This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(February 2019) |
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Founded | 1945 | ||||||
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Ceased operations | 1950 (merged into Pan American World Airways) | ||||||
Fleet size | 33 (2 SV-44, 1 DC-3, 2 C-47, 6 C-54, 7 DC-4, 7 L-049, 8 Boeing 377) | ||||||
Headquarters | New York City, New York, United States |
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Founded | 1937 | ||||||
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Ceased operations | 1945 (merged into American Airlines and renamed American Overseas Airlines) | ||||||
Fleet size | 14 (1 PBY-4, 3 SV-44, 1 DC-3, 2 Douglas C-47 Skytrain, 7 Douglas C-54 Skymaster) | ||||||
Headquarters | New York City, New York, United States |
American Overseas Airlines (AOA) was an airline that operated between the United States and Europe between 1945 and 1950. It was headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. [1]
American Export Airlines (AEA), commonly known as Am Ex, was founded in April 1937 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the shipping company American Export Lines. Transatlantic surveys were done with a Consolidated PBY-4 flying boat and in 1939 AEA placed an order for three Vought-Sikorsky VS-44 flying boats, dubbed 'Flying Aces', named after the parent company's Four Aces. That same year, AEA made an application to the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) for routes across the Atlantic from the United States to the United Kingdom, France, and Portugal. On July 15, 1940, in spite of strong protests by Juan Trippe, the president of Pan American Airways (PAA), President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his approval to AEA for a seven-year temporary certificate to serve Lisbon (Portugal) from New York City-La Guardia Flying Boat base. Later, services were also flown to Foynes (Ireland). These services ended in 1944 when AEA started operations on behalf of the U.S. Air Transport Command (ATC), using Douglas C-54 Skymasters mainly between the US and military bases in North Africa. [2]
AEA could not begin its New York City (USA) – Foynes (Ireland) flying boat service before June 1942, due in part to vigorous objections from PAA.[ citation needed ]
In 1945, AEA was awarded transatlantic rights, which covered destinations in Northern Europe with the requirement that the shipping company (American Export Lines) divest itself of control and turn the control over to another carrier, so that an airline was not controlled by a surface carrier. Consequently, enough stock was sold to American Airlines to give them control, but the chairman of the board of AEA, J. E. Slater, remained. American Airlines was interested in acquiring AEA since it wanted to break into the overseas market, dominated at that time by PAA. The US CAB approved the acquisition of AEA by American Airlines on July 5, 1945. The La Guardia – Botwood – Shannon route was initially operated by Vought-Sikorsky flying boats using the Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia Airport. [3] By 1948 the airline also served Prestwick, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Berlin, Keflavik, Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki. [4]
The AEA name was retained until November 1945 when AEA was renamed to American Overseas Airlines. [5] The entity started operations with six C-54s at the end of AEA's ATC contract. [6]
AOA launched international landplane flights on October 24, 1945, operating a Douglas DC-4, Flagship New England (N90904), on the route New York City to London [7] via Boston, Gander (Newfoundland) and Shannon (Ireland).
The reliable but unpressurised DC-4s were replaced on the Atlantic routes by Lockheed L-049 Constellations from 23 June 1946. [8] From summer 1949 the Constellations were supplemented and then largely replaced by Boeing 377 Stratocruisers, the first AOA service by the type being on 17 August that year to London Heathrow Airport. [9]
AOA was acquired by PAA but on May 17, 1950, the US CAB ruled against this merger. [10] President Harry S. Truman, however, overturned the CAB decision, and AOA was merged into what would become Pan American's Atlantic Division on September 25, 1950. This unit ultimately became part of Delta Air Lines, following Pan Am's bankruptcy in 1991.
According to the August 1, 1950, American Overseas Airlines system timetable, the carrier was serving the following destinations shortly before Pan American was allowed to acquire the airline: [11]
The above referenced timetable states that the airline was operating Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, Douglas DC-3, Douglas DC-4 and Lockheed L-049 Constellation prop aircraft at this time, all of which AOA referred to as "flagships". The same AOA timetable also contains an American Airlines (AA) connecting service route map with domestic U.S flights as well as flights between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico operated by AA.
On June 18, 1942, an AEA Consolidated 16 Commodore (NC664M) sank into Takla Lake while being flown to Alaska. The flying boat had been contracted by the U.S. Military and was on a fuel stop in Takla Lake when the fuel split, causing a fire which sunk the plane. In 2010, plans were made to salvage the wreck and send it to San Diego Air & Space Museum. [12]
On October 3, 1942, AEA's Excalibur (NC41880), a Vought-Sikorsky VS-44, crashed on take-off at Botwood (Newfoundland) when flaps were inadvertently extended to landing position, thus causing the aircraft to stall immediately after lift-off. In the crash, 5 out of crew of 11 and 6 out of 26 passengers perished. [13]
On April 21, 1945, an AEA Douglas C-54 (41-107452) crashed at Kindley Field, Bermuda, after suffering engine failure on a cargo flight. It is unknown if there were any fatalities or injuries. [14]
On October 3, 1946, AOA's Flagship New England (N90904) crashed into a steep ridge en route from Stephenville (Newfoundland) to Shannon (Ireland). This plane crash happened 7.1 miles past the departure runway. There were 8 crew and 31 passenger fatalities; no survivors. The crash investigators attributed the probable cause to "The action of the pilot in maintaining the direction of take-off toward higher terrain over which adequate clearance could not be gained." [15]
On May 3, 1947, AOA's Flagship Denmark was damaged on the runway in Boston when the right wing struck the ground because the right landing gear was retracted while the plane was on the ground. [16]
Consolidated PBY-4 28-4:
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for much of the 20th century. It was the first airline to fly worldwide and pioneered numerous innovations of the modern airline industry, such as jumbo jets and computerized reservation systems. Until its dissolution in 1991, Pan Am "epitomized the luxury and glamour of intercontinental travel", and it remains a cultural icon of the 20th century, identified by its blue globe logo, the use of the word "Clipper" in its aircraft names and call signs, and the white uniform caps of its pilots.
Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major American airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a large long-range airliner developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter military transport, itself a derivative of the B-29 Superfortress. The Stratocruiser's first flight was on July 8, 1947. Its design was advanced for its day; its relatively innovative features included two passenger decks and a pressurized cabin. It could carry up to 100 passengers on the main deck plus 14 in the lower deck lounge; typical seating was for 63 or 84 passengers or 28 berthed and five seated passengers.
The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s. From 1945, many civil airlines operated the DC-4 worldwide.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1946:
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1949:
Pan American-Grace Airways, also known as Panagra, and dubbed "The World's Friendliest Airline" was an airline formed as a joint venture between Pan American World Airways and Grace Shipping Company. On September 13, 1928, a small single-engine Fairchild airliner flew from Lima, Peru, to Talara, Peru, which marked not only the beginning of Pan American Grace Airways but also the inauguration of scheduled air transportation along the West Coast of South America. From this short flight in 1928 to nonstop flights from New York to South America with Douglas DC-8 Intercontinental Jets in 1966, Panagra became the standard-bearer for transportation between the US Mainland East Coast and the West Coast of South America for 39 years. The "World's Friendliest Airline" merged with Braniff International Airways in 1967, and the combined carrier became the largest US airline serving South America.
Gander International Airport is located in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and is operated by the Gander International Airport Authority. Canadian Forces Base Gander shares the airfield but is a separate entity from the airport. The airport is sometimes referred to as the "Crossroads of the World", and is classified as an international airport by Transport Canada.
Capital Airlines was an airline serving the eastern, southern, southeastern, and midwestern United States. Capital's headquarters were located at Washington National Airport across the Potomac river from Washington, D.C., where crew training and aircraft overhauls were also accomplished. In the 1950s Capital was the fifth largest United States domestic carrier by passenger count after the Big Four air carriers.
Trans International Airlines (TIA) was an airline that offered charter service from and within the United States. It also operated scheduled passenger service flying as Transamerica Airlines as well as charter flights during its last decade. Its headquarters were on the grounds of Oakland International Airport (OAK) in Oakland, California.
The Sikorsky VS-44 was a large four-engined flying boat built in the United States in the early 1940s by Sikorsky Aircraft. Based on the XPBS-1 patrol bomber, the VS-44 was designed primarily for the transatlantic passenger market, with a capacity of 40+ passengers. Three units were produced: Excalibur, Excambian, and Exeter, plus two XPBS-1 prototypes.
National Airlines was a major United States airline that operated from 1934 to 1980. For most of its existence the company was headquartered at Miami International Airport, Florida. At its height, National Airlines had a network of "Coast-to-Coast-to-Coast" flights, linking Florida and Gulf Coast destinations such as New Orleans and Houston with cities along the East Coast as far north as Boston as well as with large cities on the West Coast including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. From 1970 to 1978, National, Braniff International Airways, Pan American World Airways and Trans World Airlines (TWA) were the only U.S. airlines that were permitted to operate scheduled passenger flights to Europe.
Wake Island Airfield is a military air base located on Wake Island, which is known for the Battle of Wake Island during World War II. It is owned by the U.S. Air Force and operated by the 611th Air Support Group. The runway can be used for emergency landings by commercial jetliners flying transpacific routes and has been used in the past by airlines operating jet, turboprop, and prop aircraft on scheduled flights.
Kemayoran Airport(IATA: JKT, ICAO: WIID) also spelled Kemajoran Airport, was the principal airport for Jakarta, Indonesia, from 8 July 1940 until 31 March 1985, when it was replaced by Soekarno–Hatta International Airport.
Transocean Air Lines was an airline based in the United States that operated from 1946, when it was established as ONAT (Orvis Nelson Air Transport Company), until its bankruptcy in 1960. It was based in Oakland, California.
The Lockheed L-049 Constellation was the first model of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. It entered service as the C-69 military transport aircraft during World War II for the United States Army Air Forces and was the first civilian version after the war. When production ended in 1946 it was replaced by the improved L-649 and L-749 Constellation.
On October 3, 1946, an American Overseas Airlines (AOA) Douglas C-54 aircraft named Flagship New England crashed soon after take-off from Stephenville, Newfoundland, killing all 39 people on board. It was, at the time, the deadliest aircraft crash on Newfoundland soil.
The flagship Denmark swung around and the right wing struck the ground and ... He said the accident was caused when the right landing gear retracted.
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