The Noorduyn Norseman, also known as the C-64 Norseman, is a Canadian single-engine

bush plane A bush plane is a general aviation aircraft used to provide both scheduled and unscheduled passenger and flight services to remote, undeveloped areas, such as the Canadian north or bush, Alaskan tundra, the African bush, or savanna, Amazon rainf ...

designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Distinctive stubby

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

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.

Design and development

Designed by Robert B. C. Noorduyn, the Noorduyn Norseman was produced from 1935 to 1959, originally by Noorduyn Aircraft Ltd. and later by the

Canadian Car and Foundry The Canadian Car & Foundry Company, Limited, and from 1957 onwards the Canadian Car Company Limited, was a manufacturer of buses, railway rolling stock, forestry equipment, and later aircraft for the Canadian market. CC&F history goes back to 18 ...

company. With the experience of working at

Fokker Fokker (; ) was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer that operated from 1912 to 1996. The company was founded by the Dutch aviator Anthony Fokker and became famous during World War I for its fighter aircraft. During its most successful period in the 19 ...

Bellanca AviaBellanca Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft design and manufacturing company. Prior to 1983, it was known as the Bellanca Aircraft Company. The company was founded in 1927 by Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, although it was preceded by ...

and

Pitcairn-Cierva The Pitcairn Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturer of light utility aircraft. An early proponent of the autogyro, the company, later known as the Autogiro Company of America among other names, remained in business until 1948. ...

, 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 at

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, which then was reorganized in 1935, as Noorduyn Aviation. Noorduyn's ideal bush plane was a high-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

airframe to facilitate loading and unloading passengers and cargo at

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

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 earlier Bellanca 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.

Operational history

The first Norseman, powered by a

Wright R-975 Wright is an occupational surname originating in England and Scotland. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a ...

-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 ''Captains of the Clouds'' ( ''Shadows of Their Wings'') is a 1942 American war film in Technicolor, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney. It was produced by William Cagney (Cagney's brother), with Hal B. Wallis as executive pro ...

" starring

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

. Principal aerial photography took place near

North Bay, Ontario North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing. It developed as a railroad centre and its airport was an important military locatio ...

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 the

Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre (CBHC), located on the north bank of the St. Marys River (Michigan–Ontario), St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, is dedicated to preserving the history of bush flyin ...

. 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 the Norseman Mk.I. The next four aircraft (serial numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5) were Norseman Mk.IIIs. ''CF-AZA'' went to MacKenzie Air Service,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, ''CF-AZE'' to Prospector Airways, Clarkson, Ontario, ''CF-AZS'' to Starrat Airways, Hudson, Ontario, and ''CF-BZM'' to Mackenzie Air Service, as ''CF-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

Pratt & Whitney R-1340 The Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp is an aircraft engine of the reciprocating engine, reciprocating type that was widely used in United States, American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, an ...

Wasp SC-1 engine as the Norseman Mk.II, but was later re-engined with a Pratt & Whitney Wasp S3H-1, its original intended engine, on June 26, 1937 as the prototype for the Norseman 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 the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Second World War

By 1940, Noorduyn had sold only 17 aircraft, primarily to commercial operators in Canada's north and to the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

. With the outbreak of war, demand for a utility transport led to large military orders. The

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

and the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

became the two largest operators. The RCAF ordered 38 Norseman Mk.IVWs for radio and navigational training for the

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a large-scale multinational military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand during the Second Wo ...

USAAF Colonel

Bernt Balchen Bernt Balchen (23 October 1899 – 17 October 1973) was a Norwegian pioneer polar aviator, navigator, aircraft mechanical engineer and military leader. A Norwegian native, he later became an American citizen and was a recipient of the Disting ...

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 the YC-64A. After the US entry into the Second World War, the USAAF placed the first of several orders for a production version C-64A Norseman. The principal differences included two fuselage belly tanks raising the standard fuel capacity to , and an additional cabin fuel tank of that could also be installed. These changes resulted in an increase of in the loaded weight. Deliveries began mid-1942, with the US military eventually ordered 749 Norseman Mk.IVs as the C-64A (later UC-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 the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

under the designation JA-1. Six C-64B floatplanes were used by the

US Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

. Other Allied air forces also placed orders, for 43 Norseman Mk.IVs. The RCAF ordered an additional 34 aircraft as Norseman Mk.VIs. Noorduyn was still the sole manufacturer, but when the USAAF considered ordering a larger number of C-64As, license production of 600 by

Aeronca Aircraft Aeronca, contracted from Aeronautical Corporation of America, located in Middletown, Ohio, is a US manufacturer of engine components and airframe structures for commercial aviation and the defense industry, and a former aircraft manufacturer. ...

Corp. (Middletown, Ohio) was planned before being cancelled in 1943. Major

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

was a passenger on a UC-64A Norseman (s/n 44-70285) flown by F/O John R. S. Morgan which

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the intent of placing ...

over the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

on December 15, 1944, possibly due to being struck by bombs jettisoned from RAF

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

s after an aborted raid. Another Norseman crashed into

King Alfred's Tower Alfred's Tower is a folly in Somerset, England, on the edge of the border with Wiltshire, on the Stourhead estate. The tower stands on Kingsettle Hill and belongs to the National Trust. It is designated as a Grade I listed building. Henry Hoa ...

, a tall

Stourhead Stourhead () is a 1,072-hectare (2,650-acre) estate at the source of the River Stour in the southwest of the English county of Wiltshire, extending into Somerset. The estate is about northwest of the town of Mere and includes a Grade I list ...

estate

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

in Somerset, England, killing all five air crew in 1944.

Postwar

Postwar, the

Canada Car and Foundry The Canadian Car & Foundry Company, Limited, and from 1957 onwards the Canadian Car Company Limited, was a manufacturer of buses, railway rolling stock, forestry equipment, and later aircraft for the Canadian market. CC&F history goes back to 18 ...

acquired the rights to the design and produced the Norseman Mk.V, a civilian version of the UC-64. To further improve the basic design, "Can Car" designed and built the Norseman 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 from

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. The number in use worldwide is not known. In recognition of the Norseman's role in serving northern Canada, the town of

Red Lake, Ontario Red Lake is a municipality with town status in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, located northwest of Thunder Bay and less than from the Manitoba border. The municipality consists of six small communities ( ...

, a jumping-off point for remote communities in

Northwestern Ontario Northwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the ...

, promotes itself as ''The 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 ace

George Beurling George Frederick "Buzz" Beurling, (6 December 1921 – 20 May 1948) was the most successful Canadian fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War. Beurling was recognized as "Canada's most famous hero of the Second World War", as "The ...

died in May 1948 landing a Norseman at Urbe Airport in Italy while ferrying it to the newly formed

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

. The engine of a Norseman that crashed during

Operation Maccabi The Battles of Latrun were a series of military engagements between the Israel Defense Forces and the Jordanian Arab Legion on the outskirts of Latrun between 25 May and 18 July 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Latrun takes its name fr ...

of the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

are on the IAF's Har Hatayasim (Pilots' Mountain) memorial near Jerusalem.

Operators

Major civil operators

; *

Aviación del Litoral Fluvial Argentino The airline Aviación del Litoral Fluvial Argentino or A.L.F.A. was a joint venture established on May 16, 1946, by the Argentine government, through national decree 13.532, and the merger of "Corporación Sudamericana de Servicios Aéreos S.A." ...

; * Austin Airways (retired) *

Bearskin Airlines Bearskin Lake Air Service LP, operating as Bearskin Airlines, is a regional airline based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It is a division of Perimeter Aviation and operates services in northern Ontario and Manitoba. Its main base is at Thund ...

(retired) *

Buffalo Airways Buffalo Airways is a family-run airline based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, established in 1970. Buffalo Airways was launched by Bob Gauchie and later sold to one of his pilots, Joe McBryan (aka "Buffalo Joe"). It operates char ...

(retired) * Canadian Airways & Western Canada Airways (retired) *

Canadian Pacific Airlines Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian ...

(retired) * Central Northern Airways (retired) *

Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited () is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-largest integrated oil company. It is majority-owned by American oil company ExxonMobil, with a 69.6% ownership stake in the company. It is a producer of crude oil, ...

(retired) *

Lamb Air Lamb Air Ltd. was a Canadian airline that began operations in 1934 in The Pas, Manitoba, and went out of business in 1981. History Tom Lamb was the son of Thomas Henry Peacock (THP) Lamb, who had emigrated from England in the late 19th centu ...

* Ontario Central Airlines (retired) * Ontario Provincial Air Service - 4 (1943 to 1947) eventually sold 1951 to 1952 *

Pacific Western Airlines Pacific Western Airlines (PWA) was an airline that operated scheduled flights throughout western Canada and charter services around the world from the 1950s through the 1980s. In 1987, PWA purchased Canadian Pacific Air Lines, and the merged a ...

* Saskatchewan Air Ambulance * Saskatchewan Government Airways *

Starratt Airways Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadia ...

; *

Fjellfly Fjellfly (literally "Mountain Fly") was a Norwegian airline which operated between 1954 and 1972. The airline was based at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen and served a diverse range of general aviation activities and a limited scheduled services. Maj ...

Norving Norving A/S was a regional airline that operated in Norway between 1971 and 1993. It had roots back to the establishment of Varangfly in 1959. At its peak, the company had eight bases and 27 aircraft. History Varangfly was founded on 24 July 1959 ...

* Widerøes Flyveselskap ; *Far Eastern Air Transport Inc. (FEATI) (1946-1947) *

Philippine Airlines Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the flag carrier of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Center in Pasay, the airline was founded in 1941 and is the oldest operating commercial airline in Asia. Philippine ...

(transferred from FEATI, from 1947-1955)

Military operators

; *

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

operated 14 aircraft from 1943 to 1946. ** No. 1 Communications Unit RAAF ** No. 3 Communications Unit RAAF ** No. 4 Communications Unit RAAF ** No. 5 Communications Unit RAAF ** No. 7 Communications Unit RAAF ; *

Brazilian Air Force The Brazilian Air Force (, FAB) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Brazilian Brazilian Army Aviation (1919–1941), Army and Brazilian Naval Aviation, Nav ...

operated 19 aircraft from 1944 to 1960 ; RCAF Noorduyn Norseman Mk

operated 79 aircraft from 1940 to 1953 **

103 Search and Rescue Squadron 103 Search and Rescue Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force is a search and rescue unit based at 9 Wing Gander on the Canadian island of Newfoundland. The squadron is responsible for a large area covering the offshore waters of Canada's Excl ...

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

operated 21 aircraft from 1943 to 1957 ; *

Air Surveillance Service There is officially no Air Force of Costa Rica; the only air wing in existence is attached to the Public Force of Costa Rica. Currently this unit, officially called Air Vigilance Service ( (SVA)), also called the Air Service (''Servicio Aéreo'') ...

operated one aircraft in 1948 ; *

Cuban Air Force The Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force () commonly abbreviated to DAAFAR in both Spanish and English, is the air force of Cuba. History Background The Cuban Army Air Force was the air force of Cuba that existed prior to 1959. The a ...

received one aircraft in 1951 ; *

Czechoslovak Air Force The Czechoslovak Air Force (''Československé letectvo'') or the Czechoslovak Army Air Force (''Československé vojenské letectvo'') was the air force branch of the Czechoslovak Army formed in October 1918. The armed forces of Czechoslovakia c ...

operated Norseman postwar under designation K-73. ; *

Egyptian Air Force The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) () is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all military aircraft, including those used in support of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy ...

operated two aircraft from 1948 to 1960 ; *

Honduran Air Force The Honduras Air Force (, sometimes abbreviated to FAH in English) is the air force of Honduras. As such it is the air power arm of the Honduras Armed Forces. History The first Honduras military flying took place on 18 April 1921 in a Bristo ...

operated two aircraft from 1945 to 1961 ; *

Indonesian Air Force The Indonesian Air Force (, sometimes shortened as IDAF / IdAF) is the Air force, aerial branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. The Indonesian Air Force is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, and is headed by the Chief of Staff of th ...

received one aircraft in 1950 Noorduyn C-64 Norseman orange vl

operated 17 aircraft from 1948 to 1954 ; *

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (, ML-KNIL) was the air arm of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from 1939 until 1950. It was an entirely separate organisation from the Royal Netherl ...

operated one aircraft from 1948 to 1950 ; *

Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) () is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximately 2,430 employees (officers, enlisted ...

operated 22 aircraft from 1945 to 1959 ; *

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) () is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Initially formed as part of the Philippine Army as the Philippine Army Air Corps (PAAC) in 1935, the PAAC eventually saw combat ...

operated two aircraft from 1946 to 1952 Noorduyn UC-64A Norseman

; *

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( or just ) is the air force Military branch, branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalatin ...

operated three as the Tp 78 from 1949 to 1959 as air-rescue/ambulance transports. One crashed in 1954, a second burnt at

F 4 F4, F.IV, F04, F 4, F.4 or F-4 may refer to: Aircraft * Flanders F.4, a 1910s British experimental military two-seat monoplane aircraft * Martinsyde F.4 Buzzard, a British World War I fighter version of the Martinsyde Buzzard biplane * Fo ...

in 1956. In 1980, the survivor was repurchased by

Swedish Air Force Museum The Swedish Air Force Museum () is located at Malmen Airbase in Malmslätt, just outside Linköping, Sweden. Malmen is where Baron Carl Cederström, nicknamed the "Flyer Baron" founded his flying school in 1912. Malmen Airbase is home to the Roy ...

and restored in 1989. ; *

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

; *

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

purchased three Norsemans in 1945 (under designation JA-1) to support Antarctic expeditions like

Operation Highjump Operation HIGHJUMP, officially titled The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946–1947, (also called Task Force 68), was a United States Navy (USN) operation to establish the Antarctic research base Little America (exploration b ...

Specifications (Norseman Mark V)

Noorduyn C-64A Norseman 3-view line drawing

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * Grant, Robert S. ''Noorduyn Norseman: Red Lake, Ontario, Canada, Norseman Capital of the World''. Red Lake, Ontario: Norseman Floatplane Festival, 2007. (booklet) * * Mathisrud, Nils. ''Norwegian Wings #1: Noorduyn Norseman Mk. IV & Mk. VI''. Oslo: FlyGloster Publishing, 2007. . * Milberry, Larry. ''Aviation in Canada''. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1979. . * Munson, Kenneth. ''Bombers, Patrol and Transport Aircraft 1939-1945''. London: Blandford Press, 1969. . *

External links

Norduyn website
(company name altered)
Archived Noorduyn Norseman websiteUnofficial Noorduyn Norseman websiteArchived historical website
maintained by Julie Boddy, great-granddaughter of Robert B.C. Noorduyn {{Authority control 1930s Canadian civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft

Norseman The Norsemen (or Northmen) were a cultural group in the Early Middle Ages, originating among speakers of Old Norse in Scandinavia. During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a large-scale expansion in all directions, giving ris ...

Aircraft first flown in 1935 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear