Rajay wrote:
They've actually had it for almost 2 years now - since December 2012 - but only just recently managed to get it ferried down from Alaska. It was initially bought from Pen Air by Frank Dworak of Stow, MA for Collings and only just a few months ago (in April 2014) the registration was changed over to "Skyraider A1E LLC" of Rocky Hill, CT.
It's also not a "1951" model Goose as the registration has claimed for many years (and through many previous owners as well - and once done, such mistakes made or even just recorded by the FAA are oh so very hard to un-do!) The last Goose ever built by Grumman (s/n B-145) rolled off the assembly line in August 1945. This Goose, s/n B-86, was completed in Sept. 1944 and served with the US Navy as Bu. 84791 before being transferred to the US Coast Guard in Nov. 1944. It was finally SOC by the USCG in 1950 after an accident and its hull auctioned as scrap in 1951 before being rebuilt by Ellis Airlines in Ketchikan, AK as N4763C between 1951 and 1954. Those dates actually reflect only its first civilian certificates of registration and airworthiness respectively, not its actual date of mfg. as shown on the registration.
In any case, I'm oh so glad that the plane and its crew made that long trip safely.
Rajay, Mike O' lost your email address and wanted to answer your question about the USCG "G" suffix. He talks about the Goose above then goes into the G suffix answer.
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First off, it's nice to see a Coast Guard machine return to an outfit that treats them like the historical treasurers they are.
Following that note, the CGAA should lobby them to complete the restored machine to correct CG livery of the period. The JRF at Pensacola is painted up in pre-WWII livery as V-190. The only problem with the markings is that the original V-190 was turned in to shreds when it crashed on Block Island while on a test flight. The museum display looks really nice but it was not a JRF but rather a civil model G-21A that was decorated as V-190 and it looks beautiful. Based on the records I have, BUNO 84791 was a Grumman JRF-5 for the USN. It was delivered to the CG on 10/19/44 and when fitted out for its CG mission, was re-designated as a JRF-5G. It was classified as damaged beyond repair as the result of a mishap on 09/19/50. As the result of the damage, it was stripped of usable parts and the remains of the airframe were put up for bid and eventually sold in early 1951.
BTW, I did some research on the suffix " G " used on USCG machines that I had forwarded to Rajay but lost his e-mail address so please pass this on to him as an answer as to why & when the G suffix was terminated. The G suffix came into beings immediately after WWII coincidental with the Coast Guard release from the Navy. It was meant as a means to identify those aircraft assigned to and operated by the USCG and where required, were modified a non-combat airframes - - - no guns but lots of people saving items that could be dropped to folks in distressed situations. The vast array of mission oriented aircraft, both fixed and rotary wing aircraft all carried the G suffix. The few machines that did not carry the G suffix were those that were used as executive transports carried the standard USN suffix used for VIP transports, the letter " Z ". VIP transports were few during the period and totaled less than 7 machines, such as: PB-1Z, R5O-5Z, R4D-3Z, and 2 Martin model 4-0-4 machines designated as RM-1Z.
The use of the suffix G came to a head in a pissing contest twixt the USAF and DOD with the HC-130 machines in the late 1950s. The original designation of the Lockheed model 282/382 for USCG service was the naval designation of R8V-1, which the CG immediately added the G suffix. Enter the pissing contest. With the letting of the contract for the C-130 machines, the DOD established a protocol that designated the prime contract service to the USAF. Hence, all C-130 airframes produced by Lockheed were done so with the approval of the USAF and all machines would carry a USAF serial number indicating the fiscal year of funding, a dash ( - ), followed by the sequential number of the airframe. Through the DOD/USAF protocol, all C-130 airframes were assigned a USAF S/N first and if they went to another branch or country, that number remained on the ID plate while the operating entity would then assign their
desired S/N for display on the aircraft. No matter what country purchased the aircraft, they all left the factory with their first S/N being the one assigned by the USAF. The only exception to the USAF numbering were those machines approved for sale to civilian operators. These machines were designated by Lockheed, with DOD and/or Dept. of State approval, as model L-100 and did not have a USAF S/N. Several L-100s were purchased and operated by a small cargo hauling outfit operating under the name: SOUTHERN AIR TRANSPORT. This was a front organization for the CIA. After the mess ended in SEA, they started doing "legit" work hauling freight. The problem - they were making a profit and the real freight haulers screamed FOUL. Delta Airlines operated a few L-100s also.
Back to the pissing contest..... ..............Some say (folks I spoke with) that the USCG C-130 mess was a major case that brought the universal US designation system that came into being on 1 Oct 1962, where all US military aircraft came under a service wide standardized designation system.
The CG had designated their rescue C-130s as R8V-1Gs but the USAF insisted that they carry a USAF designator of SC-130B - equal to the USAF rescue designated model. (SHORT VERSION) - - - The CG initially complied with the SC-130B designation but then they added that darn G suffix = SC-130G. As usual, the AF went off the deep end and said you cannot do that - you can't call a B model a G model because we ain't there yet. A B model is a B model. PERIOD.
With the advent of the 1962 uniform designation system, all USCG C-130 models became HC-130Bs. End of the pissing contest and the demise of the USCG " G " suffix.
History is fun...!
Mike
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