Seaboard World Airlines

Seaboard World Airlines was an international all-cargo airline based in the United States. It was certificated as the first US transatlantic scheduled cargo airline in 1955 by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now defunct federal agency that, from 1938 to 1978, tightly regulated almost all US commercial air transportation. Seaboard's headquarters were on the grounds of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.[2]

Seaboard World Airlines
IATA ICAO Call sign
SB(1)[1] SB(1)[1] SEABOARD
FoundedSeptember 16, 1946 (1946-09-16)
(as Seaboard & Western Airlines)
Ceased operationsOctober 1, 1980 (1980-10-01)
(merged into Flying Tiger Line)
Operating basesNew York, New York
Fleet size81 (Historically)
HeadquartersNew York, New York
United States
Founders
  • Arthur Norden
  • Raymond Norden
Notes
(1) IATA, ICAO codes were the same until the 1980s
Boeing 747-200F New York 1977.

History

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Seaboard World Airlines was founded on September 16, 1946, as Seaboard & Western Airlines. It initially operated Douglas DC-4 aircraft, followed by Lockheed Super Constellation airliners.[citation needed] In 1955, it received final approval on CAB certification to fly scheduled cargo services across the Atlantic.[3]

It adopted the name Seaboard World Airlines in April 1961. Jet cargo service started in 1964 with the introduction of the Douglas DC-8.[citation needed]

 
DC-8 Pisa 1974.
 
Seaboard & Western L-1049D Honolulu 1956
 
C-46 Frankfurt 1967

The airline played a prominent role in the Vietnam War during the late 1960s, using Douglas DC-8-63 jets to connect McChord Air Force Base, Washington with Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. In 1968, one of these flights operating as Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253A was forced to land in the Soviet Union with 214 American troops on board.

On 30 April 1969, a Seaboard World Airlines DC-8 with 219 passengers and 13 crewmembers landed by mistake at Marble Mountain Air Facility, when it had actually been cleared to land at the nearby Da Nang Air Base.[4][5] After fuel and passengers were offloaded, the plane was towed to the north overrun and departed five hours after the landing incident. See External links for a video of the DC-8 departing Marble Mountain.

Seaboard was the first airline to fly a 747 Freighter service from the UK to the USA.[citation needed]

The airline merged with Flying Tiger Line on October 1, 1980, resulting in the loss of its corporate identity.[6]

Fleet

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Seaboard World Airlines fleet
Type Number
Boeing 707-345C 2
Boeing 747-245F 4
Boeing 747-251F 4
Boeing 747-273C 1
Canadair CL-44 8
Curtis C-46 Commando 2
Douglas DC-3 1
Douglas DC-4 14
Douglas DC-8-54F 3
Douglas DC-8-55F 9
Douglas DC-8-63CF 6
Lockheed L-1049D "Super Constellation" 4
Lockheed L-1049G "Super Constellation" 1
Lockheed L-1049H "Super Constellation" 4

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Airport Activity Statistics of Certificated Route Carriers (Report). Air Transport Association of America. December 31, 1959. p. iv.
  2. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 22 April 1978. 1191.
  3. ^ "Transatlantic Cargo Case". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 21. Washington, DC: U.S. General Printing Office: 671–759. June–October 1955. hdl:2027/osu.32435022360531.
  4. ^ Command Chronology, Marine Air Base Squadron 16, 5 May 1969 Archived 12 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "OV-1 Mohawk-Seaboard World DC-8 lands at Marble Mountain- Vietnam.m4v" (video). YouTube. stan bloom. January 7, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  6. ^ "Seaboard & Western / Seaboard World Airlines History". Seaboard World/Seaboard & Western Airlines. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024.
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