

Boeing Takes Another GambleWhen Boeing announced the Boeing 757, almost simultane­ously announcing the 767, many airline observers thought thatthe Seattle manufacturer, already noted for its readiness to takechances (albeit successfully) had this time gone too far. Thetwo aircraft appeared to be aimed at markets which, if notidentical, seemed to overlap. Yet there was a method in theirapparent madness. When the announcements were made, inthe late 1970s, the airline industry was booming, world-wide.Airlines were being selective, with many choices available,and there was an advantage in having a range of types thatcould meet every particular need.

The 767 was a completely new design, but the 757, orig­inally to be a refined 727-300, was built on the same fuselagejigs as on those of previous Boeing winners, from the first 707,then the 727, and the 737. Certainly the wings and empennage

were new; but there were economies in the construction, andthat permitted Boeing to sell at a very competitive price. Mostimportant, the 757 and 767 had almost identical cockpits,which allowed a common pilot rating.

Perhaps the best application of this airliner to T.W.A.'snetwork was on 10 September 2000, when it opened nonstopservice from Los Angeles to Washington's downtown air­port, Reagan National (formerly National). Wide-bodiedaircraft (such as the Boeing 767 or the Airbuses) are notallowed there. But the airport is only ten minutes on the localsubway from the business district and political quarters of thenation's capital, a huge advantage over service to Dulles Inter­national, which is at least an hour's taxi ride from the center,and where public transport is usually conspicuous by itsabsence. With its nan'ow-bodied 757, T.W.A. has effectivelycut an hour off the Los Angeles-Washington journey.

103

Into the 21 st CenturyPicking up the PiecesTWA. set about the task of recovery, after the departure of Carlkahn. In July 1993, William Howard had been named chairmanand CE.O., but he resigned in January 1994, to be replaced byDonald F. Craib, Jr. Some sense of purpose returned to the air­line when Jeffrey H. Erickson was elected president in ApJiI.He had airline credentials, having started as a Pan Americanengineer, moved on to vmious airlines, and had launched thelow-fare new entrant, Reno Air, in July 1992. He took actIOn torestore confidence. Service was stmted from St. Louis to somemid-west points, as well as to Sacramento and Ontm·io. Inter­national service was restored to Saudi Arabia, where TW.A.'stradition went back a long way, having served Dhahran, on theGulf, from July 1946 to May 1971. Now the terminus w~s

Riyadh, the handsome capital, which has one of the world smost beautiful terminal buildings. But service to Geneva andZurich was terminated, and the Los Angeles-Pm'is Polm' routewas suspended, as these routes were just not paying their way.

The employees responded, as best they could, support­ing from their pay packets the $223,000 per month lease pay­ments for a new McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (#9408)appropriately named Wings of Pride. Delivery was made at aproud ceremony on 2 September 1994.

But Pride is often accompanied by a Fall. By October,TW.A. was asking its major creditors to "forgive" "almost halfof its $1.8 billion debt, in exchange for more equity. This wouldincrease the creditors' stake in the airline from 55% (the legacyof Carl kahn) to 70%. But the creditors were wary, and in nohurry. TWA. was once again forced into a corner.

Chapter Eleven AgainWhen John Cahill was elected chairman of the bom'd on 28 Feb­ruary 1995, the prospects were grim, and on 30 June, TWA.filed for Chapter II bankruptcy for a second time. However,there was a silver lining. In August, the three unions agreed to$130 million per year savings in wages and through increasedproductivity, at the same time reducing their ownership in theairline from 45% to 30%. The wary creditors accepted the 70%shm'eholding in exchange for debt.

In February 1996, TWA. ordered 20 Boeing 757-200s,with options for another 10. They were to replace the Lock­heed TriStars, which were becoming costly to maintain. The757s had a common cockpit with the 767, another costsaving; and in the long term it was the beginning of a programof reducing the average age of the fleet.

104

Perry Flint, of Air Transport World, was encouraging:"Somehow, TW.A. survived its nem'-death expenences and thelong-awaited obituary never appeared ... is in better shapethanat any time in this decade ... (it) has a sense of purpose, nSlllgpride in its product, and a confidence born of ~~vlllg surVivedthe worst that man and nature could throw at It.

The Cruel Hand of FateOn 17 July 1996, Flight TW800, a Boeing 747, disintegratedat the eastern end of Long Island, still on its initial climb outof New York's JFK Airport. The direct cause was the explo­sion of the center fuel tank, but the cause is not known forcertain. After four years of research, the official explanationwas that it mioht have been an inducted spark into low-ten­sion wirin o b~t most aviation folk are skeptical.

In an"interesting, though unfortunate, parallel, this dis­aster which killed more than 200 people, occurred just whenTW.A.'s financial situation was improving; and was a tragicrepetition of a similar situation in December 1988, when.thePan American 747 exploded at Lockerble, Scotland, Justwhen the airline was striving to recover its North Atlanticmarket share. In both cases, the effect on the travellingpublic's perception was detrimental - to put it mildly.

Firm Hands at the WheelTW.A. was undeterred. On 17 September it announced theacquisition of ten more MD-83s, making 15 i.n the fleet.Gerald Gitner became chairman and CE.O., whIle Encksonretired. Gitner was joined, on 3 December 1997, by William(Bill) Compton, who became president and chief operatingofficer (CO.O.). Bill was a veteran TWA. pilot, who hadjoined TWA. at the age of 21, had risen in the ranks tobecome the elected leader of the pilots' union, ALPA, and hadthe distinction of having been furloughed three times. DuringTW.A.'s turbulent years, the term distinction was indeed theoperative word.

In 1995, the debt to Cm'l kahn had been re-structured.TWA. agreed to payoff the debt by making available toCarl's airline ticket agency the right to sell tickets. Thearrangement was for eight years, and the airline will berelieved of the obligation in September 2003.

The Largest OrderThe year 1998 ended on a high note. In December, TWA.announced orders for 100 new airliners. The order compnsed50 III-seat Boeing 717-200s (formerly McDonnell Douglas

MD-95s) and 50 I06-seat Airbus A318s. Both aircraft are atthe lower stratum of jet airliner size, and will fulfill the needfor the sparser traffic-generating routes, with considerablylower operating costs that those of the aircraft they replace.This was the first order for the A3 18 and one of the first forthe 717, and T.W.A. was able to negotiate a good price, takingadvantage of what is known in the industry as "launch eco­nomics." TW.A. also indicated its intentIOn to order 25 moreAirbuses, unspecified variants of the Airbus A320 family.

This acquisition - valued at around $4 billion, thelargest in TWA.'s history - was marred slightly by thebeoinnino of a "sick-out" by some flight attendants on Chnst­m:s Eve."They made a rapid recovery on the day after Christ­mas, by order of Judge Nina Gershon. But confidence wasmaintained in financial quarters in March 1999, when Boelllgarranged $2.4 billion of financing to protect 82 unfilledTW.A. orders, including the 717s.

Historical PrecedentIn May 1999, Bill Compton was appointed C.E.O. as well asholding the office of president. Many years had passed SlllceTW.A. had been directed from the top from someone whohad risen from within the ranks. As a pilot - he still kept hislicense cun'ent by taking the left-hand seat on an MD-83flioht deck from time to time - he enjoyed the respect of theflying crews. In his first months as CEO, he oversaw agree­ment on new contracts for all union-represented employeeswith pay increases that were mirrored by wage boosts pro­vided to non-union workers as well. Although TW.A. stllltrailed other major airlines' pay scales, it marked the firsttime in 15 years that TW.A. workers had been given morepay rather than more concessions in a contract.

Trans World Airlines moves into the twenty-first centuryin good spirits, even though its finances m'e still precm·ious. Ithas the best on-time record in the industry ("worst to first III

three yem·s.") Its once old, almost time-expired, fleet (oneBoeino 747 was retired with more than 101,000 hours flyingtime b~hind it) is being replaced by new aircraft, and the aver­aoe fleet age is rapidly decreasing. Its loyal staff have increasedp;oductivity and the management is keeping its head. In theyear 2000, TW.A. celebrates Its 75th anmversm'y; With a pilotup front, just as, in the great yem:s of the past, With Jack Fryeand Howm'd Hughes, the pilors bullt the airline to greatness. BlllCompton can inspire the re-creation of those great days again,and rejuvenate this great airline to Its fonner stan?lllg as a pIO­neer and leader of the United States mr transpOlt llldustry.

Boeing 717 (ex-MD-95)106 seats • 504 mph

S W 0 R L D N40lTW rr-r--__

•••••••••••••••••••••••

BOEING 717 flEET LIST

(Delivery dates include those scheduled cifter thisbook wel1lto the prinler)

124 feet93 feet29 feet

LengthSpanHeight

BMW Rolls-Roy(e BR715 (18,500 Ib) x 2114,OOOIb1,650 miles

EnginesMGTOWRange

Farewell to aWorkhorseOn 30 September 2000, T.W.A. retired its last Boeing 727. The fleet of tri-jets had paid its dues.In addition to its extensive scheduled work, it had been on hand for specialized charters, forclients who included the St. Louis Rams football team (for whom one aircraft was speciallypainted); sixteen baseball teams; and one named Shepherd One, which took the Pope on tour.

But its time had come, to be replaced by a more modern, more efficient aircraft.

Last of Another Fine LineThe McDonnell Douglas MD-80, the largest of the original DC-9 line, had supplemented theBoeing 727 for several years. It carried almost as many passengers (142 v. 145) but burnedmuch less fuel (954 v. 1,214 gallons per hour). Now, to meet the demand for a smaller, evenmore fuel-efficient partner, to serve routes of lower traffic density, another fine aircraft wasadded to the T.W.A. fleet.

The Boeing 717 is the renamed ultimate development of Donald Douglas's original twin­jet, the DC-9-1O, which first flew on 25 February 1965. The 717's first designation was theMD-95, and it first flew on 2 September 1998, by which time the McDonnell Douglas Corpo­ration had been acquired by the Boeing Company, which promptly found a slot in its traditionalnumbering series. It was first ordered by Valujet (now AirTran) and T.W.A. ordered 50. Thefirst one entered service on 2 March 2000, between St. Louis and Dallas/Fort Worth.

The Boeing 717 has the standard DC-9 fuselage cross-section, and is slightly longer thanthe DC-9-30, but with the MD-50 wing and an MD-87 extended vertical stabilizer. The flightdeck is digitally equipped, with the new "glass cockpit." Its BMW Rolls-Royce BR715 enginesare more fuel efficient, have Jess exhaust emission, and are significantly quieter than any of theprevious members of the famous Douglas twin-engined series. As indicated in the fleet list,deliveries will continue until the Summer of 2003.

T.W.A. can thus claim to have been part of this great family of Douglas airliners, from thefirst (see page 77) to the last, with almost every sub-series in between.

William 'Bill' Compton, appointedpresident in 1997 and CEO. in1999, was - and still is - a TWA.pilol. For the first time in manyyears, the airline is overseen byone who came up through theranks and perhaps, as a pilot,reviving memories ofJack Fryeand Howard Hughes in themetaphorical left-hand seat.

Fleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Dole

2426 N426lW 55093} 5ep 012427 N2427A 550942428 N428lW 55095 0,1012429 N429lW 55096 Nav012430 N430lW 55097 Dec 012431 N431lW 55098 Jan 022432 N432lW 55099 FebD22433 N433lW 55100 Mar 022434 N2434Q 55101 Apr 022435 N435lW 55102 May 022436 N436lW 55103 Jun022437 N437lW 55104 Jul022438 N438lW 55105 Aug 022439 N439lW 55106 Sep022440 N2440F 55107 0'1022441 N441lW 55108 Nav 022442 N2442H 55109 Dec 022443 N443lW 55110 Jan 032444 N2444F 55111 Feb 032445 N445lW 55112 Mor032446 N446lW 55113 Apr 032447 N447lW 55114 May 032448 N448lW 55115 Jun032449 N449lW 55116 Jul032450 N2450H 55117 Aug 03

Fleet DeliveryNo. Regn. MSN Dote

2401 N40llW 55058 18 Feb 002402 N402lW 55069 II Apr 002403 N403lW 55070 15MayOO2404 N2404A 55071 8Jun 002405 N405lW 55072 15 Jun 002406 N406lW 55073 12 Jul 002407 N407lW 55074 I Aug 002408 N408lW 55075} 5epi002409 N409lW 550762410 N2410W 55077 } 0'1002411 N411lW 550782412 N412lW 55079} Nov 002413 N413lW 550802414 N2414E 55081} Oec 002415 N415lW 550822416 N416lW 550831 Jan 012417 N2417F 55084 Feb 012418 N418lW 55085} MarOI2419 N2419C 550862420 N420lW 550871 Apr 012421 N2421A 55088 May 012422 N422lW 55089} JunOI2423 N423lW 55090

12424 N424lW 55091 JulOI2425 N2425A 55092 Aug 01

105

-Special carpet for cows

Full load of 80 fine heifers

The cabin is prepared with all the amenities

.''':'

The cows walk on board up the ramp

During the post-war years, cargo was still loaded by hand.

Four-Footed PassengersThe "Airline of the Stars," under Howard Hughes's command,concentrated on superb passenger service, as befitting many ofthe clients (see page 109). But it was not averse to a flexibleapproach in its choice of clientele. No better illustration of suchflexibility was an episode in 1977-78, when TW.A. responded,with ingenuity, to a special commission from Farhad Azima, ofGlobal Airlines, on behalf of the Shah of Iran. This was for theprompt transport of more than a thousand head of cattle, specif­ically two-year-old in-calf heifers, from Missouri to Teheran, atabout $1,000 per head, and to be delivered within 24 hours.

Unfortunately the cows could not make use of the ladies'room. Delicately put, there was "a problem of moisture buildupand waste material." First, cargo pallets were laid on the floor,as shown in the diagram. Standard farm pens were installed, anda specially-designed loading chute made ready. On the ground,special fans were installed as a plane-load of cows generatesexcessive heat and moisture. Unlike other cargo loads, however,they were able to walk on and off. The air journey took 13hours, starting on 28 August 1977, and each load consisted of80 head of cattle. The total average load was 73,500 lb.

T w.A. 's DC-3s (C-47s) were requisitioned for military cargo workduring the Second World War.

lest We Forget

Ford Tri-motors were retired from passenger service in 1934 andconverted to haul freight in 1936.

The First All-Freight ServicesDuring the Second World War, TW.A. was involved in manyactivities that were a far cry from the image of first-class pas­senger service with which the airlines of the early 1940s wishedto be associated. As related on pages 44 to 47, the Boeing Stra­toliners were requisitioned for trans-Atlantic military transportduties soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December1941, and TW.A.'s experience was put to good use in evaluat­ing the first Douglas C-54s late in 1942.

Responding to wartime demands for rapid transport ofsensitive materials, TW.A. started a Douglas DC-3 nightlycargo service between Kansas City and Los Angeles on 11October 1943 and followed this with a transcontinental NewYork-San Francisco cargo service on 15 November of that year.The loads were limited to a maximum of about three tons, butthe four-engined Douglas C-S4s could carry even ten tons ofpayload over short distances. TW.A. opened post-war trans­Atlantic passenger service with that sturdy airplane before theConstellations swept all before them with speed and pressurizedcomfort in 1946.

The DC-4s were soon relegated to lesser assignments, lessdemanding of speed or comfort. On 14 January 1947, TW.A.opened its first international all-cargo service, when theC-54/DC-4 NC79067 Shanghai Merchant, flew from Washing­ton to Lydda, Palestine (now Tel Aviv) via intermediate points.

106(photograph series: courtesy Terry VanDyke)

90% on the GroundThe Embryo YearsIn 1929 - the same year in which TW.A.'s ancestor, TA.T., was born, Clement Keys, the headof the powerful North American Aviation group, delivered a speech in which he raised some eye­brows by stating that "90% of aviation is on the ground." He was emphasizing that efficient andsafe operations could only be achieved by good training, good aircraft and engine construction, andabove all, good maintenance. In the I920s, too many pilots were poor navigators and took toomany risks; aircraft seldom lasted more than a few years; "the engine quit" was a familiar reasonfor a lucky escape in a meadow; and maintenance was a relatively casual affair.

Lindbergh's Influence on T.W.A.After Charles Lindbergh made his sensational New York-Paris non-stop flight in 1927, he fol­lowed this with a 48-State tour of the U.S.A., during which he vigorously promoted air travel.He became the technical consultant of TA.T, subsequently TW.A., and much of his adviceconcentrated on the vital need for ground support (see map on pages 28-29). At first, the air­craft were maintained mainly at Columbus, Ohio, and at Waynoka, Oklahoma, the transferpoints during the brief period of the air-rail service (see pages 24-25). But after the need forthe trains was eliminated in 1930, the airline established a single base at Kansas City, whichbecame the heart of T W.A.'s engineering organization.

Ray Dunn presides over a morninghour-long briefing in 1962 at the MidContinent International Airport,where trouble-shooting was refined bylong distance telephonic communica­tion throughout the TWA ~)'stem.

Refining the SystemDUling the 1960s, as the entire world of air transpolt transformed itself from knee-jerk reaction tosystematic control of all facets of operation, TW.A. was among the leaders in introducing pro­gressive maintenance to take full advantage of the vast improvements in instant telephonic com­munication. Under the direction of Ray Dunn, vice-president of engineering, morning briefingswere held every moming. These included up to 80 individuals, linked by telephone from coast tocoast, exchanging repOlts of delays and problems, and discussing how to fix them. A fine exampleof the advances made during this time was the identification of engine snags. John Morelli, themanager of power plant engineering, was meticulous in checking the records of every engine, andidentified a repetitive pattern of snags so that TWA. was able to put the principle of preventionbeing better than cure into practice. In 1969, TW.A. instituted on-line inspections of some enginecomponents, thus saving many engine changes and shipment of engines. Such initiative resulted inTW.A. being the first airline to be approved by the F.A.A for on-condition maintenance of powerplants.

Richards Road, Fairfax, and InternationalThe first site at Kansas City was the Municipal Airport, in the heart of the city, in the horse-shoebend of the Missouri River, often refelTed to as the downtown airpOlt, but the employees usuallycalled it "Number Ten, Richards Road". TWA had served the nation during the Second WorldWar with its Intercontinental Division's Boeing 307s (see page 46) and these were overhauled atWilmington, Delaware. Also, just across the river from Richards Road, another base had beenbuilt in Kansas City, Kansas. This Fairfax base had been a modification center for B-25 bombersduring the war. In 1946, TW.A. moved in, and Richards Road was relegated for on-line mainte­nance only. In tum, when the new Mid-Continent International Airport was built, TWA. madeanother move, first, in 1956, with the Power Plant shop, then, in 1958, with the Airframe Shop aswell.

This was the downtown, 01' Municipal airport, Kansas City, also known as 10, Richards Road.

This rare picture of the hangar at 10 Richards Road shows a Fokker F32 (left) towering over a FordTri-Motol; which itself dwwfs a Northrop Alpha, with other Fords in the background.

The former wartime modification center was the home ofTWA :5 engineersfioom /946 until 1956. It couldaccommodate the Constellations, which were much bigger than the DC-2s shown in the top picture.

(all photos courtesy Ona Gieschen, Airline Histol)' Museum)

107

(courtesy: Dna Gieschen)

Flooded OutIn July 1951, there was a great flood in the Missouri Rivervalley, covering an extensive area of low-lying land aroundKansas City, where the confluence with the Kansas Riverexacerbated the disaster. TW.A.'s engineering base was thenat the Fairfax airport (see page 107) which was vulnerable toflooding. In this picture a lone DC-3 can be seen stranded inthe waters, but TW.A. flew the other resident aircraft tohigher ground.

Historic GreetingAs nan'ated on page 52, one of the pivotal events in airtransport history was the dramatic flight in 1944 of the firstLockheed Constellation, when Howard Hughes and JackFrye delivered the prototype from Burbank to Washington ina transcontinental record time. (see page 52) They arepictured here on arrival at Washington's National Airportwith (left) William A.M.Burden, Assistant Secretary ofCommerce; and Jesse Jones, Secretary of Commerce.

(courtesy: Constance Walker)

conQ.ufsta3oJtE5~a etel.o

Los Conquistadores del CieloAnother of TW.A.'s lesser-known "firsts' is that it inspired thefoundation of that exclusive aviation club. The idea originatedwhen in 1937 the airline obtained widespread support amongpolitical and business circles for its cut-off route to San Fran­cisco, branching off northwestwards from Winslow, thus avoid­ing the circuitous route via Los Angeles and a connection on toWestern Air Lines, via Las Vegas (see page 38).

President Jack Frye wanted to make a token reward to allthe influential supporters who had enabled him to win approvalfor this important access to San Francisco. John Walker, Frye'svice-president, suggested a weekend celebration in September1937 for 60 guests at the Forked Lightning Ranch in Albu­querque. A great time was had by all, including horsebackriding, fishing, and a dude rodeo - at which Jack Frye showedthat he was no mean hand at roping steers, at least small steers.

The general consensus was "let's do it again." and JohnWalker once again came up with the idea of linking an annualevent with the Spanish tradition of the south-western states, thelocale of the cut-off route. And so was born Los Conquista­dores del Cielo, named after Francisco de Coronado, the Span­ish conquistador who had annexed the whole area for Spain.

Jack Frye was elected president and 91 senior aviationaficionados were inducted on 16-18 September 1938 in a col­orful initiation ceremony. This has been enhanced by a dresscode, introduced by Walker in 1951: replicas of the raimentworn by Hernan Cortes and the original conquistadores.The Conquerors of the Skies meet every year, at differentvenues, in an elite association that owes its origins to aTW.A. route extension.

TWA Miscellany

(picture courtesy Richard and BerniceDeGarmo, Als son, and daughter-in-law)

Air Mail SpecialOne of the more unusual ofTW.A. 's "firsts"is that, of all the air­lines established in 1925 as the result of the Kelly Air Mail Act,it canied the first passenger. He was not even the official recip­ient of Western Air Express's ticket No. I (see page 6) but hedid precede Mr. Ben Redman, who had that privilege. Not onlywas Will Rogers the first passenger in TWA's 75-year history,he was the first famous personality of the dozens of celebritieswho were later to make Howard Hughes's company the Airlineof the Stars.

The civil air mail regulations required that, before an air­line could carry passengers, it had to carry the mail for 90 days,or at least for a trial period (see page 9). AI DeGarmo, one ofthe Western's legendary Four Horsemen (see page 10), was afriend of Will Rogers, then a vaudeville entertainer, noted forhis prowess with rope tricks, later to become famous for hisdroll commentaries on the human condition. In a conspiracythat evaded the law - the lawyers would have had a lovely timein the COUIts - Will stuck a quantity of stamps on the back ofhis jacket and mailed himself to Salt Lake City and back.

In 1926, the pilots were not noted for their sartorial ele­gance, as they are today. But their attire was practical, andincluded a side-arm. This was to guard the mail, and in thiscase, presumably, to guard Will Rogers as well.

108

Airline of the Stars

Audrey Hepburn shows star qualityand charm personified, even when

checking on a TWA. flight

Jane Russell looked like the girl nextdoor when she took TWA. 's Flight 3

Nat 'King' Cole boards the Super-GConstellation on a trans-Atlanticflight to mark his acting debut

Cary Grant flashes a smile for TWA.as he boards a Boeing 707-100

Bob Hope consults a French diction­ary as he boards aflight to Paris

Eva and Zsa Zsa Gabor with a youngcompanion back in the days when air­ports supplied steps, not air bridges

109

The selection ofphotographs - just a few from TWA. 's extensive archive of its travelling clientele - is representative of the airline's claim tobe the preferred airline of Hollywood, a privilege not unconnected with Howard Hughes's personal influence. There were two unofficial

classes of TWAIPs (T WA. Important Persons). The first was usually for cOlporate heads, for whom a limousine service was provided. Thesecond was for film stars or other celebrities.

The incomparable Marilyn Monroe, epit­ome ofthe glamour ofthe silver screen

A star ofthe skies herself, famous aviator Amelia Earhart brandishesthe traditional champagne bottle to christen the Ford Tri-Motor Cityof New York on T.A. T 's inaugural transcontinental service in July1929. Looking on is Grover Whalen, Pratt & Whitney's chieftest pilot

1930

1940

1950

T\NAGENEALOGY( TRANS WORLD)

AIRLINES

Pennsylvania ~~Railroad - - ~

-~

1940

1950

1930

1920 r----------------------=====---, 1920

The Family Tree

1970

1990

1980

1960~~.",.I

TWA'S REGIONAL AFFILIATES

1990

•1970 (ALLEGHENY)COMMUTER

I(CO~t~~R)

1980 I( DELTA )CONNECTION

1960

2000 Rm ~ 2000o......- •• , ., ,_~_,__.__.

110

Acknowledgements and Technical NotesTechnical NotesThe sub-title of this book emphasizes that this story of TWA.places much impOitance on the aircraft that it flew. As the finaltext went to the printer, there have been more than 1,250 ofthem. The Paladwr team has tried to identify and documentevery single one, with all the necessary details that constitute anaccurate fleet record.

One ofTW.A.'s own pilots, Felix Usis ill, whose interestsinclude photography and the study of ancient history (thankspartly to layovers in Cairo), devoted many hours of computertime into the preparation of the lists, drawing upon the airline'sown engineering records and, for the earlier aircraft types (longbefore his time) the results of research done by such historiansas Ed Betts, Bill Larkins, Richard Allen, and Edward Peck.Felix supplemented his official records with additional datagleaned from various sources, including some that were notentered into the ledgers at Kansas City and St. Louis.

These lists were then meticulously checked and carefullyedited by John Wegg, author and editor-publisher of Airwaysmagazine. John is one of the world's leading authorities on suchdata, and (as the saying goes) "the editor's decision is final." Ifsuch a presumption can be forgiven, we hope that this book willserve as a permanent and definitive reference source of all theaircraft that have flown the routes of one of the world's greatairlines.

The fleet listings are supplemented, where appropriate,with tabulations that could answer readers' questions about thesubtler differences between the variants and sub-types of someairliners. The manufacturer's serial number (MSN) is preferTedto the term constructor's number (c/n), as in previous PaladwrPress books. Before 1949, registration numbers were NC or NXfor commercial or experimental aircraft, respectively. Thesingle N was used thereafter, and airliners already registeredwere re-registered when time and opportunity permitted.

Complementing the listings and data blocks with sometechnical observations, artist Mike Machat has added someuseful "artist's notes" - commentaries on special features, inthose cases where TW.A.'s aircraft may have differed slightlyfrom others of the same family.

AcknowledgementsI hope that readers will excuse any inadvertent omissions in thiscustomary tribute to all the folks, most of them TW.A. veterans,who have helped me to write this book. The personal recollec­tions of old-timers have fitted in neatly with the other inputsfrom various sources, official and otherwise. They have addedlife to the factual record, and have helped this author to reflectthe personality of the airline and to appreciate the tremendousdepth of loyalty that has carried them through thick and thin.

Among the printed sources, pride of place must go toLegacy ofLeadership, which appears at a quick glance to beanother pilots' album of nostalgia; but on closer inspectionreveals a great deal more. This is because it was compiled by agreat team: Ed Betts, Dan McGrogan, and Syd Albright. Ifirst met Syd in 1965, when visiting Western Air Lines, and hewill be pleased to know that the photographs that he dug up, andthe reminiscences he shared, have been recalled 35 years later.To all TWA. pilots, Ed is almost legendary as their historian,while Dan edited that book into shape. Ozark Airlines ­Contrails was a similar' compilation, obviously a labor of loveby an anonymous group of Ozarkians. TWA by George Cear'ley,an admirable scrapbook of airline memorabilia, has also beenmost useful.

Most of the TWA. collection of photographs evaporatedduring the troubled times of Chapter II-threatened 1980s, butmany were either rescued or duplicated by collectors andemployees. Roger Bentley's and Jon Proctor's collectionswere especially valuable, and complemented my own. Theywere punctuated by key contributions from Felix Usis III(including the eye-catcher on the back dust-jacket), Roger Bent­ley, John Malandro (master navigator), Pete BarTett and OnaGieschen (Save-A-Connie), Bernice de Garmo (daughter-in­law of one of the Four Horsemen), Steve Geronimo, ConstanceWalker, and Terry Van Dyke.

As mentioned above, countless TW.A.-ers have been kindenough to offer contributions, and I have included as many ofthem as possible. They have included Andy Anderson (whoflew the Stratoliner, unheated and unpressurized, during theWar), Ban)' Craig (who tried to sponsor this very book 12 yearsago), Bemice and Richard deGar'mo, Tom Donahue, LawrenceDooling, Clar'k Fisher, Bill Halliday, Chris Har'greaves, GordonHargis, F.A.Harland, Russ Hazelton, Myra Hendricks, KeithHorton, John Leamon, Hemy Lotito (who flew The Thing), theaforesaid navigator, John Malandro, TW. Meredith, JohnMorelli, OrvilJe Olson, Norman Parmet, Neil Poppe, TomRoberts, Frank Smith, Marc Spiegel, Michael Swift, Terry VanDyke (who helped the cows on their way), Constance Walker(whose late husband founded the Conquistadores), SusanWarren, and Claudia Woeber.

I must not forget Jim Brown, who was the initial catalystbetween TW.A. and Paladwr Press, and Donna Knobbe, whotook care of many of my needs. Above all, I thank Mark Abels,who was most generous in his Foreword, assisted tremendouslyin the review and fact-checking processes, and opened the doorsto many valuable sources of TW.A. lore. Together we share arespect for the English language which I hope has survived myefforts and his scrutiny without leaving too many scars.

IndexNotes: P=photogroph;T=tabulation; FL =fleet list;M=map; MM =Machat drawingMajor entries and "Machats" are inbald typeThe maps and Machat drawings arealso listed in the Contents, page S

Adamson, Gory, loonds 1,~dI'"" ~~nes, 100ADF (Automo~c Direction Findfil), plocn in h.t"'f, 49AerCKor, nsed IXl TAl. ni"o~ servi<e, 24, 24p, 25PAero Corporotion of(olITom~, lB, IBPAerOO1llrine, piooeeroirline, BAeroviosBrosil,I.WAoffMIXl,59T~gle Azur, Frfillch oidion, buys Shoto~on", 47~rbus A3IB, ordfiled, 104~rCommerceAct, 1926, B~rExpress,lnc,ftiesexpressservices,37

~r Midwest, purchosed by Trons Stote, 100~rlion Ofilegulo~onAct, B2, 90~dfilmon, Rolph, novigotor,49P~"ondfil Eoglfilock, StondordAir unesoircroft, IBP"Ambossador" sfilvice, 64AmericonAiriines

Cloimosfi"toirline, BFormo~on, 30, 30MOrdersCoovoirliner,60

American Export Airlines, forma~an, Arlan~c compemor, 50Americon Ove"eos ~rlines (A.OA), li"t trons-Arlonrrc postworcommerciolflight, SOArmy~rCorps,(ornesthemoil,32

Arnold, Generol "Hop: gleel; Hughes 1944, 52A~on~( Service, 50ATR-42, commuteroidine, 101MM, IOIPBAC· On&!leven, campe~tor to DC-9}5Boch rrHnolor, We~ Coost o,craft, 19PBoll, Gifford, CAM II, BT,BM"Bomboc Bomber: OzoHiilines (1943), 92Bonk 01 America, Onds to Hughes, 73Beed117D Stoggfill'ling, Ozo~ ~rt"'" (1943), 92, 92p, 92FlBell5, Ed, rnrfinehistolion, 26Blo(H\cKellor Ail Ma~Act, 1934,33Boeing ~I Tronsport, W", oir mo~ (onhod, 9, 30Boeing 40, W.A.f_ .rcroff, 20p' 22p, 22flBoeing BOA, UnITed Ail lines, 30PBoeing 95, WAE. oircraft,lIp' 20p' 22p, 22flBoeing 204, WAE. oircroff, 16, 16flBoeing 247, l'lood'sfirstrnoclern oirliner, 32, 32PBoeing B-1 7flying Forbess, Tested by TWA 46, 46FtBoeing 2707 SST. 74, 74M1ABoeing 307 Shot~iner

First pressunzed oidiner, 44-45, 44p, 45M1,1. 45Fl'lor effort, 46, 46p, 47, 47PRe~red,sald, Uledin~emom,47

Compored to OC·4, Constello~on, 5ITBoeing 367-BO, 65Boeing 707

00minotesoirroutes,195B,59TWA. order, Entry intaservice with one airuoft,64Fulldescrlprron (-100), 65, 65MM, 65p, 66p, 66FlFull descrip~on (-300), 69, 69MM, 6B FlSymbolizes new ero, 67p, losl TWA fiighl, B9

Boeing 717, Ordered, 104Full descrip~on, 105, 105MM, 105fl, 10SP

Boeing 720, 69, 64p, 6BFlBoeing 727

Fulldescriprron (,100), 75, 75MM, 75p, 76FlFull de~nprron (·200), BI, BIMM, BOp, Blp, B)fl

Boeing 747PlOj"tloulKhed, TWA service, B2

Full desaiptioo (-100 se~) B3,B3MM, B3p,B4p, B2Fl

Compared to 747Sp' B5TBoeing 747SP

Full descrip~on, BS, BSMI~, B5p, B4PPon Ame~con demonds more lOnge, B4Compared to 747,100, BSTRe~red, 105

Boeing 757, fun desaip~oo, 103, 1031M1, 103FI, 103PBoeing 767

Full rlescrip~on, BB-89B, B9IMI, BBp, B9p, BBFlVorianl; compared, B9T

Bree<h, Ernest, cho,mon, 73,90, 90PBrenna, IAel, initiative 00 (Qpoci~ sho~ng, B2Brist~ Britonn~, long'lOnge Iurboprop, 57, 59Bntish AerllSjlOce BAe Jel;heom, 99P 100l.lhiB~tish West In~es ~NIO'f' (BWU), IViA offi6ation, S9TBrooks, Peter VI., ~tlllion, commfilll; 00 ConsteBotion, 52BrOl'm, Vlolter F~gfil, Pashno~er Generol, 32P

Forces "Sho~un Mornage: 22, 22P~omotes McNory-Wohes Act, 32

Bryon, O~SHeodsuplC0,46Pe",nol pilot lor President Roosevelt, 46P

Burden, Wm, Asst Sec. Commerce, gre,l; Hughes, Frye, lOBBurgess, Corter, president, 1957,64,73, 90PCohill,John, cholrmon oIT.W.A., 104Compbell,Moude,firstl'lomonpossenger,12Conleen Corporo~on, ocquiredby IW.A., 90Corovelle, ordered by TWA., 74, 74MMCorgoservices,reviewed,106Cottle, speicol oirliftto iron, 106, 106PCenluiy 21, ocquired by TWA., 90Cessno T·SO Bobcat (Um), Ozork (1943), 92, 92p, 92FlChopterll bonkruptcy, 102, 104Choutouquo ~rllnes, 100, lOOp' 100M(IC(CielnternorronoledeTronsport>CivilsAeriensI,Boeing307sin Vielnom, 47, 47PGippedWings, hosiessrerrrementgroup, 4BGovis, TAT.loikJirtronslerstotion, 24, 24p, 25PCohu, lomane, becomes pre.dent,194B, 64, 90PCole, Not "~ng: flies by IW.A., 109PCollifilTIOp!Jy, won by HOIvord Hughes, 42Coloniol ~NIOYS Ca~, companeot of Ame~con ~NIO'f', 30C~oniol ~r Tronsport, CAlA 1, BT, BMC~orodo~NIO'f'

CAM 12, BT,BMRodyMoonloinroule, 17, 17FL,17M

CllIIIjltoo,Wd!orn(~l)

Be<omes Piesident ond CO_O., 104Appointed U.O., 104, 105P

COIICorde, TWA intfilest, 74, 741M\Conquislodoresd~Cielo,histoly, lOBCoiMidoted Fleel;tfil,36,36p' 36FlConlioct ("Kel~") ~r Mo~ Act, 1925, BCOIlVOir240 (Ozork), 94, 94FlConvoir BBO (or 600, or Golden AllOW)

IViA order, 64Oevelopmentstory, 70_70p, 70FlFull de~rip~on, 71, 71 MM, lIPOrder set oside, 73

Caovoir 600, Skylo~, Golden ~roVl, (Convoir BBOI. 71Corporote Mnes, commuler, 100, lOOp' 100MCoolidge, President,signs~rMoiIAct, BCooper, Tom, founds Gullsheom Inlerna~onol, 99Curry, Foster, promotes ?oc~icMorineAir\'loys, 16CurrrssHS·21,PocilicMorineoircroft,16FICur~ss Condor CO, full d~scrip~on, 31, 31 P, 31MMCur~ssCondorT·32. with Eostern Airlines, 31Oomon, Rolph

[oreerreview,tribute,61,6IPPresident, deoth in 1956,64

Donforth, Jock, senotor, commenl; on TWA_ staff layol~, 102"OC·3 Replocement" problem, 60OeGormo, Bernice, summarizes early flying condi~ons, 10OeGorlllO, Alva "~:

Oneal FOUl Horsemen, lOPCornes Will Roge" os oir mo~, lOB

111

IndexDe Hovilland 0H-4B, W.A.E. ailCroft, II, 11FLDe Hovilland Camel 4

firsl jel airliner, 195B, 59, 65De Hovil~nd 0H-11l Tndenl,75De Ha.lland Canada OHC·6 Twin O~er

With Oza~ ~r tines, 9BDella~rtines

aaimasfirslairline,BfirstarderlarOC·9,77

OenverCose,CAB. Rautecose,64Dickenson, Charles, (fJA9, 8T,81AIJoo/itie, Jimmy, returns home ,nth T.wA~1asfA.1 (andfA.4), WAE. airuoft, II, IlAVA, 11Ft, 111,

131, 10POooglas IJ.38, IDes Army ~r Carps mel service, 31P~las 8-7 bamber, fires Army ~r Carps mel service, 31P~lasOC'1

Hi~ari< pralatype, 311, 33, 331, 34P8nefhi~ary,35

8rief des<np~on, 41Comparison ,nth ather Douglas Nnns, 41 MM

Douglas DO, 34Pfull desuip~, 35, 35MM, 35fl, 35p,fuselogecomporison ,nth DO (chort),39Comporison I.th other Douglas Nlins, 41 MM

OauglasOC·3Oe"lapmenllramOC·1,38

lW.A. inrraduc~an mST), 3B, 39MM, 39-40Flfuselogecomporisonwith DC·1 (chortl,39Comparison with other Douglas Iwins, 41 MMEndafseNice,60Camparedlapaslworairliners,63TOzark Air Unes (Challenger 1S0), 93, 93MM, 93Fl, 91Pfreighler seMces, inc wortime, 106, 106P

Douglas DSTfirsl,ersianal D(.3, 3BT.wA innoduc~an, 3B, 38-39FlComparison ,nth ather Douglas I\'nns, 41MM

AilpoITscene, I930s, 41PDouglas C-47,mililarywnanlal the DC-3

Used by lW.A. 3B,40fLComporison with Othel Douglas Nnns, 41 MM

~las C-49 ond C-53, mirrlary OC-3, used by T.wA, 40fl~IosC-54

Innarludion ond lestin~ 46, 46flDelivery to T.wA, SOOporo ~war Atlon~c services, 106first inlemo~anrn freighl service, 106, 106P

~lasOC-4

Oesignspe<ifierl by airlines, 46f1eetr.l, SOTfirslal<argaseMce,SOEntry inlo lWA seMce, 50, SIPf~1 descnp~OI1, SI, 5lAVA

Compored 10 Boeing 307, Canslello~on, SITDouglas OC-9, 76P (-311

Ordered,7SFleellisl> (-51, -14, -311,76-77DC-9-14, full descnp~an, 77, 77MM, 77PDC-9-80 (seeMDBDIDC-9-30 mza~), 96-97, 97MM, 97p, 9BFl

Eagle Nesl FlighlCenler, Aibuquerque, 46Eorhort, chnslensFordTr-Mator, 109PEastern Airlines

OperalesCurtiss CandorT-31, 31ChaosesMortin404,61

EconamyCloss,seMceinnaduced,64Embroer EMB 145, commuter airliner, lOOPEngineers

Maintoin first Boeing 707, 64EnglamfAusrralio ~r Race, publicizes DC-1. 38EquifllbleUfe,insulOncegiont

Finances Boeing 707, 64lendstoHughes,setsup,0~ng~,73

Enckson, Jeffley, presidenloflWA, 104

112

Ethiapion Airlines, T.wA affilia~an, 59TEtan Carparo~an, larma~an 01 1W.A., 18ETOPS, apera~ans appra"d, 88Fairbanks,Oauglas,JI.,0ITAlinaugural,14PFoilChildC-81,fulidescrip~an,56, 56MM,56PfailChild fH-117B (Ozark), 95, 95MM, 95p, 95FlfailChild Mena III, I'nth lAidwoy/Ozo~, 9B, 98p, 100MMfarley, Jomes A., Pastmaster Gen, leslares air meil connacts, 31"fashion alChi'le," un,arm cellection by aipped Wings, 4BFireslone, Harvey, 01 TAl inaugural, 14fISCher, Gerhardl,develops firslradia compass, 14Fittgerold, Joseph, presidenl,Oza~, 94f1ighIEngin"",averlakenbytechoo~,49

!tinl, Perry, comments on T.wA's survi'lul, 104flanda ~NIfJ'(S Ca~., CAM 10, 8T, 81Afakk"m(HlI)

WAE.~ruoft, 14FLltondard~1 tines, lBPWest Coast Air Tronspor1, 19P

faU" f-l0/IOA, WAE o,uoft, 15,14ft,15AVA, 15P,10PFaU" F-14, WAE_ ailCloft, 10p' 11PFakk" F-31, 11, 1lfl, 11p,111NAFakker Uni'lellOl, Siondard ~r lines ailuoft, 18Pfokker m (Ozo~), 94-95, 95p, 95flfard,EdseI

Tokesinlerestin Siauloircroft, 13AI TAl inougurol, 14

Fard, Henry, 01 TAl inougurol, 14PFord MotorCompony

CAM 6ond 7, 8T,BMEstoblishesoirline,13

Fard4·ATTr'MotorModdux~rtines,16,16p,16Fl

Fulldeserip~on, 27, 27MMComparison with 5·AT, 17T

Fard 5-ATTr,Matarfulldeserip~an, 13. 13MM, 13FITAl rranscon~nenlal inaugurol, 14·15, 109P

ModduxAirtines, 16flMosler pion 1& T.wA, 18, 19PFlaotplone,44PCamporison "th 4~T, 171Used lar freighl seMces, 106P

FflI1Une, mogozine, comments an Hughes departure, 73"fOUl HQlSemen: Wesl"n"s pioneer pilots, 10,1 OPFleighlservices,le'liewed,106frye,Jock

PresidenlaIStondOld~~ines, 18, IBPPlcturedl'lithfakker~31, 11PAt TAl irwJurol, 14p, AI Port CalurnlxJs, 15PCareer ,nth T.wA, 30, 19P5poosors ~Ios DC-I, 31, ("Jack Frye Ie~e() 33Brooks 1T01lS(00~nentoi speed record, 33PPartner ,nth Hal'lOldHughes, 41P

fOes pralatype CanstolkJlian, Burhank-New Ya~, 1944,51,51p, 108PPro~ems wim Hughes, lesigns, 64first president of Ies COI1quistoriores del Gelo, 108

Gobor, Ew and l5IJ lsa, fly by lWA, 109PGann, Harry, ace phalographer, 11Generol Ail Freighl, ford TrfMalor, 106Gitner, Gerold, choirmon 01 T.wA, 104Global offno~ons, 59GPS (Global Pasitioning Systeml, aid 10 na.ga~an, 49Groce, Thomas L, plesident, Oza~ ~r tines, 94, 94PGroham, Maurie, one of Four Horsemen, lOPGrond Canyon ~r1ines (19351, 98,981.1Gronl, Cory, flies I'nth TWA., 109PGregory, T.E.C, pictured with FokkerF-31, 11PGuggenheim, Ooniel, promales Model Aio'lay, 14Guggenheim Fund, 14, 15Gulfsneam Inlerna~anal, commuler oirline, 100, 1011.1Hall, Joel, lounds Chaulauqua Airlines, 100Hollidoy, BiII,commentsan pasli'larOC-3 seMces, 60Homillan,loddie

founds Ozark Aillines (19431. 91Resigns,94

Hamilton, Woller,SlondardAiltines, 18Hanshue, Harns "Pap"

PramolesWeslernAiIExpress, 9, 9P

Acquires Pacific Marine Airwoys, 16Acquires CalaradaAirwoys, 17Acquires Siondard Air tines, lB, 10Builds WAE. neNI&k, 10, 10MFounds lIJd{an~nenl Air Express, 10Pictured with fakkerf-31, 11PfirstpresidenlollWA,11, 11p, 18

Harlond, froncis, no,igolar, 49Harmen Trophy, won by Howard Hughes, 41Hart, Gearge, novigalar, nagicdeath, 49Hawaii Roule Cose, 81Hawa'an ~rlines, T.wA offr,a~on, 59THeathrow Airport, landon, lasl T.wA. fl~hl, 101Hepbum, Audrey, flies by lWA, 109PHertz, lahn,parlownerofT.wA, 41Hioo, HA,memheralforddesignleam,13Hiltoo Halels, plJchased by lWA, 81, 90Hiscock, Thorp, carrmmica~ans special.l, 14HllOI'eI, Herbert, JI., WAf. comroonicolians specior,~, 13p, 14Hope, Bob, IDes ,.th lWA, 109PHostesses, memones, 4BHovlOld, W~liom, moirmen of T.wA, 104HovieilIV, Cha~es, founds Corporole ~rIines, 100Hughes, HovlOld

Bnelbiography, 41,41~ Buys TWA. slarl: 41Breaks nanscan~nenlol speed record,41Role in Man~c seM" d"elapmenl, SOf1iesprotatypeCanslello~an, Burbonk-Nel'lYark, 1944, 51,S1p, 108PInterestinBnstalBnlonnio,59PrelersMortin 101,. Cooooir140, 61Problems with Jock Frye, 64Orders Boeing 707sond Cooooir880s, 64ProblemswithConvoir880, 71Surrenders ownership, 73

leahn,CarlCareer backgraund, takes "erTWA., 91, 91PPurchases Ozark Air tines, 91EslablOhesTransWarldExpress, 101Career ,nth TWA., anddeporture, 101Agrees 10 method 01 debl paymenl, 104

'oFlighl Mo.es, lWA firsl, 91INS Onemol Novigo~on Syslem) death<nelll& na.galars, 49Inl"cool. DivisiOl1 (ICD), T.wA I'/Ortime aperalan, 46, 461.1Int"coo~nentol Hotels, ocquired by T.wA, 90Inter Urbon Groin Bell Raute, Parks~rTro/lSjlllll, 91IronianAiIVlOYS, T.wA. offiliation, 59TIrving rrust,lends to Hughes, 90Jomes, Challes "Jimmy"

One 01 fOOl Horsemen, lOp, liPWith HOflVer, Jr., 13P

Jel Express, corrmrt" airline,100Jetshrom, commut~ airline (see BAe Jetsheom)Jetshrom, oomefOi Lorl:heed l-1649A, 57Jones,f1oyd,faundsOzo~~rIines, 91looes, Jesse, Sea. of Camm"ce, greets Hughes ond frye, lOBJoseph,AnthanyF., faundsCeiorrHiaAiNIOYS, 17Kansas Gty DiYe<houl ond MointenolKe Bose, 107, 107P

fai~axoirportflorxled, 10BPKellen,oulogyra, 193B, 101"Kel~" ~r Mail Ad, 1915, 8Kel~,fred

One 01 fOUl Horsemen, 9p, lOPWith Hoo,er, Jr., 13P

Ke~anon, M, inteNenes in bid lar raules, 101Keys, Clemenl, defines importance 01 graund seMce, 107K.l.M. DUlch airline, DC-1 in EnglanrfAusnaliaAir Roce, 38Koppen, Ona, member 01 Fard rlesign leam, 13Kreusi, Geaflrey, d"elopsfirslrodia composs, 14lo~ins,Bill,oiriinehislanan,16

lee, John, member of Fard design leam, 13lehmonBrathers,porl~\'lneraITWA.,41

tighledAiNIOYEndsroikJirseMce,18~aceinhistary,49

tindbergh,ChoriesPromotesovia~an, 14, 107Technicoladl1serlalA.T.,14,14Pfliesfirsl Maddux flighl, 16, 17, 17P

PlonsTAlraule,1B·19,19PAppra,es Oouglos DC-I design, 31Influence 01 1917 flighl, 51

tineeAeree Itolione (I.A.I.), lW.A. aflilio~an, 591titiewood, Bill,recommends OC-3design, 3Blackheed~rExpress, WAE.aircroft,11lockheedMloir, 37flLockheedVego, 37,37MM,37fL,37PLockheed Orion, 37,37AVA, 37FL, 37PLockheed 14, Hughes's lound-th"'radd flighl, 41lockheed IBlodeslOl, 50fLloel', .10;/ ,onsl••non (ond 7<91. 5BP

Compaled to Boeing 307, DC-4, 5ITOver New Yark, 51PFull des<np~on, 53, 53AV,I, 53PFullleelfi~,54fL

Crmnenlary, 59, models cOfllllOled, 59TCompared 10 pasliwi oirlinell, 63T

Lrxlheed 649, T.wA orde< cOfl(eUed, S9TLrxlheed Supel{oastella~on 1049G (and 1049H), 5BP

fulilleellist,55,55MMCommenlory, 59, models campared, 59T

lockheed l-1649A Sto~in"

full de~np~on, fleet Ii~, S7, 57MM, S7FlCommentory, S9, models campoled, S9I

Lockheed HOll TnSlarFull descnption, 87, B7MM, B7p, B6PFleellisl,86fll-IOII vonantscampored, 871

loening C1H~rYachl, W.A.E. airerah, 16p, 16Ftloewy, Raymond,designs newchearline, 65lorenza, Fronk, affeers 10 buy TWA., 91lykins,Dan,lliesDauglosM-1IaWoshinglan,11McDonnell DouglosDC-9-B1 (MDB11

Full deserip~on, 79, 791.11.1, 79, 78p, 79p, 7BFlEntell TWA. seMce, B9Oza~Airtines, 96, 97p, 97Fl

McDanneliOaugiosM095 (see Boeing 7171McNory-Wanes Acl, 1930, 31Moddux, Jack I., launds Maddux Air tines, 16-17, 16p,17PModduxAirtines, 1&17Moiden Dearbarn, Slaul1~T airClah, 13Molandra, John, novigalar, 49Marquelle~rtines,43,43M

Morlin 101 (ond 101AlRe~ocespre-wortypes, 47, 60, 60PProblems, 61Prefelled by Hughes, 61f1eelr.1, 61flCompared to pasl.1OI aidinell, 63T

Mortin404FrJldescriptian,63,63MM,60PChosen by Hughes ond Rid:erOOder, 61, 61Pf1eel6st,61-63fLCompared 10 pasW101 oi~inell, 63TOzo~ Air tines, 94, 94MM, 94p, 94fL

Mayo, Williom B., directs design of Ford Tri-Molor, 13Metro Airlines Northeo~, commuter oirline, 100lAenapalilon life, sets up w~ng ~, 73Mid{on~nenl ~r Ex~ess, lounded by Hanshue, 10, 10MMidweslAi~ines

Associtoled I'nth Ozo~ Ail tines, 98. 98PModel AiNIOY, The, 14, 14MMahav~ ~rlines, nodes plones ,nth Ozo~, 94Monroe, Mon~, flies by TWA., 109PMoseley, Majar CC, YP. Opera~ans, WAE., lOPNananal Air and Space Museum

PreseNesDauglosM-4, 11, 11Recei'" Nartl1rapAlpho, 36Will ho"Boeing 307, 4S

Na~anal ~rTronsport

CAM 3, BT, BMCampanenlal UniledAiI tineslarma~an, 30

Novigo~an, hislory re,iewed, 49NewEnglondondWeslernTpl,fliesFordflootplane,44PNew Yo~ Aimays, 101NewYo~Helicopter, 101, 101PNartl1rap Mpho, 36, 36p, 36FlNartl1rap Delio, 36

Northrop GammaUsed by Tammy Tomlinson lor highol~tude resenrch, 36p,

36Ft, 38, 44Nartl1west~Nlays

CAM 9, 8T,8MPrablems wilh Martin 101, 61

"Onlas: (failChildC-B11, 56Ozark Airlines (1943), 91Oza~ ~r lines, 91-97

Begins apera~ans, 91, 91P; lAop senes, 961.1T,',n Ollel servi<e 10 Meigs field, 9B

Pacilic~IT'l!'1SjlOf1

CAM B,BT,8MComponenlol United ~I tines fanrnetion, 30

pocific lAarine ~0'1fJ'(S, loute to Awlon, 16, 16M, 101APocificRaute(ose,81Pon Americon AiNIfJ'(S

Use 0I11ying hauts, 49FirstCOflSlella~servi<e,50

Challenged on roond-the·worirl service, 64Ordell707s and OC-8s, 64, Ordell747, B1Requires mare range, 84

Parks Air Tro/lSjlllll, 91Porks,Olrlerl., laundsPorks~rTronsport, 91Po~ersan, W.R. Pol: ~es~enl, Uniled ~r lines, 30PennsylvonioRoilrood,porticipolesinfarma~aITA114-15

Philippine Ail tines, T.wA offilio~an, 59TMford,Mory, 01 TAl inougurol, 14P~ellOn, Wanen lee, president, 1948, and 19S7, 64, 73, 90PPllgnm 100A, Amencon Airlines, 30P~perTwinair, 98, 98MPil1sburgh A'iolion Induslries Carp. (P.HCI, parlicipanl

inlarma~an 01 TWA., 18Pogue, l. Welch, choirman, CAB., ini~ales local ser,ice, 91PolarSeNice,64Port Columbus, nonsler slo~an on lA.T. nonscon~nenlol, 15Parlair, TAl oirioillrons!er slo~on, 14, 14PRonsome, 1. Dowsan, laundsoirline 101Raymand,Arrhur,designsDauglasOC-l,31Redman, Ben, firstpossenger, 6PResort ~r, filSl nome 01 Trons Siole, 99Rhodes, Kathryn, firstchielhasless, 4BPRichler,Paul,JI.

Treasul", SlandardAir tines, IBWith TAl, 19p, Resigns, with frye, 64

~rl:enborker, Eddie, joins Hughes in rlJaasing Mortin 404, 61Rabbins,R.W.

PresidenlollWA,1B.19PFurloughs T.wA sloff, 31

RabertsaoAimoftCorp.(fJA1,8T,8M

Rockne, Knute, uosh Yictim, 15Rogers, Will, firsl passenger, 108, IOBPRashkind, Allan, designs Morlin 101, 60Roosevell,Presidenl

CaIKe!soil me' connocts, 31Aies,'nthT.wA oonng,lOI, 46P

Round-the",arirI service, SOM, 64Rummel, Bob, lests Mortin 101 and COI1Wi1140, 61Russell,Jane, flies ,nth lWA, 109P5MB 340, cammuter oirliner, 99AVARyan M·l, Colarada ~o'lfJ'(S oircroh, 17p, 17FlSuudi Arabian Airlines, T.wA offilio~on, S9T"Sove-o{onnleH

orgonizo~on, pleserves Constellation, 59Scheduled~rTaxiseMce, 98"SecretWeopon: Canslello~an descnp~an, 51SevenStotesweoCose,94"Shalgun Mallioge," merger 01 WAE. and TAl, 11Shraeder, Malar, Fardteslpilol,13SikarskyS-38A, WAE.Aircrah, 16p, 16FlSil,erWings,haslessre~remenlgraup,48

Smith,CR.Presidenl,AmericanAiriines, 30C1aimslar DC-3 prafitobility, 3B

Southern Air Transport, campanent 01 Amencon WO'IOYS, 30"SpaiIsCanlerences," 31Sportsman's Traphy, won byHOI'rold Hughes, 41Stondard~rtines,pianeerairlineinthewesxt, lB, IBM, 101AStolOner, oome lar Lockheed L-I649A, 57

51earman C3B, WAE. Aircrah, 17, 17p, 17Fl, 10P5~nsan ATrimalar, Marquene ~r Unes, 43, 43fl, 43p,43MMSiaul, William B., oimohdesigner, 13SlauI1-AT, early nansporl oirplane, 13SnalalinerCoochSee<l1ce, 1949, 47Sud Caravelle (Sud-EsI1101, ardered by lWA, 74, 74MMSweonngen (foirchild) Menoll

With A~dwoy/Oza~, 98. 98PTAO, Panamanian oirline, T.w1l.. oflilio~an, 59TTAE. (Gleekairline), T.wA offlia~on, S9Traj MalrlJ/, first oirCloft (DC-4) 10 weol1rons Wa~d" maoong, 50, 5IPTalbal, James, W1l..E. dilector, pictured I'nth fakker ~31, 11PlA.T. (lraf1S(on~nenlol~ITra/lSjlllll1.

Sholgun Mollioge" I'nth Westem ~r ExpressInooguralesnooscontinentoloiliolservi<e, 14, 141A

TA1-/Aoddux, merg", 171he Th~" (fairchild C-81),56Third LeveI,o,service, 98Thomas, Charles S. ~esident, 19SB, 64, 73. 90PThlee /Goo Wards, T.wA Wortime Boeing 199 (8-17G flying Fortress) 46Tillingha~, Cho~es, ~esident, 73, 90, 90PTomlinson, Lt. O.W. 1ammy"

Y.P.Moddux~rlines, 17flies Nortl1lop Gammo, ol~tude lesoorch, 36p, 38, 44, 44P

Taurisl aass, seMce innoduced, 64Trans Medilerroneon AiNlays (I.MA), TWA. offlio~an, 59TTransSlotes~rlines

T.wA Explessassaciale, 99NeNlOrksalSt.lauisond NewYarlc, 99M

1rans World Mne"Firsl use of nome, SO

Farmol regisno~on 01 nome, 64Trons Warld (arporo~an, farmed, 90TronsWarldExpress, 101, 101PlWAIPS (lWA Importont Persons), 109lWBOO, Ilight number of nagic disoster, 104UnianAirtines,operatesWestCaostAirTransporl,19Uniled ~rcrafr and Transparl Carp., larmo~an, 30UniledAillines

Claim as flrslairline, 8Briel hislary 01 larmo~an, campe~lar 01 TWA., 3D, 30MInnoduces DC-3Firsl\l1th cabin anendants, 4BOrd"s Boeing 767, 88

Unned A.go~oo, contends f& porlidpolon in IWA, 1BUnned Parcel \eMce (UPS), \11th Moddux Ail tines, 16PUni'le<scl~rtine Syslem, lriesaut Fokk" f-31, 11VoaField,13PYameyAirtines

CAM S, 8T,8MC1aimasfirstai~ne, BCornpanenlafUnitedAillileslanrne~,30

Ylgin IsIonrfs 5eapllll\e Shuttle, 100Von Ohain, Hans, ""nts ~I engine, 65Wa~er, John, founds Las Ca"luistorlares dol Oele, lOBWesICoo~~rTronsport, 19, 191A,10MWesternAiIEx~ess(wAE.I

Pianeeroirline, 8, 8T,8MBeginsapera~OflS, 9, 9MOperalesModelAiNlOy,14Aies laCatolina Island, 16, 161AAcquires Colorado ~NIOYS, 17; Stondard ~r tines, 18; Wesl Caasl Air Transport,"Shatgun Molnoge" "rh TAl, 22

Whalen, Gra,er, Pra~ &Whitney lesl pilal, 01 Fard Tri-lAatar ,hnslening, 109PWhitie, SirFrank,in"nts jelengine, 65Wickas, Ren, o.o~an artist, 66Wilminglar;{alolino Airline, succeeds Pacilic Marine ~O'IOYS, 16Wilson, lB., choirman, resigns with Frye, 64Windsor,C1oire,octress,

Accepts firsloir mail package, lOPWings 01 Pride, baokhanaring haslessochi"ements, 48Waolsey,KW,no,igolor,49Warcesler, Richard,commentsan Hughes departure, 73Wngley,Philip,lakesoyerPacificMarineAi~IOYS, 16Yellow Cob Ca., port~\'mer 01 T.wA, 41

. I•, , ,TRANS WORLO

t 111 •••