American Airlines Flagships Pressed into WWII Service

[tulsaboy]

A couple of questions for those in the know...

When did the military start using civilian airliners for military purposes? Was there a definitive start date? When these aircraft were used, I know that some were given full military paint schemes and were assigned serial numbers. Did some fly in their civilian colors for a period of time?

I ask prompted by the following photos:

The aircraft pictured is the Flagship New York, NC16001. It was a Douglas Sleeper Transport (DST), and was the first DST American Airlines received. Obviously military personnel are part of the crash scene, so I'm guessing that it had been pressed into military service by that point. Does anyone have any information on the crash?

At any rate, I thought it was a neat, probably rare look at a forgotten part of our WWII history.

Thanks!

kevin

[51fixer]

This link/org states it was 1942 that it was put in military service-
http://www.cnapg.org/dakota_part1.htm
Rich

[51fixer]

This link/org states it was 1942 that it was put in military service-
http://www.cnapg.org/dakota_part1.htm
Rich

Lost the link but this lists the following-
42-56092/56097 Douglas C-49E
American Airlines DSTs commandeered by USAAF.

56097 DST-144 c/n 1495 ex NC16001. To DSC Jun 08, 1942. Crashed Biggs Field,
Ft Bliss, TX. Dec 18, 1943.

[tulsaboy]

Thanks! See, I knew someone would know...

kevin

[Second Air Force]

I have a copy of a pretty good book pertaining to the airlines and WWII titled "When The Airlines Went To War" by Robert J. Serling. According to this reference, the final meeting between the government and the airlines occurred on 15 May, 1942. The Army requisitioned 193 aircraft out of a total of 359 commercial airliners on that date. It's interesting that many of the airplanes were immediately put into service on military missions with airline company crews and in the original livery like the pictures posted by Kevin.

Your second photo shows the Wright cowling setup very well, including the little flat spot at the top of the opening we talked about on the FST thread.

Scott

[51fixer]

A secret- goggle the N number or the serial number.
It will be you wisdom.
Rich

[tulsaboy]

51fixer-

Hah hah hah... yeah, yeah, I know. Google answers all. One reason I also raise this issue is because of the information in the article I have posted below, concerning the Flagship Tulsa. This aircraft was c/n 2137, NC18141. If you're following the Vintage page, our museum has acquired this aircraft and is going to be restoring it in its AA livery. This article was passed along to us, and seems to raise the possibility that FST was used by the military. This link, which does a good job of tracking such things, has no such record: (see, I can use google)

http://www.abcdlist.nl/douglas_longbeach_01.html

The article may be just a good bit of PR work (or propaganda, your choice) but it raises some interesting questions. If FST also has a military career, that just adds to the mystique. It would be great to track down that part of her history. I just haven't seen any other evidence of it yet.

When you look at the photo, tell me what you think. I think that the spacing between the word "Flagship" and "Tulsa" looks funny. I know that periodically AA would strip the name off of an existing flagship to inaugurate service to a particular location, fly into that town, pose for pictures, and then fly back out and restore the original name to the aircraft. I wonder if this is really a faux "Tulsa" that was just painted for this purpose. Our aircraft was delivered in May 1939, so that part of the article fits. It did serve with AA until 1949, so it was around to make this flight.

Thoughts?

kevin

[Mark_Pilkington]

.
The Impressing of operational US Civil DC-3 Airliners was preceded by the mandatory acquisition of airline orders directly from the Douglas production line.

Prior to Pearl Harbour, the 40 civil DC-3's had been impressed by the USAAC directly off the production line from airline orders from Dec 1940 to serve as C-48, C-49, C-50, C-51, C-52 and C-68's:

By May 1942, a further 92 operational civil DC-3 airliners had been impressed from the 289 then already in service with US airlines.
(DC-2's and Lockheed 12 and 14 types were also impressed)

The airline airframes impressed directly off the production line were:

NC25612 United
NC1945 TWA
NC1946 TWA
NC1947 TWA
NC1948 TWA
NC1949 TWA
NC28345 Delta
NC34962 Canadian Colonial
NC1953 TWA
NC25697 Penn. Central
NC25698 Penn. Central
NC28386 Eastern
NC28387 Eastern
NC28388 Eastern
NC28389 Eastern
NC28390 Eastern
NC28370 Braniff
NC28371 Braniff
NC28372 Braniff
NC34999 United
NC33656 American
NC33657 American
NC33662 American
NC33648 United
NC33649 United
NC33676 Penn. Central
NC33679 Penn. Central
NC33680 Penn. Central
NC33630 Eastern
NC33635 Eastern
NC33636 Eastern
NC33637 Eastern
NC33638 Eastern
NC33639 Eastern

(page 69. Allied Air Transport Operations - South West Pacific Area in WW2 - Robert H Kelly)

Of these impressed aircraft many were used in the Pacific Theatre in Australia and New Guinea, and at least one, s/n 4120 NC33657, an American Airlines DC-3 impressed as a C-50 "41-7698", survives today at the Australian National Aviation Museum.



http://www.aarg.com.au/DC3.htm

Our aircraft was originally built by Douglas in July 1941 as a right hand door DC-3 277D with Wright Cyclones, for delivery to American Airlines as NC33657, but was instead impressed direct from the production line by the U.S. Military as a C50 "41-7698".

Along with two other C50's, it was delivered to the 5th Air Force in Australia in October 1942 for use as a Troop Carrier, and flew with the 21st Troop Carrier Squadron of the 374th Troop Carrier Group, carrying the call sign "VHCDJ" (not a civil registration).

Following the re-equipment of the 21st TCS with fifty-two new C-47's in early 1943, "VH-CDJ", along with another C50 and three C53 aircraft, were transferred to the RAAF for service with No36 Transport Squadron, where it carried the name "Waltzing Matilda". In 1944 it was transferred to Guinea Airways operating passenger flights under military auspices.

In July 1946, the aircraft was purchased by Australian National Airways, registered as VH-ANH and given the name “Tullana", and as part of their C47 conversion program, was changed from right to left hand passenger door . When ANA was taken over by Ansett in 1957 the aircraft remained with the company, flying with Ansett subsidiary, Airlines of New South Wales.

In 1970 the aircraft was retired, having flown a total of 45,030 hours.

On the 27th of August 1972 VH-ANH made it’s last flight to Moorabbin Airport to join the Museum collection, initially being leased to the Museum for $1.00. The DC3 has since been donated to the Museum.

Our aircraft is the third oldest DC-3 surviving in Australia, and is one of 3 original factory built civil airliner DC-3's existing in the country, the remainder being converted from, or remaining configured as military transport C47's, with a number still remaining airworthy for charter and tourist flights..

Regards

Mark Pilkington

[Fairfax Ghost]

I believe that above info is not right, as for NC1945 The Airline History Museam here in KC is restoring NC1945. And all the records we have Show she was not sent to the Army at all and was used for VIP service with TWA during the war and was with TWA untill 1952.

Here are some shots From the KC airshow last year. The billboard over the windows is the one she had during WWII "Cool" Yes??? She is coming out again for this years show too. Aug. 23-24

[Mark_Pilkington]

I believe that above info is not right, as for NC1945 The Airline History Museam here in KC is restoring NC1945. And all the records we have Show she was not sent to the Army at all and was used for VIP service with TWA during the war and was with TWA untill 1952.

Here are some shots From the KC airshow last year. The billboard over the windows is the one she had during WWII "Cool" Yes??? She is coming out again for this years show too. Aug. 23-24

Is it possible your airframe is a later s/n that was actually issued the registration "NC1945" and entered service in TWA, is your a/c s/n 3270?

the info above is quoted from Kelly's book ,but in agreement with the following info from a reputable US historian website:

http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/1941_2.html

Douglas C-49-DO DC-3-384 aircraft impressed by USAAF before delivery to TWA. Civil registrations NC1945 thru
NC1949 were assigned but never taken up.

7685 c/n 3270 to USAAF Feb 6, 1941. To 5th AF, Australia. To RAAF for ADAT Sep 4, 1942
as VH-CDA. SOC Dec 12, 1944

7686 c/n 3271 to USAAF Feb 8, 1941. To 5th AF, Australia Sep 1942. Loaned to RAAF Jan 1943
as VH-CDG *Mucky Minnie*. Loaned to 36 Sqdn RAAF Jan 20, 1944. To USAAF Apr 19, 1944.
To civil reistry as VH-CDG for ANA Apr 24, 1944. RR VH-ANQ *Dromana* May 22, 1946.
To Ansett ANA Oct 1957, Victoria Air Coach Dec 17, 1961 and Airlines of NSW Jun
1966. WFU Nov 20, 1967, scrapped Essendon Nov 6, 1969.

7687 c/n 3272 to USAAF Feb 23, 1941 - 5th AF, Australia Sep 01, 1942 - RAAF for ADAT Dec 1942
as VHCDB -*Lady Eve* Dec 1942 - Loaned to 36Sqdn RAAF Jun 24, 1943. To civil registry as
VH-CDB for ANA Feb 23, 1944. Rr VH-ANN Jan 25, 1946, lsd Jul 20, 1953 to Guinea Airways
*Morobe* Rr VH-GAH Aug 1958, returned to Ansett-ANA Jan 25, 1960 as VH-ANN *Ranana*. Sold
to Airlines of South Australia Dec 12, 1964. Scrapped Essendon Jul 25, 1967, nose displayed
at Moorabbin Air Museum. Later purchased by Darryl Gibbs, now stored Clyde North,
Vic, loaned to the Clyde North Aeronautical Preservation Group. Now stored at Wagga Wagga.

7688 c/n 3273 to USAAF Feb 16, 1941, to Philippines Jul 1941. SOC Jan 1942, supposedly
destroyed by Japanese attack

7689 c/n 3274 to USAAF Feb 21, 1941 - 6th AF (20th TS), Panama Mar 27, 1941 - To RFC
Nov 29, 1945. To civil registry as NC88872 for lease to Eastern Air Lines *397* until
crashed Galax, VA. Jan 12, 1947.

PS edit

Is it possible your airframe is a later s/n that was actually issued the registration "NC1945" and entered service in TWA, is your a/c s/n 3270?

It seems your aircraft IS a different and later production aircraft and is s/n 3294, which obviously did then have the civil registration NC1949 issued to it as left over from the impressed aircraft.

below extract is from the Airline History Museum website

http://www.airlinehistorymuseum.com/dc-3.htm

Douglas Commercial DC-3
NC1945


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The legendary Douglas DC-3 is the latest restoration project by the AHM. This Douglas DC-3-362, registration number NC1945, serial number 3294, was built in Santa Monica, California, in February 1941. It was delivered to Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA) at Kansas City, Missouri on March 4, 1941.

About sixty percent of all DC-3 aircraft went to war in WWII as transports; this one did not. In fact, NC1945 is one of the very few existing DC-3s with the rare 24-passenger, 8-window configuration. Most remaining DC-3s are of the 21-passenger, 7-window configuration. This airplane flew with TWA as ship 386, from 1941 until 1952. In fact, some of our members logged hours in this plane as TWA crewmembers. It then spent 14 years with North Central Airlines. In 1968 it went into charter operations, and later was a travel club airplane with Coronado Airlines, in California.

The airplane ended its life as an electronic test bed in Torrance, California. It then sat in the desert west of Palmdale for a few years in storage, as part of an estate. The airplane was flown to Roswell, New Mexico in the mid-1980's for storage.

regards

Mark Pilkington

[Jerry O'Neill]

The New England Air Museum has a DC-3 that was originally an American Airlines Aircraft and it was pressed in to service during WWII.
Jerry

[tulsaboy]

Jerry- do you know which one?

kevin