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| Norseman | |
|---|---|
_(42264321861).jpg) A restored Norseman VI from the Norwegian Spitfire Foundation | |
| General information | |
| Type | General aviation aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Noorduyn Aircraft Ltd |
| Designer | |
| Status | operational |
| Primary users | USAAF RCAF and bush plane operators |
| Number built | 904, including prototypes |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1935–1959 |
| First flight | November 14, 1935 |
TheNoorduyn Norseman, also known as theC-64 Norseman, is a Canadian single-enginebush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Distinctive stubbylanding gear protrusions from the lower fuselage make it easily recognizable.
Introduced in 1935, the Norseman remained in production for almost 25 years with over 900 produced. A number of examples remain in commercial and private use to this day. Norseman aircraft are known to have been registered or operated in 68 countries and also have been based and flown in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
Designed byRobert B. C. Noorduyn, the Noorduyn Norseman was produced from 1935 to 1959, originally byNoorduyn Aircraft Ltd. and later by theCanadian Car and Foundry company.
With the experience of working atFokker,Bellanca andPitcairn-Cierva, Noorduyn decided to create his own design in 1934. Along with his colleague, Walter Clayton, Noorduyn created his original company, Noorduyn Aircraft Limited, in early 1933 atMontreal, which then was reorganized in 1935, as Noorduyn Aviation.
Noorduyn's ideal bush plane was a high-wingmonoplane airframe to facilitate loading and unloading passengers and cargo atseaplane docks, where the high wing provided the best clearance from docks and seaplane ramp fencing, and least opportunity for damage, and from conventional airports, with a structure that could be easily repaired in the bush. Noorduyn designed it to have interchangeable wheel, ski or twin-float landing gear. Unlike most aircraft designs, the Norseman was first fitted with floats, then skis and, finally, wheels.
The final design looked much like Noorduyn's earlierBellanca Skyrocket, a strut-braced high-wing monoplane with a welded steel tubing fuselage. Attached wood stringers carried a fabric covering that faired out the more refined shape. Its wing had a wood structure covered in fabric, except for steel tubing in the flaps and ailerons. The divided landing gear were fitted to fuselage stubs with the legs secured with two bolts each to allow the alternate arrangement of floats or skis. The tail could be fitted with a wheel or skid.
The first Norseman, powered by aWright R-975-E3 Whirlwind, was flight tested on floats on November 14, 1935, and was sold and delivered to Dominion Skyways Ltd. on January 18, 1936, registered as "CF-AYO" and named “Arcturus." In summer 1941, Warner Brothers leased CF-AYO for the filming of "Captains of the Clouds" starringJames Cagney. Principal aerial photography took place nearNorth Bay, Ontario with CF-AYO carrying temporary registration "CF-HGO." CF-AYO was lost in a crash in Algonquin Park in 1952. Its wreckage currently is on display at theCanadian Bushplane Heritage Centre.
Almost immediately, the Norseman proved itself to be a rugged, reliable workhorse with steady sales for the era. The prototype, serial number 1, CF-AYO, was designated theNorseman Mk.I.
The next four aircraft (serial numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5) wereNorseman Mk.IIIs.CF-AZA went to MacKenzie Air Service,Edmonton, Alberta,CF-AZE to Prospector Airways, Clarkson, Ontario,CF-AZS to Starrat Airways, Hudson, Ontario, andCF-BZM to Mackenzie Air Service, asCF-BAM. Several additional aircraft were to have been Mk.IIIs but were completed as Mk.IVs.
CF-BAU, serial number 6, had minor changes that were required for it to be certified, and had a customer supplied 450 hp (340 kW)Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp SC-1 engine as theNorseman Mk.II, but was later re-engined with a 600 hp (450 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp S3H-1, its original intended engine, on June 26, 1937 as the prototype for theNorseman Mk.IV.
The Mk.IV was the definitive pre-war model but the production run might have ended at a few hundred examples if not for the advent of theSecond World War.
By 1940, Noorduyn had sold only 17 aircraft, primarily to commercial operators in Canada's north and to theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police. With the outbreak of war, demand for a utility transport led to large military orders. TheRoyal Canadian Air Force and theUnited States Army Air Forces became the two largest operators. The RCAF ordered 38Norseman Mk.IVWs for radio and navigational training for theBritish Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
USAAF ColonelBernt Balchen was establishing a staging route across Greenland to ferry aircraft to Europe. He required a transport rugged enough to survive in the harsh conditions of the Arctic. After evaluating six Norsemans diverted from the RCAF order, late in 1941, he recommended the purchase of the Norseman Mk.IV specially modified to USAAF requirements as theYC-64A. After the US entry into the Second World War, the USAAF placed the first of several orders for a production versionC-64A Norseman. The principal differences included two fuselage belly tanks raising the standard fuel capacity to 201 imp gal (910 L; 241 US gal), and an additional cabin fuel tank of 32 imp gal (150 L; 38 US gal) that could also be installed. These changes resulted in an increase of 950 lb (430 kg) in the loaded weight. Deliveries began mid-1942, with the US military eventually ordered 749 Norseman Mk.IVs as the C-64A (laterUC-64A).
Throughout the Second World War, the USAAF Norseman aircraft were used in North America (primarily Alaska) as well as other in theaters of war, including Europe. Three UC-64As were used by theUS Navy under the designationJA-1. SixC-64B floatplanes were used by theUS Army Corps of Engineers. Other Allied air forces also placed orders, for 43 Norseman Mk.IVs. The RCAF ordered an additional 34 aircraft asNorseman Mk.VIs. Noorduyn was still the sole manufacturer, but when the USAAF considered ordering a larger number of C-64As, license production of 600 byAeronca Aircraft Corp. (Middletown, Ohio) was planned before being cancelled in 1943.
MajorGlenn Miller was a passenger on a UC-64A Norseman (s/n 44-70285) flown byF/O John R. S. Morgan whichdisappeared over theEnglish Channel on December 15, 1944.
Another Norseman crashed intoKing Alfred's Tower, a 50 m (160 ft) tallStourhead estatefolly in Somerset, England, killing all five air crew in 1944.
Postwar, theCanada Car and Foundry acquired the rights to the design and produced theNorseman Mk.V, a civilian version of the UC-64. To further improve the basic design, "Can Car" designed and built theNorseman Mk.VII with a bigger engine, a new all-metal wing and greater cargo capacity but it never went into production. With large Korean War commitments at that time, the company put it into temporary storage where it was destroyed in a hangar fire in September 1951.
In 1953, Noorduyn headed a group of investors who bought back the jigs and equipment fromCanada Car and Foundry and started a new company called Noorduyn Norseman Aircraft Ltd. Bob Noorduyn became ill and died at his home in South Burlington, Vermont, on 22 February 1959. The company continued to provide support for operating Norseman aircraft and built three new Mk.Vs before selling its assets in 1982 to Norco Associates. Norco provided support services only, as Norseman aircraft manufacture wasn't seen as being likely to be profitable.
The last Noorduyn Norseman built was sold to a commercial customer on January 19, 1959. 903 Norseman Mk.I to Mk.V were produced and delivered to commercial and military customers. There are currently 42 Norseman aircraft on the active Canadian aircraft registry and 9 active in the United States.[when?] The number in use worldwide is not known.
In recognition of the Norseman's role in serving northern Canada, the town ofRed Lake, Ontario, a jumping-off point for remote communities inNorthwestern Ontario, promotes itself asThe Norseman Capital of the World. Each summer in July, the "Norseman Floatplane Festival" brings Norseman aircraft to Red Lake as the centrepiece of a community based weekend festival ranging from stage entertainment, children's games and rides, contests, cultural and historical displays and street vendors with craft and specialty booths.
Canadian Second World War aceGeorge Beurling died in May 1948 landing a Norseman atUrbe Airport in Italy while ferrying it to the newly formedIsraeli Air Force. The engine of a Norseman that crashed duringOperation Maccabi of the1948 Arab-Israeli War are on the IAF's Har Hatayasim (Pilots' Mountain) memorial near Jerusalem.[1][2]
Data fromJane's all the World's Aircraft 1947.[3]
General characteristics
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
