Civil Air Transport Co. Ltd.

Table 1:         Civil Air Transport Fleet

 

OWAD 1961

Flight International

13/04/61

15/04/65 & 14/04/66

06/05/71 & 22/03/73

Convair 880-M

1 (on order)

1 (on order)

1

-

Douglas DC-6B

1

1

1

1

Douglas DC-6A

-

2

-

-

Douglas DC-4

2

2

2

-

Douglas DC-3

5

4

ό

-

Curtiss C-46

18

18

2

3

Consolidated PBY Catalina

2

2

2 > 1

-

DHC-4A Caribou

-

-

3

-

Helio Courier

-

2

*

-

Piper Apache

-

1

*

-

Kawasaki-Bell 47G-2

-

1

*

-

* + several smaller aircraft [Flight International 15/04/65 & 14/04/66]

Head Office:          46 Chung Shan Road, N. Second Section, Taipei, Taiwan (Formosa)

Table 2:         Civil Air Transport Fleet List

Beech 18/C-45

reg.

model

c/n

notes

N7950C 

C-45G

AF-352

to Air America

N7951C 

C-45G

AF-37

to Air America

Boeing 727-92C

B-1018

-92C

19175

(1.68) W/O 16/02/68, crashed at Linklow, 7 miles NW of Taipei

Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina

B-819

PBY-5A

‘55'/851

R/r as B-831

B-825

PBY-5A

933         

(ex BuA 48441) to Air America

B-831

PBY-5A

‘55'/851

to Air America

Convair 880-22M-4

B-1008

22M-4

22-00-44

(6.61) The Mandarin Jet, to VR- HGA (3.68)

Curtiss C-46 Commando

B-130

C-46F     

22379     

(leased) cancelled, WFU & stored 1960

B-136

C-46F     

22465     

(leased) cancelled, WFU & stored 1960

B-138

C-46F     

22500     

(leased) to Air America

B-146

C-46F     

22461     

(leased) to Air America

B-148

C-46F     

22510     

(leased) cancelled, WFU & stored 1960

B-150

C-46F     

22526     

(leased) cancelled, WFU & stored 1962

B-154

C-46F     

22370     

(leased) to Air America

B-840

C-46D

22359     

cancelled, to N9873F

B-842

C-46D

22363     

cancelled, to N9874F

B-844

C-46D

22353     

cancelled, WFU & stored 1955

B-846

C-46D

22215     

to (HP-315), VT-DRH (1963)

B-848

C-46A

427

r/r B-910 (.60)(q.v.)

B-850

C-46F

22451     

to N74811 (3.61)

B-854

C-46D

33372

to (HP-314), VT-DRI, XW-PGD

B-856

C-46D

32950

cancelled, WFU & stored 1960

B-858

C-46D    

22228

(2.55) to Air America Inc.

B-860

C-46D    

22236

r/r B-912 (q.v.)

B-864

C-46D

22362

cancelled, WFU & stored 1961

B-866

C-46D

22366

to Air Asia           

B-870

C-46D

22232

to Air Asia, to Air America as XW-PBV

B-872

C-46R

32878     

cancelled, to N9885F

B-874

C-46R

33132

cancelled, to N9884F

B-876

C-46R

33153

cancelled, to N9883F

B-908

C-46

?                             

W/O 21/06/64 (or 20/06/64) near Taichung, Taiwan

B-910

C-46A    

427

To Air America

B-912

C-46D

22236

To Air America

B-914

C-46       

?

(5.61) to Air America Inc.

B-918

C-46D

33451

(12.61) to Air America Inc.

B-920

C-46F     

22538

Air Asia, to Air America as N67985

B-924

C-46       

33788

to Air America     

B-928

C-46

?

To Air America

DHC-4A Caribou

B-851

DHC-4A

34

(6.62) to Air America as N11014

B-853

DHC-4A

52

(TBC)(6.62) to Air America

N539Y

DHC-4A

197

to Air America

Douglas DC-3/C-47 Skytrain

B-801

C-47B

20681     

to 9N-AAC, VT-DTQ

B-809

C-47A    

‘15437'

(leased)(ex 43-15466 = c/n 19932) to Air America Inc.

B-811

C-47A

18947

(leased) W/O 20/10/54 ditched in Hua Hin area of Gulf of Siam

B-813

C-47                       

?

shot down by communist gunfire 29/11/52 Kirin, China

B-815

C-47A    

19258

(leased) to Air America Inc.

B-817

C-47A    

19256

(leased)(2.55) to Air America Inc.

B-819

C-47

?

cancelled

B-823

C-47A    

13399

(leased) to N6634C, CF-MCC

B-827

C-47A

13784

(2.55) to Air America Inc.

B-829

C-47B    

34298

(05/05/58) to Air America Inc.

B-1409

C-47B    

32991

to Foshing (TBC), sold as XW-TAE

Douglas DC-4/C-54 Skymaster

B-1002

C-54A

3078       

 (.53) Cancelled, WFU & stored 1965

B-1004

C-54G

36072

 (2.55) to Air America Inc. as N12191

B-1010

C-54G

36028

 (1.62) to Air America Inc. as N12190

B-1012

C-54D

10655

sold as N402AD (12.73)

B-1014

C-54D

10869

sold as N403AD (12.73)

B-1016

C-54G

36042

 (.67) to China Airlines (.71), sold as N65132

Douglas DC-6B

B-1006

DC-6B   

45550

(30/09/58) to XW-PFZ (on lease)(.68)

Fairchild C-119C ‘Flying Boxcar'

 

CAT pilots operated 12 USAF C-119Cs on loan to the French Air Force in support of the French war in Indo-China during 1953 (Operation SQUAW) and 1954 (SQUAW II). The aircraft operated in Armιe de l'Air colours with USAF serial numbers and were therefore indistinguishable from the C-119Cs operated by French Air Force crews. These aircraft included the following:

49-139

C-119C

10376

‘9139'

49-152

C-119C

10389

‘9152'

49-187

C-119C

10424

‘187'

51-2536

C-119C

10494

‘536'

51-2555

C-119C

10513

‘55' (or possibly 49-155 c/n 10473)

51-2557

C-119C

10515

‘12557'

51-2562

C-119C

10520

‘562'

51-2571

C-119C

10529

‘571/12571'

51-2572

C-119C

10530

‘572'

TBD

C-119C

?

W/O 11/03/54 near Hanoi, Vietnam

TBD

C-119C

?

Shot down 06/05/54 SE of Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam killing CAT crew members

Helio Courier

None identified with CAT. See Air America Inc. fleet list.

Kawasaki-Bell 47G-2

B-803

G-2

150

(9.59) to Air America Inc.

Piper Apache

None identified with CAT. See Air America Inc. fleet list.

Notes

1.        CAT: CNRRA Air Transport (1946-47), then Civil Air Transport (CAT), the airline operated by Claire L Chennault and Whiting Willauer on the mainland of China that was purchased by the CIA in 1950.

2.        C.A.T. SA: a Panamanian corporation formed in 1949 by Thomas Corcoran and associates to control the assets that might be recovered during the efforts to control any assets that might be recovered during efforts to acquire the aircraft in Hong Kong and other holdings of CNAC and CATC.  

3.        CATI: Civil Air Transport, Inc., a company incorporated under the laws of Delaware in 1949 to act as C.A.T. SA's nominee in the legal battles to acquire the aircraft in Hong Kong and other assets of CNAC and CATC.

4.        CAT Incorporated: a Delaware corporation formed by the CIA in 1950 to act as the operating company for its newly acquired airline (CAT). CAT Incorporated became Air America in 1959.

5.        This fleet list does not include the XT- registered aircraft of CAT nor the N- registered aircraft of CATI because they were not directly involved in Laos. The latter included the former fleets of CNAC & CATC that were bought by Chennault & Willauer for CATI at Hong Kong in 1949. These were finally released in 1952. (Separate fleet lists have been compiled for these operators.)

6.        The prefix XT- was changed to B- in June 1951. (AL41 gives the date of change as 1949.)

7.        This fleet list takes into account the Equipment List for February 1954 given in Appendix D of Perilous Missions.

8.        CAT was closely associated with Air Asia Co. Ltd. and Air America, Inc. (q.v.)

 

 

© M S Best, 2002

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