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Flying Tiger Line, also known as Flying Tigers, was the first scheduled cargo
airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...
in the United States and a major military charter operator during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
era for both cargo and personnel (the latter with leased aircraft). The airline was bought by
Federal Express FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name ...
in 1988.


History

The company was started by Robert William Prescott. It was headquartered on the grounds of
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the ...
in Westchester,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
."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"
The airline was named after the
Flying Tigers The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States ...
fighter unit of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, officially the 1st American Volunteer Group. Ten former AVG pilots, after returning to the United States in 1945, formed the Flying Tiger Line established on 24 June 1945 as National Freight Service known under the name of National Skyway Freight using a small fleet of 14 Budd Conestoga freighters purchased as war surplus from the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. The pilots and two ground crew provided half of the initial investment, with the balance coming from California oil tycoon Samuel B. Mosher. 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 Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...
during the
occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States ...
. In 1949, the
Civil Aeronautics Board The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1938 and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services including scheduled passenger airline serviceStringer, David H."Non-Skeds: T ...
awarded Flying Tiger Line the first commercial air cargo route in the U.S., a transcontinental route from
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
and
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
to Boston, Massachusetts. Shortly afterward, the company began chartering passenger aircraft for group travel as well; its Lockheed Super Constellation,
Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960 ...
and
DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with ...
fleet comprised the largest trans-Atlantic charter operation through the 1950s.


Operations

During the
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
, 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 the
Distant Early Warning Line The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the north coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska (see Proj ...
, flying equipment to remote outposts in northern Canada and Alaska. Flying Tiger Line adopted the Canadair CL-44 swing-tail aircraft in 1961, becoming one of the first carriers in the world to offer aerial pallet shipping service. In 1965, Flying Tiger Line began operating jet aircraft when on September, 27, the first (as N322F) of four
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 2 ...
was delivered. The Boeing 707 remained in the fleet only few years, and later sold, upon arrival of the higher-payload Douglas 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. In 1974, the airline took delivery of its first
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...
. The Flying Tiger Line then put in 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 in at . These aircraft had the powerful "Q" ( Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7Q) engines and heavy landing gear and could simultaneously carry both of fuel and 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 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. Tiger's Ad Hoc Charter livestock flights provided airlift for exotic animals. Two examples were thoroughbred racehorses and show animals from Stansted, England to the Melbourne 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, including Shamu the SeaWorld
killer whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pat ...
and the torch of the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The copper statue, ...
. By the mid-1980s, Flying Tigers operated scheduled cargo service to six continents and served 58 countries. It surpassed
Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...
in 1980 as the world's largest air cargo carrier after acquiring its rival cargo airline Seaboard World Airlines on 1 October 1980. It also operated military contract services, most notably DC-8 routes between Travis Air Force Base, California and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
in the 1970s, followed by weekly 747 passenger service between
Clark Air Base Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located west of Angeles City, about northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U.S. Air F ...
, Philippines, and St. Louis,
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
via
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
,
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...
, and Los Angeles during the 1980s. Covert flights for the military were not uncommon throughout the airline's history, given its roots in
Civil Air Transport Civil Air Transport (CAT) was a Nationalist Chinese airline, later owned by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), that supported United States covert operations throughout East and Southeast Asia. During the Cold War, missions consisted i ...
(CAT), as with its sister airline Air America, originally owned by General Claire Lee Chennault, commander of the Flying Tigers fighter squadron in Southeast Asia. At its peak, the Tigers employed approximately 251 flight attendants and carried up to a record 594 passengers and crew on its MAC all-coach passenger flights. Approximately 998 pilots worked for the airline based throughout the US. Large crew bases were situated at Los Angeles, New York City and Lockbourne, Ohio (
Rickenbacker International Airport Rickenbacker International Airport is a civil-military public airport south of downtown Columbus, near Lockbourne in southern Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The south end of the airport extends into Pickaway County. The base was nam ...
). 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 standard AMJ container used in the FedEx flight operations. They operated a recording company subsidiary,
Happy Tiger Records Happy Tiger Records was an independent American record label that was owned by the Flying Tiger Line air freight company. Happy Tiger operated from 1969 to 1971. During this time the label produced more than two dozen albums by Count Basie, Mason ...
, from 1969 to 1971. Charter and scheduled passenger operations were flown by their subsidiary, Metro International Airlines, which was formed in January 1981, and ceased operations in 1983, when it was sold to Tower Air. The scheduled
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...
passenger service route was
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
JFK Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New ...
-
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
-
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
operated several days a week. After
airline deregulation Airline deregulation is the process of removing government-imposed entry and price restrictions on airlines affecting, in particular, the carriers permitted to serve specific routes. In the United States, the term usually applies to the Airline Der ...
, stiff competition buffeted profits and, with some unsuccessful diversification attempts by parent Tiger International, the airline began sustaining losses in 1981. Then-CEO
Stephen Wolf Stephen M. Wolf (born 1941, California) assumed his current position as chairman of R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company in March 2004. He has been the managing partner of Alpilles, LLC, since April 1, 2003. In April 2009 he became chairman of Trila ...
sold Flying Tigers to
Federal Express FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name ...
in December 1988. On August 7, 1989 Federal Express merged Flying Tigers into its operations, and the Flying Tigers name passed into history.


World record

On 15 November 1965, a modified Flying Tigers
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 2 ...
-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.


Fleet

At the time of its sale to
FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...
, Flying Tigers were operating the following aircraft: *8
Boeing 747-100 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...
*13
Boeing 747-200 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
*19
Boeing 727-100 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter f ...
*6 Douglas DC-8-73


Accidents and incidents

More details of the following can be found at the ASN Aviation Safety Database * On July 30, 1950, a Flying Tiger Line
Curtiss C-46 The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a twin-engine transport aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company pub ...
(N67960), crashed on takeoff from Stapleton International Airport due to unknown performance problems; both pilots and both passengers survived, but the aircraft was written off. * On January 7, 1953, Flying Tiger Line Flight 841, a Douglas C-54 (N86574), struck the base of Squak Mountain due to pilot error, killing all seven on board. The aircraft was being ferried from Burbank to Seattle. * On September 24, 1955, Flying Tiger Line Flight 7413/23, a Douglas C-54 (N90433), ditched in the Pacific after three engines failed, killing three of five crew. * On March 18, 1956, a Flying Tiger Line Curtiss C-46 (N9995F), crashed at Pelly Bay, Canada after the left wing struck terrain while on a VFR approach, both pilots and the passenger survived, but the aircraft was written off. * On September 9, 1958, a Flying Tiger Line L-1049H Super Constellation (N6920C) struck Mount Ōyama while operating a Travis AFB-Tokyo cargo flight, killing all eight on board. * On March 15, 1962, Flying Tiger Line Flight 7816/14, an L-1049H Super Constellation (N6911C), crashed on approach to Adak Island Naval Air Station, Alaska due to pilot error, killing one of eight on board. The aircraft was operating a Military Air Transport Service (MATS) cargo flight from Travis AFB to Kadena Air Base. * On March 16, 1962,
Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 was a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation propliner chartered by the United States military that disappeared on March 16, 1962, over the Western Pacific Ocean. The aircraft was transporting 93 U.S. soldiers and thre ...
(also known as Flight 7815/13) disappeared over the Pacific with 107 on board. This accident remains the worst ever accident involving the L-1049. * On September 23, 1962, Flying Tiger Line Flight 923, an L-1049H Super Constellation (N6923C), ditched in the North Atlantic after three engines failed, killing 28 of 76 on board. The aircraft was operating a MATS charter flight from Gander to Frankfurt. * On December 14, 1962, Flying Tiger Line Flight 183, an L-1049H Super Constellation (N6913C), crashed on approach to Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank due to pilot incapacitation (suspected heart attack), killing all five on board and three on the ground. * On December 24, 1964,
Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 refers to the crash of a Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft, N6915C, shortly after takeoff from San Francisco International Airport in the early morning hours of Thursday, December 24, 1964. There were 3 crewmen a ...
crashed near San Francisco International Airport after an unexplained course change, killing the three crew. * On December 15, 1965, Flying Tiger Line Flight 914, an L-1049H Super Constellation (N6914C), struck California Peak after the pilot became disorientated in IFR conditions, killing the three crew. * On March 21, 1966, Flying Tiger Line Flight 6303, a Canadair CL-44 (N453T), crashed on landing at NAS Norfolk due to pilot error; all six crew survived, but the aircraft was written off. * On December 24, 1966, a Flying Tiger Line Canadair CL-44 (N228SW) crashed on landing near
Da Nang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is on ...
, killing all four crew and 107 on the ground. * On July 27, 1970, Flying Tiger Line Flight 45, a Douglas DC-8 (N785FT), crashed in the water off Naha Air Base, Okinawa, killing all four crew.https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR7210.pdf * On February 15, 1979, Flying Tiger Line Flight 74, a
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...
(N804FT), was landing at
O’Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business ...
in heavy fog whilst Delta Airlines Flight 349, a
Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller air ...
, 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. * On February 19, 1989,
Flying Tiger Line Flight 66 Flying Tiger Line Flight 66 was a scheduled international cargo flight from Singapore Changi Airport, to Hong Kong's Kai Tak Airport via a stopover at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia. On February 19, 1989, the FedEx-owned Boein ...
crashed near Kuala Lumpur due to crew and ATC errors, killing all four crew.


See also

*
List of defunct airlines of the United States A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...


References


External links


Flying Tiger Line accidents and incidents
at the
Aviation Safety Network The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) is an independent, nonprofit, international organization concerning research, education, advocacy, and communications in the field of aviation safety. FSF brings together aviation professionals from all sectors ...

Flying Tiger Line photo galleryFlying Tiger Line Pilots AssociationFlying Tigers Boeing 747 Fleet Detail


{{Authority control Defunct airlines of the United States Defunct cargo airlines FedEx Airlines established in 1945 Airlines disestablished in 1989 American companies established in 1945 Cargo airlines of the United States