Anyone Heard of This Airline from Mid-50's

[Milton Shupe]

I have not heard of this one and thought that some of you might have.

My brother was returning from Japan ending his military stint in 1957 and flew this on his last leg to the east coast.

http://www.flightsimonline.com/mas/scan0013.jpg

[Hurricane91]

I have not heard of 20th Century, but I wonder if it might have been set up specifically to contract with the government.

[modelr]

I have not heard of 20th Century, but I wonder if it might have been set up specifically to contract with the government.

Much like Flying Tiger Airlines, or maybe this became Flying Tiger??

[Bjoern]

Google didn't return much, except that they appeared to fly Connies.

[srgalahad]

I remember doing some research on 20th Century in the past but can't find my bookmarks of the results. However I did find this collection as a start.

The earliest reference:
….For a brief period in the 1940’s, three Charlotte-based airlines took to the air, providing passenger and freight services, having a great time, and demonstrating the potential of aviation to North Carolina. Glenn Shaver grew up on a farm in Ohio. He worked as a co-pilot for Eastern Airlines, a test pilot for B-24’s during the war, and then came to Charlotte as a pilot for State Airlines. He became friends with his Church of God minister, Rev. Chris A Bachman. The two men started Twentieth Century Airlines in mid-1946, with Shaver as general manager and Bachman as president. Bachman sold his family farm in Illinois to finance the venture.
Jack Tadlock and Leon Fox were the first pilots hired. Other pilots included Joe Gibson, Johnnie Berryhill, George Wilson, Harry Whipple and Joe Fickland. Wendall Karr became superintendent of maintenance. The airline operated from a small, former army hanger on the western side of the airport, and most repairs were made outside on the ramp.
Twentieth Century purchased three war-surplus C-47’s and converted them into passenger DC-3’s. This enabled the airline to begin thrice weekly, scheduled flights from Charlotte to Chicago Midway Airport with stops in Hickory, Tri-Cities and Cincinnati.
The airline organized charter flights, including numerous ones carrying Puerto Ricans from San Juan to New York. Twentieth Century’s most colorful activity was barnstorming at air shows on the East Coast. One stunt was landing a J-3 Cub airplane on a rack attached to Shaver’s moving Pontiac.
The biggest spectacle was Shaver flying a complete round loop in a DC3, the only person to achieve such a feat. The airline performed this loop 15 to 25 times. How was this achieved? "A secret of permission," says Shaver, "and proper timing." Shaver knew how to please the crowds. "He always carried the image of being straight off the farm," says Karr former Superintendent of maintenance.
Twentieth Century did not apply for the CAB certification to be a local service airline. But when Piedmont started flying daily to Tri-Cities and Cincinnati in early 1948, this led to cancellation of Twentieth Century’s Charlotte-Chicago flights and the beginning of financial problems.
By the spring of 1950, Shaver and Bachman found a solution. Twentieth Century merged with Parks Airlines of East St. Louis, contributing the three DC-3s. Both Shaver and Karr moved to St. Louis.
Then the assets of Twentieth Century and Parks Airlines, along with the financial investment of Bachman, were key resources in organizing Ozark Airlines. Shaver became a senior pilot; both he and Bachman joined Ozark’s board of directors. Ozark was one of the newly formed feeder/regional airlines that succeeded.
http://www.iidbs.com/ozark/19990506.htm

Then it seemed to be re-invented:
"Twentieth Century Airlines, Inc., was issued a letter of registration as a large irregular air carrier by the Civil Aeronautics Board in 1947. For some reason, beginning in 1951 it conducted its business under the name of North American Airlines. On March 3, 1952, it amended its articles of incorporation so as legally to change its name to North American Airlines, Inc. By letter dated March 11, 1952, it requested the C.A.B. to reissue its letter of registration in the new corporate name."
http://openjurist.org/351/us/79/american-airlines-v-north-american-airlines

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1963/1963%20-%200568.html

DC-4's:

72242 (c/n 10347/DC78) bought by Western Airlines in 1946, registered as N88784. Bought by American Airlines in 1947. Bought by Australian National Airlines Nov 25, 1948 registered as VH-ANG, named "Palana". Bought by Twentieth Century Airlines Apr 23, 1958 and registered N5519V. Bought by Seven Seas Airlines Aug 1959 named "Indian Ocean". W/o when crashlanded gear up 12 km from Nagpur, India Mar 22, 1961 after engine problems.

72243 (c/n 10348/DC79) bought by American Airlines in 1946 and registered as N90441 named "Flagship Rainbow One". Bought by Israeli AF May 15, 1948 and registered 1802. Transferred to El Al Dec 15,1948 and registered 4X-ACB. Bought by California Aircraft Corp Feb 1949 and registered N90441. Leased by El Al Feb 1950. Returned to Hemisphere Air transport Apr 1950. Bought by Twentieth Century Airlines in 1959, bought
by Hemisphere Air Transport in 1955. Bought by REAL SA Oct 1956 and registered PP-YRO. Bought by Loide Aer Nacional Jan 12, 1958 and registered PP-LEW. To VASP Jan 1962. DBR at Santos Dumont Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Nov 6, 1968 when crew forgot to lower the landing gear. Broken up Sep 1970.

http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/1942_4.html (http://home.att.net/%7Ejbaugher/1942_4.html)

One QANTAS Connie (VH-EAP) gained some notoriety:

Entered onto U.S. Aircraft Register as N9723C

Leased to Resort Airlines - 1959 to June 1960

Stored at Oakland, California when Resort Airlines ceased operations

Leased to Twentieth Century Airlines - August 1960 to 1961

Participated in an unlimited air race meeting at San Diego, California - July 18, 1971

Was withdrawn from further pylon racing after this event and returned to storage at Burbank

Prepared for a movie role - had a 'Concorde' like nose attached & 'Global' titles added - November 1971
http://www.aussieairliners.org/lockheed/connie.htm


As well 20th Century found it's way into a movie of a different sort:
Cry Terror!
"James Mason plays Jim Molner, a meek family man who works as a television repairman in an electronics shop. He's duped into building a small bomb filled with RDX by the diabolical bespectacled Paul Hoplin (Rod Steiger), a former Army demolition man, who says it's for a lucrative Army contract (hard to believe any rational person being fooled by that come-on). Jim's family, his nervous wife Joan (Inger Stevens) and precious preschool daughter Patty (Terry Ann Ross), are held hostage as they are coerced to participate in an extortion plot to get half a million dollars from the 20th Century Airlines. Gang leader Paul is the mastermind behind the scheme, whose other gang members are career criminal Vince (Jack Klugman), convicted rapist Steve (Neville Brand) and the bomb planter Eileen Kelly (Angie Dickinson)."

So, while little-known and buried, 20th Century has quite a history.

IIRC there are repaints done for the MJ Connie and a DC-6 floating around out there...

Rob

[Willy]

20th Century is also in the Cal Classics propliner AI set.


Participated in an unlimited air race meeting at San Diego, California - July 18, 1971
Was withdrawn from further pylon racing after this event and returned to storage at Burbank


Clay Lacy flew a DC-7 in an unlimited air race around that time and kicked butt. The next year they were going to fly both the Douglas and a Connie, but the other race pilots protested the entries and they ended up dropping out of the race. Wonder if it's the same Connie?

[Milton Shupe]

Ah! Very interesting SrGalahad ... thank you.

Saw this link chasing yours:
http://www.aussieairliners.org/l-1049/vh-eap/1802.030.html

[srgalahad]

Another reference:
N88919, Douglas DC-4 (Douglas C-54 Skymaster), Clipper Panama, notes: C/n 10351, originally delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force as a Douglas C-54A-15-DC Skymaster, Serial Number 42-72246, on 15 July 1944. It was then returned to the Douglas Aircraft Company on 17 June 1946, converted to civil DC-4 specifications, and delivered to Pan Am in 15 March 1947. This DC-4 also flew under the title Clipper Talisman. It was sold to Twentieth Century Airlines on 1948. After flying for a number of other operators, including Alitalia, this DC-4 was purchased by Air Charter Ltd on 9 December 1955, and converted into a Carvair ATL-98. The ultimate fate of this DC-4 is not known.
http://www.logbookmag.com/databases/articles.asp?ID=93&CatID=47

[Willy]

Here's the basic story on the 20th Century Constellation N9723C's foray into unlimited class racing complete with pics:

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/tech_ops/read.main/218794/

[Railrunner130]

The paint scheme looks EXACTLY like the Reeve Aleutian paint scheme.

[harleyman]

I think as a kid I flew one out of Raleigh Durhan....

Not 100% on that though

[srgalahad]

The paint scheme looks EXACTLY like the Reeve Aleutian paint scheme.

Close enough.. although it is better said that the Reeve paint scheme looks exactly like 20th Century...

"By the mid 1950s, it was apparent that the DC-3s were not big enough for Reeve Aleutian. Therefore, the DC-4 was selected to supplement the DC-3s, eventually replacing them. Reeve's first DC-4 was N63396, Purchased in March 1957 from Twentieth Century Airlines, which was going out of business."

September 24 1958. DC-4 N63396 crashed on Great Sitkin Island, Alaska, 16 killed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reeve_Aleutian_Airways

I guess Bob Reeve liked the look and turned it into the Reeve Aleutian scheme in the '60s

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Reeve-Aleutian-Airways/Douglas-DC-6B/1188233/M/

Rob

Oh, Willy, here's a bit more on the Connie Racer:
http://www.adastron.com/lockheed/constellation/racer.htm

Pylon racing anyone?:pop4: