Category AN AIRIINE AN0 ITS AIRCRAFT

40 seats • 280 mph

9 AIRCRAFT

The 404 differed visually from its 202 predecessor by the addition of one extra cabin window, and the absence of the cockpit ‘eyebrow’ window.

Engines Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CB16 (2,400 hp) x 2 Length 75 feet MGTOW 44,900 lb. Span 93 feet Range 925 miles Height 28 feet

T. W.A. AIRLINERS IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD

Type Engines MGTOW (lb.) Cruise Speed Range Seats No. Type Total Horsepower DC 3 2 P&W R-l 830 2,400 25,200 165 500 21- Martin 202A 2 P&W R2800 4,800 42,750 220 1,380 36 Martin 404 2 P&W R-2800 4,800 43,650 220 1,080 40 049 Constellation 4 Wright R-3350 8,800 98,000 295 3,000 60

Tomorrow the World…

The astonishing success of the Constellation and Howard Hughes’s association with it was followed by the award of overseas routes to Europe (page 50). T. W.A. had won its spurs across the Atlantic Ocean during the Second World War (page 50). When the airline industry adjusted itself to postwar conditions, the airline consolidated its transcontinental net­work, and entered the world’s most competitive air route: between northeast U. S.A. and western Europe. After opening its first Atlantic service to Paris on 5 February 1946 (page 50), T. W.A.’s rapidly-expanding Constellation fleet was soon to be seen in many of the capitals of Europe and as far as the Middle East. T. W.A. reached Bombay on 5 January 1947, and Colombo by the summer of 1953. The aircraft carried the slogan Trans World Airline, and this was formally regis­tered as the new name for T. W.A. On 17 May 1950.

On 25 April 1956, the C. A.B. Examiner approved an extension from Colombo onwards to Bangkok and Manila, where the line would connect with Northwest’s trans-Pacific terminal. This would complete the round-the-world service— and challenge Pan American for that achievement. Service opened on 1 October, but was terminated in April 1959, because of dismal load factors on the eastern segments.

Much Changing of the Guard

Still controlling T. W.A.’s fortunes, Howard Hughes was, by this time, facing dissatisfaction within his top management, much of it of his own making. He was increasingly diverted by other interests, mostly of the feminine gender, leaving the day-to-day management to others. In February 1947, his long-time flying associate, Jack Frye, resigned, and took with him chairman T. B. Wilson, and executive vice-presi­dent Paul Richter, who dated back to Frye’s Standard Air Lines days in 1929. Lamotte Cohu became president, but effectively Hughes’s oil-drilling giant, Toolco, took control. Cohu resigned on 1 June 1948, and Warren Lee Pierson took over.

Things settled down when Ralph Damon was elected president on 25 January 1949. Damon came with formidable credentials (page 61) and for a few years, on Hughes’s behalf, he kept the T. W.A. ship on an even keel. They made a good team, and when Damon died of pneumonia on 4 January 1956, T. W.A. went through an uncertain period. Carter Burgess became president on 23 January 1957, but he did not last long, resigning on 8 December 1957, and Warren Lee

Pierson took over once again, only to hand over to Charles S, Thomas on 15 July 1958.

Bracing for the Jets

In spite of the problems of top management, and pilots’ strikes in 1946 and 1947, the airline made steady improve­ment, matching the competition both within the States and across the Atlantic. On 1 July 1947, Constellations began a transcontinental night service, with only only stop; at Chicago, in an eastbound journey time of just over ten hours. On 1 October 1948, the “New York Sky Chief’ and “Paris Sky Chief’ all-sleeper luxury service opened on the Atlantic route. De Luxe service Super Constellations, starting on 10 September 1952, reduced the transcontinental journey time further, and then, on 19 October 1953, the “Ambassador” service offered eastbound non-stop flights in 8 hours. On 1 June 1957, this was consolidated with Lockheed 1649A Star – liner service. In November 1955, the celebrated Denver Case, decided by the Civil Aeronautics Board, gave T. W.A. the authority to stop at Denver en route from Chicago to San Francisco. Overseas, T. W.A. opened a direct Polar Service from California to London on 29 September 1957.

While the airlines were still emphasizing luxury and creature comforts, the balance of air travelling public was changing. The dominance of business travel was giving way to a growing tourist and leisure market. On 1 April 1952, all the members of the quasi-cartel IATA (International Air Transport Association) introduced Tourist-Class fares across the Atlantic; and this was followed by Economy Class on 1 April 1958. As an IATA member, T. W.A. kept pace with the changing fare structures.

Storm Clouds

Possibly because T. W.A. had lost, by Damon’s death, an accomplished administrator who could steer it through rough waters, the airline ran into difficulties during the late 1950s. In spite of continued traffic growth and increases in fleet strength, T. W.A. lagged behind in the queue to buy jet air­craft. Pan American Airways had set the world of airlines into a spin on 13 October 1955, when it ordered 20 Boeing 707s and 25 Douglas DC-8s, to launch the Jet Age in earnest (after the British de Havilland Comet had set the pace in 1952, but had paid the price with structural problems). Hughes finally ordered 8 Boeing 707-I20s in February 1956, but showed his preference elsewhere. He ordered 30 Convair

880s (at first called the 600 Skylark), in June of that year, ignoring the other established manufacturers of big airliners, Douglas and Lockheed.

There was a brief flirtation with the long-range Bristol Britannia turboprop (page 59), but the jets were inevitable, and Hughes ordered 25 more Boeing 707s in May 1957. However, the finances were such that even Toolco, once the almost limitless source of capital, needed help. It came from the insurance giant, Equitable Life, which insisted on a long­term financing plan. This was to have long-term repercus­sions on the fortunes of the multi-millionaire owner.

T. W.A. Takes a Gamble

But the show went on. In spite of a company-wide strike in November 1958, the first Boeing 707 was received on 17 March 1959, and put into service only three days later. Facing transcontinental competition from American Airlines, which had started jet service coast-to-coast on 25 January 1959, T. W.A. took a gamble. It operated its New York-San Francisco route for a whole month with only one aircraft; and the fact that that N732TW held out, without a single cancellation, was a great tribute to its engineering staff at Kansas City.

They could never have done it with even the best of the piston-engined airliners. An inspection, at least, would have been necessary, possibly an engine change. But the 707’s Pratt & Whitneys held out.

Artist’s Note

The legendary Raymond Loewy designed T. W. A.’s elegant new ‘arrowhead’ cheatline. Pilots were quoted as saying “The jet looked like it was going 600 mph on the ground!"

The Jet Age Begins

The jet engine, invented by Hans von Ohain in Germany and Sir Frank Whittle in England during the 1930s, was not operational until the closing stages of the Second World War. Most aviation authorities considered that their use would be only for military types because the fuel consumption rate was excessive. But in England, the de Havilland Comet, which first flew in 1949 and went into service with B. O.A. C. in 1952, proved otherwise. The airliner had struc­tural deficiencies, which led to its withdrawal in 1954, but it did prove the viability of jet air­liners in commercial service. The fuel consumption of engines that were designed for economy, not absolute performance, was lower than expected; and the fuel—kerosene, not gasoline— was cheaper. Most important, and not fully realized until the Comet’s service record revealed it, was that the turbine engines did not suffer from the wear and tear of the reciprocating piston – engines; and nor did they have the complication of propellers. The TBO (Time Between Over­haul) of the jets grew in unbelievable leaps and bounds; and the positive effect was also observed in the airframes, where rivets stopped popping as excessive vibration ceased.

The United States Takes Over

Americans have always been superb in developing a good idea, whether or not it was invented or innovated at home or abroad. This has nowhere been truer than with jet airliners. Only a few short months after the pioneering Comet was grounded, the Boeing 367-80 made its first flight on 15 July 1954. Little more than a year later, on 13 October 1955, in the order that shook the aviation world, Pan American Airways ordered 45 ‘big’ jets, 20 Boeing 707s and 25 DC-8s. T. W.A.’s first order was placed on 7 February 1956.

The impact of the Jet Age, when first, the B. O.A. C. de Havilland Comet 4 started Atlantic service on 4 October 1958, and Pan Am followed on 26 October, was overwhelming. The Boeing 707 was twice as fast and twice as big as its piston-engined predecessors, so that the productiv­ity was four times as great. Yet the world air traffic demand kept pace, thanks to the introduction of economy fares. The Jet Age had begun, and transformed the world of air transport.

BOEING 707-131

All purchased by Hughes Tool Co. (Toolco) (N731TW – N745TW) and leased to T. W.A. at $2,500 per day. Except where noted, all aircraft sold to Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI)

BOEING 707-124

All Boeing 707-124s ex-Continental Airlines, sold to Israel Air­craft Industries.

* All Boeing 707-13 IB aircraft (N746TW – N86741) sold to Boeing Military Airplane Co., except where noted.

*Two more 707-131Bs, 6760/N760TW (18398) & 6780 N780TW (18399) ordered but cancelled and not built.

BOEING 707-13IB*

This eye-catching painting by artist Ren Wicks, captures the glamour of the early jet age, with a T. W.A. Boeing 707flying (a little off the designated approach path) over the center of Paris.

LOCKHEED 1329 JETSTAR 6

The Two-Man Crew

During the 1970s, the number of crew on the flight deck had become an important issue, not only because of the elimination of radio officers, navigators, and engineers per se, but because reducing the statutory number from three to two had a significant effect on the operating costs. Four or five complete crews are required to operate an airliner that is being worked at a high utilization rate, so that the airlines encouraged any move towards reducing crew expenses. In the USA, Douglas had initiated the practice with its DC-9s and Boeing followed with the 737s.

The 767 is Launched

Production of the Boeing 767 began when United Airlines placed an order on 14 July 1978. The first flight was on 26 September 1981, and United put it into service on 8 Septem­ber 1982. During the development period, the F. A.A. was still conducting trials for two-crew operations, following the con­
clusions of a presidential task force, announced in July 1981. In fact, the first 767s off the line were retrofitted for two – crew, as Boeing had had to go ahead with the then current regulatory limitations. The first two-crew flight deck made its initial flight on 27 May 1982 — just in time for United’s inaugural — and a versatile new airliner generation was bom.

Outstanding Success

The 767 was outstandingly successful. It proved its worth — thanks largely to the two-crew factor — operationally and eco­nomically, on all routes, short-haul, medium-haul, and long – haul. Its prowess in this last category, in which the reliability of the engines exceeded all expectations, led to serious thoughts as to the possibility of using it for trans-ocean operations.

ETOPS (originally EROPS-extended range…)

In May 1985, the F. A.A. approved the Boeing 767 for Extended Twin-Engine Operations (ETOPS) of up to 120

minutes from an alternate airport. The program was so suc­cessful that in March 1989, the 767 was approved for a
180-minute diversion. This was a far cry from the late 1960s, when airliners could not even fly in a straight line from New York to Miami, because of the distance from an alternate air­port for part of that route. ETOPS was one of the most impor­tant developments in the history of air transport, with thoughts of so-called “four-engined safety” long forgotten, overtaken by technology.

BOEING 767 FLEET

6 seats • 150 mph
6 seats • 180 mph

VEGAS

Engine Pratt & Whitney Wasp (420 hp) MGTOW 4,2171b.

Range 600 miles

Length 27 feet

Span 41 feet

ШСКНЕІІ SINGLE-ENGIMSD FLEET

Faster Mail

T. W.A. had a few Vegas from the end of 1931, but used them mainly for mail, as the DC-2s soon made them redundant. Even so, Lockheed was establishing a reputation for building fast aircraft, and in 1933, Air Express, Inc., was operating a speedy transcontinental mail and express service, at first with Vegas, but even more successfully with Orions (see page 37).

The Urge for Speed

During the late 1920s, the contrast between the speed of racing airplanes and the slow, 100 mph (on a good day) Fords was becoming more evident, as the former types improved every year. Designed by John K. Northrop, the Lockheed Vega offered a practical compromise. Built of wood, and effi­ciently streamlined, it could fly much faster than the Ford, and could—unlike the racers—carry six passengers. Also, it cost only $17,500. The airline authority, Edward P. Warner, estimated that the better speed compensated for the smaller size, so that the operating costs per seat-mile were about the same as the Ford’s.

A World-Beater

The Douglas DC-2 had been an instant success, surpassing all other transport aircraft in performance and offering an unprecedented standard of airliner comfort. It had achieved everlasting fame when the Dutch airline, K. L.M., entered it for the England-Australia Air Race in October 1934, and to the astonishment of the world, came in second, among a field of specially-designed racing and sporting aircraft. Moreover, it carried four passengers and a load of mail, and stopped at all the K. L.M. stations along the route. This led to export orders for Douglas, to Europe, Australia, and to China.

The DST

While T. W.A.’s Tommy Tomlinson was conducting his exper­iments with the Northrop Gamma (see page 37) in search of faster and smoother high-altitude flight “above the weather,” one of the rival transcontinental airlines was concentrating on other directions of competitive rivalry and excellence. Bill Littlewood, of American Airlines, recommended the develop­ment of the Douglas DC-2 by widening the fuselage, not only to make room for 14 bunk beds, but also to accommodate three abreast seating instead of two (21 v. 14). The first Dou­glas DST went into service between New York and Chicago on 25 June 1936; and a dramatic new era had begun.

Interestingly, this first service was as a dayplane, but the aircraft fulfilled its original design purpose when American received its first Douglas DC-3 and the transcontinental skysleeper service began on 18 September 1936.

The Great DC-3

With its fleet of 31 DC-2s, T. W.A. had less need for the larger Douglas DC-3 than did the other U. S. airlines. United Air Lines, for example, in spite of its close Boeing heritage, had to buy the Douglas flagship, and introduced it between Los Ange­les and San Francisco on 1 January 1937. It followed with a luxury 14-seat daytime service on New York-Chicago in Feb­ruary, and then put the DST on its transcontinental route in July.

The DST, as Donald Douglas had warned, did not meet with the outstanding success that had been predicted; but the DC-3 exceeded all expectations. American’s president, C. R. Smith, claimed that it was the first airliner to be able to make a profit without the benefit of air mail payments. This was with the equivalent of today’s first-class fare levels and no doubt with every seat filled; but it was nevertheless a measure of its overwhelming superiority. It became, in vari­ous versions, the standard transport aircraft for the U. S. and

Allied forces in the Second World War; and was built under license in the Soviet Union and Japan. Of all types, 10,926 were built in the United States, 487 in Japan, and 6,157 (as Lisunov Li-2s) in the Soviet Union.

T. W.A/S DC-3s

Jack Frye had to supplement his DC-2 fleet with the more effi­cient DC-3s. The first one, a DST, entered service from New York to Los Angeles on 1 June 1937. Dayplanes were also

added on all routes during that summer, and the addition of the extra capacity could not have come at a better time. T. W.A. gained more direct access to San Francisco from Winslow, via Las Vegas; and restored its link with Chicago from Dayton, via Fort Wayne. The old “Gooney Bird” served T. W.A. well before, during, and after the War. The fleet list, spread over this and the next two pages, totalled 104 aircraft, of which 14 were DSTs, 34 DC-3s, 12 military C-49s (conversions of DC-3s), and 43 military C-47s and C-53s (postwar converted DC-3s).

DOUGLAS B£»3 FLEE! LIST (ronfsaued)

In airliner development, the fuselages are invariably lengthened.
The transition from DC-2 to DC-3 was an exception—and an
aerodynamic improvement.

Fleet Delivery No. Regn. MSN Date Type Disposal and Remarks Built as C-47s

Fleet Delivery No. Regn. MSN Date Type Disposal and Remarks Ordered as DC-3s—Built as C-49s 333 NC26214 4991 8 Apr 45 DC-3-454 Ordered by American Airlines impressed by USAAF as C-49J-D0 (42-1966). Reregistered N26214. Leased Feb 51. Sold to Wisconsin Central Airlines, 10 Feb 51 348 NCI 9939 4992 18 Oct 44 DC-3-454 Ordered by American Airlines, impressed by USAAF as C-49J-D0 (42-1967). Ex-Braniff. Reregistered N19939. Sold to Union Steel & Wrecking Co., 16 Feb 53 365 NCI 9940 4994 20 Oct 44 DC-3-454 Ordered by Braniff, impressed by USAAF os C-49J- D0 (42-1970). Reregistered N19940. Sold to Beldex Corp., St. Louis, MO, 7 Aug 52 334 NCI 8040 4997 19 Apr 45 DC-3-454 Ex-USAAF C-49J-DO (43-1968). Leased Oct 49. Returned to War Assets Administration, 1 Oct 49 346 NC30079 6264 18Jun 44 DC-3-454 Ordered by Chicago & Southern, impressed by USAAF as C-49J-D0 (43-1981). Reregistered N30079. Sold to Beldex Corp., St. Louis, 22 Oct 52 344 NC38940 6331 17 May 44 DC-3-455 Ordered by Eastern Air Lines, impressed by USAAF as C-49K-DO (43-2006). Reregistered N38940. Sold to Associated Air Transport, 10 Feb 53 345 NC38941 6332 17 May 44 DC-3-455 Ordered by Eastern Air Lines, impressed by USAAF as C-49K-DP (43-2007). Reregistered N38941. Sold to Wisconsin Central Airlines, 27 Feb 51 349 NC19941 6333 19 Oct 44 DC-3-455 Ordered by Eastern Air Lines, impressed by USAAF os C-49K-DO (43-2008). Reregistered N19941. Sold to Kirk Kerkorian (LAAS), 2 Oct 52 Built as C-47s 322 NC51831 4544 19 Oct 46 DC-3-360 Ex-USAAF C-47-DL (41-38616). Sold to Union Steel & Wrecking Co., 18 Dec 53 321 NC51194 4790 19 Feb 46 DC 3-360 Ex-USAAF C-47-DL (41-18629). Sold to Union Steel & Wrecking Co., 29 Dec 53 200 NC86567 6044 24 Oct 45 DC-3-360 Ex-USAAF C-47-DL (41-38661), leased and returned to War Assets Administration, 22 Jon 48 323 NC51167 7384 16 Feb 46 DC-3-360 Ex-USAAF C-47-DL (42-5690). Reregistered N51167. Sold to Leeward Aero Sales, Apr 57 324 NX51165 7386 16 Feb 46 DC-3-360 Ex-USAAF C-47-DL (42-5692). Reregistered N51165. Sold to Leeward Aero Sales 204 NC54548 9274 21 Jan 46 DC-3-456 Ex-USAAF C-47A-15-DL (42-23412). Reregistered N54548. Sold to Air France, 1 Aug 49 EPAAM 9321 25 Apr 47 DC-3 Ex-USAAF C-47A-20-DL (42-23459), ex-RAF (Middle East), ex-Iranian Airways. Sold to Saudi Arabian Air­lines, May 48 205 NC3519 9381 24 Apr 46 DC-3-456 Ex-USAAF C-47A-20-DL (4223519). Ex-Federal Liq­uidation Company. ET-T-17. Sold to Saudi Arabian Airlines, May 48 EPAAL 9469 18 Apr 47 DC-3 Ex-USAAF C-47A-30-DL (42-42607). Ex-Iranian Air­ways. Sold to Saudi Arabian Airlines, May 48 207 NC34985 12025 6 Nov 46 DC-3 Ex-TACA 327 NC88823 13073 26 Nov 45 DC-3456 Sold to Union Steel & Wrecking Co., 29 Dec 53 EPAAL 13556 5 May 47 DC-3 Ex-Iranian Airways. Sold to Saudi Arabian Airlines, May 48 328 NC88824 13678 26 Nov 45 DC-3-456 Sold to Atlantic Aviation Services 326 NC88822 13757 27 Nov 45 DC-3-456 Ex-USAAF C-47A-25-DK. Sold to American Manage­ment Assoc. Inc. NC88725 19680 10 Dec 45 DC-3 Leased from US Government. Returned Mar 47

Fleet No. Regn. MSN Delivery Date Type Disposal and Remarks Built as DC-3s (continued) 387 NCI 946 3295 9 Mar 41 DC-3-362 Crashed into mountain near Las Vegas, 16 Jan 42. Carole Lombard aboard 358 NC18953 2027 12 Jan 38 DC-3B-202A Impressed by USAAF as C-84-DO (42-57513), 14 Jun 42-23 Oct 44. Leased to Northeast Airlines. Reregistered N18953. Sold to Union Steel & Wreck­ing Co., 5 May 53. Sold to Ozark, 19 May 53. Sold to Logsdon and Dovan, 14 Dec 65 359 NC18954 2028 17 Jun 38 DC-3B-202A Impressed by USAAF as C-49F-DO (42-56623), 8 Jun 42-6 Jun 44. Reregistered N-18954. Sold to Union Steel & Wrecking Co., 27 Dec 52 379 NC14931 2118 12 Apr 39 DC-3-209B Reregistered N14931. Leased to Wisconsin Central (later North Central Airline), 6 Feb 52, then bought 30 Apr 54 380 NC14932 2119 16 Apr 39 DC-3-209B Reregistered N14932. Sold to Remmert Weller Corp., 28 Jul 50 381 NCI 4933 2120 18 Apr 39 DC-3-209B Reregistered N14933. Sold to Union Steel & Wreck­ing Co., 24 Aug 53. Sold to Ozark, Mar 54. Reregis­tered N140D. Traded to Fairchild Hiller for F-277A, 24 Aug 66 394 NC15589 2243 28 May 42 DC-3-277C Ex-American Airlines. Sold to Kirk Kerkorian (LAAS), 8 Oct 52 395 NCI 5591 2245 28 May 42 DC-3-277C Ex-American. Sold to Union Steel & Wrecking Co., 7 Dec 53. Sold to Ozark Airlines, 57. Reregistered N138D. Traded, Fairchild Hiller for F-277A, 15 Dec 66 396 NCI 9974 2250 27 May 42 DC-3-277C Ex-American Airlines. Reregistered N19974. Sold to Beldex Corp., St. Louis, MO, 6 Jan 53 388 NCI 947 3296 5 Mar 41 DC-3-362 Reregistered N1947. Sold to Beldex Corp., St. Louis, MO, Feb 53. 389 NCI 948 3298 7 Mar 41 DC-3-362 Reregistered N1948. Sold to Union Steel & Wrecking Co., 27 Feb 53 390 NCI 949 3299 11 Mar 41 DC-3-362 Reregistered N1949. Sold to Union Steel & Wrecking Co., 24 Mar 53 343 NC28383 4091 15 Apr 44 DC-3-201 F Ex-Eastern Air Lines. Ex-USAAF C-49D-D0 (41­65583). Reregistered N28383. Crashed after double engine failure, fuel starvation, Chicago, IL, 2 Jul 46 Ordered as DC-3s—Built as C-49s 342 NC28393 3251 12 Apr 44 Retired Oct 52 399 NC38943 3280 31 Jan 44 DC-3-357 Ordered by Delta Air Corp. Impressed by USAAF. Ex – USAAF, C-49D-D0 (42-65584). Reregistered N38943. Sold to Wisconsin Central Airlines (North Central Airlines), 9 Jan 51 335 NCI 2942 4141 4 May 45 DC-3-389 Ordered by Eastern Air Lines, impressed into USAAF as C-49D-D0 (41-7716), 30 Oct 41. Leased from US Government (War Assets Administration). Reregis­tered N12942. Leased Oct 49. Returned 1 Oct 49 338 NC44897 4986 27Jun 45 DC-3-455 Ordered by TWA, impressed by USAAF as C-49K-D0 (43-1999). Reregistered N44897. Leased Apr 52. Sold to Beldex Corp., St. Louis, M0, 30 Apr 52 347 NC30081 4987 21 Jun 44 DC-3-454 Ordered by American Airlines, impressed by USAAF as C-49J-D0 (43-1962). Ex-Island Airlines. Reregis­tered N30081. Sold to Union Steel & Wrecking Co., 31 Mar 53

DC-1 (length 60 feet)

The DC-1 (and the DC-2) were distinguished from the later aircraft by the narrow, flat-sided fuselage, and small vertical stabilizer. The DC-1 had six cabin windows per side. Powered by two 650-hp Wright Cyclone engines, it was a giant airplane for its day (see pages 33-35).

DC-2 (length 62 feet)

The DC-2 added one more cabin window to each side. Engine horsepower was improved to 800 hp, and larger landing lights were added to the nosecone. All other structural details were quite similar to those of the DC-1 (see pages 34-35).

BST/OC-3 (length 64.5 feet)

The DST had a longer and wider cabin, with one more window added to the DC-3 version, and an eighth cabin window on the left side of the aircraft for the DST. Most noticeable feature of the ‘sleeper’ DST was the small horizontal “bunk” windows above the main window line (see pages 38-40).

C-47 (length 64 feet)

The most abundantly produced version of the DC-3 family, this military aircraft was considered by General Eisenhower to be one of the most essential pieces of machinery of the Second World War. Note the addition of cowl flaps, highly modified engine nacelles and tailcone, and a glass ‘astrodome, ’ through which navigators took celestial and solar sightings.

N73ITW

unnonmrmnoomon поооооооооОооп’ОдооздппгГГкпопа

This picture epitomizes the beginning of the Jet Age. T. W.A.’s Boeing 707-131 N731TW is pictured on the ramp at San Francisco early in 1959, and parked next to a United Air Lines Douglas DC-7, symbol of a former era. The handsome airport building does not yet have the air bridge

connection, and the crew stands ready with the mobile staircase.

‘ Nomed London Town and inaugurated Idlewild—Heathrow – Frankfurt service, 23 Nov 1959.

BOEING 707-33IB

(All aircraft sold to Boeing Military Airplane Co.)

* Cockpit was destroyed by a bomb in Damascus 29 Aug 69. New nose section built by Boeing and trans­ported to Damascus ond installed. Reregistered as N28714 24 Dec 69 after threats to destroy tbe same aircraft were made.

BOEING 707-33IB (A)

(Except where noted, all sold to Boeing Military Airplane Co.) * Hijacked from Frankfurt, Germany 6 Sep 70.

* Flew JFK – O’Hare-Kansas City as T. W.A.’s last commercial 707 flight, 31 Oct 83.

BOEING 707-373C (H)

BOEING 707-338C (H)

BOEING 720-05IB

This Boeing 707-33IB (Advanced) had the new ‘outlined’
TRANS WORLD marking, and a revised logo style on the tail.

The 707 “Intercontinental” had a longer fuselage, larger improved wing, taller vertical fin, and a ventral fin below the tail. Note the ‘blow-in doors’ on the “Dyna-Fan” engine nacelles’ forward section.

Progressive Improvement

With the 707 series, Boeing became the world’s leader in airliner manufacturing. The classic Boeing 707 came in several forms. Initially, the -100 was a comfortable transcontinental air­liner, but was limited across the Atlantic, having to stop at Gander or Shannon in the westbound direction. Its Pratt & Whitney JT4A-9 straight jet engines were known, rather unkindly, as the “Ole Smokies.” The -300, with JT3Cs and a slightly longer fuselage, was much better, and the -300B with JT3D turbofans and improved wing better still. The -331B(A-H) (Advanced – Heavy) had a heavy-duty landing gear, allowing a gross take-off weight up to 335,000 lb. They had more range, more capacity, and were more profitable than previous versions. The greater power enabled the -300 to be able to cut about half a mile from the take-off distance required by the other Boeings.

T. W.A.’s Decision

Having demonstrated considerable ingenuity and initiative, not to mention technical confi­dence, in launching its transcontinental jet service with a single Boeing 707-131 on 20 March 1959 (page 67). T. W.A. did not rush immediately to match Pan American on the trans-Atlantic route. It elected to await the availability of the longer-ranged -331, and meanwhile concen­trated on expanding its domestic network so that T. W.A. Boeings were competing with Amer­ican’s at all the major cities. Ultimately, the -331s were deployed on the New York-London-Frankfurt route on 23 November 1959. T. W.A. had lost a whole year to its arch­rival Pan American, and with other problems of a non-technical or operational nature, the air­line had a long fight on its hands.

Engines Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3 (18,000 lb. thrust) x 4 Length 153 feet

MGT0W 335,0001b Span 146 feet

Range 4,000 miles Height 42 feet

The Smaller Boeings

To meet a requirement for routes of lower traffic density, Boeing produced a shorter-bodied version, the 720, 8 feet shorter than the -100, but with the same wing. T. W.A. also had one Series -138, which was 10 feet shorter than the basic type, and designed for the Australian airline QANTAS, with extra tankage for maximum trans-Pacific range. T. W.A. operated a total of 133 Boeing 707s, and made good use of them all over the world.

T. W.A. introduced the Boeing 767 on the Los Angeles-Washington route on 2 December 1982. The first of the Douglas DC-9-80s (MD-80s) entered service on 3 May the next year, and on 31 October 1983, the last T. W.A. Boeing 707 made its final flight from New York to Kansas City. The airline expanded its route system but in February 1984, it once again became a separate cor­poration and, in a deteriorating financial situation, T. W.A. tightened its belt (see page 90).

Another T. W.A. First

Nevertheless, and possibly overshadowing these events in a wider airline context, was another claim to firstliness that T. W.A. could add to its already impressive list of such pio­neering events. On 1 February 1985, it became the first U. S. airline to fly a twin-engined airliner, the Boeing 767, across the Atlantic in scheduled passenger service. This was under the EROPS program certificated by the F. A.A. (See page 88). Today, more Boeing 767s fly across the Atlantic than all the other aircraft types combined — and many of the latter are twin-engined too.

TWA’s 767 VARIANTS

Enter Howard Hughes

After Charles Lindbergh, and sharing fame with Amelia Earhart, Howard Hughes was America’s most famous avia­tor personality in the 1930s. He was admired by the public, respected by politicians who were aware of the power of his wealth, and recognized by the aviation community for his achievements. His wealth had been inherited from his parents who had died in the early 1920s, and at the age of 18 he began to expand the family business, the Hughes Tool Company, which held close to a monopoly of oil drilling bits.

Tlie Phenomenon

Taking to the business world like a duck to water—one com­mentator said that he ran his entire operation “out of his hip pocket for nearly 40 years”—he worked hard and played hard. He made films, including such epics as Scarface, Hell’s Angels, and The Outlaw. He romanced movie stars and flew airplanes. Everything he did was at the highest level of attain­ment, and this included his flying activities. Having won the Sportsman’s Trophy in 1934, he founded the Hughes Air­craft Company and built—and flew—a racing airplane, the H-l, and beat the world’s landplane speed record in 1935. The following year, in a Northrop Gamma, he broke the transcontinental speed record, and in 1937 broke it again, in his H-l. In this latter case, he flew at an altitude of 14,000 feet, using oxygen, and received the Harmon Trophy. In July 1938, in a Lockheed 14, he flew around the world in less than four days, averaging 202 mph. He had made meticulous preparations, and demonstrated systems of radio communica­tion, weather reporting, and navigation that were in advance of their time. The aircraft was known as The Flying Labora­tory,’ and for this flight, he received the Collier Trophy from President Roosevelt himself.

Into the Airline Fray

Howard came into the airline industry, therefore, with impressive credentials. By 1937, T. W.A. had passed out of the control by the Pennsylvania Railroad and North American Aviation (by the conditions of the 1934 Air Mail legislation) and was owned by Yellow Cabs’ John Hertz and Lehman Brothers, the investment bankers. T. W.A. President, Jack Frye, did not apparently like the control and approached Hughes with a view to starting another airline, which Hughes would finance and Frye would manage. Howard had another idea. In April 1939 he bought 25% of T. W.A. stock and by 1940 had increased this to a dominating 78%. He took over a great airline and set about the task of making it even better.

This picture epitomizes the tremendous impetus given to the United States airline industry during the latter 1930s. The busy scene can be contrasted with that of what was then a modern airport in the late 1920s (page 19), only a decade earlier. The DC-3 was truly the first transport airplane that could be called a modern airliner; and but for T. W.A. it might never have happened.

Up to the Limit

The progress of air transport, since its establishment as an industry in the 1920s, had been char­acterized by an emphasis on speed. In 1950, the jet-powered de Havilland Comet almost dou­bled the speed, at 500 mph, of the best piston-engined airliners, and in 1958 the Boeing 707 (and later the Douglas DC-8) took this to 600 mph. By this time, there were thoughts of a supersonic airliner as a longer-term successor to the Big Jets, as they were called; but the air­lines still sought higher speeds from the currently-available technology. Theoretically, the designers felt that, even if they could not penetrate the sound barrier, they could come close to it, so that, with an airliner that could approach 650 mph, this would be worth a significant saving of time on a long-distance route, and give the operating airline a competitive advantage.

No Room (or Three

The post-war piston-engined rivalry between Douglas and Lockheed had now given way to a Jet Age rivalry between Boeing and Douglas. Throughout airline history, a third contestant had never been able to make its mark; and economic studies have demonstrated that the full bene­fits of competition on any route are invariably achieved by two competitors, not necessarily three. And all too often, the third contestant cannot achieve an adequate share of the market. Similarly, a third manufacturer can end up with financial losses because of insufficient sales. No doubt, this consideration was in Lockheed’s mind when it decided not to build a rival to the 707 or DC-8, but turned to a prop-jet (turboprop) airliner, the Model 188 Electra.

The Convair Challenge

The Consolidated-Vultee, or Convair, company of San Diego, flush with its huge success in building the Liberator bomber and other military aircraft, had entered the commercial market after the War with its short-haul “DC-3 Replacement,” the Convair 240/340/440. In the mid – 1950s, the company decided to enter the Big Jet market. Its entry, the Convair 880 (see next page) was similar in design to the 707 and the DC-8, in that its engines were suspended in pods under a swept wing. Its speed was marginally faster than those of its rivals. This caught the interest of American Airlines, which ordered an even faster version, the Convair 990. The latter’s speed, however, was not significantly greater.

T. W.A.’S CONVAIR 880 (MODEL 22-1) FLEET

A fine shot of N815TW inflight.

New Brooms

The final exodus of Howard Hughes from T. W.A. occurred in 1966 (see pg 73). The big lenders, Equitable Life and Metropolitan Life, now held the pursestrings, taking effect from 1 January 1961, when the voting trust controlled the directions of invest­ment. The crisis was overcome. Ernest Breech, formerly with the Ford Motor Com­pany, took over as chairman on 27 April 1961, Charles Tillinghast having replaced Warren Lee Pierson as president on 17 April. They made a top-level team, respected in Wall Street as well as in Washington. The Lockheed L-1011 program got under way, and service began in 1972. The fleet consisted of 19 Boeing 747s, 104 Boeing 707s, 72 Boeing 727s, 25 Convair 880s, and 19 Douglas DC-9s. The total of 239 air­liners comprised a formidable armada.

Diversification

Back in 1967, T. W.A. had purchased the Hilton Hotel chain, matching Pan Ameri­can’s move in buying Intercontinental Hotels. Now, “having lost sight of their objec­tives, they redoubled their efforts.” On 12 October 1978, the shareholders approved the organization of the Trans World Corporation, as a holding company for the air­line; the Canteen Company (an on-board catering service, acquired on 10 August 1973); and Century 21 (areal estate organization). A week later, thirteen more aircraft were ordered, including three Boeing 747SPs. On 9 June 1979, this latter aircraft was able to offer nonstop service from New York to Cairo; but this was after, on 2 March 1975, T. W.A. had agreed to a route exchange with Pan American, in which T. W.A. suspended service on the trans-Pacific route, and abandoned service at Bangkok, Bombay, and Frankfurt. The SPs never earned their keep. (See pages 84-85)

Post-Deregulation Oligopoly

The Airline Deregulation Act of 24 October 1978, had been expected to launch new initiatives, mainly with lower fares, for the benefit of the travelling public. About 150 companies applied for certificates from the Department of Transportation; only about a third of these ever started service; and a mere handful lasted more than a year or two. Meanwhile, the big airlines became more concentrated that ever before. After a decade of deregulation, a higher percentage of U. S. air traffic was in the hands of fewer air­lines than when when the industry was regulated by the Civil Aeronautics Board. Meanwhile, TWA tightened its belt. The early 1980s witnessed a period of Survival of the Fittest, as the competition was frequently almost self-destructive. T. W.A. survived, but at a cost. On 1 September 1983, all salaried personnel and management accepted a 10% pay cut, and on 30 November ALPA, the Air Line Pilots Association — nor­mally involved in seeking pay increases — took a similar reduction.

Divorce

On 1 February 1984, Trans World Airlines once again became a separate corpora­tion, when it was broken clear from the parent company, which had been established on 12 October 1978 —just in time for Airline Deregulation (see above). Other units of the Trans World Corporation were profitable, unaffected by the changing regula­tory scene. But T. W.A., out of whose heritage the conglomerate had sprung, now “suffered from lagging sales, high debt load, and high operating costs.” The omens in the mid-1980s were not good.

LaMott T Cohu After Jack Frye resigned in February 1947, after a disagreement with Howard Hughes, Cohu became president.

During that period, Hughes and the Tool Company controlled T. W. A. affairs. Cohu resigned on 1 June 1948.

Warren Lee Pierson had been chairman and managing director of T. W. A. Internat­ional in April 1947, and came into promi­nence again when he became acting president on 9 January 1958, before Charles Thomas took over (see below).

Carter Burgess became president of T. W.A. on 23 January 1956, after Ralph Damon died on 4 January 1956 (see page 61). Damon had been a good partner for Hughes, but Burgess never even met his chief He lasted only until the end of the year.

Charles Thomas took over the presidency on 15 July 1958, after a hiatus during which T W. A. had been a ship without a sail. He resigned on 27 July 1960, providing the reason for Hughes’s ouster by the voting trust (see

page 73).

Charles Tillinghast became president of
Trans World Airlines on 17 April 1961, and
was to guide its fortunes for the next two
decades. He was at the helm when the
Trans World Corporation was formed on
12 October 1978.

Ernest Breech was the experienced business
leader, formerly chairman of the Ford Motor
Company, who had taken over the front
office of T. W.A. on 27 April 1961. He and
Tillinghast kept the airline on course.

Nostalgic Comfort

That an airline with such a history of pioneering and achieve­ment as T. W.A. to have fallen upon hard times was cause for sadness. Adding up the figures over the course of half a cen­tury, not a single penny of accumulated profits could be iden­tified in the true sense of the term. Yet the airline had sponsored new generations of aircraft (of which the entire industry benefitted). Perhaps another fascinating connection with technical progress is to trace T. W.A.’s record of its con­nection with the motion picture industry.

Hand-Cranked

Not long after T. W.A.’s ancestor, Transcontinental Air Transport (T. A.T.) started coast – to-coast service in July 1929 (see page 24), an announcement in the showbiz publi­cation Billboard of 19 October stated “Last week the T. A.T. ship leaving Port Columbus, on its westward hop to Waynoka, carried projection equipment, a program of Uni­versal Pictures, and an operator. The show was given during the flight to Waynoka and again on the second hop of the trip between Clovis and Los Angeles.” The projector used 16mm film and was set up on a board across the arms of two seats in the back row of the Ford Tri-Motor. The Duograph projec­tor, the lightest on the market, and housed in aluminum, was “of the hand-crank style, altho future installations will prob­ably be motor driven.”

The article speculated that this experiment would become a regular feature, but more than 30 years were to pass before the amenity was adopted by the airlines, and T. A.T. s successor, T. W.A., was the prime innovator.

In-Flight Movies

With the wide-bodied aircraft providing more headroom than in the piston-engined aircraft, the airlines had, in the early 1960s, experimented with showing motion pictures, mainly to relieve boredom on long transcontinental and trans-ocean flights. Trans-Atlantic passengers were treated to various types of screen and different viewpoints. Once the idea was promoted, every self-respecting major airline had to have them. Trans World Airlines introduced the first successful permanent system, on 19 July 1961. The movie was By Love Possessed, starring Lana Turner.

Carl Icahn

Like many a self-made man, Carl Icahn did not have wealthy parents. But he had the Midas Touch. He began on Wall Street in 1961, and founded Icahn & Company in 1968 with his own savings and some borrowed capital. His seat on the New York Stock Exchange was worth $150,000. By the mid-1980s, this had increased by 1,000 percent to $150 million. In 1985 he became interested in the airline industry and the opportunities offered by the liberal climate of airline deregulation.

First Overtures

On 9 May 1985, Carl Icahn filed a registration statement with the S. E.C. (Security Exchange Commission) to state that he had accumulated 6,745,000 shares, or 20.5%, of T. W.A. common stock, a process that he had begun earlier in March. A week later, this percentage had increased to 23%, drawing a comment from T. W.A. that this “transfer of control was uninvited and undesirable.” The next day, on 15 May, T. W.A. filed suit in the New York District Court, alleging that Icahn was in violation of the federal securities laws. The day after that, the airline filed a petition with the Department of Trans­portation to investigate the fitness aspects of the take-over bid, questioning Icahn’s managerial skills and technical abil­ities, regulation compliances, capital resources, and the lack of an operational plan.

Carl’s response, on 20 May, was an unsolicited proposal to T. W.A. shareholders of $18.00 per share, and T. W.A. coun­tered on 23 May with a request to the D. O.T. for emergency action, and also sought support in the corridors of political power on Capital Hill. The battle for control heated up. On 28 May the T. W.A. board recommended the pursuance of a better offer, possibly an employee buyout; but lost an appeal for restraint in the New York U. S. District Court. The Circuit Court of the County of St. Louis then issued a restraining order, prohibiting Icahn from acquiring additional shares.

Challenge from Lorenzo

On 13 June, a new player entered the skirmish for control of T. W.A., whose employees and management were now mere bystanders. Frank Lorenzo, whose Texas Air Corporation controlled Continental Airlines and New York Air, announced that he had won unanimous approval of a “definite merger agreement, providing for T. W.A. to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Texas Air.” The offer was $19.00 in cash, plus 14-1/2% cumulative non-convertible preferred stock. On 25

June, Richard D. Pearson succeeded C. E.Meyer as airline president and C. E.O. He was to play a small part in persuad­ing the directors to make up their minds.

Carl Icahn Wins

On 5 August 1985, Icahn renewed his efforts, offering $19.50 cash, plus $4.50 of a 14.5% stock issue. On 13 August, Lorenzo raised his offer to $26.00 per share. But on 7 September he agreed to withdraw, in exchange for surrender­ing the Texas Air Corporation’s option on 6.4 million T. W.A. shares for $43 million. This was somewhat reminiscent of Lorenzo’s coup in collecting a similar profit when wrestling with Pan American to take over National Airlines.

On 14 June a Boeing 727 was hijacked in North Africa and the aircraft was not returned until 16 August. This was not a way to greet the new owner, who settled into his new occupation, and went through the necessary legal processes to pave the way for a merger agreement between Icahn & Company and Trans World Airlines, consummated on 26 September 1986. He had already made a good move. On 27 February of that year, he purchased Ozark Holdings, Inc., the parent company of St. Louis-based Ozark Air Lines, for $224 million. The story of this Local Service airline, and its valu­able regional route network and fleet, is told in the next six pages of this book

8 seats • 160 mph

Marquette’s Stinson A wore the original American Airlines blue and orange color scheme with the addition of the Marquette winged logo on the aft fuselage.

Stinson A Trimotor

In January 1938, Midwest Airlines was formed in St. Louis. The name was changed almost immediately to Marquette Air Lines (named after a French missionary-explorer of Upper Michigan) and it promptly leased four Stinson Model A tri-motors from American Airlines. It began service on 20 April of that year under Mail Contract AM 58 on a route St Louis- Cincinnati-Dayton-Toledo-Detroit.

Important Route Extension

Within a few months, the directors approved the purchase of the stock by T. W.A. which leased the route from 14 August 1940. The Civil Aeronautics Board delayed giving the takeover its blessing for two years, but the purchase was completed on 5 December 1941. The 564-mile route, which gave T. W.A. an important link from Detroit to its transcontinental trunk line, cost $350,000.

85 seats *610 mph

TWA

Another example of “Machat’s Law” is T. W.A. і Convair 880 nose radome in either all-black, light gray with black nose dot, or all-light gray. The original delivery scheme is illustrated here.

N804TW on the ramp at Phoenix in 1964, in T. W.A. ’s handsome paint scheme, with the slogan Superjet
at the rear of the fuselage, together with the twin-hemisphere logo, (photo: Roger Bentley)

The four-engined jet was at first called the Convair-600, then the Skylark, or the Golden Arrow, and was originally intended to challenge the 707 and the DC-8 on domestic routes. It was sponsored by T. W.A., still strongly influenced by Howard Hughes, who, late in 1955, placed an initial order for 30 Convair 880s, as the new airliner was eventually called. Delta Air Lines also ordered the 880 and was the first into service, on 15 May I960.

This was because T. W.A.’s owner, Howard Hughes, was running into difficulties. The air­line was in an unusual position in that its aircraft were owned by Hughes’s powerful Hughes Tool Company (Toolco) to which it paid a rental of about one million dollars per year per air­plane. But even Toolco’s pockets were not bottomless, and could not finance T. W.A.’s purchase of the Convair 880s. As a consequence of the legal delays, which had far-reaching conse­quences (see page 73) T. W.A. did not begin Convair 880 service until 12 January 1961.