Seaboard World Airlines was an international all-cargo airline based in the United States. Originally an irregular air carrier, the airline was certificated as the first US transatlantic scheduled cargo airline in 1955 by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now defunct federal agency that, from 1938 to 1978, tightly regulated almost all US commercial air transportation. Seaboard's headquarters were on the grounds of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City."World Airline Directory." Flight International. 22 April 1978. 1191.
History Seaboard World Airlines was founded on September 16, 1946, as Seaboard & Western Airlines. It initially operated Douglas DC-4 aircraft, followed by Lockheed Super Constellation airliners. In 1955, it received final approval on CAB certification to fly scheduled cargo services across the Atlantic.
It adopted the name Seaboard World Airlines in April 1961. Jet cargo service started in 1964 with the introduction of the Douglas DC-8.
During the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, the company used Douglas DC-8-63 jets to connect McChord Air Force Base, Washington with Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. In 1968, one of these flights operating as Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253A was forced to land in the Soviet Union with 214 American troops on board.
On 30 April 1969, a Seaboard World Airlines DC-8 with 219 passengers and 13 crewmembers landed by mistake at Marble Mountain Air Facility, when it had actually been cleared to land at the nearby Da Nang Air Base.Command Chronology, Marine Air Base Squadron 16, 5 May 1969 After fuel and passengers were offloaded, the plane was towed to the north overrun and departed five hours after the landing incident. See External links for a video of the DC-8 departing Marble Mountain.
Seaboard was the first airline to fly a 747 Freighter service from the UK to the USA.
The airline merged with Flying Tiger Line on October 1, 1980, resulting in the loss of its corporate identity.
Fleet + Seaboard World Airlines fleet Type NumberBoeing 707-345C2Boeing 747-245F4Boeing 747-273C1Canadair CL-448Curtis C-46 Commando2Douglas DC-31Douglas DC-414Douglas DC-8-54F3Douglas DC-8-55F9Douglas DC-8-63CF6Lockheed L-1049D "Super Constellation"4Lockheed L-1049G "Super Constellation"1Lockheed L-1049H "Super Constellation"4
See also List of defunct airlines of the United States
References
Further reading Chin A. Seaboard saga. Tassels and Wings Publ. Co., Seattle (WASH), 1996
External links
1969 film of Seaboard World DC-8 departing Marble Mountain after mistakenly landing there the night before: "Seaboard World Airlines - Seaboard and Western Airlines", Airline Timetable Images Seaboard World Airlines aircraft "Seaboard World Airlines", Aviation Safety Network " David O. Hill Seaboard World Airlines Collection", Archives at The Museum of Flight