Redcoat Air Cargo

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Redcoat Air Cargo
Bristol 175 Britannia 253F, Redcoat Air Cargo AN1052906.jpg
Bristol Britannia 253F, Redcoat Air Cargo, Luton 1981
IATA code : RS
ICAO code : RY
Call sign : (unknown)
Founding: 1976
Operation stopped: 1982
Seat: Luton Airport , UK
United KingdomUnited Kingdom 
Home airport : Luton airport
Fleet size: 2
Aims: international
Redcoat Air Cargo ceased operations in 1982. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation.

Redcoat Air Cargo was a British cargo airline with headquarters at Luton airport , which mainly operated from 1976 to 1982 cargo charter flights to Africa and Europe, but also in the US and the Middle East.

history

The company founded in 1976, initially focused on cargo flights to West Africa, one in the first year Turboprop machine of the type Bristol Britannia from Gemini Air Transport ( Ghana was rented). On May 27, 1977, the first flight to Accra with a newly acquired Britannia was made. A Vickers Viscount from the Ghanaian West Africa Air Cargo was used on site for feeder flights.

A year later, a second Britannia was procured, with which on July 5, 1978, on its first flight, 12 tons of auto parts for Ford were transported from Luton to Cologne . A third machine was added in 1979.

After the accident of a Britannia in Boston with total write-off in February 1980 (see under incidents) this was replaced in August 1980 by a Canadair CL-44 , an aircraft type derived from the Britannia.

The competition in the general cargo market gradually became stronger with the entry of "parcel carriers" such as UPS, Federal Express, TNT and DHL. The problems at Redcoat were exacerbated by several engine failures on the CL-44, which led to significant contract losses. In May 1982 bankruptcy had to be filed. All subsequent refinancing attempts failed, so Redcoat was dissolved on June 14, 1982.

Destinations

The company's cargo charter flights were mainly to West and Central Africa. An order from the Royal Air Force included regular flights to Belize from 1979 to 1981. Occasional flights to the USA and the Middle East were also made. A two-year contract led to the transport of 12,000 cattle annually from Forli (Italy) to Kano in Nigeria.

Fleet at the end of operations

In addition to a decommissioned Britannia, two machines were still in use when operations were closed:

The Britannia 253F G-BRAC , Luton 1979 , which crashed in Boston on February 16, 1980

Incidents

  • On February 16, 1980, a Britannia 253 ( aircraft registration G-BRAC ) crashed a few minutes after taking off from Boston , Massachusetts Airport from an altitude of approximately 500 meters (1700 feet) in a wooded area. Icing up before and after the start was identified as the cause. Four of the five crew members and all three passengers were killed.

See also

Web links

Commons : Redcoat Air Cargo  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Maurice J. Wickstead: Airlines of the British Isles since 1919 . Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., Staplefield, W Sussex 2014, ISBN 978-0-85130-456-4 , pp. 360-361.
  2. ^ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international . Zurich Airport 1976–1982.
  3. ^ Accident report Britannia G-BRAC , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 3, 2018.