Transocean Airlines
Encyclopedia
Transocean Air Lines was an Oakland, California
based airline that operated from 1946 until 1960.
By April 1958, after 12 years of business, Transocean’s aircraft had flown a total of 1,290,966,900 passenger miles, 126,990,642 cargo ton-miles, and 66,828,237 aircraft miles – the equivalent of more than 135 round-trips to the moon!
Organized by a handful of maverick aviators with more dreams than money in their pockets, Transocean Air Lines became the largest supplemental air carrier in the world, employing at its peak over 6,700 workers at some 57 bases around the globe.
THE BIRTH OF TRANSOCEAN…Word that a new airline was in the offing spread quickly with Captain Nelson's first call, and the response was overwhelming. Looking for employment and happy that the war was over, applicants from all branches of the armed services rushed to the Oakland Airport, hoping to land a job with this fledgling airline. I remember seeing the long rag-tag line that stretched away from the International Terminal Building, out the door, down the steps, and all the way back to the airport restaurant, a distance of a hundred yards or more. Many were in civilian clothes but others, still wearing various military uniforms, were trailing duffel bags.
Yes, indeed, those were halcyon days. We were all young and overflowing with enthusiasm for what we saw as a chance to break ground with a new airline. We wanted to have our place in the sun as pioneers and innovators. The romance and promise of commercial flying ... the excitement and exuberance of this bunch of young hopefuls would provide the spirit that was soon to become Transocean Air Lines. (Ralph Lewis, By Dead Reckoning, Paladwr Press)
Soon after taking to the skies in 1946 to fly anything, anywhere, anytime, Nelson began to expand into other areas, usually with great success. But by the mid-fifties and after acquiring several subsidiary businesses, some of the men closest to Nelson began to express concern that perhaps Transocean had over-diversified its resources and that the company was in danger of decline. Nevertheless, from its inception in 1946 until as late as 1959, Transocean basked in the glow of spectacular success in most of its endeavors. The airline and its divisions often received commendations from both military and civilian groups for its contributions to aviation.
A complete company history can be found on *Transocean Air Lines’ Alumni site
Total: 146 aircraft, of which 68 were DC-4s.
In addition, Taloa Academy of Aeronautics had a total of 56 single-engined trainers at its peak. http://www.taloa.org/academy.html
During almost 14 years of continuous and concentrated aviation and airline activity, totaling in excess of 70 million aircraft miles, more than a billion and a half passenger miles, and over 85 million cargo-ton miles (often in areas with few or non-existent navigational aids or ground installations), Transocean's total casualties were 90 passengers and 16 crew. Considering the pioneering nature of much of Transocean's flying, in peacetime and in war, this record alone is a measure of the unparalleled dedication to safety and service which made Transocean one of the greatest airlines - though certainly the least recognized - in U. S. air transport history.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
based airline that operated from 1946 until 1960.
History
The men and women of Transocean Air Lines helped make modern air transport possible for today's world. At its height the Transocean organization included ten companies, making it the first aviation conglomerate. The airline itself employed 1,500 persons. Including the personnel of its subsidiary companies, the total number exceeded 6,700. Transocean’s gross annual sales climbed as high as 50 million dollars.By April 1958, after 12 years of business, Transocean’s aircraft had flown a total of 1,290,966,900 passenger miles, 126,990,642 cargo ton-miles, and 66,828,237 aircraft miles – the equivalent of more than 135 round-trips to the moon!
Organized by a handful of maverick aviators with more dreams than money in their pockets, Transocean Air Lines became the largest supplemental air carrier in the world, employing at its peak over 6,700 workers at some 57 bases around the globe.
THE BIRTH OF TRANSOCEAN…Word that a new airline was in the offing spread quickly with Captain Nelson's first call, and the response was overwhelming. Looking for employment and happy that the war was over, applicants from all branches of the armed services rushed to the Oakland Airport, hoping to land a job with this fledgling airline. I remember seeing the long rag-tag line that stretched away from the International Terminal Building, out the door, down the steps, and all the way back to the airport restaurant, a distance of a hundred yards or more. Many were in civilian clothes but others, still wearing various military uniforms, were trailing duffel bags.
Yes, indeed, those were halcyon days. We were all young and overflowing with enthusiasm for what we saw as a chance to break ground with a new airline. We wanted to have our place in the sun as pioneers and innovators. The romance and promise of commercial flying ... the excitement and exuberance of this bunch of young hopefuls would provide the spirit that was soon to become Transocean Air Lines. (Ralph Lewis, By Dead Reckoning, Paladwr Press)
- We fly anything, anywhere, anytime." This was the motto of the charismatic Nelson and the men and women who flew to the ends of the earth in the service of Transocean. Their expertise in the mass movement of people, freight, and live cargo was developed by creative planning and by trial and error. But it was the successful completion of the first contracts that established the airline's reputation as "can do" people. Transporting anything and everything was simply a matter of getting it through the door of the airplane.
- Transocean Air Lines - The First Aviation Conglomerate… Known throughout the industry as the flying airline president, Nelson was the only top executive of a major airline during the late 1940s to hold transport pilot ratings. The number one globetrotter spent much time away from his desk in search of business or visiting Transocean's far-flung outposts, all the while keeping an eye out for profitable enterprises to add to his ever expanding international business empire, or airplanes to add to the fleet.
Soon after taking to the skies in 1946 to fly anything, anywhere, anytime, Nelson began to expand into other areas, usually with great success. But by the mid-fifties and after acquiring several subsidiary businesses, some of the men closest to Nelson began to express concern that perhaps Transocean had over-diversified its resources and that the company was in danger of decline. Nevertheless, from its inception in 1946 until as late as 1959, Transocean basked in the glow of spectacular success in most of its endeavors. The airline and its divisions often received commendations from both military and civilian groups for its contributions to aviation.
- Stories… Here are the many adventures of the men and women who were Transocean Air Lines. Transocean flight crews never knew where fortune would take them, or for how long, as contracts were often found along the way. A crew once left Oakland, California for Formosa in a DC-4 loaded with 12,000 pounds of gunpowder for General Chiang Kai-Skek’s Nationalist Chinese Army, then ferried the airplane to Hong Kong to pick up a load of Chinese cedar chests and fly them west to Rome, Italy. Within hours of the delivery of the cedar chests, the airplane departed full of Italian seamen bound for New York to rendezvous with an ocean freighter.
- Alumni… The esprit de corps among the people of this once great airline is as prevalent today as it was in 1946. Perhaps the words of Wally Barnett, who was a radio operator for Transocean, best sum up the feelings of most of the airline's alumni: “We were a young, enthusiastic group, mostly straight from the military. We wanted to make our niche in the commercial aviation world. We worked, played, lived, and some died together. There was something magic about Transocean Air Lines; a magic that I haven’t experienced since. Today, a half century since the airline’s demise, nearly 200 of its former employees – and now their children & grandchildren – are members of the Taloa Alumni Association. Seldom can a group of former employees of a defunct company match Taloans in keeping in touch with one another for so long a time. The Transocean group can be compared to an extended family as it meets for their reunion every year.
A complete company history can be found on *Transocean Air Lines’ Alumni site
Historical fleet
Total: 146 aircraft, of which 68 were DC-4s.
In addition, Taloa Academy of Aeronautics had a total of 56 single-engined trainers at its peak. http://www.taloa.org/academy.html
- TRANSOCEAN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS - Here further information can be obtained by following the links to the Aviation Accident Database.
During almost 14 years of continuous and concentrated aviation and airline activity, totaling in excess of 70 million aircraft miles, more than a billion and a half passenger miles, and over 85 million cargo-ton miles (often in areas with few or non-existent navigational aids or ground installations), Transocean's total casualties were 90 passengers and 16 crew. Considering the pioneering nature of much of Transocean's flying, in peacetime and in war, this record alone is a measure of the unparalleled dedication to safety and service which made Transocean one of the greatest airlines - though certainly the least recognized - in U. S. air transport history.
- 16 - Curtis C-46 CommandoC-46 CommandoThe Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando was a transport aircraft originally derived from a commercial high-altitude airliner design. It was instead used as a military transport during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces as well as the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps under the designation R5C...
- 9 - Douglas DC-3Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
- 1 - Cessna T-50Cessna AT-17-References:NotesBibliography* Mondey, David. American Aircraft of World War II . London: Bounty Books, 2006. ISBN 978-0-7537-1461-4....
from 1948 - 1 - Cessna 170Cessna 170|-See also:-External links:* *...
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from 1950-52 - 1 - Piper PA-18 Super Cub from 1950-52
- 1 - Stinson ReliantStinson ReliantThe Stinson Reliant was a popular single-engine four to five seat high-wing monoplane manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Division of the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation of Wayne, Michigan.-Design and development:...
from 1950-52 - 5 - Consolidated PBY CatalinaPBY CatalinaThe Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
from 1949-58 - 68 - Douglas DC-4Douglas DC-4The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
from 1946-60 - 1 - Douglas DC-6BDouglas DC-6The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
- 2 - Convair CV-340
- 4 - Grumman G-44 WidgeonGrumman Widgeon|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Donald, David. The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997. ISBN 0-7607-0592-5....
- 1 - Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar
- 13 - Martin 2-0-2Martin 2-0-2The Martin 2-0-2 was one of the first modern airliners. The twin-engined piston aircraft was designed and built by the Glenn L. Martin Company.-Design and development:...
- 3 - Lockheed L-749A ConstellationLockheed ConstellationThe Lockheed Constellation was a propeller-driven airliner powered by four 18-cylinder radial Wright R-3350 engines. It was built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in numerous models, all distinguished by a...
from 1958-59 - 2 - Lockheed L-1049G Super ConstellationLockheed ConstellationThe Lockheed Constellation was a propeller-driven airliner powered by four 18-cylinder radial Wright R-3350 engines. It was built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in numerous models, all distinguished by a...
from 1958-59 - 8 - Boeing 377 Stratocruiser from 1958-60
- Not all aircraft were used at the same time, see fleet history website
Accident history
- Transocean Air Lines August 15, 1949 Off Lurga Point, Ireland Douglas DC-3 (C-54A-DO)
- Transocean Air Lines November 5, 1951 Near Tucumcari, New Mexico Martin 202
- Transocean Air Lines December 30, 1951 Near Fairbanks, Alaska Curtiss C 46F-CU
- Transocean Air Lines March 20, 1953 Alvarado, California Douglas DC-4 (C-54-10-DO)
- Transocean Air Lines July 12, 1953 Pacific Ocean, 325 miles east of Wake Island Douglas DC-6A