Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

This week in History - 1954 The Lockheed Super Constellation

Ken Pickford sent us a link to a recent Vancouver Sun 'This Week in History' item with the comments below. Thanks Ken!

"The ad pictured below appeared in the May 4, 1954 edition, mentioning an introductory TCA Super Constellation visit to YVR on May 6, 1954 where it was open for public tours for 5 hours before returning to Montreal. TCA put the Super Constellation into service on May 14, 1954, initially on the Toronto-Montreal-Prestwick-London route.

Some related ads further down, including a CPA ad for their new Vancouver-Amsterdam "Polar Route" service (with a fuel stop in Greenland which isn't mentioned) which started in July 1955, initially using the DC-6B before switching to the Bristol Britannia in 1958 and the DC-8 in 1961.

CP was the second airline to begin direct West Coast-Europe service after Scandinavian Airlines which started Los Angeles-Copenhagen service In November 1954, also using the DC-6B with two fuel stops at Winnipeg and Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland (now known as Kangerlussuaq). YWG was only a technical stop, no traffic rights. Several days a week there were two SAS flights stopping at YWG, one in each direction.

TCA began their once-a-week "Hudson Bay Route" service between Vancouver and London with stops at Winnipeg, Gander and sometimes Prestwick, in 1958 using the Super Constellation.

The Winnipeg-Gander sector barely crossed the southern tip of Hudson Bay.

The cabin photo in the Vancouver Sun item was Lufthansa, not TCA."

Click Here (or the image below) to read the full Vancouver Sun article.

Click Here for a detailed article from our friends at the Canadian Aviation Historical Society on TCA Super Constellations dated May 2010.

Thanks to all of you for another excellent NetLetter.

I really look forward to receiving it particularly in these different times we live in. I found this pin amongst my other Air Canada uniform pins and I wonder if anyone knows where it's from.

Thank you all again for a great job!!

Lauraine Pomerleau,
AC flight attendant 1971-2001

Editor's Note from Ken Pickford:

The pin is related to the AC/Canadian Airlines merger, I would guess around the time they started code-sharing before the merger was final.

The "Proud Wings" livery first appeared on a 747-400 in January 1999, with a return of the Canada Goose used by CP in the 1950's & 60's prior to the change to CP Air branding in 1968.

That livery only appeared on about 15 mainline aircraft plus 2 Canadian Regional Dash 8's. They stopped the repainting when the deal with AC was announced, with CP becoming an AC subsidiary in late December 1999 and fully merging January 1, 2001. 

From NetLetter editor Wayne Albertson:

Don McMartin's submission for the 'Readers' Feedback section reminded me of my visit to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum at McMinnville, Oregon in 2014.

Pictured below are Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose with a replica of Charles Lindbergh's 'Spirit of St. Louis' in the foreground. The original Spirit of St. Louis is in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

From subscriber Don McMartin:

Hi,

Just a comment regarding your article about the Boeing 314 in NetLetter #1461.

It drew my interest mainly because I have seen a 314 a few times at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola Florida. The aircraft they have inside the museum dwarfs everything in the museum, with many aircraft parked under its wing. The history on their particular aircraft makes it possibly the most famous of them all.

In brief, it was the first aircraft to land in Japan after the Japanese surrender. It landed in Tokyo bay close to the USS Missouri, the ship the surrender was signed on. It carried MacArthur and all the other U.S. generals and dignitaries. Shortly after that it was released from military service and purchased by Howard Hughes who bought it to learn how to fly this kind of aircraft so he could later fly the Spruce Goose as they were very similar.

The Naval Aviation Museum is a great day outing when visiting the Panhandle. Admission is free except for the IMAX theatre. There are two large buildings, a great restaurant and should you be there in March, you can see the Blue Angels practice...up close...not like a traditional air show. There are also many cockpits of various types of aircraft, mostly fighter jets you can sit in.

Definitely a great day for everyone.

Editors' Note:

The aircraft that Mr. McMartin is referring to is actually a PB2Y Coronado designed by Consolidated Aircraft and utilized by the US Navy during WW2. It is the only preserved aircraft from this fleet. It's design and appearance are quite similar to the Boeing 314 however, it is slightly smaller.

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