Post by Scott Anderson on Oct 13, 2013 20:55:56 GMT -5
I have been in touch with Michael McMurtrey of Carrollton, Texas, who is writing a definitive history of the Cessna T-50 Bobcat, and he kindly provided me with this information:
"Manufacturer's serial number 5599. USAAF serial number 43-8079. One of 327 aircraft built to Spec. 215A, per Contract W535ac28713 suppl. #2, dated 30 Jul 1942. Ordered as C-78, re-designated UC-78B.
Date of Manufacture unknown. Delivery date 19 Oct 43. To Altus Army Airfield, OK, 21 Oct 43, then to 2520th Base Unit, Frederick Army Airfield, OK. Take-off accident, Frederick Army Airfield, 9 Jun 44. To 2518th Base Unit, Enid Army Airfield, OK, 6 Oct 44. Landing accident/belly landing, Enid AAF Perry Aux Fld, OK, 10 Feb 45. To Reconstruction Finance Corp. for disposal 3 Jul 45. Assigned civil registrations NC86590 and NC61782. Sold to Bluegrass Airlines, date unknown. Registration cancelled 31 Mar 49. Fate unknown.
The civil history of this airplane is incomplete, as it is one of many T-50s the files for which were destroyed by the National Archives in either 1962 or 1979 after the airplanes had been scrapped or out of service for many years. The fact that it was assigned two different registration numbers is not uncommon for these aircraft. At the end of WW II, surplus military aircraft were sent all over the US to sales centers established for the purpose of selling them to civilians, and the CAA (as the FAA was known then) initially created registration documents for many of them in the expectation that they would be sold. When they were not, the registrations were subsequently cancelled. In some cases, registrations were issued in the field by CAA inspectors to aircraft that were sold, only to have another registration assigned by the Washington DC office. In this case, NC61782 was the registration that was kept."
Those who are familiar with the Bluegrass Airlines timetable will recognize the Cessna T-50 on the front. Now that we know about this aircraft, maybe we can find out more about other BGA history as well.
"Manufacturer's serial number 5599. USAAF serial number 43-8079. One of 327 aircraft built to Spec. 215A, per Contract W535ac28713 suppl. #2, dated 30 Jul 1942. Ordered as C-78, re-designated UC-78B.
Date of Manufacture unknown. Delivery date 19 Oct 43. To Altus Army Airfield, OK, 21 Oct 43, then to 2520th Base Unit, Frederick Army Airfield, OK. Take-off accident, Frederick Army Airfield, 9 Jun 44. To 2518th Base Unit, Enid Army Airfield, OK, 6 Oct 44. Landing accident/belly landing, Enid AAF Perry Aux Fld, OK, 10 Feb 45. To Reconstruction Finance Corp. for disposal 3 Jul 45. Assigned civil registrations NC86590 and NC61782. Sold to Bluegrass Airlines, date unknown. Registration cancelled 31 Mar 49. Fate unknown.
The civil history of this airplane is incomplete, as it is one of many T-50s the files for which were destroyed by the National Archives in either 1962 or 1979 after the airplanes had been scrapped or out of service for many years. The fact that it was assigned two different registration numbers is not uncommon for these aircraft. At the end of WW II, surplus military aircraft were sent all over the US to sales centers established for the purpose of selling them to civilians, and the CAA (as the FAA was known then) initially created registration documents for many of them in the expectation that they would be sold. When they were not, the registrations were subsequently cancelled. In some cases, registrations were issued in the field by CAA inspectors to aircraft that were sold, only to have another registration assigned by the Washington DC office. In this case, NC61782 was the registration that was kept."
Those who are familiar with the Bluegrass Airlines timetable will recognize the Cessna T-50 on the front. Now that we know about this aircraft, maybe we can find out more about other BGA history as well.
There are a lot of gaps-- for example, the inaugural flight from KBWG to KLOU was in March 1944, but BGA didn't acquire this Bobcat until at least after the first part of July 1945... so what were they operating in the interval? Also, if you look at their timetable, they had flights leaving Paducah and Bowling Green at 8:00am, so they had to have had at least one more aircraft-- was it another Cessna? Of course, the biggest mystery is exactly when they ceased operations. One of the founders of the Bowling Green airport said they operated about eighteen months, and then foundered due to financial reasons. Eighteen months from March 1944 would be approximately September-October 1945, but some print sources say they stopped operating in the fall of '46.