Flying Tiger Line, also known asFlying Tigers, was the first scheduledcargo airline in the United States and a military charter operator during theCold War era for both cargo and personnel (the latter with leased aircraft). The airline was bought byFederal Express in 1989.[1]
Old Logo.DC-4 atManchester, UK May 1955. Four months later this aircraft ditched in the Pacific with the loss of three crew.
The airline was named after theFlying Tigers fighter unit ofWorld War II, officially the1st American Volunteer Group. After returning to the United States in 1945, ten former AVG pilots led byRobert William Prescott established the Flying Tiger Line on 24 June 1945 under the nameNational Skyway Freight using a small fleet of 14Budd Conestoga freighters purchased as war surplus from theUnited States Navy.[2][3][4][5] The pilots and two ground crew provided half of the initial investment, with the balance coming from California oil tycoonSamuel B. Mosher.[6] For the next four years, Flying Tiger Line carried air freight on contract throughout the U.S. and, as the airline expanded, carrying supplies to U.S. troops under Gen.Douglas MacArthur during theoccupation of Japan.[6]
During theKorean War, Flying Tiger aircraft were chartered to transport troops and supplies from the United States to Asia; Flying Tigers later received a cargo route award to Japan, China, and Southeast Asia. The airline also played a major role in the construction of theDistant Early Warning Line, flying equipment to remote outposts in northern Canada and Alaska.
Flying Tiger Line adopted theCanadair CL-44 swing-tail aircraft in 1961, becoming one of the first carriers in the world to offeraerial pallet shipping service.
Lockheed demonstrates civilC-141 Starlifter for Flying Tiger Line, 1966. FTL ordered eight of these ultimately unbuilt aircraft[8], known as the L-300B or L-301The airline's first DC-8-63F delivered to the airline, seen at Seattle airport in 1972.
Flying Tiger Line began operating jet aircraft on September 27, 1965, when the first (as N322F) of fourBoeing 707s was delivered. On 15 November that same year, a modified Flying TigersBoeing 707-349C made the first ever aerial circumnavigation of the Earth via the poles, in 62 hours 27 minutes. The aircraft carried additional fuel in two additional tanks installed in the main cabin.[9] The Boeing 707 remained in the fleet for only a few years and was replaced by the higher-payloadDouglas DC-8, the largest civilian airliner until the Boeing 747 entered service. The first Douglas DC-8-63F, registered as N779FT, was delivered to the airline on June 26, 1968, and the other eighteen followed until 1972.[10]
In 1974, the airline took delivery of its firstBoeing 747. Flying Tigers then placed orders for brand-new Boeing 747-200F freighters designated the Boeing 747-249F, which at the time were among the heaviest commercial airplanes flying, weighing 823,000 pounds (373,000 kg). These aircraft had the powerful "Q" (Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7Q) engines and heavy landing gear and could simultaneously carry both 250,000 pounds (110,000 kg) of fuel and 250,000 pounds (110,000 kg) of cargo loaded through both the nose door and the side door at the same time. Aircraft loaders had earlier refused to work at the extreme 30 feet (9 m) height necessary for loading freight on the upper deck, so the "supernumerary area" or "hump" was configured with 19 first class seats instead which were used to transport livestock handlers, charter agents and mechanics as well as dead-heading pilots and flight attendants.
1980s: Later years and merger with Federal Express
Tiger's Ad Hoc Charter livestock flights provided airlift for exotic animals. Two examples were thoroughbred racehorses and show animals fromStansted, England to theMelbourne Cup, as well as breeding stock cattle (milk supply) to nations such as Japan and Thailand. They became known for carrying a number of unique cargoes, includingShamu theSeaWorldkiller whale and the torch of theStatue of Liberty.
By the mid-1980s, Flying Tigers operated scheduled cargo service to six continents and served 58 countries. It surpassedPan American World Airways in 1980 as the world's largest air cargo carrier after acquiring its rival cargo airlineSeaboard World Airlines on 1 October 1980. It also operated military contract services, most notably DC-8 routes betweenTravis Air Force Base, California and Japan in the 1970s, followed by weekly 747 passenger service betweenClark Air Base, Philippines, andSt. Louis, Missouri via Japan,Alaska, and Los Angeles during the 1980s. Covert flights for the military were not uncommon throughout the airline's history, given its roots inCivil Air Transport (CAT), as with its sister airlineAir America, originally owned by GeneralClaire Lee Chennault, commander of the Flying Tigers fighter squadron in Southeast Asia.
Ex-Flying Tiger Boeing 747-200F (there is a tiny FedEx logo aft of the cockpit window; Japan required FedEx aircraft to retain the Flying Tiger paint job for several years)
At its peak, the Tigers employed approximately 251 flight attendants and carried up to a record 594 passengers and crew on itsMAC all-coach passenger flights. Approximately 998 pilots worked for the airline based throughout the US. Large crew bases were situated in Los Angeles, New York City andLockbourne, Ohio (Rickenbacker International Airport). The Los Angeles headquarters operation included its own engine shop and jet maintenance business. Flying Tigers also made livestock carriers for airplanes, some comparable in external size and shape to the standardAMJ container used in the FedEx flight operations. They operated a recording company subsidiary,Happy Tiger Records, from 1969 to 1971.[11][12]
Afterairline deregulation, stiff competition buffeted profits and, with some unsuccessful diversification attempts by parent Tiger International, the airline began sustaining losses in 1981.[6] Then-CEOStephen Wolf sold Flying Tigers toFederal Express in December 1988. On August 7, 1989, Federal Express merged Flying Tigers into its operations.
In December 1980, Tiger asked the CAB to approve the nameMetro International Airways (MIA) as a tradename for passenger flights, leveraging passenger route authority it inherited from Seaboard. The CAB approved February 1981 under the conditions MIA operate aircraft no smaller than a DC-8 and not operate in six states near/including Texas to avoid confusion with Houston-based commuter airlineMetro Airlines.[13] MIA was announced in January 1981 as a New York-based division to operate charter and scheduled passenger flights, in part as a way to use three passenger 747-200B aircraft Tiger acquired fromSingapore Airlines and was unable to sell.[14] Tiger shut MIA in 1983.[15] In early 1983, Tiger swapped MIA's three 747-200Bs toPan Am for four 747-100F aircraft,[16] obtaining temporary replacements, one of which was a 747 subleased from pre-certificationTower Air. A Tower Air predecessor organization was MIA's General Sales Agent. Tower was separately certificated later in 1983 and thus (as is sometimes claimed) did not buy MIA, but did take over MIA's scheduled route from New York to Tel Aviv via Brussels, the route for which Tower was certificated.[17]
On July 30, 1950,Curtiss C-46F N67960 crashed on takeoff fromDenver due to unknown performance problems; both pilots and both passengers survived, but the aircraft was written off.[20]
On August 21, 1952,Curtiss C-46F N67983 made a wheels-up emergency landing in a field nearGrand Island, Nebraska when the captain, conducting en-route flight training of the first officer, simulated a right-engine failure. The probable cause of the accident was poor judgment of the crew in trying to recover. The crew survived, the aircraft was substantially damaged.[21]
On January 7, 1953, Flight 841,Douglas DC-4 N86574, struck the base of Squak Mountain nearIssaquah, Washington due to pilot error during an attempted instrument approach toBoeing Field,Seattle, killing all seven on board. The aircraft was being ferried from Burbank.[22]
On September 24, 1955, Flight 7413/23,Douglas DC-4 N90433, ditched in the Pacific betweenHonolulu andWake Island after the crew mismanaged fuel transfers leading to power out on three engines, then mismanaged engine restarts. One crew member was trapped on board and died when the aircraft sank, the other four survived the crash but two died of injuries, exposure and shark attacks. Two were rescued.[23]
On March 18, 1956,Curtiss C-46F N9995F crashed atPelly Bay, Canada after the left wing struck terrain while on night-time VFR approach, both pilots and the passenger survived, but the aircraft was written off.[24]
On March 15, 1962, Flight 7816/14,L-1049H Super Constellation N6911C, crashed on approach toAdak Island Naval Air Station, Alaska on a flight fromCold Bay due to pilot error, killing one of seven on board. The aircraft was operating a Military Air Transport Service (MATS) cargo flight from Travis AFB to Kadena Air Base.[27]
On March 16, 1962,Flight 739 (also known as Flight 7815/13)L-1049H Super Constellation N6921C disappeared over the Pacific en-route fromGuam toClark AFB in thePhilippines with 107 on board. A ship witnessed an explosion but the accident was otherwise unsolved. This accident remains the worst ever accident involving the L-1049.[28]
On September 23, 1962,Flight 923,L-1049H Super Constellation N6923C, ditched in the North Atlantic killing 28 of 76 on board. Two engines failed of their own accord, the flight engineer mismanaged a third, causing it also to shut down. The aircraft was operating a MATS charter flight from Gander to Frankfurt.[29]
On December 14, 1962, Flight 183,L-1049H Super Constellation N6913C, crashed on approach toBurbank, California fromChicago due to pilot incapacitation (suspected heart attack), killing all five on board and three on the ground.[30]
On December 15, 1965, Flying Tiger Line Flight 914,L-1049H Super Constellation N6914C, struckCalifornia Peak at 13,000 ft after the pilot became disorientated in IFR conditions, killing the three crew.[32]
On March 21, 1966, Flying Tiger Line Flight 6303, flying forQuicktrans, aCanadair CL-44 (N453T), crashed on landing at NAS Norfolk due to pilot error; all six crew survived, but the aircraft was written off.[33]
On December 24, 1966, a Flying Tiger Line Canadair CL-44 (N228SW)crashed on landing nearDa Nang, killing all four crew and 107 on the ground.
On February 15, 1979, Flying Tiger Line Flight 74, aBoeing 747 (N804FT), was landing atO'Hare International Airport in heavy fog whilst Delta Air Lines Flight 349, aBoeing 727, was crossing the active runway Flight 74 was landing on. The two aircraft narrowly avoided a ground collision when Flight 74 swerved into the grass beside the runway. No one was injured, and the aircraft was returned to service.
On October 11, 1983, Flying Tiger Line Flight 9014, a Boeing 747 (N806FT), ran off the runway at Frankfurt International Airport after a cargo pallet broke loose; the three crew and three passengers survived; the aircraft was substantially damaged, but was repaired and returned to service.
On October 25, 1983, Flying Tiger Line Flight 2468, a Douglas DC-8 (N797FT), ran off the runway at NAS Norfolk due to crew and ATC errors; all five on board survived; the aircraft was substantially damaged but was repaired and returned to service.
August 6, 1986 – A Flying Tigers aircraft, bound for Columbus Rickenbacker International Airport. (LCK), mistakenly lands at Boltan Field.
On February 19, 1989,Flying Tiger Line Flight 066 crashed near Kuala Lumpur due to crew and ATC errors, killing all four crew.
^Rossi, J.R. (1998)."Prescott biography".The Flying Tigers - American Volunteer Group - Chinese Air Force.
^"World Airline Directory."Flight International. March 30, 1985.83." Retrieved on March 21, 2017. "7401 World Way West, Los Angeles International Airport, California 90009, USA"
Carriers that operated for all/part of 1938–1978 when most were under close economic control of theCAB.Bold indicates survived into deregulated era (1979–today)
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