
The Stinson Model A was a moderately successful
airliner of the mid-1930s. It was one of the last commercial airliners designed in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
with a fabric-covered steel tube
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...
before the introduction of
stressed skin aluminum
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
construction.
Design and development
A total of 30 Stinson Model As were built until production ceased in 1936. It was one of many promising designs whose commercial success was cut short by the introduction of the stressed-skin
Boeing 247 and
Douglas DC-2.
[HO Aircraft, (18 June 2015)]
Stinson Model A: Restoring a Classic Aircraft
Disciples of Flight. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
Operational history
Australia
Because the waiting lists for either the new Boeing or Douglas aircraft were already too long
Airlines of Australia (AOA) ordered three Stinson Model As in January 1936. These aircraft were VH-UGG ''Lismore '' (arrived per s.s. ''City of Winchester'' on 27 March), VH-UHH ''Brisbane'' (arrived per s.s. ''Wichita'' on 22 June) and VH-UKK ''Townsville'' (arrived 22 July in the s.s. ''City of Manilla''). All three were quickly reassembled and entered the
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
-
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
service, proving so successful that in August AOA ordered a fourth example VH-UYY ''Grafton'' – the very last Stinson Model A to be built – which arrived at Sydney on board s.s. ''Port Alma'' on 14 December.
With posturing from both AOA and
Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways (ANA) was Australia's predominant aerial carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s.
The Holyman's Airways period
On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.I ...
(ANA) to cut into each other's turf by late 1936, early efforts by ANA to gain a controlling interest in AOA failed, until the tragic losses of VH-UHH ''Brisbane'' in the
McPherson Ranges on 19 February 1937 and VH-UGG ''Lismore'' on 28 March halved AOA's main-line fleet. A merger took effect in March 1937, although the two companies retained separate identities until AOA was formally absorbed into ANA on 1 July 1942. The two surviving Stinsons were then renamed VH-UKK ''Binana'' and VH-UYY ''Tokana'', in conformity with ANA nomenclature.
[Job, Macarthur (1992). ''Air Crash, volume 2'', Ch.2]
During 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 ...
spare parts for the Stinsons' aging
Lycoming R-680
The Lycoming R-680 is a nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, the first aero engine produced by Lycoming. The engine was produced in two types, the E and B series; both are essentially the same. The B4E was available in a trainer version wi ...
engines were impossible to obtain in Australia and it was decided to re-engine both aircraft with a
Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp engine on each wing and eliminate the engine on the nose. The additional power allowed both aircraft to fly faster and carry heavier loads, although fuel dumps had to be fitted to allow them to remain under their maximum landing weight of , in case of an emergency necessitating landing shortly after take-off.
[
On completion at Essendon, Victoria in May 1943, ''Binana'' returned to the Brisbane- Cairns, Queensland run, while ''Tokana'' was similarly converted and re-entered service in October on the run between Melbourne (Essendon), Kerang, Victoria, ]Mildura, Victoria
Mildura ( ) is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 at the 2021 census. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point, Merbein and Red ...
and Broken Hill, New South Wales. ''Binana'' was later transferred to the Melbourne-Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
service.[
On the morning of 31 January 1945 ''Tokana'' was on the Essendon to Kerang leg of its regular service when the port wing separated in flight between Redesdale and Heathcote, fifty miles north of Melbourne. The aircraft then plunged to the ground, killing both crew and the full load of eight passengers. An investigation revealed that ]metal fatigue
In materials science, fatigue is the initiation and propagation of cracks in a material due to cyclic loading. Once a fatigue crack has initiated, it grows a small amount with each loading cycle, typically producing striation (fatigue), striati ...
had developed in the wing's lower main spar boom attachment socket, the actual failure possibly being instigated by the aircraft encountering a particularly heavy gust of wind. It was the first known occurrence of this type of accident in an aircraft anywhere in the world, but it was to become a problem all too common in later years where progressively larger aircraft would be built from light-weight alloys that were more susceptible to the underlying metallurgical phenomenon. It being assumed that the same problems could occur in ''Binana'', its certificate of airworthiness was cancelled, and the old aircraft was subsequently broken up.[
A non-flying scale replica was built for a 1987 television movie account of the 1937 McPherson Ranges disaster, '' The Riddle of the Stinson'', in which two survivors of the crash were rescued by Bernard O'Reilly.]
Outside Australia
Outside Australia, examples of the Stinson Model A remained in service in such far-flung corners of the globe as Korea
Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
and Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
for some years. One example still survives, having crashed in Alaska in 1947, recovered and rebuilt in 1979, it passed to the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum in 1988 and then to Greg Herrick's Golden Wings Flying Museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
. The aircraft is now located at the Mid America Flight Museum-Ohio Wing in Urbana, Ohio
Urbana is a city in Champaign County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located about northeast of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton and west of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 11,115 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
.
Operators
;
* Airlines of Australia
*Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways (ANA) was Australia's predominant aerial carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s.
The Holyman's Airways period
On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.I ...
;
* Tata Airlines - acquired five aircraft secondhand from Marquette Airlines in 1941
;
*American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
*Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...
* Marquette Airlines
* Pennsylvania Central Airlines
Specifications
References
*
*
External links
{{Stinson aircraft
Trimotors
1930s United States airliners
Low-wing aircraft
Model A
Aircraft first flown in 1934