“Excambian” is the only surviving aircraft of three built by
Sikorsky for non-stop trans-Atlantic service. It was delivered in
May, 1942 and flew its first passenger-carrying flight on June 22,
1942 painted in Navy camouflage. The flying boat carried priority
passengers and freight under contract to the U.S. Navy and Army
until December 31, 1944.
From January, 1945,
Excambian flew scheduled passenger service for American Export
Airlines until late in 1945 when it, along with its one remaining
sister ship, “Exeter,” (“Excalibur,” had crashed in October, 1942),
was retired and replaced by the land-based Douglas DC-4. The two
planes were put up for sale and subsequently flew for several
different airlines.
In 1967, Charles
Blair, who was the Chief Pilot on the first test flight of the
flying boats and the husband of actress Maureen O'Hara, was able to
purchase Excambian for Antilles Air Boats to ferry passengers among
the Virgin Islands. In 1969 it was extensively damaged beyond
economic repair.
In 1976, the
Blair's donated the plane to the National Museum of Naval Aviation
in Pensacola, FL. With permission from Ms. O'Hara who was now
widowed, the Navy in 1983 transferred the aircraft to the New
England Air Museum on permanent loan. Excambian was then shipped by
barge from the Gulf of Mexico to Bridgeport, CT.
A massive
restoration project was begun in 1987 by a team of volunteers, with
Sikorsky support, to bring this historic craft to displayable
condition. Many of the volunteers were Sikorsky retirees who had
worked on the original construction of the planes. Ten years later,
in 1997, the fuselage was relocated to the Museum where it was
reunited with its other major components and where it is now
displayed along with several other significant Sikorsky aircraft.
Today, Excambian is
the sole remaining American-built commercial trans-oceanic
four-engine flying boat.
Source:
New England
Air Museum
Windsor Locks, CT : USA
(Click title to visit
their website)
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