This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2023) |
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Founded | September 16, 1946 (as Seaboard & Western Airlines) | ||||||
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Ceased operations | October 1, 1980 (merged into Flying Tiger Line) | ||||||
Operating bases | New York, New York | ||||||
Fleet size | 81 (Historically) | ||||||
Headquarters | New York, New York United States | ||||||
Founders |
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Notes | |||||||
(1) IATA, ICAO codes were the same until the 1980s |
Seaboard World Airlines was an international all-cargo airline based in the United States. It was certificated as the first US transatlantic scheduled cargo airline in 1955 by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now defunct federal agency that, from 1938 to 1978, tightly regulated almost all US commercial air transportation. Seaboard's headquarters were on the grounds of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. [2]
Seaboard World Airlines was founded on September 16, 1946, as Seaboard & Western Airlines. It initially operated Douglas DC-4 aircraft, followed by Lockheed Super Constellation airliners.[ citation needed ] In 1955, it received final approval on CAB certification to fly scheduled cargo services across the Atlantic. [3]
It adopted the name Seaboard World Airlines in April 1961. Jet cargo service started in 1964 with the introduction of the Douglas DC-8.[ citation needed ]
The airline played a prominent role in the Vietnam War during the late 1960s, using Douglas DC-8-63 jets to connect McChord Air Force Base, Washington with Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. In 1968, one of these flights operating as Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253A was forced to land in the Soviet Union with 214 American troops on board.
On 30 April 1969, a Seaboard World Airlines DC-8 with 219 passengers and 13 crewmembers landed by mistake at Marble Mountain Air Facility, when it had actually been cleared to land at the nearby Da Nang Air Base. [4] [5] After fuel and passengers were offloaded, the plane was towed to the north overrun and departed five hours after the landing incident. Seaboard was the first airline to fly a 747 Freighter service from the UK to the USA.[ citation needed ]
The airline merged with Flying Tiger Line on October 1, 1980, resulting in the loss of its corporate identity. [6]
Type | Number |
Boeing 707-345C | 2 |
Boeing 747-245F | 4 |
Boeing 747-251F | 4 |
Boeing 747-273C | 1 |
Canadair CL-44 | 8 |
Curtis C-46 Commando | 2 |
Douglas DC-3 | 1 |
Douglas DC-4 | 14 |
Douglas DC-8-54F | 3 |
Douglas DC-8-55F | 9 |
Douglas DC-8-63CF | 6 |
Lockheed L-1049D "Super Constellation" | 4 |
Lockheed L-1049G "Super Constellation" | 1 |
Lockheed L-1049H "Super Constellation" | 4 |
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1940 from a split of the Civil Aeronautics Authority and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services and, until the establishment of the National Transportation Safety Board in 1967, conducted air accident investigations. The agency was headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Flying Tiger Line, also known as Flying Tigers, was the first scheduled cargo airline in the United States and a major military charter operator during the Cold War era for both cargo and personnel. The airline was bought by Federal Express in 1989.
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